Billy Contreras was born on December 17,1984 and is an American jazz violinist and bluegrass fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, session player and educator.
19 Facts About Billy Contreras
1.
2.
When he was six years old, Contreras attended a local fiddle contest and was encouraged to study violin using the Suzuki method.
3.
Billy Contreras was inspired early in his childhood by fiddler Charlie Daniels after having seen him perform "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" on Country Music Television.
4.
Billy Contreras then studied for a year and a half with Nashville fiddler Jim Wood, who introduced Billy to fiddle tunes and their colorful histories.
5.
When he was eight years old, Billy Contreras began studying with legendary Nashville session violinist Buddy Spicher, who taught him about Western Swing and familiarized the precocious young fiddler with jazz standards.
6.
At the age of ten Billy joined Buddy Spicher's Nashville Swing Band, with Contreras and Spicher becoming regulars at Wolfy's in Downtown Nashville.
7.
When he was 12 years old Billy Contreras won the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser, Idaho for his age division.
8.
Billy Contreras was a featured performer at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho in 1998 and 1999, the latter date including a performance with an all-star lineup including Hampton, pianist Hank Jones, guitarist Herb Ellis and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
9.
Billy Contreras played at the festival in 2000 and 2001.
10.
Billy Contreras performed the premiere of composer Maria Schneider's Grammy Award nominated "Three Romances" with the University of Miami's Concert Jazz Band, an extended work commissioned by the ensemble.
11.
Billy Contreras then moved back to Nashville, where he made a reputation as a freelance violinist and session player, appearing with such names as George Jones, Doc Severinsen, Hank Thompson, Hank Williams III and Crystal Gayle.
12.
Billy Contreras has performed with the Nashville Symphony and has played the Bridgestone Arena, the Ryman Auditorium and The Kennedy Center.
13.
In 2003 Billy recorded the album Robinella and the CC String Band on Columbia Records with his brother, mandolinist Cruz Contreras and his sister-in-law Robinella.
14.
Billy Contreras subsequently toured with the band and performed on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the Bonnaroo Music Festival and the Grand Ole Opry.
15.
In 2005 and 2017 Billy Contreras won third place in the Nashville Grand Master Fiddler Championship; he placed fourth in the competition in 2018.
16.
Billy Contreras is currently an Adjunct Faculty Member at Belmont University School of Music in Nashville, where he teaches jazz violin.
17.
Billy Contreras won a Canadian Covenant Award in 2017 and was nominated for a GMA Dove Award in 2013.
18.
At the age of 16 Billy Contreras began teaching at the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in Nashville, where he was a regular teacher at the camps until 2014.
19.
Billy Contreras is known primarily for playing in the styles of jazz, bluegrass, Western swing and country.