22 Jan Coletrain Music Academy Student Rowan Lerch Wins Second Place at Colorado Fiddle Championships
We are so proud of this hardworking student who recently participated in his first fiddle competition! AND he took second place! We hope you’ll find time to check out Rowan’s concert and feature published in The Mountain Mail.
Check out the full article HERE:
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“Salida can boast its own fiddle prodigy, 9-year-old Rowan Lerch, who placed second in the Novice Division of the Colorado Fiddle Championships, held Jan. 11 and 12 at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
It was Rowan’s first competition. He said he first picked up a violin when he was 3 years old, because he liked “that it sounds beautiful, and it’s (different) from other instruments. You play it on the shoulder.”
Rowan said he was nervous about the competition but feels really good about his placement. He said he practices about five days a week.
His teacher, Coleman Smith, founder of Coletrain Music Academy, said Rowan joined the academy about four years ago and came with approximately one year experience playing.
Smith said Rowan is hardworking and enjoys a variety of different genres, such as classical, swing and jazz.
“(Rowan) is very special in the fact he knows what he likes at such a young age. He likes violin, giving performances and seeing the joy it brings other people,” Smith said.
Rowan said his teacher is his favorite fiddle player, and he is thankful to his parents, Alison and Andy Lerch, for signing him up for the competition.
His sister, Eva, 7, also trains with Smith. She will be ready to join her brother at the Colorado Fiddle Championships competition next year.
The siblings have been attending bluegrass music festivals their whole lives, and Smith said their accomplishments can be partially attributed to the support the siblings receive from their parents.
“(Alison and Andy) foster music appreciation with workshops in and around Colorado and allow him to make it a career in the future if he wants,” Smith said.