August Week I Flute & Pennywhistle

Jody Johnstone has been a fixture in the Irish music community in the
Belfast area for over a decade. She co-leads the Irish session at the Homeport
Tavern in Searsport on Thursday nights. Jody’s first intensive whistle study
was with Thomas Johnston in Ennis, Ireland. On returning from Ireland she
sought out Nicole Rabata for private lessons.  She attends the Catskills
Irish Arts Week regularly and studies whistle with with Mary Bergin, Joanie
Madden and Kathleen Conneely here or in Ireland every chance she gets.  A
recent vacation on Joanie Madden’s Musical Bus Tour of Ireland in which she
got to play with Joanie any number of times was a highlight of her lifetime.
Jody plays locally with Jim Hyland and Chris Brinn as The Strayaways and has
appeared on stage many times at the Maine Celtic Celebration and will do so
again this year.

A longtime Maine Fiddle Camper, Jody has previously assisted teaching
beginner whistle and is delighted to be on staff this year.

email: [email protected]

Sharon has been a student of tin whistle and wooden flute since 1977 when she attended the Willy Clancy Summer School while working in Ireland for the year. On her return to Boston to care for her grandmother, she studied with master flute players in the Hanafin /Cooley Comhalthus branch. She move to Maine to raise her children and became a member of the Portland Ceili Band and Ladies of the Lake. She runs a music studio in Bath, Maine where she teaches flute and whistle and Music Together. For a few months every year since 2000, she happily lives and breathes Maine Fiddle alongside director Doug Protsik.  Sharon can be contacted at [email protected] or 207-522-3900.