Featuring:
Alex CummingAlex Cumming is a traditional Singer, Accordionist, Pianist and dance caller hailing from Somerset, England, now living in Brattleboro VT, USA. He performs songs and tunes from around the United Kingdom and America with a great depth of knowledge of the tradition. Alex has made his mark on the folk scene with his rhythmic dance-able accordion style, strong voice and his fun and engaging stage presence. After over a decade of recording albums and touring with various bands, 2023 sees Alex record and release his debut solo album, ‘Homecoming’, featuring fiddler Audrey Jaber (Wake Up Robin, Free Raisins), guitarist Max Newman (Stringrays, Nor’Easter) and regular recording collaborator Pete Ord (Haystack Records).
Alex is a member of Celtic trio Bellwether (with Louise Bichan, Eric McDonald), award winning a capella quartet The Teacups and critically acclaimed duo Alex Cumming & Nicola Beazley. You may also catch him playing for dances in many combos, including Stuart Kenney’s Red Case Band and trio Crossover. In 2020 Alex, Jeremiah McLane and Rachel Bell co-founded Virtual Accordion Camp together. He is also Artistic Director for Revels North and bookings manager Live To Your Living Room.
Sammy WetsteinSammy Wetstein is a musician, composer, and teacher intent on fuzing styles of folk and jazz music with improvisational creativity. While initially classically trained on cello and piano, he has gone on to perform and record in a variety of folk styles including Celtic, New England, bluegrass, and old time fiddle music. Sammy’s love of music stems from his dream to find belonging and bring others together, and in his teaching he hopes to encourage string players of all ages and backgrounds to find freedom in their music, explore alternative string styles, and to play music as a means to find/ build community while better understanding oneself.
As a multi instrumentalist fluent in playing accordion, guitar, mandolin, violin, and viola he has performed at such venues as the Newport Folk Festival, The Shalin Liu Performance Center, and the annual International Bluegrass Music Association conference, and has appeared alongside artists such as the Grammy winning 8 Bit Big Band, rock group Guster, jazz icons Joe Levano and Kenny Barron, and world renown string players including Eugene Friesen, Darol Anger, and Jason Anick. He is currently a student at Berklee College of Music, focusing on jazz and roots cello performance.
Sammy frequently performs with a variety of bands and musical projects ranging from jazz combos to contemporary bluegrass, celtic, and contra dance bands. As an advocate for furthering the role of the cello in traditional music, he has been featured on Bluegrass Today and Sirius XM Bluegrass Junction with his contemporary folk quartet, Catfish in the Sky. His Celtic trio, Carroll Sisters, was voted one of the top 5 Celtic bands of 2022 by Irish and Celtic music podcast, and has performed at numerous venues throughout New England. Sammy has dedicated himself to learning the music played by different communities of musicians, and his travels have led to him teaching as faculty at multigenerational folk music communities Maine Fiddle Camp and The Swannanoa Gathering.
Clara StickneyClara grew up playing music in the woods of southern Maine in a family of classical musicians. She fell in love with fiddle music when she came to Maine Fiddle Camp for the first time in 2013. Clara minored in music and started playing the lever harp while earning her master’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern Maine. She started playing for contra dances in 2016 with Jamie Oshima in their duo project Joy Compass. Clara currently tours with the Red Case Band (fiddle and harp) and the Gaslight Tinkers (fiddle) as well as other projects and solo. She teaches at camps and festivals and offers private lessons.
w: https://www.claraconstancemusic.com/
e: [email protected]
Mitch ReedWords from Mitch Reed:
“I am a multi-instrumentalist, traditional music instructor, and storyteller. I was born in Bayou Vista, Louisiana, raised in Lafayette by musicians and storytellers from Mamou. At 15 I began playing the fiddle and studying traditional Cajun and Creole music. By 17 I toured as a cultural ambassador in Smithsonian Institution Office of Folklife Programs, and have continued to work with them since 1989.During my career, I have played alongside Louisiana greats such as Canray Fontenot, Bois Sec Ardoin, Charles Neville, and George Porter. I have performed on four Grammy Nominated albums, and in 2009 I was awarded a Grammy with BeauSoleil for the album “Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival”. Over the years I have built an extensive repertoire and learned an old style of playing which is evident in my sound today.
After I retired from 11 years on the road as the bass player and second fiddler with BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, I moved from Louisiana to Maine with my wife and our family. These changes helped me continue passing on the unwritten tradition of Cajun and Creole fiddling and storytelling while exploring the connections between the musical traditions of Acadia and Acadiana.”
Mitch will be teaching either bass or fiddle during the week-long sessions in 2024
Ethan TischlerEthan Tischler is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from just outside of Burlington, Vermont. High school friends brought him along to MFC in 2016, and he’s been hooked ever since! Though his principal focus in music has been singing and songwriting, Ethan loves playing for concerts and dances on guitar (standard / DADGAD), fiddle, mandolin, and banjo. His present projects include leading the Youth Choir at the Belfast UU Church, teaching guitar and sound recording at Bagaduce Music Library in Blue Hill, teaching participatory song and dance school residencies with Belfast Flying Shoes, and playing shows and dances with the Gawler Family Band, the trio Springtide, Owen Kennedy, and his partner Elsie Gawler.
Annadeene Konesni FowlerAnnadeene Konesni Fowler
Steeped in traditions of music and festivals of Western North Carolina and Kentucky from birth, Annadeene was in fact named for old-time guitar player and singer Annadeene Fraley. She’s sure music followed the name.
Exposed to and trying out all kinds of music after moving to Maine, Annadeene discovered the joys of performance and musical theatre at age 7 on the stages of Maine State Music Theatre and playhouses of the Midcoast. She picked up parts singing in high school choruses, and with DownEast Singers. She was a featured vocalist with Portland Symphony Orchestra, and wound up her youth musical studies at Walnut Hill School in Natick, Ma., majoring in Opera.
These days Annadeene weaves her harmonies and melodies with family and friends in genres of folk, country, bluegrass, blues and rock ‘n roll as a singer of Americana band The Hot Suppers. She has been an instructor at Strung Together Music Festival in Searsport, Maine. She is the co-producer of Belfast Summer Music Series, and promoter of musical and artistic acts throughout Maine.
Leave the cases and capos and pesky breaking strings to the other musicians. Annadeene would like to encourage the Warblers to dig in, open up their mouths and let their inner voice shine!
- Owen Kennedy
Maine musician Owen Kennedy is delighted to be on staff at Maine Fiddle Camp this year, after attending many years as a camper! An award-winning fiddler rooted in the Maine Maritime musical tradition and immersed in his growing passion for Scottish music, Owen splits time between Maine and Cape Breton where he’s studying Gaelic language, culture, and music at Beinn Mhàbu. Owen’s love of traditional music and enthusiasm for performing has taken him all around New England, into Canada, and over to Scotland and Shetland, where he has played with Ellen Gawler and the Pineland Fiddlers, Young Tradition Vermont’s Touring Group and Youth Commission (now Sap Line), and in duos with Benjamin Foss, Ethan Tischler, and Seán Heely. Owen is the 2022 New England Regional Open Scottish Fiddle Champion, and the 2021 Junior US National Scottish Fiddle Champion. His powerful playing can capture the melancholy of a Scottish air, mimic the sound of pipes in a march, or drive a good ol’ New England contradance tune.
Owen’s debut album “Oh When: Now,” recorded with Owen Marshall, features tunes from the Maine Maritime tradition as well as favorites from Scotland, Cape Breton, and Shetland. Owen is also wrapping up a solo project, 50 Fiddlers from 50 States, available on YouTube. In addition to performing, Owen has been giving private fiddle lessons in-person and online since 2019 and also offers group lessons at Beinn Mhàbu. Owen’s enthusiasm for teaching is fueled by his excitement to share what he has learned from the many mentors who have generously taught him over the years, including so many of the amazing Maine Fiddle Camp staff. Whether in Maine, Vermont, or Cape Breton, Owen is not one to miss the chance to be outside exploring. If he’s not playing for a dance, at a session, or on stage, he’s likely to be enjoying time on the water, cooking up fresh-caught fish by bonfire, or taking a walk in the mountains along quiet gravel roads.
Find him on YouTube and social media @fiddlerokennedy or at www.fiddlerokennedy.com.
Ando AndersonMy mother brought a ukulele on a family trip to Atlanta. The 7 hour drive was pretty stressful as three unruly bored brothers turned the backseat into a war zone. In addition to our battles this trip we each learned to play 5’2″ on the uke. My first experience with a stringed instrument. Of course we performed for Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. That was over 50 years ago.
Since then I’ve played guitar, upright bass, and uke in assorted bands and groups mostly in Mississippi and Maine. (more…)
Aidan BoardmanAidan Boardman is a vocalist/multi-instrumentalist and teacher, teaching primarily at Greene Hill School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He is also pursuing songwriting and recording under the pseudonyms, anguid and Dreamt. Aidan’s teaching focuses on developing guitar technique, posture, creative harmonies, and ear-training.
Greg BoardmanI traded my electric guitar for a fiddle upon hearing Dave Swarbrick play with Fairport Convention at the King’s Rook, in Ipswich, Massachusetts, back in 1970. Roving out later from my home in central Maine, I soon discovered a cadre of peer fiddling expeditionaries (including many MFC staffers) and a couple of older generations boasting of some very fine country and traditional musicians. Among these, Cherry Frechette, Otto Soper, Fred Pike, Leo Murphy, Simon St. Pierre, Ben Guillemette and Lucien Matthieu, to mention a few, made a great impact upon my life and music. Dudley Laufman of Canterbury, New Hampshire, whose itinerant musician’s license still brings him frequently to Maine, has also been a seminal musical influence, not to mention the very welcome new wave of younger musicians who are infusing our scene with great energy, creativity and feeling. Meantime, I continue to teach bowed strings to elementary school children, produce music events, assist in music for worship, and perform around the state from my family base in Lewiston.
Sandy DavisSandy has been playing for contra dances for over 50 years. In the 70’s, he was a founding member of the Roaring Jelly dance band and the Common Ground quintet. Back then, he played occasionally with Dudley Laufman and the Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra. He spent over 20 years as the hired music director of two long-standing community dance bands (the Berlin Country Dance Orchestra and Oh, CONTRAire!), and has recorded with a number of traditional musicians, including Tony Saletan, Jay Unger, Jerry Robichaud, and Trapezoid. He has played for many well-known dance callers, including Dudley Laufman, Ted Sanella, Larry Jenkins, Tony Parkes, and Lisa Greenleaf
He was a co-founder of The Music School at the Emporium, then in Cambridge, MA, and was the Director of the school for the first four years. As the lead old-time banjo instructor, he taught over 400 musicians how to frail a banjo. He has been on staff several times at Pinewoods, and has led instructional workshops at many festivals including: Fox Hollow, the National Folk Festival at Wolftrap, NEFFA, the Five College Folk Festival, and the DEFFA Festival.
In the past at Fiddle Camp, Sandy has taught pennywhistle and five-string banjo. This summer he will be leading the Great Horned Ukestra in its daily late-afternoon rehearsals, and also leading them at the Country Dances each evening. (Remember to bring a ukulele and/or a horn!)
15 Pipers Way, New Harbor, ME 04554 • Landline: (207) 677-6647
Jim DiCarloA self-described “tune hound,” Jim DiCarlo has been playing Irish music on whistle and wooden flute for contra dances, at sessions, and in the hallways of music festivals for the past 25 years. He loves learning new tunes and has even composed a few of passable quality. A long-time member of the Maine-based, not-entirely-traditional group Wake the Neighbors, he played alongside Lissa Schneckenburger, John Cote, Jessie & Greg Boardman, Ed Howe, Anthony Shostak and Alfred Lund. (more…)
Éric FavreauÉric Favreau comes from a family of traditional musicians and has spent a great deal of time playing with other fiddlers, learning their repertoire and studying their varied styles. Éric has explored and exploited various sources including archives and personally made field recordings and has accumulated a rich and fascinating repertoire. Over the years, he has garnered a profound understanding and vast knowledge of Québécois traditional music. (more…)
Frank FerrelMaine coast musician, Frank Ferrel is considered one of the seminal traditional New England and Maritime fiddlers. In fact, Boston Globe music critic, Scott Alarik called him, “One of the finest living masters of the genre.” his CD recording, Yankee Dreams, was selected by the Library of Congress to be included in their, “Select list of 25 examples of American folk music on record.” (more…)
Alex FortierAlex has been playing piano since the age of six, even receiving instruction from our esteemed MFC staff at a young age. He now adds his experience with various styles of music to MFC as staff.Having graduated from University of Rochester’s Music program in 2019, Alex is now working both solo and with various projects out of Rochester, NY.Spotify Artist Link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/60n7vsNGsJxyNrpRoH0Om4?si=_s2_vlKLRr2XAIA6zwybMQ
Benjamin FossBenjamin Foss is a musician and luthier based in Brooks, Maine. Benjamin grew up in southern New England attending and playing for contra dances and building fiddles and banjos out of everything he could find. He first came to Maine Fiddle Camp in 2012 and hasn’t missed a session since!Benjamin plays in several contra dance combinations on fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo, and occasionally other stringed instruments and on rare occasions can be found calling dances. When he’s not playing, he’s building and restoring guitars, banjos and mandolins in Brooks. Some of Benjamin’s other pursuits include restoring player pianos and reed organs, stacking firewood, and finding forgotten fiddle tunes and dances to bring back into circulation.
Ellen GawlerEllen Gawler is a celebrated fiddler, masterful in many styles, including Irish, French-Canadian, Maritime, Shetland and New England. Her fiddling possesses sparkling clarity, authentically rooted in tradition while at the same time inventive and playful. Her lively delivery of traditional fiddling has sent many a contra dance hall into whirling delight with soaring melodies and driving rhythms. (more…)
Elsie GawlerElsie Gawler is a multi-instrumentalist and songster rooted in Maine’s traditional folk music and culture. With her family, the Gawler Family Band, she has played throughout the state and beyond, sharing traditional fiddle tunes, songs, and original works since she was 6 years old. From this foundation she has branched out and launched her debut solo album, Sweet As Honey. The album is a collection of 9 original songs inspired by sacred connection to earth and community. While continuing to play regularly with The Gawler Family Band, her other projects include duo Elsie & Ethan, and trio The Gawler Sisters. She has also been a long-time member of the group Childsplay. (more…)
Pascal GemmePascal Gemme has a degree from St-Laurent College (Montreal) in arranging and classical/jazz guitar, he has since been searching for seldom-heard songs and melodies, interpreting them in his unique and unmistakable style. Originally inspired by his fiddling grandfather, he has played with (and learned from), most of today’s great Quebecois fiddlers and singers. On top of teaching fiddle lessons on a weekly basis in his village of Waterville, QC, his teaching highlights include the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick, Ireland, the Goderich Celtic College in Ontario, Quasitrad Music Camp in Australia, The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Alasdair Fraser’s Fiddle Train, Sierra Fiddle Camp and Valley of the moon…AND Maine Fiddle camp of course (the best one of them all)!
Ed HoweBorn into a musical family, Ed started playing fiddle at the age of 4, learning Suzuki method. His musical interests cover a wide spectrum from Bluegrass to Celtic and beyond and he has been a regular instructor for Maine Fiddle Camp since 2003. Howe has an extensive electronics background, and took an interest in the electric violin. He plays a 5-string NS Design electronic violin and is a featured artist on the NS design artist page. (more…)
Jim JosephJim Joseph, from Phippsburg,ME, was actually on staff a couple years ago for the inaugural June week. That was before we had an actual accordion track, and now he is back as an accordion teacher. Jim plays button accordion in the Quebecois, New England, and Cajun styles and also plays 5 string banjo, mandolin, fiddle, percussion (foot and otherwise) and is a member of several Maine bands including, T-Acadie, Scrod Pudding, and JimmyJo and the Jumbol’ayuhs, with Fiddle Camp staffers Pam Weeks and Bill Olson. Jim plays single row Cajun accordions (built by Marc Savoy and Junior Martin) and a 2 row Saltarelle D/G box. Here are some videos of Jim in action: A Cajun song with the Jumbol’Ayuhs, and a set of Quebecois reels with T-Acadie.
Stuart KenneyOne of the most in demand upright bass, and five-string banjo players on the US contradance circuit, Stuart Kenney’s regional musical interests sweep from Southwest Louisiana to Acadia. He has a long career in many traditional music genres. His interest in Quebecois music formed through the fiddling of Lisa Ornstein, and performances by La Bottine Souriante. The inclusion of French Canadian music into the living tradition of New England contradance music caught his attention early on. (more…)
Bennett KonesniBennett Konesni grew up in Appleton, Maine, 10 miles downstream of Maine Fiddle Camp. He was naturally drawn into the strong communities of old-time music, sailing, and farming in the area. At thirteen he shipped as a deckhand aboard local schooners, sailing Penobscot Bay and learning the traditional work songs of the tall ships as he raised sails and hauled anchor. Later, at Middlebury College, Bennett co-founded the student farm and spent six months studying Zulu farming songs in South Africa. (more…)
Glen LoperGlen gives private lessons for mandolin and tenor banjo from his home in Portland, ME, and plays for contradances throughout the Northeast, and at festivals across the country with bands such as Frigate, Steampacket, Riptide, and Stomp Rocket. Visit Glen at www.glenloper.com.
49 Brackett St, Portland ME, 04102
Phone: 207-837-8249
Elaine MalkinElaine Malkin has played the violin since the age of 5. She was part of the resurgence of contra dances in Maine in the early 70’s, having learned from Otto Soper and Dudley Laufman. She played New England contra dances until 2009, when she began an intensive study of Québécois fiddle with mainly Éric Favreau, but also with Lisa Ornstein, André Brunet, Yvon Mimeault, and Liette Remon. This music has completely captured her heart and she uses a traditional Québécois repertoire for contra dances, concerts, and other venues. Learning, teaching, and sharing this special music is her greatest joy.
Kaity NewellKaity teaches fiddle in Damariscotta and has played for dances for many years with The Maine Country Dance Orchestra, and with the band The Lady Bugs. A native of Great Britain, Kaity has brought many a fine tune from the British Isles to our local dances. Kaity also plays viola in the local community orchestra and has four children, all of whom play music and come to camp every year.
7 Creek Lane Damariscotta ME 044543 207-563-8440
John PranioJohn started his early musical life as a drummer, but by some miracle got hooked on traditional music in his teens.
John’s been teaching fiddle and harmonica at MF Camp since its start in the mid 90’s. He’s been known to get a few silly skits going for the evening variety show. He teaches fiddle, guitar and harmonica privately and can be contacted at [email protected] 338-0296 (cell 213-3294).
Doug ProtsikDoug likes to play the “old-time piano” for dances, melodramas, honky tonk saloons, and silent movies. He learned his style from Otto Soper, Geneva Walton, and Danny Patt among many others. He plays with Old Grey Goose and produced all three of their recordings, including the group’s first recording in 1978 for Folkways, “Old Time Country Dance Tunes and Songs from Maine”, now available again on CD. Doug also plays piano, accordion, and fiddle. He is the Camp Director again this year.
116 Pleasant Cove Dr. Woolwich ME 04579 207-522-3800
Kenny RaskinKenny first picked up a ukulele at age 8, when a family friend bought him one. Now 50 plus years later, he’s not half bad! He’s got a menagerie of them, from soprano to baritone, and plays a variety of styles, swing music being his favorite. Kenny has been an actor and physical comedian for 35 years, and has performed internationally, as well as on Broadway. He also starred as the lead clown in Cirque du Soleil’s Nouvelle Experience. He and Francis Berks make the acoustic duo The Doppelgangers.
Maggie RobinsonMaggie Robinson has been teaching fiddle since 2003. She began taking fiddle lessons the age of 10 and became concert mistress of her school orchestra during her senior year. Many years later she discovered Contradancing and fell in love with the music She took the violin out of the closet and began learning fiddle tunes. She completed a course in 2003 at the Hartt College of Music, Theater, & Dance on “Teaching Fiddling”.
Currently she is teaching at several locations in greater Portland, and also regularly calls for contra dances around the state.
Lissa SchneckenburgerA new England fiddler and folk singer, Lissa grew up in Maine as an active member of the folk music and dance community, where she cut her teeth as a musician at a very young age. She has continued to explore music throughout her life, leading to her graduation from The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts (2001). Her list of mentors includes Greg Boardman, Alasdair Fraser, David Kaynor, and Hankus Netsky. While embracing a diverse pallet of musical influences, she still stays true to her New England roots.
For more info on Lissa, check out her website at www.lissafiddle.com
Bethany WaickmanBethany Waickman is a guitarist based out of Portland, Maine. She grew up in a musical family in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York state. After college she spent some time traveling, hiking, and playing music in Ireland. Upon returning, she moved to Boston to focus on music. She co-founded the contra dance trio, Anadama, and is the guitarist for VT-based fiddler/singer Lissa Schneckenburger. (more…)
Pam WeeksPam sings and plays several instruments in the folk trio, T-Acadie, is fiddler and singer for the Maine-based Cajun dance band, Jimmyjo & the Jumbol’Ayuhs, plays fiddle and mountain dulcimer in the contradance band, Scrod Pudding, and performs solo or with guitar player and caller Bill Olson. She is an accomplished tunesmith and has composed scores of tunes, from lively jigs and reels, to entrancing airs and beautiful waltzes.