Winning ways
By Ronald Bond - Argus Observer
Friday, June 22, 2007 10:51 AM PDT
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| Fiddle festival contestants (from left) Tristan Clarridge, Hanneke Cassel, Tashina Clarridge and Luke Price take some time to practice at their campsite Thursday in Weiser. Between them, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge have won the last five National Grand Championships at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival. |
Weiser - The Clarridge family from California has become a dominant force at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival in Weiser the past five years, as Tristan and Tashina Clarridge have combined to win the last five national grand championships.
Tristan Clarridge has won the title four times and is the reigning champion from the 2006 festival. Tashina Clarridge, his sister, claimed the top prize in 2005.
But when talk swirled about the prospects of bringing the title home for the sixth straight year, or of Tristan Clarridge possibly claiming his record-tying fifth title, neither said that was their main focus going into the competition.
Instead, both said they just wanted to come and enjoy the festival, play well and let whatever happens happen.
“It’d be fun (to win),” Tristan Clarridge said, adding, however, it will not bother him if he does not win.
“It’s fun to see someone else win it too,” he said. “Honestly, it’s fun to (just) compete. There’s a lot of people (here) who are really great friends of ours. No one is really uptight about it. There’s no telling how it will come out.”
Both have enjoyed ample success at numerous competitions, and it all stems from having started at a young age.
Each started taking lessons at age 2, began competing shortly after, and have been coming to Weiser to compete for 15 years.
“Our mom just wanted us to play an instrument,” Tashina Clarridge said. “I really enjoyed it.”
She added, however, getting her to practice at times was a challenge, and her mom would sometimes go to extremes to get her in the practice room.
“I wasn’t a really good student, but my mom would threaten to sell (the fiddle),” she said.
So she kept on playing, and the accolades speak for themselves.
She won the junior-junior competition at age 12, and entered in the grand champion competition the following year, just missing out on the top 10.
She has enjoyed several top 10 finishes since then, including her first-place finish two years ago.
“That was a lot of work,” she said of winning the title. “It was fun and exciting.”
Tristan Clarridge has enjoyed just as much success as his older sister at Weiser.
He claimed top prize in the small fry division at age 8, and took second in the junior-junior as a 12-year-old, missing out on the title by one point.
He entered the grand champion division the next year, placing 10th, and claimed his first title at age 15 in 2002.
He also credited their mom for a big part of the success, especially with her getting them involved when they were young.
“That was one of Mom’s things was getting us exposed at an early age,” he said.
With the national grand championships to be settled today and tomorrow, many would think either of the Clarridge’s would be the favorites to take home the trophy, but don’t tell that to either of them.
“If I get in the top 10 I’ll be happy,” Tashina Clarridge said. “If I play some good tunes, (and) if I can play anything that has good flow, I’ll be happy.”
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