Chris Daring

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Although an occasional violinist and singer, Chris Daring is primarily known for her work as a performer and teacher of Texas style fiddling which some acknowledge as becoming the predominant fiddling style in the United States. Chris, along with only a few other knowledgeable teachers who were also taught by progenitors of Texas style fiddling, have been the principal contributors to popularizing and legitimating the fiddling style, exposing its requirements to academic communities as well as the general public outside of Texas, and causing its diffusion.

The pinnacle of Chris’ performance career came when she and her family were invited to provide the music during the private dinner of eight world leaders and their wives at the conclusion of the 1997 Summit of the Eight (G8) conference held in Denver, Colorado. As a teacher, Chris has been designated a Master Artist in fiddling by America’s National Endowment for the Arts and the Colorado Council on the Arts; and she continues to be a primary contributor to the diffusion of Texas style fiddling throughout the United States by carrying large numbers of traditional, face-to-face, knee-to-knee, types of students along with being among the first, if not the first, to offer ‘virtual’ face-to-face fiddling lessons directly over the internet by using video chats. An artful, yet critical, blending of the old and the new.

Chris Daring was born in Hayti, Missouri. When Chris was six, because of a very weak economy, her parents, Jerry and Peggy Vance, moved the family to the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Elgin, where her father became a tool and die maker and her mother eventually became an executive with Knowles Electronics. Her grandfather, Travis Vance, was a minor country music recording artist who performed throughout the southeastern United States.

Chris studied classical violin from grade school through high school. Often during these years, Chris and her family returned to Missouri to spend time with her grandparents. More than once, Chris’ father took her across the border into Tennessee to stand outside of the Grand Ole Opry, where he would ask if she could imagine playing or ever wanted to play “some of them ‘breakdowns’” on that stage. In other words, he asked her if she ever wanted to ‘fiddle’. In the typical fashion of the country girl who has moved to the city, her reply was emphatic and always the same, “No Dad, I don’t ever want to play country music, and especially any ‘breakdowns’”. In other words, with all the confidence of the young, she knew she never wanted to ‘fiddle’, but would devote her life to ‘playing’ the violin. Approximately thirty years later, Chris fiddled some ‘breakdowns’ at the National Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser, Idaho and became the first woman to be the National Adult Champion.

After mostly leaving the violin world behind to learn fiddling, Chris 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’ albums. According to their bass player, and this projects co-producer, Henry Stryzlecki, this was the first time in 15 years the Superpickers name was authorized for use to someone other than Chet Atkins. Other Superpickers members appearing on this album are, Pianist Hargus Robbins, steel guitar player Lloyd Green, guitar player Jack Solomon, drummer Roy Yeager, engineer Pat Holt, and co-producer and second fiddler Dale Morris.

Dale also was Chris’ fiddle teacher and primarily the one responsible for Chris wanting to learn to fiddle; which is a salient part of the history, diffusion and burgeoning popularity of Texas style fiddling. A detailed examination of the diffusion of Texas style fiddling, and the contributions of Chris Daring, Dale Morris, Dick and Lisa Barrett, Benny Thomasson, Orville Burns, Matt Hartz and others, can be found in Andrew Daring’s thesis “Cultural Change within a Musical Tradition: The Marketing of Texas Style Fiddling” and Sharon Poulson Graf’s dissertation, “Traditionalization at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest: Politics, Power and Authenticity.”

In addition to learning from Dale Morris, Chris also spent considerable time learning from his younger brother, Terry Morris. Both Terry and Dale learned considerable amounts from Benny Thomasson as did Mark O'Connor and numerous others. Briefly, Terry played with country music legends, “The Whites”, and was the “Featured Star” at the Grand Ole Opry in 1976. Dale, performed with Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, Ray Price, and was the thirteenth member of “The Sons of the Pioneers”. Besides the two brothers, Chris also learned from nationally known Texas fiddlers, Dick Barrett and Lisa Barrett. Her other fiddling influences are Orville Burns, Benny Thomasson, Major Franklin, and Herman Johnson, along with several contemporary players of the style. Aside from the fiddlers, music and musicians Chris favors are: classical and baroque music, blues, classic rock & roll, Isaac Stern, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, Aretha Franklin, Albert King, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles.

Chris’ second album included her teenage children, Noel, Sarah, and Erick, as accompanying musicians. Noel played fiddle, guitar and tenor guitar. Sarah played guitar. And Erick played bass while acting as second engineer.

In 1994, the stairs leading up to a stage collapsed under Chris causing severe injuries to her neck and left arm. Resulting from those injuries, Chris was forced to focus more on teaching than performing. Several of Chris’ students, have become strong enough musicians to record albums of their own and/or to appear as accompanists on albums of others. These musicians include John Reinhart, Cam Cross, Aspen Quirico, Katie Glassman, and Bridgett Law.

Having made the switch from the violin world to the fiddle world, Chris has already left a considerable mark and contribution toward assisting the styles diffusion throughout the United States. In addition to performing for the President of the United States and seven other leaders of the world, being designated a Master fiddler, and winning the 1996 National Adult Championships; she has taught fiddling at the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Southern Colorado at Pueblo; she was among the first, if not the first, to begin offering fiddling lessons directly over the internet by using video chats; several of her students are performing with their own bands; several of her students have placed in the top five at the National Fiddling Championships and two have become National Champions; and most importantly, many of her students have progressed into the teaching and recording arenas themselves.