The Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club is for people who love Scottish fiddle music - whether you play it, want to learn it, or just like listening.

Monthly meetings take place in the Greater Washington area from October through May, usually on second Sundays. Meetings begin with a workshop taught by former US National Scottish Fiddle Champion Elke Baker, an internationally recognized Scottish Fiddling instructor and scholar. New tunes are taught both by ear and from written music. We then take a break for a potluck dinner, and follow it with a lively jam session. All levels of musicians, and all instruments, are welcome. Beginners will find the workshop useful, and advanced players will enjoy trading tunes at the session.

Sheet music of the tunes taught at each workshop, professionally printed and with chords, is provided at every monthly meeting and mailed to members who can't attend. The music comes from a wide variety of sources, old and new, published and unpublished, and by the end of each year members have collected a book of Scottish tunes unavailable anywhere else.  Book I contains tunes from the 1993-1994 year and a new book has been added each year. The tunes taught at each workshop focus on a particular theme. The themes from the 2011-2012 year were:

Tunes Every Scottish Fiddler Should Know

Tunes from Gow's 4th Collection

Tunes from the Glengarry Collection

Scots Measures

Tunes from Wales played in Scotland

Dancing Jigs from Diverse Sources

The music of James Scott Skinner

Tunes that are just fun!

The StrathPotomac Fiddler, our monthly newsletter, arrives via e-mail, containing Fiddle Club news; a Calendar of Events of interest to anyone who likes Scottish music; reviews of Scottish concerts, books, and recordings; essays; bonus tunes; information about Scottish fiddle camps, schools, and competitions.

The Fiddle Club has performed at the Washington Folk Festival, the Potomac Celtic Festival, the Virginia Scottish Games, the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, and for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.

The Fiddle Club sponsors several additional events each year, at which members may receive discounts, including workshops with guest fiddlers, performances at festivals and dances, concerts and The Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Competition at the Virginia Scottish Games. Guest instructors have included:

  • Scottish fiddle master Alasdair Fraser
  • Cape Breton fiddle legend Buddy MacMaster
  • Boston Scottish Fiddle Club director Ed Pearlman
  • Australian fiddler Catherine Fraser
  • Guitarist Tony Cuffe (formerly of Ossian)
  • Shetland fiddler Catriona Macdonald
  • Accordionist Ian Lowthian

The Fiddle Club hosts an annual Scottish Country Dance party in Glen Echo, MD, where members serve as the dance band, with the musical selections chosen from Fiddle Club's repertoire, and is widely attended by dancers throughout the region.

Participation in Fiddle Club performances is open to all members. Rehearsals are scheduled outside of the monthly meetings, and music for the performances is drawn from current year's Fiddle Club music.


For more information, contact Elke Baker or Becky Ross at:
info (at) potomacvalleyscottishfiddle.org


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FIDDLE CLUB is a 501(c)3 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION promoting awareness of Scottish music and connected educational and cultural activities and welcomes your support in the form of a tax-deductible charitable contribution, whether or not you choose to be a member.