Based on State of Michigan COVID-19 guidelines urging the limitation of large gatherings, we have opted to cancel our March 21st Hometown show. We’ll be offering refunds to advance ticket buyers.
While we are dissapointed for our performers, audience, and guest artists, we know there will be many more opportunities to play for you in the future. With a 25+ year history, you know the Fiddlers are a resilient bunch. We hope too see you at a future show soon!
FIDDLING WITH THE DCO – PRESS RELEASE (JANUARY 24, 2020)
Get ready for an afternoon of toe-tappin’, knee-slappin’ music! The popular Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic will join the Dexter Community Orchestra for its late-winter concert “Fiddling with the DCO” Sunday, March 1 at 4 pm, at Dexter High School Center for the Performing Arts.
The concert will feature two Western-themed pieces by American composers William Grant Still and Aaron Copland. Still’s “The Far West” is inspired by Mexican and Navajo folk music, while Copland’s “Rodeo” presents a boisterous sonic impression of bronco-busting cowboys who cut lose for an old-fashioned hoedown.
The Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic will join the orchestra for a number of favorites, including “Orange Blossom Special” and “The Devil went Down to Georgia”.
For more than 25 years, the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic, composed of talented teen musicians from Saline High School, has wowed audiences around the world with its trademark mix of western swing, bluegrass, jazz, Celtic, and folk melodies. They have performed at the White House, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, and at the State of Michigan Inaugural Ball, as well as in Canada, Germany, and Wales.
Tell your friends, bring the entire family – this will be an unforgettable concert! Come early to get good seats. No tickets are required; DCO concerts are free, although donations at the door are gratefully accepted.
All proceeds from this event benefit the non-profit Saline Fiddlers. Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/86017904869
Alfred Music’s blog has a nice article on the 25-year history of the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic. Please click here to open the article in a new tab of your browser.
Acoustic Routes Concerts has recently announced that Ricky Skaggs – a 15-time Grammy® winner and newly-inducted member of the Country Music Hall of Fame – will be live in concert at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater on May 25, 2019 with special guests The Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to Ann Arbor again,” Skaggs said. “There is a great community of music goers in this great city. Me and my band Kentucky Thunder will be going through the encyclopedia of bluegrass music, old songs as well as new. It’ll be a great show.”
Ricky Skaggs and The Saline Fiddlers, who will open the show, are a natural pairing. Skaggs struck his first chords on a mandolin over 50 years ago, and today he leads the revival in roots music. He has made it his mission to introduce a new generation of listeners to bluegrass and traditional American music – a goal shared by The Fiddlers, one of the country’s premier youth fiddle show bands. The concert, which is a benefit for The Fiddlers, is one of the major events planned for their 25th anniversary year.
Tickets for the event go on sale via Ticketmaster.com or by phone (800-745-3000) on Dec. 10 at 8 a.m. Most seats are $45 or $65. A limited number of Gold Circle tickets are available for $150, which includes a tax-deductible contribution of $85 to the Saline Fiddlers.
“When Saline High’s Bob Phillips started The Fiddlers, it was a revolutionary idea in music education that cut across the grain of popular culture,” said Jim Cain, the founder of Acoustic Routes, which is based in Saline. “Bob knew that high school student-musicians, armed with fiddles, cellos, basses and guitars, would thrill audiences but the group has done so much more. Over 25 years, they helped launch the careers of professional musicians like Jeremy Kittel and Brad Phillips, they have performed at the White House and the Kennedy Center, and toured across North America and Europe. Now they’re taking the stage with the legendary Ricky Skaggs. It’s going to be an epic night.”
This year’s hometown show is going to be special! For 25 years The Saline Fiddlers have been sharing the gift of uplifting fiddle music to audiences around the country, and even overseas. Through the years hundreds of SHS students have honed their musical talents and learned to practice, perform, and entertain as a group. Many alumni have gone on to professional music careers. On Sunday, February 9, the 2019 version of the Saline Fiddlers will perform along with special guest and Saline Fiddler alum Jeremy Kittel & Co. The show also will feature other familiar faces from the Fiddlers’ rich history, including a specially dedicated tune from founding director Bob Phillips. More information to come…. mark your calendars and stay tuned!
Click here for video of Kittel and Co.
Click here for video of Saline Fiddlers
