Meetings with guest musicians are held about six times a year at Seman Violins in Skokie, offering the opportunity to sit up close to a performance by a guest fiddler, and then to join in a jam session with a few tunes led by the guest. Learn the tunes ahead of time at the Fiddle Club of the World blog. Sign up for the email list (http://eepurl.com/V8oWD)
The Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Cha
pter) was convened by Paul Tyler in 2008 under auspices of education programs at the Old Town School of Folk Music. In just over six years, 44 Artist Meetings have been held featuring fiddlers and other traditional musicians from 8 countries, 16 U.S. states, and over a dozen distinct ethnic traditions and musical styles. Nearly all of these meetings were held off-campus with administrative and fiscal support from the Old Town School of Folk Music. Since June 2013, the Fiddle Club’s operations have become independent from the Old Town School. All meetings since January 2013 have been held in a space provided gratis by Seman Violins in Skokie. Open and free jam sessions for members and friends have been held monthly or bimonthly for most of the Fiddle Club’s existence. These have all been held at one or another local bar, off-campus from both the Old Town School and Seman Violins. The Club has also sponsored two old-time barn dances, with club members providing the music. And Fiddle Club of the World was the formal sponsor of the Midwest Fiddle Championship from 2009 through 2015. In 2012, a Battle of the Bands was added, which Fiddle Club still organizes. The Championship (now, in 2016, the 14th Annual Midwest Fiddle & Banjo Championship) and the Battle are both held at the Square Roots Festival, which is produced by the Old Town School and the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce.
