Cecilia Vacanti

Cecilia Vacanti is a multi-style fiddler and classically trained violinist based in Boston, MA. She plays fiddle music for dances, and has a strong foundation in pop, rock and jazz, as well as in improvisation and tune-writing. She grew up in a musical family in Syracuse, New York. She was given her first violin for Christmas when she was 7 years old, and in high school she discovered folk festivals and fiddle camps. In 2015, Cecilia spent a year living in Hungary through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, where she attended the Kodály music conservatory high school, and studied violin with Ittzés Tamás.  
    In 2020, Cecilia graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she majored in violin performance with a focus on American Roots music. She studied fiddle styles with legendary fiddlers Darol Anger and Bruce Molsky, as well as jazz with Jason Anick, and world music with Simon Shaheen and Eugene Friessen. Cecilia is currently continuing her studies with acclaimed fiddler and jazz violinist Jeremy Kittel.
    Cecilia’s distinctive sound and imaginative improvisation keeps her in demand in the singer-songwriter scene and a sought-after collaborator for folk dances all over the Northeast. She was a founding member of indie-folk group Old Tom & the Lookouts, and she currently plays in the electrifying Boston-based contra dance band Kingfisher, which performs regularly and tours nationally. She also has extensive experience playing in classical symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, string quartets and solo violin settings. Cecilia has shared stages with Aoife O’Donovan, I’m With Her, Lucius, Trey Anastasio, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, Simon Shaheen, and the 8-Bit Big Band.
    Cecilia’s recent debut solo album, Earth’s Dark Shore, presents a fresh collection of original music influenced by the contemporary acoustic string-band genre, and features an impressive cast of musicians from the New England music scene.

Awards

Fletcher-Bright Endowed Scholarship 2018

Gear

1966 Edward Pietch violin

Audio-Technica Pro35 clip-on condenser mic

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