Madeline Dierauf, fiddler and vocalist with The Wilder Flower, was celebrated this week with the Key to the City in her hometown of Brevard, NC, along with a proclamation announcing this as Madeline Dierauf Week in Brevard.
The distinction came her way not only for her many years excelling both musically and academically, but for receiving the signal honor of being named one of 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States in 2025.
A recent graduate of Davidson College, and a previous graduate of Brevard High School, citizens and municipal officials in the western North Carolina community feel as though they have watched Madeline grow up on stage. She had begun performing at age 14, and studied fiddle with mentors like Beanie O’Dell, Ellen Lee at the Mountain School of Strings, and Nicky Sanders of The Steep Canyon Rangers.
Twice she has won the South Carolina State Fiddling Championship, and released her debut solo EP, Walk On By, in 2020. Madeline has been in the studio supporting other artists many times, and has appeared on recent releases from The Wilder Flower and US Celtic artists, The East Coasters.
Each year the Rhodes Trust, a British organization established by 19th century mining magnate Cecil J. Rhodes, awards scholarships to exceptional American students for two years of study at Oxford University, which can be extended to a third.
Madeline plans to pursue a masters degree at Oxford in English and American Studies, and another in Philosophical Theology.
She also has a deep love for Celtic fiddle music, so perhaps Dierauf will have the opportunity to spend some time in Ireland and Scotland to perfect those skills as well.
Many congratulations to Madeline Dierauf for these many accomplishments and laurels!
