The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra’s
‘Fiddlers Three’ at Chandler

The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra will present "Fiddlers Three," featuring three of Vermont’s finest old time fiddlers, John Mowad, Adam Boyce, and Franklin Heyburn; Saturday, July 21 at 7 p.m. at Chandler Music Hall on Main St. in Randolph. Tickets will be sold at the door.

The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, under the direction of Sarah Hotchkiss, is a community orchestra of musicians who come from a variety of musical backgrounds and share a common interest in the performance of traditional fiddle music. The orchestra plays music learned by ear as well as orchestral arrangements of traditional tunes by fiddling composer John Mowad.

The VFO began in 2004 and has grown into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The purpose of the VFO is to teach, preserve and perform fiddle music. The members learn a wide variety of fiddle music, but focus mostly on playing compositions by Vermont fiddlers and traditional New England old time tunes.

One of the most important missions of the organization is to keep alive the fiddle music heritage of Vermont by teaching and performing. Membership in the orchestra is open to any fiddler interested in joining. There are members from a wide range of ages and a wider range of skill level, from beginners to seasoned players.

At the Chandler concert, Adam Boyce and Franklin Heyburn will perform several selections of traditional fiddle music and John Mowad will perform three of his original compositions set to his own arrangements for the orchestra.

Boyce is a native of Williamstown. A fiddler, piano player, contra dance prompter, square dance caller, composer, humorist, and storyteller, he is listed on the Vermont Arts Council Touring Artists' Register, and is a member of the Vermont Council on the Humanities Speakers' Bureau, lecturing on the history of contra and square dancing in Vermont. He is also the trustee of the Northeast Fiddlers' Association and a member of the North American Fiddle Judges Association, and a sugarmaker.

Heyburn is a well-known fiddler in the contra-dance circles of Franklin county. Also a bee-keeper at his home in Waterville, you can see him fiddle in George Woodard’s independent film, "The Summer of Walter Hacks."

Mowad, who lives in Woodbury, has been a musician and teacher for most of his life. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to the study and performance of the distinctively American old-time styles of the American South, especially the music of the Southern Appalachian and Ozark Mountains. He is currently playing fiddle and guitar with his band, The Damn Yankee String Band, and also performs with The Snake Mountain Moonshiners.

As a fiddler, guitarist, mandolinist and keyboardist, Mowad has more than 40 years of amateur, semi-professional, and professional musical experience. His many compositions for the fiddle comprise a fine distillation of this rich mix of influences.

"The greatest thing about the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra is the community we have created," Mowad says. "We are not only musicians, but teachers, nurses, farmers, builders, cashiers and businessmen and women, joining together in the common love of playing fiddle music."

For more information on the VFO, contact Sarah Hotchkiss at 802-223-8945 or email vfo@att.net.

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