Dave's Bio

David Kaemmer is a newcomer to Kansas City after spending seven years teaching and performing in Southwest Arizona. While in Sierra Vista he was named the Individual Artist of the Year, founded the Sierra Vista Fiddle Contest, and was the music director/conductor of the Cochise County Youth Orchestra. He has won fiddle contests throughout AZ and NM. He is a four time AZ Twin Fiddle State Champion as well as a two time AZ State Champion for guitar accompaniment. He was also awarded the 5th Annual Bill Shoup Memorial Award for outstanding accomplishments on fiddle and guitar and devotion to young people as a teacher and mentor for Arizona fiddlers.

David has received many accolades about his students, including a phone call from alternative strings clinician, Mark Wood, commending him on his work as a teacher. David has been teaching fiddle and violin since the fall of 2000 when he spent a semester teaching the fiddle program at Vanderbilt University . He is a Suzuki certified violin teacher for Suzuki books 1-4 and has spent over 75 hours observing master teachers.

David spent over two years bringing expert fiddle instruction to the front door of over one hundred fiddle players throughout the United States and Canada with his Fiddle Tune of the Month subscription series and received many testimonials about the high quality and expertise of his teaching.

David has been playing the violin since 1986 and also plays the guitar. He has a music performance degree from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. While in Nashville he learned from Mark O'Connor, Buddy Spicher, Vassar Clements, Bobby Hicks, Crystal Plohman, Regi Wooten, Elisabeth Small, and Martin Norgaard. David has played with Buddy Spicher and the Nashville Swing Band, the Wooten Brothers (funk), the Martin Norgaard Jazz Quartet, the Belmont Bluegrass Band, WES the Power Trio (funk), the Hovey Gospel Choir, the 36th Army Jazz Band, the Sierra Vista Symphony, the Busted Cowboys (western swing), the Hot Club of Tucson, Michael Grande, and the Fiddle All Stars. He currently plays fiddle for 3 Trails West and the Retro Rangers, two Kansas City area bands.

David currently has three albums, Fiddling for Change, Milk Cow Blues, and Bluegrass Gospel Classics with Rocky Harper.

Education

Experience

  Private Fiddle & Violin Instructor Fall 99- Present, Currently teaching 40 students from ages 4 to adult
  Music Director Jun 05 – Present, Cochise County Youth Orchestra PO Box 391, Sierra Vista, AZ
  Clinician - Jan 06, Music Academy of Tucson Suzuki Winter Workshop
                   - Mar 06 Willcox Strings Program
  FounderSierra Vista Fiddle Contest
  Contest Judge Feb 07, Ajo AZ; Apr 08 Truth or Consequences NM; Aug 08 Four Corners Fiddle Contest; Oct 08 New Mexico State   Championship, Truth or Consequences, NM
  Assistant Conductor Sep 04 – May 05, Cochise County Youth Orchestra, Sierra Vista, AZ
  Fiddle & Violin Instructor Apr 05 – Dec 05, P.R.I.M.E. Music School, Tucson, AZ
  First Violin Sep 02 – May 05, Sierra Vista Symphony, Sierra Vista, AZ
  U.S. Army Officer Feb 01 – Feb 05, South Korea and Fort Huachuca, AZ
  Adjunct Fiddle Instructor Fall 00, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
  Instructor/Coach June 97, Coyote Mountain Quartet Camp, Sapulpa, OK

Honors

3rd place, Open Fiddle, Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships Lawrence, KS (09)
2nd place, Open Fiddle, Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival, Wickenburg, AZ (08)
Grand Champion Truth or Consequences, NM (06)
Winner of the 5th Annual Bill Shoup Memorial Award Payson, AZ
   --For outstanding accomplishments on fiddle and guitar and devotion to young people as a teacher and mentor for Arizona Fiddlers
Guitar Accompanist State Champion, Payson AZ (06, 08)
Twin Fiddle Champion (05, 07) Accompaniment (05), Trick and Fancy Champion (06-07), Sierra Vista, AZ
Grand Champion (04-06, 09), Hot Fiddle Champion (04-05, 09), Twin Fiddle Champion (04-06, 09), Young Adult Champion (04-06), Ajo, AZ
Twin Fiddle State Champion, Payson , AZ (03-05, 08)
Grand Champion, Twin Fiddle Champion, Young Adult Champion, Avondale , AZ (02)
Grand Champion (04, 09) Runner Up Grand Champion (03, 05-06) Hot Fiddle Champion (04, 09), Young Adult Champion (03-06, 09),
Guitar Accomp Divison 1st place (06, 09), Tune Scramble 1st place (06), Twin Fiddle Champion (05-06) Safford, AZ
Young Adult Champion (03-04,06-09) Twin Fiddle Champion (04-09) Trick and Fancy (07, 09), Accompaniment (07), Tucson, AZ
Bluegrass Bands Competition Winner, Wickenburg , AZ (04)
Solo act, Pinetop Bluegrass Festival (03)
Concert Competition Winner, Belmont University (00)
All State Orchestra, Missouri (94-96)

Berklee School of Music Scholarship Winner- Andrew Gallardo
Concertmistress: Cochise County Youth Orchestra 2009- Lauren Jones
Concertmaster: Cochise County Youth Orchestra 2008- Sam Jones
1st Violin 8th chair: Southeast Arizona Regional Orchestra 2006- Mary Lim
Concertmistress: Cochise County Youth Orchestra 2005-2008- Mary Lim
1st place: Best of Sierra Vista Talent Competition 2005- Mary Lim
1st Violin 5th chair: Southeast Arizona Regional Orchestra 2005- Alice Pitts
Concertmistress: Cochise County Youth Orchestra 2003-2005- Alice Pitts

AZ State Fiddle Championships, Payson, AZ
Small Fry State Champion, 2008- Pearson Wallace
Jr Jr State Champion, 2008- Sam Jones
Trick Fiddle State Champion, 2006 - Lauren Jones
Small Fry State Champion, 2005 - Brooke Boisvert
Fancy Fiddle State Champion, 2005 - Andrew Gallardo
Twin Fiddle State Champion: 2003, 2004, 2005 - Andrew Gallardo

Safford Fiddle Contest, Safford, AZ
-2006-
1st and 3rd place: Jr division Mary Lim and Nicole Lonchar
1st place: Jr Jr division Andrew Gallardo
1st place: Trick and Fancy division Lauren Jones
1st and 2nd place Runner Up Lil Britches Finals Lauren Jones and Rick Errhalt
2nd place: Twin Fiddle Sam and Lauren Jones
2nd thru 6th place- Pee Wee division Sam Jones, Brooke Boisvert, Lauren Jones, Esther Lim, Rick Errhalt
2nd place: Half Pint Division Brooklyn Fulk
2nd and 3rd Lil Britches Finals: Brooke Boisvert and Sam Jones
1st place: Half Pint Division, 2005- Johnny Brewer
2nd place: Pee Wee Division & 4th place: Lil' Britches Finals, 2005- Rick Errhalt
2nd place: Jr. Jr. Division, 2004- Alice Pitts

Sierra Vista Contest, Sierra Vista, AZ
-2008-
1st Place Pee Wee- Pearson Wallace
1st Place Jr Jr- John Brewer
1st Place Jr- Annabel Wallace
1st Place Twin Fiddle- Sam and Lauren Jones

-2007-
1st Place Pee Wee- Pearson Wallace
1st Place Twin Fiddle- Annabel Wallace

-2006-
1st place: Twin Fiddle division Sam and Lauren Jones
2nd place: Tune Scramble division Johnny Brewer

Tucson Fiddle Contest, Tucson, AZ
-2009-
1st Place Guitar Accompaniment- Sam Jones

-2006-
1st and 2nd place: Pee Wee division John Brewer and Sam Jones
2nd place Jr division: Andrew Gallardo
4th and 5th place: Jr Jr division Brooke Boisvert and Nicole Lonchar
2nd place: Trick and Fancy division Lauren Jones
2nd place: Pee Wee Division, 2005- Rick Errhalt
3rd place: Pee Wee Division, 2005- Johnny Brewer

Avondale Fiddle Contest
Grand Champion: 2003- Andrew Gallardo