Chris Daring is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

primarily known for her work as a performer and teacher of the Texas style of

fiddling A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, ...

, a predominant style of fiddling in the United States. In 1996, she became the first woman to win the National Adult Old-Time Fiddle Championship. Daring's students include several champion fiddlers, and she was one of the first music teachers to work with students over the Internet, through the use of

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s and

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. Born Chris Vance in Hayti,

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, Daring's parents moved the family to the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb of Elgin,

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when she was six years old. Her father became a tool and die maker and her mother eventually became an executive with Knowles Electronics. Daring's grandfather, Travis Vance, was a minor country music recording artist who performed throughout the southeastern United States. She studied classical violin from grade school through high school. After mostly leaving the violin world behind to learn fiddling, Daring recorded an album in 1988 with the Nashville Superpickers on which she was featured as the solo artist. The Superpickers were award-winning solo musicians themselves and often provided the backup on

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

’ albums. According to the projects co-producer, this was the first time in 15 years the Superpickers name was authorized for use to someone other than Atkins. Notable Superpickers members appearing on this album included guitar player Jack Solomon and drummer

Roy Yeager Roy Yeager (born February 4, 1949) is an American musician and record producer. His musical career started off when he moved to Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 14. Yeager met Bobby Sowell in high school in 1964 and soon they were playing gig ...

Dale Morris Dale Morris (born 29 December 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Morris spent four years playing for Werribee Football Club in the Victorian Football Leagu ...

, the album's co-producer and the group's second fiddler, was the impetus for Daring's desire to learn to fiddle and her first teacher. Chris was also taught by Dale's brother, Terry Morris. In 1995, Daring was injured during a performance. She injured her neck and crushed the nerves in her left arm that control her left hand. As a result, she was forced to focus more on teaching than performing. Daring has taught fiddling at the

University of Colorado at Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado create ...

and the

University of Southern Colorado Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

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(now known as

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). As a teacher, Daring has been designated a Master Artist in fiddling by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

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. Many of her students have become state, regional, and national fiddling champions in their respective age groups. Daring's second album, released in 1997, included her husband and teenage children as accompanying musicians under the name Chris Daring and the Whole Nine Yards. The group provided music during the private dinner of eight world leaders and their wives at the conclusion of the

23rd G8 summit The 23rd G8 summit was held on June 20–22, 1997 in Denver, Colorado, United States. The venue was the newly constructed Denver Public Library in downtown Denver.Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MOFA) Summit Meetings in the Past./ref> The l ...

held in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1997.

References

External links

Official site
including procedures for online lessons
The Bow Genie
A patented invention by Daring to help fiddlers and violinists learn a correct bow hold.

as judge at Grand Lake National Fiddle Fest {{DEFAULTSORT:Daring, Chris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Hayti, Missouri American country fiddlers American country singer-songwriters American folk musicians Texas-style fiddlers People from Arvada, Colorado University of Colorado Denver faculty Singer-songwriters from Missouri Country musicians from Missouri Singer-songwriters from Colorado Women fiddlers