Lyndsay Pruett
Fiddle Faculty

Lyndsay Pruett is a freelance fiddle player/teacher in Asheville, NC. She belongs to several bands and ensembles because she enjoys the way different songwriters and musicians draw her voice out in new ways. Lyndsay has spent her 28 years as a violinist/fiddler developing an individual voice on the violin. She manages to compliment others' music and add striking color to the music through her improvisations and textural playing. Making the violin speak as a voice is of utmost priority for Lyndsay, yet she knows how to play in a way that guides the listener's ear to what is important in a song and support the musicians around her.

 

Lyndsay grew up in Jacksonville, FL, daughter to Steve Pruett, an accomplished bluegrass mandolin and guitar player. However, when he convinced Lyndsay to pick up the violin at age 10 (she had previously been an accomplished competitive clogger), it was not bluegrass that she wished to learn, but classical music. She pursued a fervent study of classical music, and became the concertmistress of the School of the Arts orchestra and later on, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra. It was through the JSYO that she won two consecutive concerto competitions. The second one, at age 17, awarded her the honor of performing the 1st movement of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in e minor with the Jacksonville Symphony, and remains one of the fondest musical memories of her young life.

Around the same time, Lyndsay was influenced by other musicians in her family and began to just play, without the constraints of notes on a page. By the time she headed to college, she was sure that the path of a classical musician was not for her, but she still wanted to study the violin. She attended Belmont University in Nashville, TN, inspired by the opportunity to study both jazz and classical violin. She studied with jazz violinist Tracy Silverman and classical violinist Elisabeth Small, two very influential people in her life.

Lyndsay's seven years in Nashville laid the groundwork for her as a freelance fiddler. She played with anyone and everyone that she could, challenging herself with all kinds of music. Her musical collaborations include Futureman and the Black Mozart Ensemble, and Texas songwriter, Joshua Irwin.

Since relocating to Asheville in 2009, Lyndsay has become one of the area's most prolific and versatile fiddlers. She is a member of the Jon Stickley Trio.

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