Chicago Folk & Roots Festival - 2006

Sunday, July 9th 2006

4th Annual Midwest Invitational Fiddle Championship

sponsored by Seman Violins

The fourth annual Midwest Invitational Fiddle Championship, sponsored by the Old Town School of Folk Music and Seman Violins, was decided on Sunday July 9 on the main stage of the Old Town School’s Chicago Folk & Roots Festival. The winner was the team of fiddler Genevieve Harrison and banjoist Smith Koester. They were accompanied on guitar by Paul Harnik. Harrison, from downstate Charleston, and Koester, a native of Kansas, currently reside in Chicago.

The final round of the Championship involved five fiddle teams chosen by a panel of judges at the invitational round held on July 6th in Lincoln Square. The other finalists included the fiddle team of Maggie Danaher and Kristen Bern, whose Irish jigs and reels won them second place. They were accompanied by Matt Danaher on guitar. Third place went to the fiddle team of Jordan Wankoff and Michelle Utzeroth, accompanied by Walter Hojka on piano, for a performance of an Irish air and an old time square dance tune. The team of Katie Bern on fiddle and Matt Danaher on mandolin came in fourth with their renditions of bluegrass and swing. They were accompanied by Mike Church on guitar. Fifth place went to the Cajun fiddle team of Will and Holly Whedbee, who played an unaccompanied waltz and a two-step.  Except for the Berns and Danahers, who hail from Palos Heights, all the finalists were residents of Chicago.

Also performing on the Folk & Roots main stage were the three winners in the Youth Division, new to the Midwest Invitational Fiddle Championship for 2006. First prize went to Liam Perlstein of Evanston, Illinois.  He was accompanied by his father Bob on banjo. Second place in the Youth Division went to the fiddle team from the Music House on Chicago’s north side. The team included seven young fiddlers, a flautist and a guitarist. Finishing in third place was the fiddle team of Bryan and Alyssa Mulhearn of Washington, Missouri.  They were accompanied on guitar by the contest organizer, Paul Tyler.

The prize ribbons for the three Youth Division winners were awarded at the invitational round on July 6th.  Five youth finalists and two adult teams had advanced from a student round held at the Old Town School in early June. The outdoor affair in Lincoln Square featured a total of eighteen entries representing a variety of fiddling traditions. Prize money was awarded to all the winners, with Harrison and Koester receiving the top prize of $500.