Paul Carlson (Violin) has been a frequent fiddler at Scandia D.C. Paul got his start playing classical violin when he was four years old.  After college, he became interested in folk fiddling while living in North Carolina.  He studied for several years with Jason Cade, a nationally known Irish fiddler and fiddle teacher.  This experience made him become interested in Swedish fiddle music, the kind of tunes his grandmother played on the same fiddle that Paul plays today.  Paul played for many years with the North Carolina Triangle Spelmanslag with Bart Brashers, the former President of the American Nyckelharpa Association.  After moving to Washington, DC, he has played with the Nordic music group Skandal and the Washington Spelmanslag.  In 2009 he won travel grants from the Finlandia Foundation and the American Scandinavian Association to attend and perform at the Nordlek and Kaustinen Folk Music Festivals in Finland.  Since his return, he has been the full-time fiddle player for the Nordic Dancers.  In 2013 he performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the Nordic Cool festival.  Paul teaches violin full-time in his Classical Fiddle studio in Arlington.