‘Brilliant.’ — Canberra Times
Pria Schwall-Kearney
Born of expat Canadians who played fiddle music to wake up the household each morning, Pria started playing the fiddle as a teen under the expert tutelage of Judy Turner and the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle club, was then further mentored by Chris Duncan and many other wonderful Australian musicians.
In 2008 she spent a formative year in Montreal, soaking up as much Quebecois music as possible; the repertoire and techniques of Quebec are a major influence on her playing today. She has also studied Appalachian music, with a particular interest in round peak bowing techniques.
She has toured Australia and New Zealand extensively, with the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle club, neo-trad band String Theory, and Chinook, a four piece quebecois band. She has played in festivals, dancehalls, small halls, living rooms, kitchens, weddings, birthdays, funerals and other cultural events.
She has toured Australia and New Zealand extensively, with the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle club, neo-trad band String Theory, and Chinook, a four piece quebecois band. She has played in festivals, dancehalls, small halls, living rooms, kitchens, weddings, birthdays, funerals and other cultural events.
Awards
2014 Golden Fiddle Award – best original composition
2010 Folk Alliance Australia Young Folk - runner up
2010 Face of the Festival – National Celtic Festival
2006 Tim Whelan Tunewriting award
2004 Aus Fleadh National Fiddle Championships – 2nd place
2006 Tim Whelan Tunewriting award
Pria’s performances and teaching alike are joyous, rhythmic and masterful. She is passionate about traditional music’s place in daily life, and delights in organising community music events that put music back in its rightful place in the middle of daily living.
She has also taught workshops across Australia, contributing to a massive groundswell in Quebecois fiddlers across the land, and has taught many times at Music under the Mountains camp, Quasitrad and other camps. She also runs a fortnightly quebecois jam session at Proserpina Bakehouse near her home in the Dandenong Ranges.
Listen
Tommy Rooney's jig
Tutor's performance at the 2018
Quebec Fiddle Weekend
Quebec Fiddle Weekend
Desert Island Trad
(With homage to Desert Island discs)
Desert Island Trad is a podcast imagining a hypothetical world that throws Australian trad musicians on a metaphorical desert island and asks the important questions – what eight tracks of music would you take with you?
Episodes forthcoming.
Desert Island Trad is a podcast imagining a hypothetical world that throws Australian trad musicians on a metaphorical desert island and asks the important questions – what eight tracks of music would you take with you?
Episodes forthcoming.
Events
If you have an event coming up that would be enlivened by a fiddle, please get in touch.
Pria runs the Quebecois session every second Sunday at Proserpina Bakehouse in Sassafras, 10-12. All welcome, for details/repertoire get in touch!
Pria runs the Quebecois session every second Sunday at Proserpina Bakehouse in Sassafras, 10-12. All welcome, for details/repertoire get in touch!
Housetrad Camp– Olinda, VIC
NOV 2–5, 2025
An annual weekend camp in the Dandenong Ranges for lovers of French-canadian music.
An annual weekend camp in the Dandenong Ranges for lovers of French-canadian music.
Teaching
Pria is an experienced teacher and facilitator and offers workshops in a number of areas. She is also planning a series of extended workshops for 2026 on the following topics. For full class descriptions or to know more about upcoming teaching dates, or for any enquiries about please get in touch via the contact form
Workshop Subjects
> Quebecois Fiddle
> Scottish Fiddle
> Rhythmic bowing techniques
> Appalachian Fiddle
> Anatomy for musicians
> Injury prevention and recovery for folk musicians
Get in Touch> Scottish Fiddle
> Rhythmic bowing techniques
> Appalachian Fiddle
> Anatomy for musicians
> Injury prevention and recovery for folk musicians
Get in Touch
Whether you’re enquiring about booking a performance, hosting a private event, arranging a workshop, or exploring one-to-one lessons, I’d love to hear from you. Please share a few details about what you have in mind, and I’ll be in touch soon.