We are ready to go! The New York Fiddle Contest, co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association, will be held on August 26. Applications are limited, so get yours in early! This contest is open to all fiddlers, not just bluegrass players.
The Judges
We are pleased to announce three highly qualified judges for this contest.
Bob Green:
Multi-instrumentalist Bob Green performs, teaches, and records on mandolin, fiddle, guitar and bass in a wide range of settings, including Musical Theatre, Bluegrass/Country, Klezmer and Irish bands. Credits include Frank McCourt’s The Irish … and How They Got That Way (PBS), Prophets and Heroes with Vanessa Redgrave and Tommy Makem, and National Yiddish Theatre’s Shlemiel The First.
Music has taken him to 12 countries. He has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Town Hall, and the Kerrville and Winfield Folk Festivals. His educational programs have been sponsored by Lincoln Center Institute and Carnegie Hall Education, and he received a 1995 Meet The Composer award.
Ambrose Verdibello:
Ambrose Verdibello has played fiddle for about 35 years in a number of styles including Irish, Old-time, Western Swing, Bluegrass and New England. He has played for many northeast contra and square dances over the years and has regularly won ribbons in the Morris and Roxbury Connecticut fiddle contests. Currently he is very happy to be lending his teaching talents to the youth fiddling ensemble, the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers.
Gene Lowinger:
Gene Lowinger played fiddle with David Grisman in the New York Ramblers, a city bluegrass band that won the 1964 World Championship at Union Grove, NC. In 1965 he, along with Bill Keith and Peter Rowan, played as sidemen for Bill Monroe when Monroe performed for several venues in the northeast. After those shows Monroe invited Gene to Nashville to play fiddle with the Blue Grass Boys on the Grand Ole Opry. After leaving Monroe’s band, Gene returned to New York to study violin with the world famous pedagogue Raphael Bronstein. Gene worked in a number of orchestras and ensembles as well as the freelance classical music business. In 1974 Gene’s first book, Bluegrass Fiddle, was published by Oak Publications. G. Schirmer published his second and third books Bluegrass Fiddle Styles and Jazz Violin.
Looking forward to seeing you all there to cheer the contestants on.
We have three excellent and seasoned fiddlers to judge the contest. There will be cash prizes and certificates awarded. Please download the Rules & Registration Form above (link is provided) and sign up now. Help us spread the word. This contest will be a wonderful experience for all ages and we hope you will be there as a contestant or in the audience to support the players!!!