about the violin

Golden Fiddle Awards 2025

Editorial

BILL CHAMBERS
PIXIE’S NEW FIDDLE

The 2025 annual Golden Fiddle Awards Show in Tamworth has scored top marks in the audience feedback survey conducted by the show’s venue, the Capitol Theatre. 

The result augurs well for a top event for January 2026, which will be the 25th annual Golden Fiddle show. 

The show, held on 24 January last, received a score of 10 out of 10 from most participants, with the lowest score of 7. The Golden Fiddle team, as well as its major sponsor, Epoch Musical Instruments are delighted with the result, remarking that it justifies the enormous logistics effort of assembling a diverse collection of fiddle and supporting talents every year.

Reasons given for the high ratings included: ‘Superb show. Amazing talent’, ‘The production was heaps of fun’, Great music, great venue and well received by the whole audience’, and ‘Overall a great show’.

And in stark contrast to the many over-amplified gigs at the Country Music Festival, Golden Fiddle patrons showed their appreciation with these comments –  ‘Quieter than most’, and ‘Not too loud’.

For those who want to relive the unforgettable moments of the evening, check out the winners here, and make sure to peruse the incredible images captured during this year’s concert here. These stunning visuals encapsulate the joy and talent that filled the air, serving as a reminder of the vibrant culture that the Tamworth Country Music Festival fosters year after year.

10 interesting facts about the violin

10 interesting facts about the violin

10 interesting facts about the fiddle or violin
10 interesting facts about the fiddle or violin

Here are some facts about the fiddle you might find interesting:

  1. The modern violin has been around for roughly 500 years. It was said to have been designed in the 1500’s by Andrea Amati.
  2. Playing the violin burns approximately 170 calories per hour. Forget about your workout and start practicing harder!
  3. Violins are typically comprised of spruce or maple wood.
  4. Violins come in many different sizes. Typically, students will start learning violin at a young age with a 1/32 or 1/16 size violin. As the student ages they will graduate up to a full sized violin.
  5. Violins are very complex. Over 70 different pieces of wood are put together to form the modern violin.
  6. The word violin comes from the Medieval Latin word vitula, meaning stringed instrument;
  7. The world record in cycling backwards playing a violin is 60.45 kilometres in 5 hours 8 seconds.
  8. The most expensive violin in the world was made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1741. This extravagant violin was appraised with a value of $18 million.
  9. Violin bows typically contain 150 to 200 hairs. They can be made up of  a variety of materials including nylon and horse hair.
  10. Violin strings were first made of sheep gut (commonly known as catgut), which was stretched, dried, and twisted. Other materials violin strings have been made out of include: solid steel, stranded steel, or various synthetic materials, wound with various metals, and sometimes plated with silver.