Workshop Leaders We Have Had at High Strung
Jamie Anderson
www.jamieanderson.com
919-220-1910
Jamie Anderson toured full time as a singer-songwriter for 13 years. Between gigs she taught at Duke and the ArtsCenter (Carrboro). When she got tired of long drives and lousy beds, she switched to teaching full time although she still makes an occasional jaunt around the country. When Jamie was in her teens, she picked up one of her dad's guitars and never gave it back. After memorizing every chord in a Mel Bay songbook, she learned songs by James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and other 70's singer-songwriters. Along the way she started writing her own songs, recording and touring. Jamie remembers what it was like to learn that first chord, strumming it over and over again until her mom came into her room, inquiring if she intended to learn anything else. When Jamie sits down with a beginning student, she can take herself back to that place, teaching with empathy and patience. Likewise with a more advanced student, teaching everything from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "Blackbird." Although teaching started out as an activity to do between tours it's turned into something she genuinely loves doing. Jamie is proficient in many styles, particularly acoustic rock, folk, bluegrass, country and singer-songwriter; she also knows her share of power chords and blues licks. She teaches songwriting and beginning mandolin too. Jamie also teaches classes at the Durham Arts Council, at festivals and privately, in her Durham home studio. Contact her at jamieanderson.com or 919-220-1910.
Guitar for Scaredy Cats, Songwriting Fundamentals, and Blues Guitar Jam for Beginners
Scott Billman
S
cot started playing the ukulele in 1996, when his daughter was three. While she splashed in the tub, he learned new chords, and together they sang songs. Fast-forward 10 years: Scot started playing at the Monday uke jam hosted by High Strung. Members of the Durham Ukulele Orchestra heard his playing, but they asked him to join the band anyway. Today, DUO entertains audiences around the Triangle.
Scot especially enjoys introducing people to the ukulele because the instrument is so easy to play. You might find him leading singalongs at High Strung, or "Learn To Play" sessions at the Festival for the Eno. If you like to sing in the bathroom, Scot can show you how to play along, on a ukulele!
Christmas Songs for Ukulele
Mairi Campbell
www.mairicampbell.co.uk
Mairi Campbell is an award winning Scottish Fiddler and singer/songwriter who lives and works in Scotland, where she runs her own school of fiddling on the Island of Lismore.
She trained as a viola player at the Guildhall in London, and worked in London until she withdrew to focus fully on traditional song and fiddle music, essentially finding her musical roots. Her musical interests are wide, and range from playing Scottish dance music to free improvisation (the former with Bella McNab’s Dance Band, the latter with the Working Party). She is in great demand as a fiddle teacher, and was one of the pioneers in the re-introduction of solo step-dancing to Scotland in the early nineties. Mairi is currently musical director of the Edinburgh based folk-choir Sangstream. She has also worked extensively as a session musician, and toured internationally as a solo artist and with her husband, David Francis, and their group "The Cast."
www.jamieanderson.com
919-220-1910
Jamie Anderson toured full time as a singer-songwriter for 13 years. Between gigs she taught at Duke and the ArtsCenter (Carrboro). When she got tired of long drives and lousy beds, she switched to teaching full time although she still makes an occasional jaunt around the country. When Jamie was in her teens, she picked up one of her dad's guitars and never gave it back. After memorizing every chord in a Mel Bay songbook, she learned songs by James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and other 70's singer-songwriters. Along the way she started writing her own songs, recording and touring. Jamie remembers what it was like to learn that first chord, strumming it over and over again until her mom came into her room, inquiring if she intended to learn anything else. When Jamie sits down with a beginning student, she can take herself back to that place, teaching with empathy and patience. Likewise with a more advanced student, teaching everything from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "Blackbird." Although teaching started out as an activity to do between tours it's turned into something she genuinely loves doing. Jamie is proficient in many styles, particularly acoustic rock, folk, bluegrass, country and singer-songwriter; she also knows her share of power chords and blues licks. She teaches songwriting and beginning mandolin too. Jamie also teaches classes at the Durham Arts Council, at festivals and privately, in her Durham home studio. Contact her at jamieanderson.com or 919-220-1910.
Guitar for Scaredy Cats, Songwriting Fundamentals, and Blues Guitar Jam for Beginners
Scott Billman
S
cot started playing the ukulele in 1996, when his daughter was three. While she splashed in the tub, he learned new chords, and together they sang songs. Fast-forward 10 years: Scot started playing at the Monday uke jam hosted by High Strung. Members of the Durham Ukulele Orchestra heard his playing, but they asked him to join the band anyway. Today, DUO entertains audiences around the Triangle.Scot especially enjoys introducing people to the ukulele because the instrument is so easy to play. You might find him leading singalongs at High Strung, or "Learn To Play" sessions at the Festival for the Eno. If you like to sing in the bathroom, Scot can show you how to play along, on a ukulele!
Christmas Songs for Ukulele
Mairi Campbell
www.mairicampbell.co.uk
Mairi Campbell is an award winning Scottish Fiddler and singer/songwriter who lives and works in Scotland, where she runs her own school of fiddling on the Island of Lismore. The Fiddle Doctor: A Masterclass with Mairi Campbell
Bryan Carey
http://www.patanjalisplace.com/
Bryan Carey has been practicing yoga for 25 years and teaching for half that time. His approach is one of breath centered awareness through mindful bodily movement. He has worked with many different populations (children, adults, retirees, expectant Moms, athletes, office workers and more) in many different settings (studios, gyms, places of worship, corporations, colleges/universities and more). Bryan is founder and director of Patanjali's Place - A Community Yoga Space in Durham, NC www.patanjalisplace.com. His interest in working with musicians originated with his study and practice of the fiddle and the demands of learning an instrument and music.
Yoga for Musicians
Andy Coats
http://www.andycoats.com/
http://www.patanjalisplace.com/
Bryan Carey has been practicing yoga for 25 years and teaching for half that time. His approach is one of breath centered awareness through mindful bodily movement. He has worked with many different populations (children, adults, retirees, expectant Moms, athletes, office workers and more) in many different settings (studios, gyms, places of worship, corporations, colleges/universities and more). Bryan is founder and director of Patanjali's Place - A Community Yoga Space in Durham, NC www.patanjalisplace.com. His interest in working with musicians originated with his study and practice of the fiddle and the demands of learning an instrument and music.
Yoga for Musicians
Andy Coats
http://www.andycoats.com/
Bringing a fresh attitude but vintage tone to the blues scene, Andy Coats is a seasoned performer and multifaceted singer-songwriter-guitarist. He has lived and played in Southern California, the Midwest, and is currently back in the region where he was born and raised-- the Piedmont of North Carolina. In 2007, Andy won the Triangle Blues Society's Blues Challenge, and went on to the semi-finals of the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Sherry Johnson, of the Triangle Blues Society and Triangle Rockin' Blues, has called Andy "one of North Carolina's most gifted young bluesmen."
His victory in the Blues Challenge follows up on another great honor he received in 2006, when he was selected as an Emerging Artist for the venerable King Biscuit Blues Festival. Throughout his career, Andy has played the full gamut of venues, from major blues clubs to the Iowa State Fair and the fabled Santa Monica Pier. He has gotten extensive airplay and performed live on various National Public Radio stations throughout the US. To date, Andy has released 4 independent CDs, consisting of original and traditional music. In his songwriting, Andy offers a unique perspective, tackling topics old and new in the blues. As a part of his return to North Carolina, Andy has renewed his focus on the Piedmont blues, by playing with masters like John Dee Holeman.
His victory in the Blues Challenge follows up on another great honor he received in 2006, when he was selected as an Emerging Artist for the venerable King Biscuit Blues Festival. Throughout his career, Andy has played the full gamut of venues, from major blues clubs to the Iowa State Fair and the fabled Santa Monica Pier. He has gotten extensive airplay and performed live on various National Public Radio stations throughout the US. To date, Andy has released 4 independent CDs, consisting of original and traditional music. In his songwriting, Andy offers a unique perspective, tackling topics old and new in the blues. As a part of his return to North Carolina, Andy has renewed his focus on the Piedmont blues, by playing with masters like John Dee Holeman.
Intro to Acoustic Slide Guitar, The Many Styles of the Blues
Phil Cook
http://philcookandhisfeat.bandcamp.com/, http://www.megafaun.com
Phil has been playing banjo since his last semester of college in 2003. Majoring in piano literature, he found the banjo to be a welcome break from the institutional nature of my studies. Phil started to play banjo in his rock band and was also excited about standing up and moving around the stage for the first time. (That's right, the "key-tar movement" passed him right by.) As the years moved on, he played the instrument more and more. Turns out, most people around these parts know Phil as a member of the band Megafaun. He's brought the banjo all around this continent as well as Europe, and is one who believes that it strengthens any community. It's a powerful, soulful, and uniting instrument.
Breaking the Mold: Mixing Improvisation Into Your Clawhammer Playing
Hugh Crumley
http://www.myspace.com/skeedaddle1
Hugh is an active musician in the Triangle and plays with Skeedaddle, a four piece acoustic string band that plays 20s and 30s swing, Hawaiian, jump blues, jug band and other roots Americana music. In Skeedaddle, he plays upright bass, swing guitar and Hawaiian lap steel guitar. When not playing music, he teaches instructional technology at Duke University.
Introduction to Swing Bass and Slapping
Acoustic Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar
Jim D'ville
Jim D'Ville is an internationally recognized ukulele instructor and educator. He is the host of the Play Ukulele By Ear blog ( http://playukulelebyear.blogsp
Play Ukulele By Ear: Parts 1 & 2
Joel Eckhaus
http://www.earnestinstruments.com
In addition to being a luthier, Joel Eckhaus also plays the mandolin, tenor guitar and banjo, ukulele, and musical saw. He studied uke and banjo with former vaudevillian Roy Smeck, the "Wizard of the Strings", and studied mandolin with former Texas Playboy, Tiny Moore. He was a founding member of the Arm and Hammer String Band, and has performed with the New York Banjo Ensemble, the Howitzer Mandolin Orchestra, the Neverly Brothers, the Blue Sky Serenaders, the New England New Vaudeville Review and the Pinetones. He currently plays with the ukabilly duo Dos Eckies; a ukulele/tap dance duo, Ham & Legs; and his own group, Ukulele Eck and the Fabulous Lacklusters.
Strums, Songs and Solos for the Ukulele
Steve Foxx
http://www.myspace.com/stevefoxx
Introduction to Beatboxing
Alice Gerrard
http://www.tombradalice.com/alicegerrard/bio.htm
As a musician, Alice Gerrard has appeared on more than 20 recordings, including projects with many traditional musicians such as Tommy Jarrell, Enoch Rutherford, Otis Burris, Luther Davis and Matokie Slaughter; as an expert with in-depth knowledge of mountain music, she has produced or written liner notes for a dozen more. She also co-produced and appeared in two documentary films, founded The Old Time Herald, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Distinguished Achievement award from the IBMA.
Alice tours with Tom, Brad & Alice and teaches workshops in guitar, fiddle and singing at fiddle camps and festival around the country.
Old-Time Rhythym Guitar and Carter Family Style Accompaniment
Julee Glaub
littlewindows.net, juleeglaub.com
Julee Glaub performs and teaches nationally and abroad and plays guitar, flute, and bodhran, though her first love is traditional Irish song. Living in Dublin for seven years, she immersed herself in traditional singing and upon returning home, became involved in the Irish music scene in the Northeast, where she quickly became recognized as a leading interpreter of Irish song in America. Julee still performs regularly with Brian Conway, Brendan and Felix Dolan, Jerry O'Sullivan and Daithe Sproule. She tours professionally with Mark Weems in the duo Little Windows which performs a mesmerizing blend of traditional Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, gospel and country songs. Julee is the the coordinator for Traditional Song Week at the Swannanoa Gathering in NC. She has also been on the staff of the Irish Arts Week, the Alaska Traditional Music Camp, and the Schloss Mittersill Arts Conference in Austria, among others, and with Mark, has created Camp Little Windows, their own singing camp. She has developed cultural enrichment programs for lower and middle school kids, and enjoys teaching all ages and passing on the torch of traditional song.
Duet Harmony Singing 1 and 2
Naji Hilal
http://www.najihilal.com
Naji Hilal was born in Qarnayel Lebanon from a musically gifted family. At the early age of 6, Naji's father made absolutely positively sure that Naji carries this bequest.
Naji was exposed to the fine arts of Lebanese traditional and classical music mastering the oud while playing with Lebanese local bands. With globalization and the ease of traveled in our days, Naji moved to North Carolina where he was exposed to various types of music through local and international community of musicians and singers.
The musically versatile Naji, also plays the viola, nay, guitar, accordion, Kanoun, and various percussive instruments. Naji is also a singer and composer having produced an album, named Intizar which is a contemporary Middle Eastern music and played on traditional and few modern instruments. Marco Buongiorno Nardelli on Flute and Saxand Bekir Ulkar on percussion and Joel Ocamopo accompanied Naji on Intizar albumadding a mix of various international styles. Naji's music made its way to couple of documentaries and dancing instruction video.
At this time Naji performs singing and oud playing for international events and he also performs guest lecturing in the subject of Middle Eastern Music and scales at local universities and Oriental Dancing workshops. After a great experience that Naji had, playing oud with Jaafar who are a World Jazz group led by Troy Cole which is bridging the Middle East and the Western music in a Jazzy and funky platform he is now playing with ELM Collective which is a fusion of jazz and world timbres and rhythms, with Arabic and Mediterranean overtones.
Naji is currently working on a Sufi Music CD with Saz and percussion player from Turkey, Soner Cicek.
Middle Eastern Music Primer
Alan Jabbour
Alan Julich
www.brightwaterstudios.com
919-563-9148
Alan Julich has been playing, learning, and teaching clawhammer banjo for well over 166,440 hours. Not continusouly however. He's been in numerous bands, some locally famous. These bands include The Porchclimbers led by Vic Lukas and The Stillhouse Botttom Band. Alan and Stillhouse most recently played at MerleFest's Traditional Tent. Alan has had the opportunity to play with the much feted old time fiddler, Joe Thomspon, at numerous venues including Merlefest 09 (and years prior), Hog Day in Hillsborough, MLK Celebration in Carrboro, and the Eno River Festival in Durham.
Alan has studied with some of the luminary banjo players of our time including TonySpadaro of Chapel Hill, Dwight Diller of Pocahontas County West Virginia, and Shelia Kay Adams of Sodom, NC. Alan's banjo playing has featured in the film documentary, Chester, and his playing is to be part of the soon to be released documentary, The FBI and the KKK.
An Afternoon Introduction to the Wonder and Mystery of Clawhammer Banjo 1 and 2
Jens Kruger
http://www.krugerbrothers.com
Jens Kruger has been touring and performing with his banjo since the age of 16. He has shared stages with Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, John McEwen, Willie Nelson, and Ricky Skaggs, to name only a few. Currently, he records and tours internationally with the Kruger Brothers and has helped design banjos for Deering. To find out more go to http://www.krugerbrothers.com
5-string Banjo Mechanics
Scott D. Laird
http://www.scottlaird.net/
Scott D. Laird is an Instructor of Music and Fine Arts Coordinator at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics where he directs the orchestra and teaches courses in Recording Technology, Classical Guitar and Piano, and Music History. He is an active string educator, performer, recording artist, and conductor. His orchestras have been recognized at the local, regional, and national level for their superior and musically mature performances.
Laird is nationally visible as a Education Specialist for D'Addario Strings, NS Design Violins, and Coda Bows where he is a noted as an authority on string education, electric and MIDI string instruments and their applications in the classroom. He has conducted many high school and middle school orchestra festivals throughout the United States and is in demand as a guest conductor of honors youth orchestras. He is also an active adjudicator having served as a judge for a variety of orchestra and solo and ensemble festivals throughout the United States as well. He has studied conducting with Mr. William Hudson of the Fairfax, VA Symphony and the University of Maryland.
In addition, Laird is an active electric violinist and recording artist and has appeared on the Motown, REX and Roadrunner record labels. His latest solo CD entitled, "Simple Gifts," features his writing and performing on a variety of string instruments with an emphasis on the electric violin. He is also well known for his electric violin work with the thrash metal band, Believer. The Gospel Music Association nominated their last album, Dimensions, for a Dove Award in 1993. Most recently, Scott collaborated with Motown artist, Mya, writing and performing the orchestration on the song "Nothing at All." In his spare time, Laird enjoys a variety of activities including running and camping, as well as road and mountain biking. He, his wife, Barbra, and their sons, Matthew, Joseph, and Cael, reside in Durham, NC.
String Improvisation with Scott Laird
Rick LaReno
Rick LaReno has been playing, teaching, and performing on the guitar for the past 40 years. In 1990, after
befriending banjo virtuoso and Swiss native Jens Kruger, he picked up the banjo. He has studied with bluegrass legends Bill Keith and Jens Kruger. Rick teaches everything from Rock to Bluegrass. He specializes in Wayne Henderson Fingerstyle Guitar and 5-string Scrugg's Style Bluegrass Banjo. He has performed with The Kruger Brothers, Pattie and Jack LeSueur and Cedar Creek, opened for Pierce Pettis, Robin and Linda Williams, and shared the stage with Bo Diddley.
Just for Beginners: Steel String Guitar, Just for Beginners: 5-String Banjo,
Intro to Bluegrass Banjo
Greg Merkle
http://merkleworks.com
Greg
Merkle is a guitar virtuoso who performs his own remarkable
compositions. His dizzying finger-tapping style is intricately technical
yet intrinsically beautiful. Greg enjoys a cult-like following
in his native New Jersey, and has also opened for musicians like Taj
Mahal, John Hammond Jr., Iris Dement and Johnny Cash.
Guitar Tapping Workshop
Ken Perlman
www.kenperlman.com
Ken Perlman is a consummate banjo player who grew up in New York City and in the 1970s became an
architect and exponent of what has come to be
known as the melodic clawhammer banjo style. His early career focused
on the Southern instrumental repertory, but his travels in the
Northeast, Canada, and the British Isles led him to begin exploring and
applying to five-string banjo and guitar the rich instrumental
traditions of those regions. In particular, he has become the leading
documentarian of the fiddle music of the Canadian Maritime province of
Prince Edward Island, and he has brilliantly adapted that repertory to
his melodic clawhammer style on the banjo. In the past decade, after Ken
and Alan began performing together, Ken has
again turned his attention to the Southern American fiddle repertory,
and his 2005 CD of fiddle-and-banjo duets with Alan, SOUTHERN SUMMITS, is a new benchmark in oldtime fiddle and banjo performance. The duet style he has developed with Alan,
though featuring the melodic clawhammer banjo style, is actually a
complex style marked not only by note-for-note melodic performance but
by a variety of accompaniment styles succeeding one another as the tune
repeats itself in performance.
Clawhammer Banjo
Linda Pristera
Phil Cook
http://philcookandhisfeat.bandcamp.com/, http://www.megafaun.com
Phil has been playing banjo since his last semester of college in 2003. Majoring in piano literature, he found the banjo to be a welcome break from the institutional nature of my studies. Phil started to play banjo in his rock band and was also excited about standing up and moving around the stage for the first time. (That's right, the "key-tar movement" passed him right by.) As the years moved on, he played the instrument more and more. Turns out, most people around these parts know Phil as a member of the band Megafaun. He's brought the banjo all around this continent as well as Europe, and is one who believes that it strengthens any community. It's a powerful, soulful, and uniting instrument. Breaking the Mold: Mixing Improvisation Into Your Clawhammer Playing
Hugh Crumley
http://www.myspace.com/skeedaddle1
Hugh is an active musician in the Triangle and plays with Skeedaddle, a four piece acoustic string band that plays 20s and 30s swing, Hawaiian, jump blues, jug band and other roots Americana music. In Skeedaddle, he plays upright bass, swing guitar and Hawaiian lap steel guitar. When not playing music, he teaches instructional technology at Duke University.
Introduction to Swing Bass and Slapping
Acoustic Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar
Jim D'ville
Jim D'Ville is an internationally recognized ukulele instructor and educator. He is the host of the Play Ukulele By Ear blog ( http://playukulelebyear.blogspPlay Ukulele By Ear: Parts 1 & 2
Joel Eckhaus
http://www.earnestinstruments.com
In addition to being a luthier, Joel Eckhaus also plays the mandolin, tenor guitar and banjo, ukulele, and musical saw. He studied uke and banjo with former vaudevillian Roy Smeck, the "Wizard of the Strings", and studied mandolin with former Texas Playboy, Tiny Moore. He was a founding member of the Arm and Hammer String Band, and has performed with the New York Banjo Ensemble, the Howitzer Mandolin Orchestra, the Neverly Brothers, the Blue Sky Serenaders, the New England New Vaudeville Review and the Pinetones. He currently plays with the ukabilly duo Dos Eckies; a ukulele/tap dance duo, Ham & Legs; and his own group, Ukulele Eck and the Fabulous Lacklusters.
Strums, Songs and Solos for the Ukulele
Steve Foxx
http://www.myspace.com/stevefoxx
Introduction to Beatboxing
Alice Gerrard
http://www.tombradalice.com/alicegerrard/bio.htm
As a musician, Alice Gerrard has appeared on more than 20 recordings, including projects with many traditional musicians such as Tommy Jarrell, Enoch Rutherford, Otis Burris, Luther Davis and Matokie Slaughter; as an expert with in-depth knowledge of mountain music, she has produced or written liner notes for a dozen more. She also co-produced and appeared in two documentary films, founded The Old Time Herald, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Distinguished Achievement award from the IBMA.
Alice tours with Tom, Brad & Alice and teaches workshops in guitar, fiddle and singing at fiddle camps and festival around the country.
Old-Time Rhythym Guitar and Carter Family Style Accompaniment
Julee Glaub
littlewindows.net, juleeglaub.com
Julee Glaub performs and teaches nationally and abroad and plays guitar, flute, and bodhran, though her first love is traditional Irish song. Living in Dublin for seven years, she immersed herself in traditional singing and upon returning home, became involved in the Irish music scene in the Northeast, where she quickly became recognized as a leading interpreter of Irish song in America. Julee still performs regularly with Brian Conway, Brendan and Felix Dolan, Jerry O'Sullivan and Daithe Sproule. She tours professionally with Mark Weems in the duo Little Windows which performs a mesmerizing blend of traditional Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, gospel and country songs. Julee is the the coordinator for Traditional Song Week at the Swannanoa Gathering in NC. She has also been on the staff of the Irish Arts Week, the Alaska Traditional Music Camp, and the Schloss Mittersill Arts Conference in Austria, among others, and with Mark, has created Camp Little Windows, their own singing camp. She has developed cultural enrichment programs for lower and middle school kids, and enjoys teaching all ages and passing on the torch of traditional song. Duet Harmony Singing 1 and 2
Naji Hilal
http://www.najihilal.com
Naji Hilal was born in Qarnayel Lebanon from a musically gifted family. At the early age of 6, Naji's father made absolutely positively sure that Naji carries this bequest.
Naji was exposed to the fine arts of Lebanese traditional and classical music mastering the oud while playing with Lebanese local bands. With globalization and the ease of traveled in our days, Naji moved to North Carolina where he was exposed to various types of music through local and international community of musicians and singers.
The musically versatile Naji, also plays the viola, nay, guitar, accordion, Kanoun, and various percussive instruments. Naji is also a singer and composer having produced an album, named Intizar which is a contemporary Middle Eastern music and played on traditional and few modern instruments. Marco Buongiorno Nardelli on Flute and Saxand Bekir Ulkar on percussion and Joel Ocamopo accompanied Naji on Intizar albumadding a mix of various international styles. Naji's music made its way to couple of documentaries and dancing instruction video.
At this time Naji performs singing and oud playing for international events and he also performs guest lecturing in the subject of Middle Eastern Music and scales at local universities and Oriental Dancing workshops. After a great experience that Naji had, playing oud with Jaafar who are a World Jazz group led by Troy Cole which is bridging the Middle East and the Western music in a Jazzy and funky platform he is now playing with ELM Collective which is a fusion of jazz and world timbres and rhythms, with Arabic and Mediterranean overtones.
Naji is currently working on a Sufi Music CD with Saz and percussion player from Turkey, Soner Cicek.
Middle Eastern Music Primer
Alan Jabbour
www.alanjabbour.com
Fiddler Alan Jabbour's collecting and performing have had a powerful impact on the revival of oldtime
instrumental music over the past half century. Growing up in
Jacksonville, Florida, he played violin classical style. As a graduate
student at Duke University in the 1960s, he began collecting oldtime
fiddle tunes from elderly musicians in North Carolina, Virginia, and
West Virginia. Documentation quickly turned to apprenticeship, and he
began playing the tunes of his new mentors in their style. His repertory
of oldtime tunes -- particularly the beautiful old tunes of Henry Reed
of Glen Lyn, Virginia -- was adopted by his band in Durham, the Hollow
Rock String Band. The band's repertory and style became a shaping
influence on the burgeoning instrumental folk music revival of the 1960s
and 1970s. The influence continues today, and Alan
has helped it along by returning to an active schedule of performance
and teaching since his retirement from the American Folklife Center at
the Library of Congress at the end of 1999. His performance style
features complex bowing patterns and a high-energy but graceful
elaboration of the oldtime repertory, and the tunes are always
accompanied by lively story-telling that illuminates the sources and
significance of the tunes.
Old-Time Fiddle
Fiddler Alan Jabbour's collecting and performing have had a powerful impact on the revival of oldtime
instrumental music over the past half century. Growing up in
Jacksonville, Florida, he played violin classical style. As a graduate
student at Duke University in the 1960s, he began collecting oldtime
fiddle tunes from elderly musicians in North Carolina, Virginia, and
West Virginia. Documentation quickly turned to apprenticeship, and he
began playing the tunes of his new mentors in their style. His repertory
of oldtime tunes -- particularly the beautiful old tunes of Henry Reed
of Glen Lyn, Virginia -- was adopted by his band in Durham, the Hollow
Rock String Band. The band's repertory and style became a shaping
influence on the burgeoning instrumental folk music revival of the 1960s
and 1970s. The influence continues today, and Alan
has helped it along by returning to an active schedule of performance
and teaching since his retirement from the American Folklife Center at
the Library of Congress at the end of 1999. His performance style
features complex bowing patterns and a high-energy but graceful
elaboration of the oldtime repertory, and the tunes are always
accompanied by lively story-telling that illuminates the sources and
significance of the tunes.Old-Time Fiddle
Alan Julich
www.brightwaterstudios.com
919-563-9148
Alan Julich has been playing, learning, and teaching clawhammer banjo for well over 166,440 hours. Not continusouly however. He's been in numerous bands, some locally famous. These bands include The Porchclimbers led by Vic Lukas and The Stillhouse Botttom Band. Alan and Stillhouse most recently played at MerleFest's Traditional Tent. Alan has had the opportunity to play with the much feted old time fiddler, Joe Thomspon, at numerous venues including Merlefest 09 (and years prior), Hog Day in Hillsborough, MLK Celebration in Carrboro, and the Eno River Festival in Durham. Alan has studied with some of the luminary banjo players of our time including TonySpadaro of Chapel Hill, Dwight Diller of Pocahontas County West Virginia, and Shelia Kay Adams of Sodom, NC. Alan's banjo playing has featured in the film documentary, Chester, and his playing is to be part of the soon to be released documentary, The FBI and the KKK.
An Afternoon Introduction to the Wonder and Mystery of Clawhammer Banjo 1 and 2
Jens Kruger
http://www.krugerbrothers.com
Jens Kruger has been touring and performing with his banjo since the age of 16. He has shared stages with Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, John McEwen, Willie Nelson, and Ricky Skaggs, to name only a few. Currently, he records and tours internationally with the Kruger Brothers and has helped design banjos for Deering. To find out more go to http://www.krugerbrothers.com
5-string Banjo Mechanics
Scott D. Laird
http://www.scottlaird.net/
Scott D. Laird is an Instructor of Music and Fine Arts Coordinator at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics where he directs the orchestra and teaches courses in Recording Technology, Classical Guitar and Piano, and Music History. He is an active string educator, performer, recording artist, and conductor. His orchestras have been recognized at the local, regional, and national level for their superior and musically mature performances.
Laird is nationally visible as a Education Specialist for D'Addario Strings, NS Design Violins, and Coda Bows where he is a noted as an authority on string education, electric and MIDI string instruments and their applications in the classroom. He has conducted many high school and middle school orchestra festivals throughout the United States and is in demand as a guest conductor of honors youth orchestras. He is also an active adjudicator having served as a judge for a variety of orchestra and solo and ensemble festivals throughout the United States as well. He has studied conducting with Mr. William Hudson of the Fairfax, VA Symphony and the University of Maryland.
In addition, Laird is an active electric violinist and recording artist and has appeared on the Motown, REX and Roadrunner record labels. His latest solo CD entitled, "Simple Gifts," features his writing and performing on a variety of string instruments with an emphasis on the electric violin. He is also well known for his electric violin work with the thrash metal band, Believer. The Gospel Music Association nominated their last album, Dimensions, for a Dove Award in 1993. Most recently, Scott collaborated with Motown artist, Mya, writing and performing the orchestration on the song "Nothing at All." In his spare time, Laird enjoys a variety of activities including running and camping, as well as road and mountain biking. He, his wife, Barbra, and their sons, Matthew, Joseph, and Cael, reside in Durham, NC.
String Improvisation with Scott Laird
Rick LaReno
Rick LaReno has been playing, teaching, and performing on the guitar for the past 40 years. In 1990, after
befriending banjo virtuoso and Swiss native Jens Kruger, he picked up the banjo. He has studied with bluegrass legends Bill Keith and Jens Kruger. Rick teaches everything from Rock to Bluegrass. He specializes in Wayne Henderson Fingerstyle Guitar and 5-string Scrugg's Style Bluegrass Banjo. He has performed with The Kruger Brothers, Pattie and Jack LeSueur and Cedar Creek, opened for Pierce Pettis, Robin and Linda Williams, and shared the stage with Bo Diddley.Just for Beginners: Steel String Guitar, Just for Beginners: 5-String Banjo,
Intro to Bluegrass Banjo
Greg Merkle
http://merkleworks.com
Greg
Merkle is a guitar virtuoso who performs his own remarkable
compositions. His dizzying finger-tapping style is intricately technical
yet intrinsically beautiful. Greg enjoys a cult-like following
in his native New Jersey, and has also opened for musicians like Taj
Mahal, John Hammond Jr., Iris Dement and Johnny Cash.Guitar Tapping Workshop
Ken Perlman
www.kenperlman.com
Ken Perlman is a consummate banjo player who grew up in New York City and in the 1970s became an
architect and exponent of what has come to be
known as the melodic clawhammer banjo style. His early career focused
on the Southern instrumental repertory, but his travels in the
Northeast, Canada, and the British Isles led him to begin exploring and
applying to five-string banjo and guitar the rich instrumental
traditions of those regions. In particular, he has become the leading
documentarian of the fiddle music of the Canadian Maritime province of
Prince Edward Island, and he has brilliantly adapted that repertory to
his melodic clawhammer style on the banjo. In the past decade, after Ken
and Alan began performing together, Ken has
again turned his attention to the Southern American fiddle repertory,
and his 2005 CD of fiddle-and-banjo duets with Alan, SOUTHERN SUMMITS, is a new benchmark in oldtime fiddle and banjo performance. The duet style he has developed with Alan,
though featuring the melodic clawhammer banjo style, is actually a
complex style marked not only by note-for-note melodic performance but
by a variety of accompaniment styles succeeding one another as the tune
repeats itself in performance.Clawhammer Banjo
Linda Pristera
Linda Pristera has a B.M.Ed. (Music Education) from UNC-Chapel Hill, and has been teachingprivate voice lessons for 27 years. She has been in a number of bands (most recently “Linda and the Heart Throbs”) and has been writing songs since she was 14. She has also taught piano (classical and popular), songwriting, and theory, and has taught general music at Mary Scroggs
Elementary School in Chapel Hill. Linda has been the Musical Director for Summer Stock Camps at the Ballet School in Chapel Hill, and has had the female lead in UNC Playmakers production of “Hair.” She also plays guitar (and a little cello) and her heart has always been in singing popular forms of music. Linda says she loves helping others develop their voices and styles and feels that every individual has something very special to offer.
Singing Basics
Daniel Raimi
http://danielraimi.com
Lil Rev
http://www.lilrev.com/
Lil Rev is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music-historian who teaches and tours
nationally, around the continental U.S.
Known as a "protector of old songs, poetry and stories," Rev has been called a "Wisconsin treasure," (-Ann Schmid-UWM Folk Center). His many awards and frequent travels have garnered him a loyal and growing fan base amongst lovers of all things, Ukulele, Folk, Old Time, Harmonica, Jewish Music & Culture, American Labor History and Respect for our Elders!
Lil Rev calls his style of performance‚ "edu-tain-ment!"
It is a combination of songs, history, stories, poems, quotes, and jokes all wrapped up in a cloak of exuberance and gratitude for those moments when we can all come together and rise up singing‚ and celebrate life!
Tunes and Techniques for the Ukulele
Andy Reiner
http://www.andyreiner.com/
Andy Reiner, a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, grew up in a musical family (The Reiner Family Band!) He began playing at age 5, learning fiddle from his father, Mel Bay Published Author Dave Reiner. Andy began improvising in high school, and it became clear that music was the only option. Winning many fiddle contests over the years and tirelessly playing in bands, currently FiddleFoxx and also Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Andy Reiner is a bold musical force that continues to grow musically every day.
String Grooves and Chopshop
Dr. Brenda Scott
http://musiclessonsbybrendascott.yolasite.com
Dr. Brenda Scott, DPhil (Oxon), has taught music for nearly 20 years. She loves teaching both
beginners and advanced students and enjoys working with young musicians as well as adults (She has taught students from 4 years old all the way to age 90-something). Dr. Scott has taught academic as well as practical music. For ten years, she taught at Duke while serving as the curator of the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections (DUMIC). A cellist, her academic area of specialization is the history of the cello in Britain. She studied cello with Fred Raimi at Duke while she did her undergraduate work at UNC-CH. She earned a master's degree in cello performance at Auburn University and then a musicology doctorate at the University of Oxford (Sommerville College). While in England she continued her cello studies as one of the last students of the great William Pleeth.
Hello Cello!: A No Intrument Required Introduction to the Cello
Mara Shea
www.marashea.com
Mara Shea lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she is a fiddle player, teacher, writer, and editor. She plays Celtic music from Scotland, Ireland, and the British Isles. Dance music is a particular love of Mara's--Scottish country dances, English country dances, and Irish set dances. She performs at contra dances, parties, and with the fiddle-guitar duo The Elftones. Mara also teaches privately, coaching students in the fundamentals of fiddle playing and introducing them gradually to the techniques that make the music sound more Irish or Scottish, danceable, lyrical, and most importantly, fun to play.
Scottish Fiddle: How to Play Strathspeys
Jon Shain
Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who's been turning heads for years with his words, his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style - combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime.
Shain arrived in Durham in 1986, to study American History at Duke University. In addition to studying with jazz professor Paul Jeffrey, he also had the good fortune to learn the piedmont blues tradition firsthand by playing in Big Boy Henry's backing band. It was at this time that Shain also got to meet and play with John Dee Holeman and a number of the great older NC blues players. Shain's classes in school were heavily concentrated in southern history, English, and world religions. That mixture of the academic environment and the real-world blues music is what has most informed his musical direction.
When Shain is not recording or performing, he stays busy giving private instruction in Piedmont blues fingerstyle guitar, and teaching group workshops in songwriting and blues guitar. Whether in the one-on-one atmosphere of the teaching studio or onstage sharing a song with a roomful of strangers, Jon Shain is a natural communicator, keeping students and fans coming back for more.
Acoustic Guitar Blues 1
Ralph Shaw
www.RalphShaw.ca
Arriving in Canada in 1988 with a degree in Applied Physics, Ralph Shaw soon realized that his heart lay in Showbiz. Tossing out his calculator and pocket protector he delighted his parents by becoming a professional Clown and, later, Canada's "King of the Ukulele".
Sparkling with wit, charm and an infectious comic energy this cheerful, lanky showman proves again and again that everyone from kids to great-grandparents can be inspired, enthralled and delighted by his spellbinding musical genius and laugh-out-loud storytelling!
Whether crooning a 1940s Inkspots classic, belting out a George Formby favourite or singing one of his inspired originals Ralph's performances are electrifying, a truly world class act. He yodels, strums ukulele and whistles like a state-fair champion‚ "dressed to the nines he captivates the audience - he charms and enchants."
Now, many years later, he has a long and diverse resume and you are as likely to see him performing for Royalty as you are headlining a Theatre Show or delighting thousands of smiling faces at an open air Festival. And his parents have never been happier!
A captivating speaker and a versatile musical entertainer Ralph Shaw is known across Canada due to his numerous live performances on National CBC.
He has released 3 critically acclaimed CDs entitled; King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George! They have been regularly played on Jurgen Gothe's DiscDrive, The Vinyl Cafe, Definitely Not the Opera (DNTO named King of the Ukulele, "one of the Top 10 most notable CDs of the year") and more.
His ukulele teaching DVDs are best sellers and his DVD and CD sales number in the tens of 1000s. His original songs have been used on Movies and TV shows in both the USA and Canada.
Strums, Songs and Solos for the Ukulele
Joe Troop
http://www.myspace.com/joetroop
Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist that began formal musical training in elementary school as a pianist. In his early teen years he picked up the banjo and was fortunate enough to study with some of the best in the business including Craig Smith. He also discovered fiddle and mandolin while in high school and began to study several musical idioms including bluegrass, celtic, and then more substantially, swing.
While living in Spain as a student and then in Japan as a teacher, Troop was an integral part of several gypsy jazz ensembles as well as bluegrass groups. Upon returning to the US in the fall of 2007, he began his life as a "professional" musician, playing and touring with several groups in varying genres: The Big Fat Gap and Town Mountain (bluegrass); the Tennessee Jed Band (rock); The Firehouse Rhythm Kings, El Trio Impermeable and Club Boheme (swing); The Common World Collective (new acoustic); and many others. As a free-lancer he tours throughout the US, Europe and Japan as a hired man and has ample opportunities to develop his craft.
Troop has been a strings teacher in several locations including North Carolina, Spain, Japan and Mexico. His enthusiasm for swing performance and education is evident, and he hopes to encourage swing to continue to evolve as a genre.
Swing Fiddle Workshop: Stephane Grapelli vs. Stuff Smith
String Improvisation for Intermeddiate Strings Players
Mark Weems
stillhousebottomband.com, myspace.com/markweemsandthecavedwellers
Mark Weems has been studying the nuances of all types of Country music, from mountain ballads and traditional string-band music to honky-tonk songs for over twenty years as a veteran of The Stillhouse Bottom Band, the Weems-Gerrard Band, Little Windows, and his own honky-tonk band, the Cave Dwellers. Sing Out! Magazine recently called him "an exceptionally talented interpreter of old-time vocal and instrumental tunes" and "a gifted composer of timeless music." He tours professionally with Julee Glaub as the duet Little Windows. His music is frequently heard on WUNC's Back Porch Music and has been highlighted on NPR's Thistle and Shamrock. Mark has recorded and/or performed with Tony Ellis (Bill Monroe), Carl Jones (Norman Blake), Alice Gerrard (Hazel and Alice), Daithi Sproule (Altan), and Joe Adams (Johnny Paycheck). He has taught master classes at the Irish Arts Week in New York, at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, and at the Alaska Traditional Music Camp among others.
Duet Harmony Singing 1 and 2
Daniel Raimi is
a composer and guitarist living in Durham. Daniel has worked as a guitarist,
composer, and instructor in New York, Los Angeles, and Durham. He's toured
nationally, released one critically acclaimed album (called "New American Wing"), composed numerous film scores, written articles for music
magazines, and worked as an adjudicator at the Hong Kong Music Festival.
Throughout this time, he has taught guitar, composition, and jazz improvisation
at a variety of music schools and arts organizations. Currently, he teaches
jazz improvisation at the Duke String School and, as a complete non sequitur,
is getting a masters degree in public policy at Duke.
Theory for Guitar Players
http://www.lilrev.com/
Lil Rev is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music-historian who teaches and tours
nationally, around the continental U.S. Known as a "protector of old songs, poetry and stories," Rev has been called a "Wisconsin treasure," (-Ann Schmid-UWM Folk Center). His many awards and frequent travels have garnered him a loyal and growing fan base amongst lovers of all things, Ukulele, Folk, Old Time, Harmonica, Jewish Music & Culture, American Labor History and Respect for our Elders!
Lil Rev calls his style of performance‚ "edu-tain-ment!"
It is a combination of songs, history, stories, poems, quotes, and jokes all wrapped up in a cloak of exuberance and gratitude for those moments when we can all come together and rise up singing‚ and celebrate life!
Tunes and Techniques for the Ukulele
Andy Reiner
http://www.andyreiner.com/
Andy Reiner, a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, grew up in a musical family (The Reiner Family Band!) He began playing at age 5, learning fiddle from his father, Mel Bay Published Author Dave Reiner. Andy began improvising in high school, and it became clear that music was the only option. Winning many fiddle contests over the years and tirelessly playing in bands, currently FiddleFoxx and also Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Andy Reiner is a bold musical force that continues to grow musically every day.
String Grooves and Chopshop
Dr. Brenda Scott
http://musiclessonsbybrendascott.yolasite.com
Dr. Brenda Scott, DPhil (Oxon), has taught music for nearly 20 years. She loves teaching both
beginners and advanced students and enjoys working with young musicians as well as adults (She has taught students from 4 years old all the way to age 90-something). Dr. Scott has taught academic as well as practical music. For ten years, she taught at Duke while serving as the curator of the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections (DUMIC). A cellist, her academic area of specialization is the history of the cello in Britain. She studied cello with Fred Raimi at Duke while she did her undergraduate work at UNC-CH. She earned a master's degree in cello performance at Auburn University and then a musicology doctorate at the University of Oxford (Sommerville College). While in England she continued her cello studies as one of the last students of the great William Pleeth. Hello Cello!: A No Intrument Required Introduction to the Cello
Mara Shea
www.marashea.com
Mara Shea lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she is a fiddle player, teacher, writer, and editor. She plays Celtic music from Scotland, Ireland, and the British Isles. Dance music is a particular love of Mara's--Scottish country dances, English country dances, and Irish set dances. She performs at contra dances, parties, and with the fiddle-guitar duo The Elftones. Mara also teaches privately, coaching students in the fundamentals of fiddle playing and introducing them gradually to the techniques that make the music sound more Irish or Scottish, danceable, lyrical, and most importantly, fun to play. Scottish Fiddle: How to Play Strathspeys
Jon Shain
Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who's been turning heads for years with his words, his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style - combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime.
Shain arrived in Durham in 1986, to study American History at Duke University. In addition to studying with jazz professor Paul Jeffrey, he also had the good fortune to learn the piedmont blues tradition firsthand by playing in Big Boy Henry's backing band. It was at this time that Shain also got to meet and play with John Dee Holeman and a number of the great older NC blues players. Shain's classes in school were heavily concentrated in southern history, English, and world religions. That mixture of the academic environment and the real-world blues music is what has most informed his musical direction.
When Shain is not recording or performing, he stays busy giving private instruction in Piedmont blues fingerstyle guitar, and teaching group workshops in songwriting and blues guitar. Whether in the one-on-one atmosphere of the teaching studio or onstage sharing a song with a roomful of strangers, Jon Shain is a natural communicator, keeping students and fans coming back for more.
Acoustic Guitar Blues 1
Ralph Shaw
www.RalphShaw.ca
Arriving in Canada in 1988 with a degree in Applied Physics, Ralph Shaw soon realized that his heart lay in Showbiz. Tossing out his calculator and pocket protector he delighted his parents by becoming a professional Clown and, later, Canada's "King of the Ukulele".
Sparkling with wit, charm and an infectious comic energy this cheerful, lanky showman proves again and again that everyone from kids to great-grandparents can be inspired, enthralled and delighted by his spellbinding musical genius and laugh-out-loud storytelling!
Whether crooning a 1940s Inkspots classic, belting out a George Formby favourite or singing one of his inspired originals Ralph's performances are electrifying, a truly world class act. He yodels, strums ukulele and whistles like a state-fair champion‚ "dressed to the nines he captivates the audience - he charms and enchants."
Now, many years later, he has a long and diverse resume and you are as likely to see him performing for Royalty as you are headlining a Theatre Show or delighting thousands of smiling faces at an open air Festival. And his parents have never been happier!
A captivating speaker and a versatile musical entertainer Ralph Shaw is known across Canada due to his numerous live performances on National CBC.
He has released 3 critically acclaimed CDs entitled; King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George! They have been regularly played on Jurgen Gothe's DiscDrive, The Vinyl Cafe, Definitely Not the Opera (DNTO named King of the Ukulele, "one of the Top 10 most notable CDs of the year") and more.
His ukulele teaching DVDs are best sellers and his DVD and CD sales number in the tens of 1000s. His original songs have been used on Movies and TV shows in both the USA and Canada.
Strums, Songs and Solos for the Ukulele
Joe Troop
http://www.myspace.com/joetroop
Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist that began formal musical training in elementary school as a pianist. In his early teen years he picked up the banjo and was fortunate enough to study with some of the best in the business including Craig Smith. He also discovered fiddle and mandolin while in high school and began to study several musical idioms including bluegrass, celtic, and then more substantially, swing.
While living in Spain as a student and then in Japan as a teacher, Troop was an integral part of several gypsy jazz ensembles as well as bluegrass groups. Upon returning to the US in the fall of 2007, he began his life as a "professional" musician, playing and touring with several groups in varying genres: The Big Fat Gap and Town Mountain (bluegrass); the Tennessee Jed Band (rock); The Firehouse Rhythm Kings, El Trio Impermeable and Club Boheme (swing); The Common World Collective (new acoustic); and many others. As a free-lancer he tours throughout the US, Europe and Japan as a hired man and has ample opportunities to develop his craft.
Troop has been a strings teacher in several locations including North Carolina, Spain, Japan and Mexico. His enthusiasm for swing performance and education is evident, and he hopes to encourage swing to continue to evolve as a genre.
Swing Fiddle Workshop: Stephane Grapelli vs. Stuff Smith
String Improvisation for Intermeddiate Strings Players
Mark Weems
stillhousebottomband.com, myspace.com/markweemsandthecavedwellers
Mark Weems has been studying the nuances of all types of Country music, from mountain ballads and traditional string-band music to honky-tonk songs for over twenty years as a veteran of The Stillhouse Bottom Band, the Weems-Gerrard Band, Little Windows, and his own honky-tonk band, the Cave Dwellers. Sing Out! Magazine recently called him "an exceptionally talented interpreter of old-time vocal and instrumental tunes" and "a gifted composer of timeless music." He tours professionally with Julee Glaub as the duet Little Windows. His music is frequently heard on WUNC's Back Porch Music and has been highlighted on NPR's Thistle and Shamrock. Mark has recorded and/or performed with Tony Ellis (Bill Monroe), Carl Jones (Norman Blake), Alice Gerrard (Hazel and Alice), Daithi Sproule (Altan), and Joe Adams (Johnny Paycheck). He has taught master classes at the Irish Arts Week in New York, at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, and at the Alaska Traditional Music Camp among others. Duet Harmony Singing 1 and 2
