Sandpoint, Idaho — Students at Southside Elementary spent the better part of a week trading their desks for violins, participating in a hands-on fiddle residency led by traveling musician and educator Kelly Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux, a Louisiana-born musician now based in Oregon, has spent more than two decades bringing his Fiddle Camp program to schools across the Northwest. For four days at Southside, he worked with students from kindergarten through sixth grade in 45-minute daily sessions covering the fundamentals of rhythm, tempo, and dynamics. The week wrapped up with a final performance before families and classmates.
Dozens of Violins, Four Days of Learning
Thibodeaux travels with nearly 60 violins in a range of sizes — enough to outfit an entire school’s worth of beginners. He describes his residency format as a way to condense what would otherwise be a six-week string program into four days, giving students an intensive but accessible introduction to the instrument.
Principal Jenny Smith said the response from students was immediate. “Seeing our students’ faces light up the moment they picked up the violins was magical,” she said.
For many of the children, it was their first time holding a stringed instrument. Thibodeaux emphasized the fiddle’s versatility as part of his teaching approach. “The fiddle is an incredibly expressive instrument,” he said. “It can laugh, sing, talk and tell stories.”
Partners in Education provided the funding that brought the residency to campus.
Part of a Broader Music Program at Southside
The residency fits naturally into what appears to be a well-developed music curriculum at Southside. According to school information, the year-round program introduces students to a variety of musical traditions and instruments as they move through the grades. Kindergarten through second-grade students focus on singing and musical games, while third-graders learn folk dance. Fourth-graders take up the recorder, fifth-graders move to ukulele, and sixth-graders begin band instruction on instruments including trumpet, flute, and clarinet.
The fiddle residency added a dimension that no other part of that curriculum currently covers — live instruction on a bowed string instrument, delivered by someone who has made it his career to bring that experience directly to students who might not otherwise have access to it.
Music education at the elementary level has faced pressure in recent years as schools weigh budgets and instructional time. Idaho officials have been examining the broader question of how schools are funded — a conversation that includes whether arts and enrichment programs receive adequate support. For more on that effort, see the recent report on Idaho’s push to overhaul its school funding formula, which has remained largely unchanged since the 1990s.
What Comes Next
The Fiddle Camp residency at Southside Elementary concluded with the student performance on June 10, 2026. It is not immediately clear whether the school plans to host Thibodeaux or a similar program in future school years, though the Partners in Education funding model suggests the program could return if support continues. Students who connected with the violin during the residency can build on those skills through private instruction or community music programs in the Sandpoint area. For other examples of North Idaho students being recognized for their accomplishments, see the recent feature on Priest River Lamanna’s Class of 2026 commencement.