This past weekend, the 53rd running of the Grand Master Fiddler Championship was hosted in Franklin, TN, bringing in fiddlers from all over the US to compete for that most cherished prize of Grand Master.
Throughout the day, a number of awards were presented, and live music was provided between the competitions by Mark & Maggie O’Connor. Mark was named Grand Master more than once in the 1980s, and placed in the top three several times more in his day.
Prizes are awarded in both an Open and a Youth Championship, and for the accompanists who support the contestants on stage.
And the 2024 winners are:
Open Championship
- Ridge Roberts – Texas
- Trustin Baker – Missouri
- Jesse Maw – North Carolina
- Dennis Ludiker – Texas
- Monte Gaylord – Oklahoma
- Aria Stiles – Tennessee
- Miles Quale – California
- Marty Elmore – Texas
- Kerry Varble – Ohio
- Ranelle Dietrich – Arizona
- Nat Copeland – North Carolina
- Diana Dawydchak – Canada
- Jake Duncan – Oklahoma
- Noah Goebel – Kentucky
- Andrew Lin – Kentucky
- Jason Andrew – Texas
- Benjamin Lin – Kentucky
- Leo Stock – Canada
- Joel Whittinghill – Kentucky
- Bill Jones – Tennessee
Youth Championship
- Tristan Paskvan – Texas
- Sarah Hathaway – Kentucky
- McKenna Petersen – Texas
- Brie Dietrich – Arizona
- Summer Edgington – Tennessee
- Luke Moody – Texas
- Sawyer Dietrich – Arizona
- Isley Dietrich – Arizona
- Liam Farley – West Virginia
- Kadence Edgington – Tennessee
Accompanist Championship
- Todd Varble – Ohio
- Terry Barnett – Alabama
- Kerry Varble – Ohio
Well done and congratulations all!
The Dr. Perry F. Harris Distinguished Fiddler Award was presented to bluegrass and country fiddler, and former Grand Master, Jimmy Mattingly.
The Charlie Bush Traditional Fiddler Performance Award was given to Marty Elmore.
Also awarded was the Matthew Thomas Lin Scholarship, which went to Naomi Dornfeld. This scholarship is named in honor of the young fiddler, Matthew Lin, who died tragically at 19 years of age following surgery in 2020. He was a regular competitor at the Grand Master Fiddle Championship, and they manage the scholarship in tribute to his talent and passion for life through donations made for this purpose.
Further details about this prestigious event and their many programs can be found online.
