Conservatory Student Fiddles Her Way to National Honor

While most musicians prefer peace and quiet when rehearsing show pieces, Meredith Hudock '16 asked her studio instructors to distract her as she practiced for this year's National Scottish Fiddling Competition.

Last year, Hudock remembers flash photography and theater light disruptions affecting her performance at the competition. This year, she prepared for any and all distractions that may had come her way.

"They [her instructors] would talk while I was playing, take pictures with flash, slam doors, switch on and off lights, and even come up on the stage I was playing on and dance around me," Hudock said. "I knew that if I could play through all that, I could play through anything!"

This unique preparation method paid off.

Hudock won second place at the 2015 National Scottish Fiddling Competition in the Edinboro Highland Games & Scottish Festival in Edinboro, Pa. A senior Violin Performance major in the Conservatory of Music, Hudock points back to the support she has received at BW to her success.

"While I was touring other colleges in high school, professors would give me the weirdest looks whenever I said the words 'Scottish fiddler,'" Hudock said. "When I visited BW and said I was a Scottish fiddler, they welcomed me with open arms." 

With this impressive achievement to add to her resume, Hudock hopes to earn a master's degree in Scottish fiddling from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow after BW graduation.

"Even though I do a variety of alternative styles, I always come back to Scottish music," Hudock said. "I hope to continue to teach and perform Scottish fiddle so the music tradition stays alive for many years to come."