August Week II Fiddle

Visit Jennifer’s website (http://www.jenniferarmstrong.com/).
233 Poors Mill Road Belfast ME 04915 207-322-2265

Louisa started playing violin as and eight-year-old through her public school’s strings program. In high school, she taught private violin lessons to younger students. Her music became more fiddley by the day. As a sophomore at Marlboro College, she founded a contra dance band, named “Wendy and the Lost Boys” by their admirers. The band studied with musician Keith Murphy. Louisa then hosted a monthly contra dance series that ran for four years. (more…)

An Irish fiddler with New England contradance flair and classical sensitivities, Liz Faiella has captivated audiences at premier folk venues, contradances, and festivals around New England. (more…)

Éric 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…)

Mary Fraser began her musical life by training in classical violin for thirteen years, concluding with a Suzuki method violin teacher certification.  She then left the classical music world and traveled extensively throughout the UK, immersing in the traditional music of her heritage.  Carrying right on into the southern US states to study the old time fiddle styles of eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and North Carolina.  (more…)

Ellen 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…)

Born 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…)

Elaine 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.

Helen Newell started playing violin at the age of three, and has spent every year of her life at Maine Fiddle Camp, including in utero! Helen grew up playing both folk and classical fiddle, performing in notable orchestras and chamber groups, as well as playing gigs and contra dances with the Newell Family Band and her contra dance band, Volution. Helen is currently attending Berklee College of Music, studying jazz, folk, and classical violin. Helen also has a private violin studio and is also a personal trainer and nutrition coach.

Kaity 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

Hannah Otten grew up in upstate New York, living both near the banks of the Hudson River and within the Catskill Mountains. She began playing classical viola at the age of 9, picked up a violin at age 15, arrived at Maine Fiddle Camp, and kept on playing traditional fiddle styles from there. Hannah has a clear and playful teaching style that serves camp well as a member of the beginner team. (more…)

Ed Pearlman enjoys many styles of fiddle music but is best known for Scottish and Cape Breton fiddling, often working with his wife, dancer Laura Scott, and their family band, Highland Soles (www.highlandsoles.com). Since the mid 1990s, he has taught fiddle in Portland, and written the music column for Scottish Life magazine. Ed has worked closely with top artists such as Alasdair Fraser, Natalie MacMaster, Tony Cuffe, Aly Bain, Jerry Holland and many others, especially when he directed the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club, 1981-99. His latest CD is On the Edge with son Neil on piano. Ed has played various Celtic and American styles, Eastern European and classical. For more info & some fiddling resources, see http://www.edpearlman.net – 207-650-2030

Julia lives in Belfast, Maine where she plays music, grows a yard full of spring bulbs and miniature fruit trees, and teaches fifth grade at Captain Albert Stevens School. Julia has always loved the percussive interplay between traditional music and dance forms and has enjoyed soaking up bits and pieces from players and dancers throughout New England and in Québec, Ireland, Brittany, and the southern Appalachians.  Julia performs with Baron Collins-Hill in their duo Velocipede (www.velocipedemusic.com). In addition to teaching at Maine Fiddle Camp, Julia hosts freefiddlelessons.com, a site with YouTube fiddle lesson videos and learning materials.

John started his very early musical life as a drummer, but by some miracle got hooked on traditional music in his teens.

Upon moving to Maine in1989, he helped establish the North Whitefield Contra Dance with famed caller Ted Sannella and the bands Calliope and The Usual Suspects, and continues playing for dances today with Henry Road and Sassafras Stomp.

John’s been teaching fiddle at Maine Fiddle Camp from the start, and more recently offering beginning/intermediate harmonica.  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 pranioshima@gmail.com 338-0296.

Maggie 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.