nashville voyager conversation with merna lewis
LOCAL STORIES
APRIL 18, 2022
Hi Merna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Colorado native with a rich musical heritage, following in the footsteps of my Grandmother Marie Bond Riggenbach, a violin virtuoso; The Juilliard School of Music graduate and teacher of violins at the Brearley School for Girls in New York City, and founder of Riggenbach School of Music in Alamosa, CO, and my late Aunt Bettie Freel. I began taking fiddle lessons at the age of 7 from my aunt Bettie Freel, a well-known musician, and music teacher in the San Luis Valley. She taught me traditional fiddle and bluegrass tunes and a little bit of classical technique.
Where the South Still Sings
By Mark Settle / June 30, 2021
With live music seven nights a week and the hospitality you’d expect from Nashville, the Grand Ole RV Resort is both a campground and destination for Music City travelers.
MV’S BAREFOOT FIDDLER MAKES IT TO GRAND OLE OPRY
By: Jefferson Geiger - Posted Dec 23, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fiddling flows in Merna Lewis’ blood. For the 35-year-old it just made sense to pick the same instrument that has been used by her aunt and grandmother in their large musical family. Recently, that choice led Lewis to play at the prestigious Grand Ole Opry House.