10-year-old is a fiddling phenom!
FULSHEAR, TEXAS -- When McKenna Peterson plucks away at her fiddle, you can't help tapping your feet!
The 10-year-old from Fulshear, Texas, first started violin lessons when she three-and-a-half years old. By the time was five, she was practicing Texas-style fiddling.
"I first started competing when I was six years old," said McKenna. "When I stand in front of people I get nervous, but when I'm on stage I start having fun."
McKenna has now been competing around the country for four years, including a prestigious title she earned this summer! She competed at the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest in Weiser, Idaho, beating out dozens of other young musicians from around the country for the title of National Junior-Junior Fiddle Champion.
"When they called my name, I was so shocked," said McKenna. "I was so surprised I actually got first. It was just a dream come true."
For McKenna, being a musician runs in the family.
"We're three generations of musicians," said Aimee Peterson, McKenna's mom.
McKenna's Grampy, a retired music teacher, backs her up on the guitar when she plays her fiddle, and on the piano when she plays violin. She also likes to twin fiddle with her mom.
"One of my favorite things is when we play together," said Aimee. "It gives me such joy to be able to share music with my daughter. I just hope it will be something that she will carry with her throughout her life and continue to love."
In addition to winning a national title this summer, McKenna also won a scholarship to attend the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival in Franklin, Tennessee, and defended her title as the Junior-Junior champion at the Twin Lakes Fiddle Contest in Litchfield, Kentucky. She was also accepted into the Houston Youth Symphony's Simfonia Orchestra.
"One of the things I like about fiddle contests is all the friends I meet and how they're all around the country," said McKenna. "I call them my fiddle friends."
Check out the video above to see McKenna's incredible talent - including trick fiddling!
