Come and learn about Norwegian fiddlers, fiddles, and fiddle tunes in the Upper Midwest from Beth Hoven Rotto.

Beth Hoven Rotto is the project consultant and guest curator for the Vesterheim exhibition Hand Me Down the Fiddle: Norwegian Fiddlers, Fiddles, and Fiddle Tunes in the Upper Midwest. Beth apprenticed with renowned fiddler Bill Sherburne of Spring Grove, Minnesota, in the 1980s. This seminal experience was preceded by a BA degree in Scandinavian Studies at Luther College.

In 2018, Beth was part of a project featuring Norwegian-American fiddler Ole Hendricks, which included a recording and presentations. In 2019-2020 she was a fellow of the American Scandinavian Foundation, studying Norwegian-born fiddler Johan Arndt Mostad and his tune books. She organized a group to arrange and perform selections from that collection, and the group’s concert of Mostad’s music can be viewed on Vesterheim’s YouTube channel. In 2022, she was Musician-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and worked extensively with historic recordings in the Mills Music Library, transcribing and sharing her work with an ensemble formed of university and community members. She is also fiddler with the Decorah-area band Foot-Notes.

This event is presented in connection with the exhibit Hand Me Down the Fiddle: Norwegian Fiddlers, Fiddles, and Fiddle Tunes in the Upper Midwest open at Vesterheim August 15, 2024 – May 18, 2025.

The exhibition and events are supported by a Scandinavian Folk Arts & Cultural Traditions in the Upper Midwest grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) and a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from Carol Birkland and Tom Woxland, and Peter Dahlen and Mary S. Carlsen.