Colorado-based musican Caroline McCaskey possesses a highly unique talent. Not only is she a classically trained violinist, violist, and composer, but she is also a master at playing the musical saw. McCaskey demonstrated the range of this niche instrument by playing a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Oakland A’s baseball stadium.
In the video, you can see her fiddle across the metal edge of the saw using a bow, producing hypnotic and high-pitched sounds resembling human voices. McCaskey first took up the saw when she was playing with the San Francisco Symphony and used it in place of the violin solo in Offenbach’s opera Orpheus in the Underworld. Her ability to produce music on an industrial tool wowed the conductor and the audience.
While this was the first time many people had heard a musical saw, it has actually been used for musical purposes since the 19th century, popping up in vaudeville acts and by past performers. McCaskey has previously been recognized for her talents; she won the International Musical Saw Competition in 2007 and again in 2018. When she’s not playing the saw, she’s teaching students violin, viola, and sometimes, the fiddle.
Watch musican Caroline McCaskey play a mesmerizing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on a saw.
Caroline McCaskey: Website | Facebook
h/t: [Reddit]
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