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Melinda Crawford
Scottish Fiddle
Scottish Fiddle
Melinda Crawford - Bio
Awards:
- 2003 U.S. National Scottish Fiddling
Champion
Melinda Crawford, a U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Champion, performs frequently
for Scottish highland games, Celtic festivals, and concerts throughout the United
States. She started fiddling when she was eleven, when her parents bought her
her first fiddle book, The Scottish Violinist, while they were attending a highland
games. She had just started to play the violin in school, and fiddling sounded like
"fun." From that time on, she gleaned what she could from the annual competitions
and workshops at the local highland games. Bonnie Rideout was a particular
inspiration to her as a young girl. Since that time, Melinda has won numerous
awards for her solo playing and her original compositions at regional and national
Scottish FIRE competitions. She has achieved fiddling titles such as the Allegheny
Mountain Fiddling Champion and the Potomac Valley Fiddling Champion several
times prior to winning the 2003 U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Championship and
becoming a sanctioned Scottish F.I.R.E. competition judge.
A well respected teacher, Melinda has taught strings and orchestra for grades 4
through 12, and has been repeatedly invited to present educational sessions at
national conferences to school string teachers about how to teach traditional
Scottish fiddling in the classroom. She is the music director for the Scioto Scottish
Fiddling Club in Columbus, Ohio, and is an instructor at the Jink & Diddle School of
Scottish Fiddling in North Carolina. Melinda conducts workshops on Scottish
fiddling all over the US and teaches Scottish fiddling privately and internationally to
many students over the Internet. She frequently judges Scottish F.I.R.E.
competitions at highland games and has been a judge for the national
championships.
Melinda is currently residing in western Pennsylvania while completing her
doctorate in music education (from a distance with OSU!) with an emphasis in
alternative strings pedagogy. She is also the national president for the Scottish
fiddling association for North American, Scottish F.I.R.E. In addition to fiddling, she
enjoying cooking, hiking, biking, and making jewelry.
for Scottish highland games, Celtic festivals, and concerts throughout the United
States. She started fiddling when she was eleven, when her parents bought her
her first fiddle book, The Scottish Violinist, while they were attending a highland
games. She had just started to play the violin in school, and fiddling sounded like
"fun." From that time on, she gleaned what she could from the annual competitions
and workshops at the local highland games. Bonnie Rideout was a particular
inspiration to her as a young girl. Since that time, Melinda has won numerous
awards for her solo playing and her original compositions at regional and national
Scottish FIRE competitions. She has achieved fiddling titles such as the Allegheny
Mountain Fiddling Champion and the Potomac Valley Fiddling Champion several
times prior to winning the 2003 U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Championship and
becoming a sanctioned Scottish F.I.R.E. competition judge.
A well respected teacher, Melinda has taught strings and orchestra for grades 4
through 12, and has been repeatedly invited to present educational sessions at
national conferences to school string teachers about how to teach traditional
Scottish fiddling in the classroom. She is the music director for the Scioto Scottish
Fiddling Club in Columbus, Ohio, and is an instructor at the Jink & Diddle School of
Scottish Fiddling in North Carolina. Melinda conducts workshops on Scottish
fiddling all over the US and teaches Scottish fiddling privately and internationally to
many students over the Internet. She frequently judges Scottish F.I.R.E.
competitions at highland games and has been a judge for the national
championships.
Melinda is currently residing in western Pennsylvania while completing her
doctorate in music education (from a distance with OSU!) with an emphasis in
alternative strings pedagogy. She is also the national president for the Scottish
fiddling association for North American, Scottish F.I.R.E. In addition to fiddling, she
enjoying cooking, hiking, biking, and making jewelry.
- National honors of "Best Set"
- Four time Allegheny Mountain Fiddling
Champion
- Two time Potomac Valley Fiddling Champion
- Two time winner of the Southern Maryland
Celtic Festival Scottish Fiddling Competition
- Three time winner of the Monroe Eagle Award
as the Fiddler of the Day
- Virginia Scottish Highland Games
- Clan Cochrane in North America Plate
- Richmond Highland Games
- Sergeant Donald McCallum Award for Best Set
- Clan Leslie Award for Best Air
- Honors for Best Strathspey, Best Reel, and
Best Set - Virginia Scottish Highland Games
- The Vira I. Heinz Scholarship
Education:
- Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University -
- The Ohio State Universtiy - M.A. in Music Education
- The Ohio State Universtiy - Currently working toward a
Ph.D. in Music Education
| Quick Facts |
Discography:
2008 - "The New Caledonian Four," produced by Fiddletree Music
2006 "The Wandering Suitcase of Stirling" - Solo Recording of Traditional and Original
Music for the Scottish Fiddle, produced by Strathmon Music
2005 "Seven Wonders of the Wild West" - Discovery Channel Two-Hour Special - Fiddle
soloist on soundtrack
Fun Facts:
Primary Acoustic Violin: a 1930 Ernst Heinrich Roth violin.
Electric Violin: a navy-blue Skyinbow that was made in the Shetland Islands of Scotland! Melinda plays it with a
gun-metal colored carbon-fiber bow with navy-blue hair!
2008 - "The New Caledonian Four," produced by Fiddletree Music
2006 "The Wandering Suitcase of Stirling" - Solo Recording of Traditional and Original
Music for the Scottish Fiddle, produced by Strathmon Music
2005 "Seven Wonders of the Wild West" - Discovery Channel Two-Hour Special - Fiddle
soloist on soundtrack
Fun Facts:
Primary Acoustic Violin: a 1930 Ernst Heinrich Roth violin.
Electric Violin: a navy-blue Skyinbow that was made in the Shetland Islands of Scotland! Melinda plays it with a
gun-metal colored carbon-fiber bow with navy-blue hair!
- Two Time Runner-up for the U.S. National
Scottish Fiddling Championships
- National Honors for Set-arrangement
- Diane Worth Clinton McLean Award for Best
Strathspey
- Ronald Duncan Gonnella Memorial Award