After her second year in 2008, she agreed to be Volunteer Co-ordinator and aiding with the smooth running of the festival.

 "I wanted to be able to pick up tunes by ear and make the sounds in my head come out of my fiddle without having to think about where to put my fingers. The Fiddle Festival has helped my develop my aural skills and memory. This will be beneficial to my Masters Degree Course  - I played a jig in my audition!"

 "In the future I would like to learn how to play stylistically, ie, where to put the double stops and ornamentation - and develop my own style. One day, I might even enter the competition."

Mel is a member of Kentwell Hall Tudor Re-enactment Group, in Suffolk.