Berkshire Female Fiddling Group Gives First Public Concert at Farmers Market

[/media-credit] Some members of the Fiddling Femmes perform at the New Lebanon (N.Y.) Farmers Market.

NORTH EGREMONT – Imagine shopping for corn, tomatoes and fresh baked bread while being accompanied by lively fiddle music!

That’s exactly what visitors to the New Lebanon, N.Y., Farmer’s Market experienced last weekend.

Six members of the Fiddling Femmes, a group of beginning fiddle students from the Berkshires, grabbed their fiddles and bows and, from under a white awning, filled the air with music.

They played everything from “Amazing Grace,” “The Ashgrove” and “Scarborough Fair” to “Star of the County,”  Irish tunes and lively dance numbers.

A total of 14 women of different ages, including three mother and daughter duos, have been practicing on fiddles for several months under the  direction ofErika Ludwig of North Egremont.

She played viola for 20 years, violin for 10 years and fiddle for the past year. Although the violin and fiddle are basically the same instrument, the style of playing is different. Fiddle, Ms. Ludwig said, is taught by ear.

[media-credit id=3 align=”aligncenter” width=”300″][/media-credit]

“The music gets passed on from player to player in a direct relationship,” she said.

Throughout the summer, group members have been practicing at French Park in North Egremont, braving mosquitos as well as rain on numerous occasions. They met faithfully every Monday night under a pavilion.

The students shared communal bug spray for the mosquitoes!

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

Several members of the group began studying fiddle as early as last January. Throughout the winter, they met in the home of Memrie Kelley of Housatonic to practice, said Ms. Ludwig.

She offered fiddle lessons to the public last December and the response was so enthusiastic that she began two groups of beginning students.

At Sunday’s farmers’ market, Ms. Ludwig introduced six members.  They included Memrie Kelley of Housatonic,  Anne O’Connor and her daughter, Oona Sellew, both of Great Barrington, Jaime Samowicz of Hillsdale, N.Y., Gabriela Sheehan of Pittsfield, and Laurie Warner of North Egremont.

[/media-credit] Fiddle music fills the air!

Ms. Samowicz is an education coordinator for the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. Mrs. Sheehan works in the Pittsfield Public School System.

 Ms. Ludwig told onlookers  at the New Lebanon  Farmers Market that many fiddle pieces are dance tunes.

Some people sat at a picnic table to listen to the Fiddling Femmes while others stopped to listen as they strolled from booth to booth.

I guess one could say that anyone attending the farmers’ market in New Lebanon last weekend was as “fit as a fiddle,” or, at least, lulled momentarily by several of them.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on August 8, 2013. Filed under Arts and Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry