Mary Vanorny
Fiddle
Mary Vanorny is a native Minnesotan with a background in Environmental Education and early childhood development. Before turning to a music career, she was the Museum Naturalist at the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul, and worked on an exhibit and programming team, as well as doing daily live animal programs with turtles, frogs, and snakes! Mary grew up playing both classical and fiddle music and continues to enjoy finding new ways to explore her instrument. She studied Irish music with esteemed New York fiddler Brian Conway, learned to Irish dance with Rince na Chroi, and joined the Center for Irish Music staff in 2015, teaching fiddle and ensemble, as well as Minnesota Irish Music Weekend Teen and Trad Immersion camps for the past several years. Mary is also a trained Suzuki violin teacher and has developed an approach to learning Irish music that mirrors the method while putting a special emphasis on fiddling skills. One of her favorite things to do is help others learn to play music by ear–something that the Suzuki method and Irish music have in common.