04/08/2026
We are pleased to invite the community to an evening of music presented by fiddler Charlene Adzima.
Tunes and Tales Charlene Adzima, Fiddle, with Matt Shortridge, guitar
Saturday April 18 7:00 PM $20/$10 students
Arkadia Center for Arts and Education (formerly The Commons)
401 E Jefferson St. Viroqua, WI
Charlene will also be giving an Irish Fiddle Workshop in the Arkadia Sky Room (upstairs) at 5:00-5:45. The workshop is open to players of all levels and ages, as long as they have experience playing at the level of Suzuki book 1 or equivalent (familiarity with slurs). Violas and cellos are welcome. Cost for the workshop is a package deal: $25 per family which will include both the workshop and the concert.
Tunes and Tales
For more than 30 years, Irish fiddler Charlene Adzima has collected adventures—musical and otherwise—that have often deserved a tune of their own. In this intimate, stream-of-consciousness performance, Charlene will share significant melodies and the stories that emerge. Some tunes are her own compositions, inspired by travels and experiences from places like Iceland, Dollywood, and life on tour; others carry the voices and stories of fellow musicians along the way. In this evening of music and storytelling, a tune may spark a memory, and a story may lead naturally into a melody, creating a warm and personal window into the joy, humor, and possibility found in both music and life. Join Charlene for a night of fiddle tunes, tales from the road, and the shared magic that happens when stories and music intertwine.
Biography
Charlene Adzima is an energetic Irish fiddler both on stage and in the classroom. Born in Ohio, she has been playing the fiddle for over 30 years, beginning with a foundation in the Suzuki Method and later developing a deep-rooted passion for Traditional Irish Music. As a teenager she fell in love with Irish fiddling and eagerly sought out opportunities to study at workshops and camps with All-Ireland fiddle champions Liz Carroll, Séamus Connolly, and Oisín Mac Diarmada.
Charlene’s distinctive playing is known for its danceable, pulsing rhythm and her growing repertoire of newly composed tunes. A former Irish step dancer, she is also in demand as a musician for Irish step dance competitions (feiseanna). In 2005 she won the title of Senior Fiddle Champion at the Midwest Fleadh Cheoil and has twice represented the Midwest at the All-Ireland World Championships (Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann).
In addition to performing, Charlene brings more than 25 years of creative teaching experience to her work with students. She holds a degree in geology and has completed Suzuki Teacher Training through Book 3. Her experience also includes violin repair and maintenance from her time at The Loft Violin Shop in Columbus, Ohio, and she has a particular interest in helping players find comfortable and effective shoulder rest and chin rest setups. Charlene currently performs with The Lilies of the Midwest, an all-female Irish band, and teaches with MadFiddle, a dynamic youth fiddle ensemble.
Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events at Arkadia:
April 19, 5:30 Emerson Aagaard (Saxophone, Keyboards) and Charles Gillett (guitar)
An evening of spontaneous / improvised music
April 25, 7:00 Stephanie Pedretti/James Bauer
20th and 21st century works for guitar and flute, including Ibert, Hoover, Castelnuovo- Tedesco, Dyens, Loggins-Hull, and Yuko Uebayashi.
May 9 7:30 Eric Miller
Cello Improvisations
May 17, 3:00 Cait Vitale-Sullivan and Karen Rebholz
Traditional Norwegian songs and tunes, Hardanger fiddle duo
April 24 5:00 Spring Fete Dinner by Heart to Heart Catering featuring the South St. Band
Dinner at 5:00, Music at 7:00
May 29, 7:00 Maritza
Balkan Folk Music
June 6, 7:30 608 String Quartet with pianist Daria Tennikova
Brahms Quintet Op. 34 and Medtner Quintet in C major
