Bradley Guptill, age five, of Keizer, won first place in the Oregon Old Time Fiddle Contest held in Lebanon on Saturday, March 16. He is the son of Scott and Celeste Guptill.
Guptill won in the Small Fry division and will represent Oregon at the national contest in Weiser, Idaho in June.
Weiser, ID is the National Fiddle Festival and competition. People qualify from all over the USA and represent their state.
Bradley’s uncle loves the fiddle and started the older sister’s love of the instrument. Two older sisters, Annabel Kroontje and Natalie Guptill play fiddle, and older sister Caraline Ford loves Blue Grass guitar and picking. He takes lessons from Aarun Carter in Portland.
“Little boys have a lot of energy and it’s good to have somewhere to focus that energy,” said Bradley’s mother Celeste Guptill. “For Bradley, that’s fiddle. He says he likes to play because it’s fun.”
The Small Fry category is for children up to age 8. He was the second youngest to compete in his category.
