FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Fiddlers will appear at the Fiddlehead Festival from noon to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, in its new location, in the courtyard and amphitheater between the University of Maine Farmington Student Center and Roberts Learning Center and the adjacent amphitheater.

They will also present a Spring Concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 19, in the presentation forum at Mt. Blue High School.

The musicians have had a busy season, including a six-day tour at the end of March.

They played a concert in November, raising over $600 to restore the Chesterville Meeting House. The group was invited to perform at the post-inauguration homecoming for Gov. Janet Mills, then was invited to represent Farmington, Franklin County and public school music programs at the gubernatorial inauguration on Jan. 2.

The fiddlers played for the Jay, Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce Night at Calzolaio’s and for two Farmington contra dances in December and February. The musicians performed at the Rotary Club’s Festival of Trees and presented the annual “Home for the Holidays” concert in December, where all the proceeds went to the food bank at Mt. Blue High School.

They were also invited to share music and their “Don’t be afraid to be awesome” message with students at Academy Hill School in Wilton. They performed at a Student of the Month assembly at Mt. Blue High School, the annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner at St. Joseph’s Church ant the Weld Town Hall concert in March.

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The fiddlers went on the six-day, action-packed musical tour from March 28 to April 2. They began at the State House in Augusta on March 28, performing in the Capitol Rotunda and opening the House session with the national anthem, which led to an impromptu invitation to perform in the Senate Chamber.

The group toured the Maine State Museum, then performed for residents in the residential and memory care wings at the Togus VA. They played for a contra dance at the University of Maine at Augusta, then headed to the mid coast.

The group took a tour, led by alumni fiddler Silas Rogers of the “Apprenticeshop,” traditional boat building school in Rockland. They performed in the Farnsworth Museum Library, toured the Bixby Chocolate Factory, then headed to Belfast for a concert share with the Belfast Bay Fiddlers.

The fiddlers were a headline band for the Downeast Country Dance Festival in Topsham on March 30 and brought youthful energy to the crowded dance floor.

They later headed toward Boston with a stop on the way to split up the older and younger students for a time. The younger students did an impromptu outdoor performance, self-led with chaperones, on Portland’s Western Prom, and the older fiddlers and Steve Muise, FCF founder, performed for patients and families at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. The group attended a performance of the Blue Man Group at the Charles Theater in Boston later that day.

On April 1, the fiddlers toured Berklee College of Music with a guide, current student and FCF alum, Brendan Hickey. The students attended three clinics with Berklee faculty: Joe Walsh, Bruce Molsky and Matt Glaser. The fiddlers capped off their day by performing at the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge, and made an impromptu visit to the Prudential Skywalk to see the skyline.

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April 2 started with FCF visiting the Constitution Museum in Charlestown and taking a walk along the Freedom Trail by the North Church into the Boston’s North End and Quincy Market. The last big stop on the trip was to perform at Somerville High School and the East Somerville Community School. Somerville High School, in a suburb of Boston, hosts students who speak 70 different languages. The fiddlers shared their style of play and contra dancing with the music students. At the elementary school, the musicians broke up into small groups to teach students in the El Sistema program a fiddle tune.

The students represented Mt. Blue High School, Mt. Blue Regional School District and Franklin County.

Each student was interviewed on the way home. Alexandra McCauley said, “I loved getting to start with the veterans and end with the kids.” Chelsea Seabold said of the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, “So crazy impactful, completely altered my mindset for the rest of the trip.” Aubrey Hoes commented that the trip “opened my eyes to possibilities in music” Chaperone Karri McCarthy said, “Everywhere we went, people were so impressed with their musical skills as well as their manners. Mt. Blue was well represented! It was a privilege to be part of!”

Chaperones were Karri McCarthy, Ken Charles and Debby Muise.

Members of the 2018-19 Franklin County Fiddlers are: Emma Charles, Hope Chernesky, Kahryn Cullenberg, Tomas Cundick, Mazie Gordon, Zack Gunther, Maeve Hickey, Aubrey Hoes, Gretchen Huish, Sam Judkins, Shaylynn Koban, Clay McCarthy, Alexandra McCauley, Brynne Robbins, Auley Romanyshyn, Chelsea Seabold, Makenzie Seaward, Colby Sennick and Rachel Spear.

The Franklin County Fiddlers with Gov. Janet Mills, Rep. Scott Landry, D-Farmington, and Sen. Russell Black, R-Franklin, at the Maine State House.

 


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