UTC Fiddle Fest

UTC Fiddle Fest features American and Celtic fiddle tunes, folk music Sept. 22

Area musicians are invited to participate in the third annual UTC Fiddle Fest, an enjoyable day of playing American and Celtic folk music arranged for string orchestra plus acoustic guitars. Join award-winning fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Jim Wood, guitarist and vocalist Inge Wood, and Irish traditional fiddler Tom Morley, for a day-long festival learning about and playing American and Celtic fiddle tunes and folk music in an informal setting. Musical arrangements of the tunes were made by Jim Wood to fit a variety of skill levels.

The Fiddle Fest Orchestra is open to violin, viola, cello, string bass, and guitar players at the Intermediate to Advanced levels, grades 9 – 12, and Adults. Reading music fluently is required. Jim Wood will teach the orchestra about playing fiddle music and will share solo spots with his wife, Inge, and fellow fiddler Tom Morley. Sandy Morris will conduct the orchestra. Pre-registration is available at www.utcmusic.org, then click the button for UTC Fiddle Festival.

Participants will gather at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 at the UTC Fine Arts Center Roland Hayes Concert Hall, and begin rehearsal on the fiddle music at 10 a.m. Following a lunch break, Jim Wood will lead a clinic on an interesting aspect of folk music, then more rehearsal. The Festival will conclude with a public free concert at 5 p.m. in Roland Hayes Concert Hall. Invite your friends and family!

Jim Wood has won over 160 first prizes in folk music competitions, including at least seven fiddle championships. He composes and adjudicates for fiddle competitions, and records at his home studio. Like Jim, Tom Morley has played with top country artists in Nashville; he has performed with classical orchestras, and leads Celtic and world-music bands as well as the local band Stringer’s Ridge. Orchestra director Sandy Morris is well-known in the region for her work with the Chattanooga Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as her teaching at the Center for Creative Arts high school and her work as a clinician and adjudicator. She was honored by the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. Currently Sandy leads the UTC Symphony Orchestra.