AMELIA PARKER

Amelia Parker is an award-winning fiddler and violinist, specializing in traditional styles. Over the past twelve years, she’s travelled across North America to perform and compete alongside some of the best fiddlers in the country, including representing Nova Scotia three times at the Canadian Grand Masters. She’s released two albums, most recently Forwards, nominated for Music Nova Scotia and Canadian Folk awards.

“From just outside Pictou, the site of the first Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia, Amelia Parker has wowed audiences worldwide with her fiddling.”

– Alex Monaghan, FolkWorld

From rural Nova Scotia, Amelia started fiddling at six years old. In 2019, she released her first album Intertwined at the age of 13, its name derived from the variety of fiddle styles she plays. Her sophomore album, Forwards (2023), represents her move from rural Nova Scotia to urban university life and features traditional tunes often performed at her shows as a permanent reminder of her youth and home. The album was nominated for Traditional Recoding of the Year at the 2024 Music Nova Scotia Awards and for Young Performer of the Year at the 2025 Canadian Folk Awards.

Along with fiddling, she is a classically trained violinist and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.

deCoste’s Festival of Summer Sounds with Mary Beth Carty and Ray Stewart

Hector monument rededication with Lt. Gov. Arthur LeBlanc and Her Honour Patsy LeBlanc

Awards at the 74th Maritime Fiddle Festival

Over the past decade, she earned several champion and grand champion titles, including at the Maritime Fiddle Festival, New England Regional Championship, and the Ontario Open, and earned the Don Messer Memorial (NS), James Scott Skinner (Scotland), and Nathaniel Gow (US) trophies. On a national scale, she’s been invited to the Canadian Grand Masters, and is a three-time teen finalist at the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship. In 2022, Amelia was the only Nova Scotian to receive an Amplify Award from MusiCounts, part of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which recognizes aspiring professionals who represent the future of the industry.

Performance wise, highlights include playing for Jamie Oliver’s Better Food For All launch, the deCoste Centre’s Festival of Summer Sounds, the Evergreen Festival, Nova Scotia Music Week, the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame, and as a junior showcase performer at the 2019 Canadian Grand Masters. She’s also appeared in the BBC’s Great British Railroad Journeys and various stage productions throughout Nova Scotia.

On stage at the Canadian Grand Masters in Winnipeg

“That was stunning, what a voice…it was just so good.”

– BBC Scotland’s The Afternoon Show on “Nut Brown Maiden” from Forwards

Besides fiddling, Amelia is a champion highland dancer. She’s performed at Disney World, the Harlem Globetrotters’ halftime show, and for King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

As a vocalist, she’s starred as Mary McLeod in the musical Voyage (2023), was featured on BBC Radio Scotland, and sang at various events including the Antigonish Highland Games and Ceilidh on the Harbour. You can hear her sing traditional tunes on her newest album Forwards.