In recent years The Saline Fiddlers have performed along every ocean coast in the continental United States and have been to Saline’s sister city of Lindenberg, Germany and Ann Arbor's sister city of Tübingen, Germany. This year they will be crossing the ocean once again to serve as Saline’s ambassadors in the British Isles, including Saline’s original sister city of Brecon, Wales. You can help them get there by donating to the tour or by simply voting in the United Bank & Trust’s Favorite Non-Profit Contest to help them win $1200! Details of the contest are below.
In case you don't know, the Saline Fiddlers is America's premier youth fiddling show band. The members are all High School students from the Saline, Michigan area. They blend traditional and nontraditional fiddle tunes with a philharmonic size wave of sound. Across the globe and even the White House (three times) their fusion of folk, bluegrass, mountain music, western swing, Celtic, jazz, pop and American classics starts toes tapping and hands clapping.
The Saline Fiddlers will be departing from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and will arrive in Manchester, England on June 26 and return on July 10th.
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The first place the Fiddlers will head is north to Ayr, Scotland - home of the world famous Ayrshire Fiddlers which is a group similar in mission to the Saline Fiddlers. The two groups exchanged hosting arrangements back in the 1990's and are eager to perform together again this summer. The Saline Fiddlers has also scheduled a joint event with another school age based group in Edinburgh, Scotland called the Lothian Schools Strathspey and Reel Society. Both of the Scottish groups are dedicated to the Scottish style of fiddling.
After Scotland, the Fiddlers will head to travel to Rochdale, not far from Manchester, England. There will be several performances in that area along with a workshop for young string players. The people hosting and presenting the Fiddlers in Rochdale first contacted the Saline Fiddlers last year through the group’s website, commending the Fiddlers on the group’s music that they had viewed on You Tube. In response, the Fiddlers told the Rochdale contacts that they intended to visit the U.K. the summer of 2013. This surprise contact has snowballed into a huge welcome and more offers to perform in England than the Fiddlers know what to do with!
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The tour will then find Saline’s ambassadors in a place very dear to them. The Saline Fiddlers will be representing their hometown of Saline, Michigan, and ultimately the entire United States when they visit Saline’s original sister city of Brecon, Wales. The Saline-Brecon friendship, or "twinning" as it is called in the U.K., started in the 1966 and many delegations have traveled back and forth between the cities for more than forty years.
Scheduled performances will include Brecon's Theatre Brycheiniog which is a modern theatre and community hub and is the first solar powered theatre in Wales. The Fiddlers will also go to Cardiff, the capitol of Wales, where they will perform at the Wales Millennium Centre which is the most frequently visited tourist attraction in the country. Additional performances will take place at the Brecon Cathedral which dates back to 1093 A.D. and the Mountain Centre in Brecon Beacons National Park.
The Saline Fiddlers are sure to make many friends and do much sightseeing along the way including a climb up the highest peak in South Wales and southern Britain, the Pen Y Fan Mountain, and of course a visit to the great city of London!
The Saline Fiddlers are accepting donations to help with the cost of this trip but you can also help by voting for them in the United Bank and Trust online voting contest for your favorite non-profit to win $1200. A non-profit in each of four counties will be awarded $1200 each if they get the most votes. You can vote every day until 4:00pm April 30th and the Saline Fiddlers ask that you consider voting for their contest support partners in the three other counties; Croswell Opera House in Lenawee, The Arc in Livingston (advocating for people with disabilities) and Holiday Camp in Monroe County (summer programming for Monroe County youth with disabilities). It only takes a few seconds and you need only provide your email address. United Bank and Trust Vote here https://www.ubat.com/120info/
To learn more about the Saline Fiddlers, a 501c(3) music education and performance organization or to make a donation, visit their website at http://www.salinefiddlers.com/ or call 866-257-5333