Of his 1998 Merkin Hall performance the New York Times wrote, “Mr. Carlson is a demon fiddler and his performance here was serious and concentrated.” Andy Carlson has earned both a MM and BMUS from the University of Georgia and a DMA in Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras including The Columbus Symphony, The Huntington West Virginia Symphony, The Hendersonville NC Symphony, The Ohio Valley Symphony, The Newark-Granville Symphony, The Columbus Youth Symphony, The Ottumwa Iowa Symphony, and The University of Iowa Symphony. In 2012 he was named the concertmaster of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. Andy has studied violin with Leopold LaFosse and Thomas Joiner and conducting with James Dixon.
An active teacher, Andy has served as a faculty member at Denison University, Morehead State University and the Preucil School of Music. He has also been a faculty member at Suzuki institutes including Ithaca, NY, The University of Memphis, Capital University, Fairbanks Alaska, and South Carolina (Furman University). He serves as the co-conductor of the Wintergrass Youth Orchestra in Bellevue, WA each year, writing and conducting arrangements and backing many of the most prominent artists in bluegrass and acoustic music. He has presented numerous times at the national American String Teachers’ Association (ASTA) and for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s “World of Bluegrass” conference in Raleigh, NC.
Currently, Andy is Visiting Professor of Violin and Coordinator of the Furman Symphony Orchestra at Furman University in Greenville, SC.
In addition to his experience as a classical violinist, Andy began learning traditional fiddle music from his grandfather at age 5. He has won numerous fiddle contests and has twice been named the Georgia State Champion Fiddler and was named the 2000 Ohio Grand Champion fiddler. He has published a book for Mel Bay entitled A Guide to American Fiddling and has composed and published arrangements of American folk tunes for string orchestra with String Letter Publishing. As a studio musician and string arranger he has recorded for companies including Warner Bros., Atlantic, Elektra, Geffen, Polydor, and Capricorn. He has appeared with artists including R.E.M., Nanci Griffith, The Cowboy Junkies, Uncle Tupelo, and Billy Bragg. He has also recorded three CDs with his bluegrass band, The Andy Carlson Band.
In addition to his experience as a classical violinist, Andy began learning traditional fiddle music from his grandfather at age 5. He has won numerous fiddle contests and has twice been named the Georgia State Champion Fiddler and was named the 2000 Ohio Grand Champion fiddler. He has published a book for Mel Bay entitled A Guide to American Fiddling and has composed and published arrangements of American folk tunes for string orchestra with String Letter Publishing. As a studio musician and string arranger he has recorded for companies including Warner Bros., Atlantic, Elektra, Geffen, Polydor, and Capricorn. He has appeared with artists including R.E.M., Nanci Griffith, The Cowboy Junkies, Uncle Tupelo, and Billy Bragg. He has also recorded three CDs with his bluegrass band, The Andy Carlson Band.
In His Own Words
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