Concertina

Grey Larsen has been playing anglo concertina since 1970, when he was 15 years old. He is a masterful player in the traditional Irish style, and also has a great deal to offer students who wish to use the anglo in other contexts, such as in Québecois dance music, Morris dance music, with song accompaniment, etc. In past anglo concertina workshops he has explored numerous topics with students including Irish traditional ornamentation techniques, basic fingering and alternate fingering strategies, bellows management, how to relax with the instrument, and approaches to song accompaniment. Check the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=956S53rZEz4

Since first picking up the squeezebox in 1997, Junior has become a fixture in the Irish Traditional Music scene in America. Performing on Button Accordion and Anglo Concertina, he has honed his craft as an active promoter of traditional music, an inspiring teacher, and a natural performer. He combines a deep respect for the raw energy inherent in centuries old traditions, with a constantly evolving appreciation for modern music. He holds a BA in Music from UMass Lowell, and is currently on faculty at the Comhaltas Ceoltóir Éireann Boston Music School. He regularly performs with Maine based ensembles The Press Gang, The Milliners, and Sylvain’s Acadian Aces. Website:www.juniorstevens.com.

David Stimson began backing up country dance music on the guitar in 1965 at the age of eleven. During several summers the 1960s he attended Pinewoods cape with his family while his stepfather, Bob Guillard, taught Morris Dancing and English Country Dance. David’s was first exposed to Contra Dance during the evening dances at Pinewoods; however, the disease remained latent until he learned English Concertina and joined the Woods Hole Folk Orchestra in1979. (more…)

Ken has been drawn to old and traditional songs and tunes since childhood. Playing harmonica since age 18, five-string banjo following a few years later, along with guitar and finally acquiring an English concertina a decade later – the object of interest that started it all – he has been actively playing and performing one thing or another since 1970.

Travelling extensively by thumb, boxcar, motorcycle, and homemade canoe since the age of thirteen (and still at it) and living in numerous rustic and out-of-the-way places has given Ken a unique understanding of the lifestyles of which he sings, and a first-hand sense of the regional and cultural nuances in the tunes he plays. (more…)