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Victory sixth-grader performs in Charleston festival

By Lynn Hotaling
Andrew1 Victory Christian School sixth-grader Andrew d'Entremont, right, joined veteran dobro player James Denney on stage April 6 during the Breath of Spring music festival in Charleston, S.C. Andrew, 11, was invited to perform with bluegrass band Sugar Hill during the traditional music festival. When 11-year-old Andrew d'Entremont stayed on stage at Lake Junaluska after his fellow Suzuki fiddlers had finished playing, he didn't know it would lead to a spring gig in Charleston, S.C.

As Andrew, a student at Victory Christian School, joined some older musicians for a set of traditional fiddle tunes, veteran bluegrass picker Al Wall of Charleston noticed the youngster's skill and love of old-time music. Wall invited Andrew to play with his band, Sugar Hill, during the April 6 Breath of Spring Festival Wall hosts to focus attention on roots music like bluegrass and gospel.

Andrew began taking violin lessons from Cathy Arps of Sylva when he was 5 years old.

Andrew2 Victory Christian sixth-grader Andrew d'Entremont plays "twin fiddles" with Sugar Hill fiddler G.T. Lane before performing with the group April 6 in Charleston, S.C. "The violin is the only instrument I ever wanted to play," said Andrew.

"He asked to take violin lessons when he was 3," said his mother, Veronica d'Entremont. "I didn't even think he knew what a violin was, but he did."

That early spark was fanned during a violin workshop the next year.

"The violinist played a song for the children and then Andrew picked up the violin and played the last line back to him," Veronica said.

Until two weeks ago in Charleston, Andrew had only played in church, at local community dances and with other of Arps' students; now he's already booked to perform at next year's festival.

While he likes all kinds of music, his prefers the traditional mountain fiddle tunes like "Soldier's Joy," "Swallowtail Jig" and "Road to Listoonvarna." The musicians he met in Charleston were familiar with most of the tunes Andrew played, he said, though they played "Soldier's Joy" in a different key.

Wall, 75, has played professionally since 1941. He began the Breath of Spring Festival to celebrate the kind of older music that has become increasingly popular since the success of the Grammy-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.

"I never lost my enthusiasm for the fact that this music was coming back," Wall said. "I can't explain it except to say that the cycle has come around and people have started liking the '40's and '50's country music as well as bluegrass. Traditional gospel, too."

That's a heritage Andrew also wants to continue.

His mother tells a story about a festival two years ago at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

"After his group finished, Andrew said he wanted to go over where people couldn't hear the music," Veronica said. "When he got over there and started playing his violin, families with small children came by to watch. You could see the light go on as they realized that a violin is an instrument children can really play."

Despite his love of the violin, Andrew doesn't see himself as a professional musician. His favorite subjects in school, he said, are math and science, and he hopes one day to pursue a career as an aeronautical engineer.

"I'll keep on playing the violin, though," he said.

Andrew, who is also the son of Jim d'Entremont of Asheville, is in the sixth grade at Victory Christian.

Andrew3 Sixth-grader Andrew d'Entremont, left, rehearsed with Al Wall, center, and G.T. Lane of the band Sugar Hill before an April 6 performance at a Charleston, S.C., music festival. Wall spotted Andrew, 11, playing fiddle at Lake Junaluska and invited the youngster to perform with the band.

Back to Archive: 04/18/02.