Betsy Brown started fiddling late in life. She had been amazed at the musicians who populated the
house parties where she lived in Austin. They sat in the back yard, knee to knee, fiddle and banjo, focused on the tune at hand. When she said she wanted to learn the fiddle one of them told her that she was already too old. Sadly, she believed him and put that dream aside. She was 29.
Betsy started contra dancing while in medical school and continued as she moved to Seattle for Residency. Summer would take her to the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes where she’d dance the night away. One afternoon she got to see David Cahn’s “Baby Band” play at the Band Lab concerts. These were adults who had never played before standing on stage and ripping on three tunes. She made up her mind to learn to fiddle and that decision changed her life.
Fiddle Tunes became an annual pilgrimage to the heart of the music. She learned the rhythmic twisty styles she loved from her favorite old geezers. Bob Douglas, Joe Thompson, JP Fraley, and Lee Stripling were friends and mentors. The community of old-time music became an integral part of her life with house concerts and travel to meet new friends throughout the country and beyond. One night a bearded banjo player named Jamie danced into her heart and they shared the next 22 ½ years of music and community. This scholarship is in recognition of the fact that it’s never too late to follow your dream. Life doesn’t always offer the time or resources to take up an instrument. We hope this award can give a bit of each and the support to continue. With a little luck and effort, it will change your life too.
“If I ever wanted to get even with someone, I’d give them a fiddle and 3 lessons.” – Frankie McWhorter
Have you ever been told by someone else, or the voice in your head, that you couldn’t play music? Or that you couldn’t sing? Then the Betsy Brown Memorial Scholarship might be for you. It’s open for all string band instruments, and the applicant needs to be 21 years of age or older.
The scholarship includes:
- Full tuition, room, and board to Fiddle Tunes.
- Use of a good instrument for 1 year.
- To the best of our ability, personal resources to connect with musicians at your level, in your geographic region.
If you apply, you promise the following:
- A commitment to practice every week of the year. Even when life gets in the way.
- To return the instrument after 1 year.
To apply, please answer the following questions.
- Are you currently part of a music or dance community?
- How often did you play music in the last 18 months?
- Do you aspire to play a specific kind of music?
- What instrument would you like to learn?
- Why do you want to do this?
Please email your answers with “Betsy Brown” in the subject line to peter@centrum dot org.