She
met
Meghan
Markle
before
she
was
Her
Royal
Highness
the
Duchess
of
Sussex.
It
was
a
split-second
greeting,
but
the
breath-taking
moment
wasn't
lost
on
Meredith
Hopkins
'16.
Seven
months
later,
Hopkins
had
another
awe-filled
moment
as
the
title
of
National
Scottish
Fiddle
champion
was
bestowed
on
her
in
Edinboro,
Pennsylvania.
For
the
homeschooled
student
from
Pittsburgh,
it
was
an
accolade
she
had
been
working
toward
for
10
years.
Among musicians, the difference between a violin and a fiddle is sometimes said to be nonexistent. Others would say it is the number of strings and a third group might define it to be the type of music performed. For Hopkins, the difference lies in how the instrument is played.
Hopkins began playing the violin at age three. Ten years later, she was chosen by her music school to be part of a six-piece ensemble that performed at the White House Christmas party.
In 2012, she began her BW studies as a string performance major. She bridged her classical studies of violin with her love for Scottish fiddle music. Her professors and peers were among her greatest supporters.
She recalled a time during a National Scottish Fiddle Competition when everything went wrong. Lights in the room were turned on and off, cell phones rang loudly and cameras flashed. The distractions, she believed, cost her the competition.
"When I told my faculty mentor, Dr. Julian Ross, about the experience, he said we would find a solution before the next competition," recalled Hopkins. "A week before nationals, I performed the competition set for our studio class ... with a twist. The other students had to distract me by walking up on stage, making phone calls, singing and talking while I was performing. I went on to win third place in nationals."
"While
studying
at
the
Royal
Conservatoire
of
Scotland
for
my
master's
degree,
an
agent
reached
out
to
the
school
in
February
2018
asking
for
a
trio
to
play
background
music
for
a
reception
in
Edinburgh.
The
reception
was
for
schoolchildren
to
present
their
projects
to
Prince
Harry
and
Meghan
Markle,"
noted
Hopkins.
"As part of the trio, I was instructed on how to speak and curtsy to royalty. At the end of the reception, we were personally thanked by the royal couple! It was an unforgettable experience," she recalled.
"This opportunity was one of many recent joys for me," she said with a smile. "In July of this year, I was married to Isaac Hopkins '16, a BW trumpet performance major, now pursuing his master's degree at the University of Michigan. We started dating in November of our freshman year ... and the rest is history!"
