Betty Widerski

Genre: Rock
Secondary Genre: New Age/Ambient Boston, Massachusetts USA Contact

Betty uses 4, 5 & 6-string violins to bring her distinctive energy & flair to Rock, Pop, Punk, Country, Folk, Classical, Latin, World, Jazz bands and session tracks. Her solo improv looping project Reverse Polish Notation showcases her original compositions & songs.

Artist Information

Biography

Betty Widerski is known in the Boston area as a "string slut" - she presents her solo violin looping project Reverse Polish Notation as well as appearing with bands Ginger Ibex and The Gobshites, plus additional ad hoc performances and recording sessions.

LATEST NEWS:

-Betty Will be performing with Celtic Rock band Dicey Riley for both days of the Harpoon Beer St. Pat's Fest in March.

- Betty performed with Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra for the 3-night Boston performances ending their "Theatre Is Evil" tour.

- Betty's EP "Imaginary Numbers" for her solo project Reverse Polish Notation is available for digital download now at http://reversepolishnotation.bandcamp.com, with official CD release show later this spring.

- Betty'/Reverse Polish Notation has completed an album for the 2012 RPM Challenge: "Play ALL The Instruments", also available at http://reversepolishnotation.bandcamp.com

- Ginger Ibex, featuring Betty on strings with composer/pianist Sharon Crumrine, is working on a new EP which includes a revised version of Betty's composition "Brassy" from her 2010 RPM Challenge album.

- Betty composed two original alternative arrangements of the Latin folk song "A Unos Ojos" for the soundtrack accompanying an artist's exhibition in December 2010.

- Betty's composition "Subterra" was chosen for incidental music in the December 2010 Bad Habits Productions performance of "Durang/Durang".

Currently Betty is a member of two Boston bands:

Reverse Polish Notation - Betty's multi-layered solo vioin looping and song project - http://rpnband.com
Ginger Ibex - original piano & string compositions with a Rock sensibility - http://gingeribex.com
Also appearing occasionally with Irish Folk-Punk band The Gobshites - gobshites.com

Betty is available to add violin, viola, or semi-cello (most of the range is available on her 6-string acoustic mezzo violin, or full cello range on the acoustic Octave Viola) tracks to artists' recordings (either solo or she can help recruit a string section), substitute for a band's regular violinist/fiddler in many styles, create string arrangements of your music, provide background music for your event, and even bolster your community orchestra's violin or viola section for a concert! Please check her gig calendar for date availability, and contact her for more information.

Biography:

When Betty was growing up in the suburban North Shore of Massachusetts, no one thought that there was any other "real" way to play violin besides Classical music. So she studied Mozart and Beethoven, played violin and viola in local orchestras, gave solo recitals, received a Congress of Strings award from the American Federation of Musicians, and went off to study Music, Physics and Math at a liberal arts college. But by graduation, Betty realized that she was not interested in the competition of the Classical world - but had always sworn to herself that she would never be one of those "sad, mediocre old people" (as her teenage self viewed them) who scraped away in the back of the 2nd violins in a community orchestra. So lacking any concept of another path, she put away her instruments...

Some years later Betty was still sad about not playing violin, and looked around for a better, more enjoyable way to approach it. She got the name of a local violinist who also played in a Rock band - Betty went to her and said "I want to learn how to play what I want, improvising without sheet music in front of me!" Much unlearning/relearning later, Betty played at a gig with her teacher's band - and realized that THIS was what she wanted and needed: on a stage, playing music for people who are out to have a good time that doesn't involve sitting quietly in rows.

More recently, Betty began to compose music for herself and others. Rather than recruiting a band, she uses a looping pedal to create multi-layered sonic patterns over which she improvises. After several performance workshops with harpist/storyteller Deborah Henson-Conant Betty has also begun writing and performing songs.

Instrumentation

Betty Widerski - Violin, Viola, Hand Percussion, Looper, composer & arranger

Discography

Reverse Polish Notation
- "Imaginary Numbers", Spring 2011

Ginger Ibex:
- "Firefly", October 2009
- "Sky So Grey", January 2009, Decorative Records (1 track on this compilation)

The Milling Gowns:
- "Sky So Grey", January 2009 , Decorative Records (1 track on this compilation)
- "Diving Bell Shallows", Sept 2008

The Gobshites:
- "Songs Me Da Got Pissed To", 2011 Good Cop Bad Cop Records
- "Poutin", 2011 Good Cop Bad Cop Records
- "Another Round", 2007 Good Cop Bad Cop Records
- "Get Bombed", 2007 Good Cop Bad Cop Records
- "When the Shite Hits The Fans", 2005 Good Cop Bad Cop Records

Rev. Bob & the Darkness:
- "Gallows Hill", 2007 Hooker St. Studios

Big Amp Envy:
- "Penance", TBR Fall 2007 BAE
- "New England Country For Life", 2007 Illumina Records

Agatha's Memory: "The Gift To Believe", 2005 AM

The Beau Roland Band: "The Road To Wichita", 2004 BRB

Grubstake: "Dynamite & Other Inventions", 2004 Nine Mile Records

Paula Kelley: "The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into the World", 2003 Kimchee Records

Official Website

http://www.bettywiderski.com

Links

Audio

  • September Tango - Ginger Ibex
    Listen  
  • Rainforest
    Listen  
  • Tango A Unos Ojos
    Listen  
  • Subterra
    Listen  
  • Alcohol - The Gobshites, "Get Bombed"
    Listen  

Lyrics

Video

Photo Gallery

  • Betty Widerski

    Download print quality (high-res) version (Right Click -> Save As)
  • With Sharon Crumrine as Ginger Ibex (photo by Johanna Bobrow)

  • at The Milling Gowns CD release (photo by Sarah Weill)

  • Betty Widerski

  • Betty Widerski

  • fiddling in the noonday sun. (photo by Sarah Weill)

  • Betty @ Maxwell's, Hoboken NJ

  • Betty & Jon fiddle duelling @ Ralph's

  • With The String Sluts

  • Looping as Reverse Polish Notation

Press

  • "Individuality...On Sale!" music commission [+ Show ]

    "I'm so excited by what you've done with the song! The tango is absolutely lovely without being stif...

  • Local RPM Challenge Participants [+ Show ]

    "Subterra, recorded by Reverse Polish Notation (real name: Betty Widerski), is an unfussy and hypnot...

  • CD Review - Ginger Ibex: "Firefly", Oct 2009 [+ Show ]

    Ginger Ibex - Firefly 2009, Ginger Ibex My Mom used to tell me to be careful what I wish for, be...

  • Interview - The Milling Gowns - August 2008 [+ Show ]

    HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE They're happy. Trust me. In fact, these days the members of The Milling G...

  • CD review - The Gobshites, "Get Bombed" - May 2007 [+ Show ]

    "Throughout the cd, Betty Widerski nicely wraps it all together with her magnificent fiddle" - Denis...

  • Live Review - The Gobshites - Harpoon St. Patrick's Festival March 2007 [+ Show ]

    All eyes turned on Betty Widerski as she fiddled furiously and with unshakable energy for the local ...

  • Live Review - The Gobshites - Kennedy's Midtown Feb 2007 [+ Show ]

    "i really enjoyed The Gobshites, a band whose only aim and motivation is to drink to excess and play...

  • Live Review - Rev. Bob & the Darkness - Feb 2007 [+ Show ]

    "I think Saturday's show was the strongest yet, largely due to the ridiculous talent of fiddle all-s...

  • CD Review - Grubstake, "Dynamite & Other Inventions [+ Show ]

    "For this album mastermind Pat McHugh brought in several Boston area music veterans to help interpre...

  • Paula Kelley CD Listening Party - Pop String Quartet Arrangements by The String Sluts [+ Show ]

    "The string quartet did an astonishing job. Thanks so much for the time you put into doing the arran...

Setlist

Betty's solo project Reverse Polish Notation features her original multilayered string compositions and songs.

If you wish to hire Betty for a general business event, she can offer you a variety of classical, folk, jazz, and rock music - please contact her with a description of the event and what music you require.

Basic Requirements


Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
May 26, 2013 Sunday 7:00 PM CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS Boston, MA, US
Jun 5, 2013 Wednesday 7:30 PM Center For Arts At the Armory Cafe Somerville, MA, US