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Ed Pearlman has taught and performed fiddle for concerts and dances throughout the USA and in Canada and Scotland for more than 40 years.  He has particular expertise in Scottish and Cape Breton music and culture but has experience in a variety of styles and has worked with many great players. He created and hosts fiddle-online.com

Primary Instructor, Ed Pearlman

By last name:

Paul Anastasio – Paul has performed many styles of American fiddling.  He studied  jazz violin with the legendary Joe Venuti, and worked in the bands of Merle Haggard, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn and others. He has also studied with a number of great Mexican fiddlers.

Rachel Baiman has worked in Nashville and toured widely as a singer and multi-instrumentalist.  About her duo of 5-string fiddles, Ten String Symphony, NPR’s All Songs Considered said, “They do things with fiddles you wouldn’t expect.”

Bayou Seco is Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler, a duo based in New Mexico, playing for dances and concerts. Captivated by the Spanish Colonial music played by fiddler Cleofes Ortiz (1910-1996), Ken & Jeanie learned from him, worked with him, and have continued his music.

Andrea Beaton grew up in a musical family in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  Her father, Kinnon, and her mother, Betty, are well known as fiddler and pianist.  She has made 6 solo CDs and published 2 books of tunes. Andrea tours and teaches widely.

Gráinne Brady – Gráinne is an Irish fiddle player from County Cavan in Ireland and currently based in Glasgow where she leads sessions and plays with Top Floor Taivers, string group The Routes Quartet, and Gaeilge/Gàidhlig supergroup LAS.

Jonathan Cannon – Jonathan has studied klezmer, Romanian, Celtic, and American fiddling, teaches, and performs regularly with award-winning Boston klezmer band Ezekiel’s Wheels, and for contra dances.

Ruthie Dornfeld – Fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld's eclectic repertoire and expressive tone have won fans among dancers and listeners throughout the USA, South America and Europe. She is fluent in a wide range of traditional styles, including Irish, American old-time, Scandinavian, Eastern European, and the 5-string medieval fiddle (vielle).

Eric Favreau performs with the Québecois dance band Tidal Wave. He has recorded two solo albums, and three albums with the band Entourloupe, taught at many camps and events, and teaches traditional fiddle and the history of traditional music.

Alfonso Franco – Alfonso has performed and taught Galician traditional fiddling at workshops in Canada, Scotland, Brittany, Catalonia, at Alasdair Fraser’s “Sierra Fiddle Camp” and at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, and is a driving force in Galicia (the Celtic part of Spain) for its traditional music.

Pascal Gemme – Pascal is a fiddler, singer and composer, who performs and teaches in Montreal and around the world.  A member of the band Genticorum, he has a vast knowledge of, and is a leading exponent of, Québécois music.

Steven Greenman – Steven has performed with some of the world’s leading klezmer ensembles, has taught internationally, is a founding member of Cleveland’s East European ensemble Harmonia, and soloed on his own arrangements with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra.

Gordon Gunn is a virtuoso, innovative, traditional fiddler from the north of Scotland. A founding member of the band Session A9, Gordon travels far and wide as a performer and instructor, and in addition to his solo albums, has played on over 50 albums as a session musician.

Kevin Henderson draws on the rich fiddle music tradition of his native Shetland and his experience with leading bands including Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers Bid, Session A9 and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to create an expressive and adventurously individual musical style.

James Kelly, a native of Ireland, grew up in a musical family in County Clare. James has toured the world, hosted an Irish TV show, and was a member of the legendary bands "Patrick Street" and "Planxty."

Jeremy Kittel is an American fiddler, violinist, and composer drawing from traditional roots, jazz, Celtic, Classical, electronic, and more.  Kittel performs with his own band, spent 5 years with Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, and has worked with such artists as Aoife O’Donovan, Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Mark O’Connor and Mike Marshall.

Tim Kliphuis – Award-winning Dutch violinist Tim embraces classical, gypsy jazz and folk. His trio has toured Europe.  Kliphuis is in demand at festivals, competitions and conservatoires. He wrote the best-selling book “Gypsy Jazz Violin” and teaches improvisation at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and his own summer school, Grappelli-Django Camp.

Janos Lang is a Hungarian fiddler living in Glasgow, helping the local Roma community in Scottish culture. He moved to Scotland to follow his love of Celtic music only to find himself tapping back into his roots playing Romanian, Hungarian and Gypsy fiddling.

Yuna Léon is a fiddle player from Brittany, France. She was brought up in traditional music thanks to her father Alain Léon, a famous guitar player who she plays with. Yuna is a full time performer on both breton (fest-noz) and irish stages in France.

Liz Knowles played Irish fiddle for Riverdance, soloed on the soundtrack for the film Michael Collins and with such orchestras as the New York Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. She has been a member of Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters, Celtic Legends, and Open the Door for Three.

Osiris Ramsés Caballero León is from Veracruz, Mexico, an outstanding exponent of Mexican traditional music from the Huasteca region. He has been a member of several legendary groups, including Los Cantores de Valles trio, Los Utrera, and the Guardians of the Huasteca.

Troy MacGillivray – Troy is a fiddler, pianist and stepdancer from Nova Scotia.  He has played many times at Celtic Connections Festival and been featured at the East Coast Music Awards, Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton, and the Edinburgh Fiddle Festival.

Bruce MacGregor – One of Scotland’s most accomplished fiddle players, Bruce was taught by the late Donald Riddell to carry on the traditions of Highland fiddle music – bold, rugged, lyrical, beautiful.  Founder of the award-winning band, Blazin’ Fiddles, he also set up a fiddle school, Blazin’ in Beauly, and hosts BBC Radio Scotland‘s flagship folk show, "Travelling Folk."

Eric Martin is an expressive and improvisatory dance musician who plays for English country dances, contra dances, camps and concerts, with Alchemy, the Axelrod-Martin duo, and Coincidance. He works on a farm in western Massachusetts.

Alistair McCulloch hails from Ayr in Scotland and is one of the country's best known fiddle performers, teachers and composers with many appearances on radio and television. Alistair is fiddle instructor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Katie McNally was called “the new face of Scottish fiddling in the USA" in UK’s Living Tradition magazine.  She has worked with a number of bands including her trio with pianist Neil Pearlman and violist Shauncey Ali.

Claude Méthé – Self-taught, Claude has made a lasting mark as a fiddler and singer on Québec’s vibrant trad scene as a member of such pivotal groups as Le Rêve du Diable, Manigance, Dentdelion, Ni Sarpe Ni Branche, and Entourloupe.

Randy Miller – A New Hampshire Celtic fiddler, Randy has played fiddle, piano, and accordion at contradances and Irish sessions for more than 50 years. He has several CDs, a book of original tunes, and through Fiddlecase Books, publishes trad music tunebooks.

Olav Luksengård Mjelva – Olav comes from Røros in the Sør-Trøndelag region of Norway. He plays both violin and Hardanger fiddle with the Norwegian/ Swedish ensemble SVER, the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, and other projects. Olav played Hardanger on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Jenna Moynihan specializes in Scottish and Appalachian fiddling, playing in many groups including a duo with Scottish harper Mairi Chaimbeul, and with Laura Cortese, Darol Anger, the Old Blind Dogs, Bruce Molsky, Matt Glaser, Kimberley Fraser, Phil Cunningham, and soloed with the Boston Pops.

Steve Muise plays Downeast Maine, Québécois, Celtic, jazz styles. He performs throughout New England and beyond with his bands Boréal Tordu, Frigate, and Muisette. A grad of Berklee School of Music, he teaches strings & leads Franklin County Fiddlers, a touring high school group.

Rachel Nesvig grew up in Seattle and Norway. Inspired by her Norwegian roots, she studied music at the Univ. of Stavanger, Norway, and is an accomplished and busy player and teacher of violin and Hardanger fiddle. She has performed folk, classical and pop music internationally.

Neil Pearlman is an innovative pianist, also excellent on mandolin and fiddle. He grew up immersed in Scottish and Cape Breton music and dance and performs solo, in a duo with Kevin Henderson, with the Katie McNally Trio, with HST, and with the Fàrsan quartet.

Mairi Rankin grew up in Cape Breton, a member of the legendary Rankin family. She has developed her own unique style, toured internationally as a solo artist, a sideman and as a member of the Cape Breton band Beòlach. She has a solo album and 3 CDs with Beolach.

Jenna Reid – A member of Blazin’ Fiddles and the innovative fiddle quartet Rant, Jenna is one of Shetland’s (and Scotland’s) finest fiddlers and teachers, having played with Filska, Deaf Shepherd, Dochas, The Unusual Suspects and the Transatlantic Sessions.

Alden Robinson – Alden plays Irish and contradance fiddle throughout New England and some other parts of the country, performing with the traditional Irish band The Press Gang, the Riptide Dance Band, and a duo collaboration with the acclaimed pianist Neil Pearlman.

Lissa Schneckenburger – Lissa grew up learning traditional New England tunes and songs, and earned a degree in Contemporary Improv from the New England Conservatory.  She’s taught, toured, and recorded fiddle and songs, solo and with Low Lily, Solas, Childsplay and others.

Cookie Segelstein – Founder and director of Veretski Pass, Cookie has played fiddler with many top klezmer bands, performing and teaching round the world.  She was featured in ABC’s documentary, “A Sacred Noise,” and in “Everything’s Fine” starring Robert DeNiro.

Sarah-Jane Summers Taught by the late, great Highland fiddler Donald Riddell (1908-1992), Sarah-Jane is now based in Norway, and is expert in traditional Scottish Highland fiddling, Norwegian traditional music, and improvisation.

Josie Toney – Working out of Nashville, Josie performs widely as a fiddler, singer, and fiddle teacher. She toured with Sierra Ferrell and has performed at Red Rocks, Newport Folk Fest, Bonnaroo, and the Ryman.

Mike Vass – Mike has played fiddle in duos and bands such as Malinky, and is well known as a creative force in the Scottish music scene as a composer and producer of multi-media performances, recordings, and scoring for some top Scottish ensembles.

Calvin Vollrath from Alberta, Canada, has won many awards, including lifetime achievement from Canadian Grand Masters Championship and induction into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame.  Well known as a teacher, he has made over 70 albums of his own and composed over 700 tunes.

Alasdair White grew up on the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. A Gaelic speaker, he toured with the Battlefield Band and can be heard on 8 of their albums, plus a solo album of his own.

Jennifer Wrigley – Hailing from Orkney, Jennifer has played traditional and original music all her life with her twin sister, guitarist Hazel on guitar.  After years of touring, the Wrigley Sisters created, in the center of Orkney, a music school, cafe & bar, shop, and venue.

Guest Instructors

By style:

Brittany: Yuna Léon

Cape Breton: Andrea Beaton, Troy MacGillivray, Katie McNally, Mairi Rankin

Eclectic: Jeremy Kittel, Neil Pearlman

English: Eric Martin

Galician: Alphonso Franco

Irish: Gráinne Brady, James Kelly, Liz Knowles, Alden Robinson

Jazz: Paul Anastasio, Tim Kliphuis

Klezmer: Jonathan Cannon, Steven Greenman, Cookie Segelstein

New Mexico: Bayou Seco

Mexican: Osíris Ramsés Caballero Léon, Paul Anastasio

New England: Lissa Schneckenburger, Steve Muise, Randy Miller

Oldtime: Rachel Baiman, Ruthie Dornfeld, Josie Toney, Jenna Moynihan, Calvin Vollrath

Québécois: Éric Favreau, Pascal Gemme, Claude Méthé

Romanian: Janos Lang

Scandinavian: Olav Mjelva, Rachel Nesvig

Scottish: Alasdair White, Bruce MacGregor, Alistair McCulloch,  Katie McNally, Sarah-Jane Summers, Mike Vass, Jennifer Wrigley (Orkney), Gordon Gunn

Shetland: Kevin Henderson, Jenna Reid

By Last Name: