Artists lined up for RMFC 2003, August 3-10 and August 10-17

Iain Fraser, Scottish Fiddler - Iain Fraser will be all the way from Jedburgh, Scotland, to teach at RMFC. Iain has been playing Celtic music all his life and has now earned recognition as a solo performer with a large repertoire of tunes ranging from the 18th century through to contemporary compositions. His teaching experience is built upon a combination of one-on-one workshops with adults and children and regular small group teaching. Iain sees his role as enabling players to develop an individual style and to look for new ways of being creative within the Scottish idiom. Since 1994, he has been principal fiddle teacher and a member of the Scottish Music Faculty at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama based in Glasgow.  Visit Iain's Website.

Jerry Holland, Cape Breton Fiddler - Jerry was at the first Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in 1999, and he is returning in 2003 to celebrate the 5th annual Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp! Jerry is a fiddler strongly rooted in Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish dance music traditions. An active performer and recording artist, many of his own tunes have entered the traditional repertoire around the world. His tunes, books and recordings have remained influential wherever Celtic music is played.  He is a marvelous teacher to fiddle students of all ages!  Visit Jerry's Website.

Richard Greene, Bluegrass & Celtic Crossover Fiddle - In the words of one of his fellow fiddlers, Richard is "one of the most innovative and influential fiddle players of all time". Growing up in Los Angeles he dabbled in classical music until his encounter with the pyrotechnic fiddling of Scotty Stoneman which permanently changed his musical direction. He first attained prominence with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in 1966 as one of Monroe's first "northern" band members. His advanced technique and intense yet "cool" tone shocked audiences and prefigured such players as Jean-Luc Ponty and others, influencing a generation of fiddle players including Darol Anger, Alison Krauss and Stuart Duncan.  His latest CD is “Hands Across The Pond”, melodies from the British-American tradition. He currently leads seminars on all aspects of fiddling and violin playing nationwide, teaching courses at The Mancini Institute, the RockyGrass Academy, the Festival of Fiddle Tunes, the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp and dozens of workshops throughout the year.  Visit Richard's website. [Back to top]

Pat Donohue, Guitar, is "a masterful guitarist and talented singer-songwriter of blues, folk and jazz" (Los Angeles Times). His talents are displayed weekly in his appearances on public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion where his guitar playing writing and singing are featured regularly. The 1983 National Finger Picking Guitar Champion, Donohue’s style blends blues and folk in a critically acclaimed display of guitar artistry. Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss, Loose Ties and other national performers have recorded his original songs. He has been a featured performer at major music festivals, including the Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Festival, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and performs regularly in concerts and clubs around the country. Visit Pat's website. [Back to top]

Andy Stein, Swing Fiddle, is best known as the "Powder Milk Biscuit" fiddler on A Prairie Home Companion, where he has been a regular for eleven years. A founding member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, he recorded and won a Grammy with Asleep at the Wheel, and has worked with a wide range of musicians, including Itzhak Perlman, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, André Watts, Mariah Carey, and Smashing Pumpkins. A native and resident of Manhattan, his arrangements and compositions have been performed by orchestras across the country, and he has composed film scores for Roger Corman and National Lampoon.  More about Andy. [Back to top]

David Greenberg, Cape Breton Fiddle - Over the past decade, David has gained the reputation in Cape Breton music circles as being one of the few people from outside the Nova Scotia island to have achieved a fluent command of the Cape Breton idiom.  He has been lauded as both "the best baroque violin soloist in Canada, if not North America" (Stephen Pedersen, Halifax Mail-Star) and "one of the most impassioned folk-fiddlers you'll ever hear" (James Manishen, Winnipeg Free Press). This dual musical identity is not a newly acquired habit; in fact, David was a crossover musician from a very early age. During his schooling in classical violin playing (beginning at age 4), he also picked up traditional fiddling by ear from recordings.  Visit David's Website.

Carl MacKenzie, Cape Breton Fiddler - Fiddler Carl MacKenzie is from the small community of Washabuck and comes from a very musical family. His brother Hector is also a well-known fiddler and his sister Jean is a fine piano player and mother to The Barra MacNeils and members of Slainte Mhath. Washabuck is a very historic and musical community and the birthplace of the late Joe MacLean, a 'Golden Age' fiddler, whose family included several fine fiddlers, including Michael Anthony MacLean (aged 87) and Theresa Morrison. Carl began an extensive recording career in the 70's with the release of his first album on the Rounder label. Since that time he has recorded several albums and Cape Breton Fiddle Medleys is his eighth. Carl's repertoire is steeped in the classic Scottish compositions of Neil Gow, William Marshall, J. Scott Skinner and J. Murdoch Henderson and also includes many of the new compositions by Cape Breton composers such as Dan R. MacDonald, Dan Hughie MacEachern, Donald Angus Beaton, Patricia Chafe and Jerry Holland. [Back to top]

Bruce Molsky, Appalachian Old Time Fiddle - One of the most influential old-time fiddlers around, Bruce is also a remarkable guitarist, banjoist and singer. His high-spirited music melds the archaic mountain sounds of Appalachia, the power of blues, and the rhythmic intricacies of traditional African music. The Washington Post says Bruce's music "set[s] into motion melodies that radiate enormous spirit and momentum," and Sing Out! says his fiddling "combines precision and abandon so perfectly that it raises the hairs on the back of your neck."  Bruce is a highly sought-after fiddle and banjo teacher, teaches his own intensive fiddle workshop program all over the United States, and has taught at many camps and festivals. Visit Bruce's Website. 

Judy Hyman, Old Time Fiddle - With roots in classical training, traditional fiddle music, and modern rock, Judy is a founding member of the alternative rock band, The Horse Flies. She has toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and recorded 7 albums with The Horse Flies, including releases on MCA and Rounder Records and two feature film scores (Where the Rivers Flow North and A Stranger in the Kingdom). The Horse Flies have been featured on MTV, Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, World Cafe and Mountain Stage and have been written about in Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and other major publications.  Visit Judy's Website.

Marie Reilly, Irish Fiddle - Marie is fiddler with the BBC 2002 Folk Group of the Year, Cherish the Ladies.  She was born and raised in Whitestone, New York. Her mother hails from Ballyduff, County Waterford and her father is from County Longford. Marie began her musical endeavors on the fiddle and tin whistle under the supervision of her father when she was 8. She was heavily influenced by the legendary Kerry fiddler, Johnny Cronin and studied for many years with the late Maureen Glynn. Marie has performed throughout the United States with Mick Moloney and her brother Martin, a great button accordionist. She has also played in Riverdance. She has just released her first CD with her brother, "Marie & Martin Reilly".

Abby Newton, Cello - Returning for her third year at RMFC, Abby Newton is an unusually versatile cellist who is active in both the folk and classical music scenes. Over the past two decades, her association with Scottish musicians Jean Redpath and Alasdair Fraser has taken her on tours throughout Scotland and the US with special appearances on A Prairie Home Companion. For seven summers she has been the instructor of Scottish cello at Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School in California. Her teaching stresses the use of the cello both as a melodic and rhythmic instrument.   Visit Abby's Website. [Back to top]

Steve Scott, Cello - Steve is a talented multi-instrumentalist who has broad professional experience, including chamber/symphonic, jazz and Dixieland, folk, and Celtic.  He has performed at many Celtic, jazz and folk festivals in the Northwest, and has numerous recordings to his credit, with his own bands and as a studio player.  An experienced dance musician, Steve's playing is driving and rhythmic, and he continues to expand the cello's possibilities in traditional and folk music.  Steve is highly regarded as a teacher, and has been named to several "Who's Who" lists in education.

Hank Troy, Piano - Hank has performed in Denver since 1971 when he began presenting concerts of ragtime and accompanying silent films.  His expertise became know statewide when he hosted for two seasons the TV musical variety show “Glenarm Place” and as host of “Ragtime With Hank Troy”, a long-running weekly radio show.  From 1981-98, he was pianist with the Queen City Jazz Band, and he now plays with the Alan Frederickson Jazz Ensemble.  He also performs with his own swing group, the Hank Troy Jazz Quartet.  In addition, Hank plays for stage shows and musical theater.  Hank composes music for television and radio and has written songs for children’s theater.  He has been teaching private piano lessons for 30 years.  His versatility as a pianist has allowed him to work with students on diverse repertoire, including classical, ragtime, jazz, blues, and pop.

Barbara MacDonald Magone, Cape Breton Piano - The superb Cape Breton-style pianist Barbara MacDonald Magone is much in demand both as accompanist and as a soloist in her own right.  In 1992, she toured the west coast of Scotland with Alasdair Fraser and Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster.  She was on three tours of Masters of the Folk Violin accompanying Cape Breton fiddler Joe Cormier and Irish fiddler Seamus Connolly.  She has taught and performed at dozens of festivals and schools, and has been on the staff of the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, California. [Back to top]

Mary Flower, Guitar - Mary has been one of America’s finest blues and roots music performers for over thirty years.  A consummate fingerstyle guitarist, and a master of lap slide guitar, she draws on traditional, contemporary, and original material.  Mary has taught guitar at the Denver Folklore Center Music School and its successor, the Swallow Hill Music School, was thrice named Colorado’s "Best Folkie," and received a prestigious songwriting fellowship from the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities.  She was appointed as visiting guest artist at Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia, and she’s been back nearly every year since.  Focus of a feature article in Fingerstyle Guitar magazine (August, 2000), she was also prizewinner at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship in 2000— the second woman in 27 years to place in the top three!  Visit Mary's website.

Paddy League, Bodhran & Mandolin - Paddy grew up in the musically diverse Washington D.C. area, and by his teenage years had acquired a strong background in jazz, Latin, and world percussion styles. His involvement in traditional Irish music initially came about through an interest, acquired from his grandfather, in the Irish language. He has become one of the most respected percussionists and bodhrán teachers on the North American acoustic and traditional music circuit, maintaining a busy performance and teaching schedule.  Paddy is best known for his innovative and exciting bodhrán playing, which blends his knowledge of the Irish tradition with the influences of his experience with other folk and traditional percussion. He is also a multi-instrumentalist whose talents extend to guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and concertina. Paddy is a prolific recording artist who has been featured on over two dozen albums to date, including recent releases by Susan McKeown, John Whelan, Mick Moloney, and Connie Dover.

Brian Theriault, Fiddle - Brian is one of the Bay Area's most sought after dance fiddlers and has been inspiring both dancers, and fiddlers, in a variety of settings over the years. Brian is originally from Maine but has travelled extensively throughout the U.S. to play dances, concerts, festivals and teach workshops. Though he has performed with many different bands in various styles, he draws his fire from  New England fiddle sensibilities  in what he calls "fiddlin' both sides of the tradition".

Loretta Thompson, Fiddle & Gaelic Singing - A genuine and enthusiastic artist, Loretta's spontaneous nature charms audiences at home and abroad. She has been featured at festivals, music camps, and in concerts with many notable Celtic performers including the Tannahill Weavers, Cherish the Ladies, Natalie MacMaster, Alex Beaton, Alasdair Fraser, Jerry Holland, Donnie Macdonald, James Kelly, Ed Miller, Seamus Kennedy, and others. Loretta is a talented Scottish Gaelic singer and fiddler who has traveled and played extensively in Scotland and Ireland. Loretta arranges, directs, and composes music for all forms of Scottish and Irish dancing, and is a sought after educational performance artist. Currently finishing a degree in music education and conducting, Loretta is also a music teacher, performer, and recording artist. [Back to top]

Ken Perlman, Banjo, Guitar – Ken is both a pioneer of the banjo style known as "melodic clawhammer," and a master of finger style guitar. He draws his material from traditional sources -- the music of Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island and the American South. He has written some of the most widely respected banjo and guitar instruction books of modern times, and he has been on staff at prestigious teaching festivals around the world. He has toured much of the world and made several recordings. Visit Ken's Website

Ed Miller, Scottish Songster -  Ed is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, and now lives in Austin, Texas. He continues his singing, with regular gigs in Austin and tours throughout North America, taking his songs and stories everywhere from coffee houses and folk clubs to festivals and Highland Games. Ed's repertoire is representative of the breadth of the Scottish folk revival, including ageless ballads and the songs of Robert Burns, as well as more recent songs which are entering the folk repertoire and keeping it fresh. From children's street songs to songs of nationalism, emigration and urban life, a performance by Ed Miller gives the audience an education (in the most entertaining way) in the constants and changes of Scottish life. Ed's voice soars as distinctive, smooth and satisfying as a good malt whisky. As the folk music critic for The Scotsman newspaper wrote, "we couldn't ask for a more tasteful and accomplished ambassador of Scots song". Visit Ed's Website.

Dan & Jennifer Levenson - Dan is a native southern Appalachian style fiddler. He teaches pre-beginner to performance level fiddlers at workshops, festivals, and camps, and has students all across the country as well as around the world. Dan combines superb musicianship with the ability to teach what he knows in a way folks can understand and apply to their own playing. Dan has been voted one of the country's top ten clawhammer banjo players by Banjo Newsletter readers. He is well known as the banjo player for the Boiled Buzzard Stringband and has traveled inside and outside the country playing and teaching for many years. He teaches the full range of levels from the outright beginner to performance level. Visit Dan's Website.

Larry Edelman, Dance Caller, Mandolin – Larry Edelman has traveled widely in the United States and around the world delighting both novice and veteran dancers with his humor, enthusiasm, skillful teaching, knowledge of dance history, and colorful calling. Larry has played guitar and mandolin in several bands and currently plays fiddle in Colorado-based Poultry in Motion. Larry is the author of Square Dance Caller's Workshop, an acclaimed text on the art of calling square dances. Larry has called dances and has taught workshops throughout the U.S. [Back to top]

Laurie Riley, Harp – Known for her ability to make a harp sound like a whole new instrument, Laurie can make it speak, make it laugh and cry. A professional musician since the age of ten, Laurie has toured throughout the US, in Canada, and in Ireland. She has recorded eleven albums of harp music, authored five books, and made five instructional videos. She also judges harp competitions and teaches for harp organizations in the US and abroad.  Visit Laurie's Website. [Back to top]

Bonnie Carol - Hammer Dulcimer - "Bonnie is a wonderful, relaxing, encouraging, and excellent teacher. She had a nice mix of practice and performance tips, interesting music, clear handouts, and engaging teaching style. . . . I was honored to be in her class." - from students of Bonnie's 2001 Swannanoa Gathering Class. Bonnie is a dulcimer pioneer. She brings to the camp a perspective and knowledge of the developments of the dulcimer from the past 30 years. Expert on the hammered and fretted dulcimers, marimba, and percussion instruments, Bonnie brings experience and repertoire from contra dance, old-time, Celtic, African, and Latin American music. Bonnie has produced, recorded, and distributed five albums of her music, on which she plays the majority of the instruments. She put her knowledge of traditional music and dulcimers into the five books she authored. Most of the dulcimer contests across the nation have seen Bonnie win or place.  Visit Bonnie's Website. [Back to top]

Jennifer Sordyl, Beginning Fiddle - Jennifer was literally "raised in the music business" along with her 8 brothers and sisters in the family music store in the Midwest. These days you'll find her enthusiastically teaching fiddle and beginning violin at three rural charter schools in Southern Arizona. She especially loves teaching the Montessori preschoolers and their parents, in the arts community of Tubac, where she sponsors regular jam sessions and as well as playing professionally with an "eclectic-traditional" string band at a local Bistro. [Back to top]