Jeri Foreman has been announced today as the recipient of the 2016 Australian Bluegrass Scholarship. This award was established in 2011 by Hamish and Lachlan Davidson to encourage singers and musicians who demonstrate talent, dedication and leadership in the field of bluegrass music.
Foreman has been fiddling she was a girl of three, and currently performs with several different acts in Australia.
The Australian Bluegrass Scholarship site recounts a number of other awards and projects in Jeri’s brief history in music.
She received the Young Traditionalists Award at the Victor Harbour Folk Festival (2000 & 2001) and the Most Outstanding New or Emerging Artist/Group in the Folk Federation of SA Folk Awards (2007 & 2008). As a tune writer, Jeri was awarded the 2014 Golden Fiddle Award for Best Composition. She has been an enthusiastic member of the folk community for many years and was the Young Performers’ Coordinator on the Fleurieu Folk Festival Committee (2008-2013).
Jeri is currently co-creating teaching resources, presentations and lesson plans, to introduce the teaching of bluegrass and traditional music in South Australian schools, in order to stimulate excitement and engage more young musicians for the future. On a side note, Jeri recently played fiddle at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Melbourne.
The Scholarship brings a $1500 cash prize from The Davidson Brothers and a two-day recording package at Pacific International Music in Queensland.
Congratulations to Jeri, and hats off to The Davidson Brothers for fostering the continued growth of bluegrass down under.
