Justin Branum | Danita (Rast) Gardner | Anthony Mature
Valerie (Ryals) O'Brien | Roberta Rast | Wes Westmoreland III

Fiddle Instructors

Justin Branum

Justin, the 2010 Gone to Texas Champion, is a professional fiddler, mandolinist, arranger, and teacher based out of the St. Louis, MO area. He holds a B.M. in Jazz Performance from Webster University where he is currently finishing his master's degree in jazz arranging. Justin has won or placed in many fiddle contests throughout the U.S., including the National Old-Time Fiddler's Contest in Weiser, ID and the Grand Master's Fiddle Contest in Nashville, TN. In addition to working as a freelance musician, Justin also plays with the Gypsy jazz band Swing DeVille and numerous other small-group swing ensembles.

Danita (Rast) Gardner

Danita is a private violin/fiddle instructor, originally from Idaho, now residing in Atherton, California. She spent four years in Huntsville, Texas, where she was a member of TOTFA, competed in many contests, and received her undergraduate degree in Violin Performance from Sam Houston State University. Danita got her masters degree in Violin Pedagogy from Boise State University. She has won the Grand Masters in Nashville, Tennessee, three times; the Grand Nationals in Weiser, Idaho, three times, and is the current California State Champion.

Valerie (Ryals) O'Brien

Valerie started violin lessons at age nine, learned her first Texas-style fiddle tunes by eleven, and won the Junior World Championship at thirteen. Like everyone in her family, she became an accomplished musician on several instruments. At her first contest in Alvarado, Texas, Valerie got to hear two great Texas fiddle legends, Norman Soloman and Johnny Gimble, twin fiddle "Maiden's Prayer."

Valerie has been two-time winner of the "Texas Ladies Fiddle Championship", "World Series Winner","World Series Winner Twin Fiddling", Recipient of Texas Folklife Resources Master Artist Grant, Master Instructor with Texas Folklife Resources, Educator for Texas Commission on the Arts, and has 21 years experience in teaching the Suzuki Method. Steeped in the tradition of Texas Old-Time Fiddling,Valerie is committed to passing it down to a new generation by giving lectures and performances, by making television appearances and recordings, and by teaching. That tradition lives on at Valerie's Music Studio in Burleson, Texas, where her two daughters, Jennifer and Julie, and her sister Lydia also teach.

Roberta Rast

Roberta is originally from Idaho and now resides in Dallas, Texas. She has lived in Texas for 8 years and has been playing Texas Style fiddle music for 25 years. She is a member of the Dallas-based Celtic Rock group The Killdares and when she’s not performing she teaches private fiddle lessons, workshops, and fiddle camps. She graduated from Boise State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Business. Among her accomplishments Roberta has won the Grand Master Fiddle Championship in Nashville, the National Oldtime Fiddler’s Contest in Weiser, Idaho, the World Fiddle Championship in Crockett, Texas.

Wes Westmoreland III

Wes, the 2010 Texas State Champion, was born into a family whose musical history goes back many decades. His granddad, H. D. Westmoreland Sr., an accomplished fiddler, began teaching Wes to play at age nine. The fiddle tunes Wes had heard all his life came easy to him and he began to play in contests all over the state of Texas. At these contests he was exposed to the music of the fiddle masters of Texas. If you listen to Wes play today, you will hear the sounds of Major Franklin, Benny Thomasson, Norman and Vernon Solomon, Louis Franklin, Texas Shorty and other fiddlers that became his heroes. He also was heavily influenced by the music and sound of Bob Wills and other Western swing pioneers.

Wes attended college at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. While there he played with the Tarleton Jazz Band and won Most Valuable Player at the State competition. During his college years he also played with Red Stegall and Moe Bandy and still managed to earn a degree in Chemistry.

Wes is a two time World Champion Fiddler, a seven-time Texas State Champion Fiddler, a four time "TOTFA" Champion, and has finished in the “ top 3 “ his last two trips to the National Fiddle Championship in Weiser, Idaho.

In 1989 Wes made the move to Branson, Missouri to play for Boxcar Willie for one year before accepting a job to play for Mel Tillis. He played for Mel for ten years. During those years he not only played shows in Branson, he also traveled with Mel and the "Statesiders" to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Las Vegas, Okinawa, and all across the United States. During his stay with Mel, Wes learned to coordinate an 18-piece band and played not only first, but also second, third and fourth fiddle harmonies.

Wes has a degree in pharmacy and now works at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas.

Guitar Instructor

Anthony Mature

Anthony has been exposed to Texas old-time fiddling practically all his life and that exposure has proved beneficial to both Anthony and hundreds of fiddlers across the country. Anthony began working for Bill Northcutt at the Fiddle & Bow music shop in Houston, Texas when he was thirteen; here Anthony witnessed many jam sessions Bill would host which began to inspire Anthony to learn to play rhythm guitar. He was soon exposed to the rhythm style of Steve Williams and there soon started a lifelong bond between the two as Steve showed Anthony his style of back-up.

In the years to come, Anthony would have the unique experience to jam, perform, and record with many of the legends of Texas fiddling, including Terry Morris, Norman Solomon, Orville Burns, and Louis Franklin. Also during this time, Anthony was exposed to legendary accompanists such as Royce and Ray Franklin, Bobby Christman, and Omega Burden, all of whom have had a hand in making Anthony one of the top accompanists in the country today. His rock-solid rhythm has won him such honors as State Champion Accompanist, TOTFA Champion Accompanist, and National Champion Accompanist – each on numerous occasions. Most recently, Anthony was inducted in the Fiddler Frolics Hall of Fame in Hallettsville, Texas in 2007.