Judges
Kristen Tourville
Kristen Tourville received her Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University in 2005. While in Nashville , TN , she studied under fiddlers Buddy Spicher, Bobby Hicks, Randy Elmore, Mark Wood, Daniel Carwile, and Crystal Plohman and founded the Vanderbillies, a bluegrass fiddling trio. Kristen has performed around the Nashville music scene and has played on the Grand Ole Opry with Ray Price, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Asleep At The Wheel. She has instructed privately for over 8 years and taught workshops at several fiddle camps. When she is not touring with Ray Price, Kristen teaches at the Wyatt Violin Shop in Independence , Missouri .
Sharon Goldwasser
Sharon 's fiddling brings lift and a genuine Irish style to the Round the House concert stage. Her main focus for the past decade has been unlocking the intricacies of Irish fiddle, and she includes variations, bow triplets and rolls in her playing. She relishes finding rare and unusual tunes, but has also written several tunes, including a lovely slip jig, which is currently being played by several feis musicians around the country. Sharon appreciates the tradition of knowing about the tune as well as playing it, and she shares the background stories and anecdotes on stage, to the delight of our audiences.
In addition to playing with Round the House, Sharon is the founder and co-host of the Tucson Irish session and she regularly plays at the old time/contra dance jam. She has long been appreciated as an enthusiastic and accomplished contra dance musician in Tucson. Sharon also teaches workshops and helps lead sessions at the Sharlot Hall Music Festival and the Tucson Folk Festival. She especially enjoys playing for Irish step dancers and for ceilis. She also plays mandolin, and has picked up a tin whistle from time to time. In September, 2006, Sharon was awarded a Professional Development Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. This grant funded a week of intensive study of fiddle style and technique with Randal Bays in June 2007, in Whidbey Island, Washington State.
Proceeds benefit the Cochise County Youth Orchestra
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