Jane Hilton

Jane's formal music education began in her home town of Mesa, Arizona with instruction from Cathy Worcestor. At ASU, she worked with professor Frank Spinosa, and graduated with a BFA in Music. Later, she studied as a graduate student of Aaron Berofsky at Indiana University-South Bend. Jane's love for Celtic music led her to studies with All-Ireland Champion Sheila Maguire, Smithsonian Folkways Artist Kevin Burke and courses at the Augusta Heritage Festival in West Virginia and at Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Scotland.

Jane has led workshops in the Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe, Scottsdale and South Bend Public Schools, the Prescott Sky-Y fiddle camps and the ASTA String Fling. She also teamed up with other instructors to teach at the Herberger College Fiddle Workshop at ASU. She has volunteered with Jam Pak Blues & Grass, a Phoenix area community group for children. Jane also maintains a roster of violin students in both Mesa and Phoenix. Most recently, she is teaching fiddle style and technique at the Phoenix Irish Cultural Center Academy of Irish & Celtic Studies, a non profit dedicated to preserving Celtic culture.

As a violinist, Jane has played in the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, Kokomo Symphony, South Bend Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Musica Nova and The West Valley Symphony. As a fiddler she found her niche with the Irish-American band, The Clare Voyants, and performed frequently in Phoenix, in addition to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, Chicago, Flagstaff and Tucson. Her studio time has included the recording of material for eighteen independently produced albums. She has appeared live on Phoenix television and radio, and is an announcer on 89.5 FM KBAQ, the Phoenix area public radio station for classical music.

When not playing the violin, Jane is often running the desert hiking trails in hopes of someday entering a half marathon. When at home in Phoenix, she might take a yoga class, bake a chocolate cake or scold her cats, Banjo and Kate, for jumping on the record player.

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