Judges

Donna Hébert

     Donna Hébert has fiddling in her genes. The daughter of a Franco-American banjo-playing mom who sang in a cowgirl quartet in the '30s and '40s, Donna heard jigs and reels at family gatherings. In high school she played Mozart, sharing a stand with concert violinist Elmar Oliveira. Fiddling's pull was stronger; since 1972, Hébert has learned from master folk fiddlers in a variety of regional styles as well as from classical and jazz violinists. She has received awards from media and recording industry organizations, national, state and regional arts organizations and recognizing her as a master fiddler, music educator and fiddling pioneer.

     Donna is a 2008 Massachusetts Artists' Fellow in the Folk Arts, a merit award given by the Massachusetts Cultural Council to "recognize exceptional work and to support the further development of talent." Donna was also named a Creative Teaching Partner in fiddling in 2007 by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. This allows Donna to bring her Fiddling Demystified for Strings program into Massachusetts schools through the Council's Creative Schools Program. Teaching individuals and groups, she has taught for schools, colleges, conferences, festivals and summer camps.

     On the 2006 faculty at Mark O'Connor's San Diego Strings Conference, she met and worked with California jazz cellist Renata Bratt, with whom she now teaches fiddle/cello-focused Fiddling Demystified workshops. Donna is currently transcribing, teaching and performing the tunes and settings of her late Franco-American fiddling mentor, Louis Beaudoin. Donna's participatory program for school-age string and wind players, The Great Groove Band, is in its 9th year at the Old Songs Festival in Altamont NY and in it's third year at the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

http://www.dhebert.com/