Weaverville – Lillian Chase of Weaverville has been named the winner of a $3,000 scholarship presented by the Weaverville Music Study Club.In the fall, she will enroll at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, to major in music performance and minor in roots music.
Lillian is the daughter of John and Laura Chase of Weaverville and is a recent graduate with high honors from the Buncombe County Virtual Academy. She has studied fiddle with the late Arvil Freeman, a legendary Weaverville fiddler and teacher, as well as Bobby Hicks, Roger Howell, Michael Ismerio, Brittany Haas, Bruce Molsky, and others.When she was 13, she recorded a CD with several musical friends called “Playing Favorites.”
She has studied classical violin with Dr. Emily Schaad of Asheville and Dr. David Novak of East Tennessee State University. Lillian has been a member of the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Carolina Youth Symphony at Furman University in Greenville, SC.
She has performed at Merlefest, the North Carolina Museum of History, Weaverville’s Music in the Park, The Bluff Mountain Festival, and at other venues, and last fall she performed with the Square Deal Band at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual festival in Raleigh. She has often performed with her sister, Sara Nell, playing string bass. Lillian will be on an East Coast tour this summer with Willie Watson and his band.
The Weaverville Music Study Club, with Harriet Burnette as president, was formed in 1941 for the purpose of presenting free concerts of all types of music for the Weaverville audience. The club also sponsors regular performances of Handel’s “Messiah.” Free will offerings at concerts and donations form the basis for the scholarship fund. The $3,000 North Buncombe Music Scholarship award was the largest scholarship ever given by the club. In past years, the club has supported young musicians of all types in their continuing studies.