The 2012 Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp artist lineup has been announced, and it's looking good. The camp will be held August 5-12, 2012. Set in the beautiful Colorado Rockies outside of Denver at Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp is staffed with world class musicians who are highly-regarded for their superb playing as well as excellent teaching.
Liz Carroll, Irish Fiddle - Since she was 18, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, Liz and her fiddle have been amazing audiences around the globe. Liz is undoubtedly one of the greatest Irish fiddlers in North America. As well as being a world famous recording and concert artist, she is an outstanding teacher.
Liz' nomination for a 2010 Grammy made her the first American-born artist nominated for playing Irish music – ever! On St. Patrick’s Day 2009, Liz travelled to Washington, D.C., to play for fellow Chicagoan, President Obama, at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon.
Her many awards and recordings are too numerous to list here. Please Visit Liz' website. (Photo by Knuff Photography)
Laura Risk, Scottish Fiddle - Originally from California, Laura grew up in the thriving San Francisco Scottish fiddle scene, learning her craft from master fiddler Alasdair Fraser. Upon moving to Boston in 1996, Laura joined American roots band Cordelia's Dad. By 2001, Laura had moved to Montreal to continue her successful recording and concert career.
Laura's imaginatively expressive interpretations of Scottish, Irish, Cape Breton, and Quebecois fiddle music have garnered international acclaim. "A virtuoso fiddler. Her fluency in fiddle styles from Cape Breton to Appalachia is remarkable," raves The Boston Globe, while Folk Roots (U.K.) calls her playing "technically excellent and highly expressive." Says Grammy-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, "Laura Risk's fiddle is a revelation and achingly beautiful."
Laura is known as an outstanding teacher, able to inspire students at any level. She has taught at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, The Swannanoa Gathering (Celtic Week), Fiddlekids, Alasdair Fraser's Sierra Fiddle Camp, the Southern Hemisphere School of Scottish Fiddling (New Zealand), Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, and the Southern California Suzuki Institute, among others. While living in Boston, Laura was an Instructor of Fiddling at Wellesley College.
Visit Laura's website. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan)
Christian Howes, Jazz Violin - The Minneapolis Tribune calls Christian "arguably the most intriguing young violinist in jazz", while the Chicago Reader says: "Not since Jean-Luc Ponty has a violinist ranged from pure classical to fuzz tone rock to convincing jazz with such authority."
Christian has been awarded the #2 spot in Downbeat magazine’s Critics Poll four times as "Rising Star" jazz violinist. A classically-trained player, he quickly earned a reputation in jazz circles by playing with numerous jazz greats in New York.
He has been invited to teach or present at The New School, Singapore International String Conference, Oberlin College, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of New Mexico, University of Southern California, Ohio State University, the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp, Jazz Connections, and hundreds of high schools and middle schools.
David Greenberg, Cape Breton Fiddle - Over the past two decades, 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.
Anna Grace Kimbrough has been coming to RMFC since 2002. In her words, "It changed my life." Born into a musical family in south-west Mississippi, Anna Grace Kimbrough began her musical journey at a very early age. She started playing the piano at the age of three and picked up the violin at age five. She lives in Nashville, where she is teaching, playing, and recording professionally. Anna Grace has a background in Bluegrass, Country, Jazz, Blues, Soul/Funk, and Gospel, with influences from Irish, Scottish, and Cape Breton styles. A fiddle player, singer and songwriter, Anna Grace is currently touring with the gospel group, High Road III. The group was awarded "Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year" in 2010 by the National Traditional Country Music Association for their second album, "Turn Your Radio On." Her debut album "In Your Hands," was released in the fall of 2010.
Peter Barnes has been playing piano, flute and assorted other instruments for traditional dancing since 1971, and has been invited to most major contra, square, British Isles and vintage dance events throughout the United States, performing for dances and concerts, leading ensemble workshops, and generally acting in a crazy and often undignified manner. Averaging over 250 engagements per year since 1980 he is arguably one of Boston's busiest musicians, and has also played for festivals and tours in England, France, Denmark, Shetland, Scotland and Czechoslovakia. He works with the bands Bare Necessities, Yankee Ingenuity, Culchullan, Fresh Fish, A Panel of Experts, and B.L.T. and has performed with many traditional greats including Seamus Connolly, Joe Derrane, Cathie Ryan, Chris Norman, Alasdair Fraser, Rodney Miller, and Joe Cormier. Visit Peter's Website. Doug MacPhee, Piano - One of Cape Breton's best known pianists, Doug will be making his third appearance at Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp. His pupils know him as a master of the art, with a massive repertoire of tunes, including ones he learned from his mother, who was also an accomplished pianist. It's the Cape Breton tradition. Doug lives in New Waterford, Cape Breton, on the Atlantic Coast, where music, dancing, fiddle, and piano are a way of life. He has played and recorded with numerous Cape Breton fiddlers, most recently with David Greenberg on Tunes Until Dawn. Larry Edelman- Dance Caller, Mandolin, Southwestern Tunes - Larry has traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe playing, teaching, and calling for traditional dancing. He plays fiddle, mandolin, and guitar with the Soda Rock Ramblers, the Percolators, and the Prairie Chickens. Larry has taught at dozens of music and dance camps and festivals including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Ashokan, Augusta, Pinewoods, Lady of the Lake, and many more. Again this year, Larry will be conducting his very popular Southwest tunes workshop for all instruments. Larry will also be calling the evening dances, delighting both novice and veteran dancers with his fun, energetic dances, humor, enthusiasm, and skillful teaching.
Larry Unger, Guitar, Banjo - Larry has been a full time musician since 1984, and has presented a diverse range of musical performances at contra dances, Scottish dances, waltzes, dance weekends, dance camps, festivals, and concerts all across the United States, Canada and Europe. Besides playing for contra, waltz, swing, or Scottish dances, Larry also plays a wide variety of music including fingerstyle blues and slide guitar, rags, old time banjo tunes, original waltzes and fiddle tunes, as well as melodies played on a handful of unusual instruments like banjo guitar, fretless banjo, and piano harp. He has a great breadth of understanding of traditional music to complement his considerable technical proficiency on stringed instruments, and enjoys telling the stories about the origins of his music and the people who taught him. Unger teaches guitar and old time banjo, and has taught at many camps and weekend festivals on a variety of topics from guitar and banjo, to dance band workshops and tune writing workshops. Visit Larry's Website. Arlene Patterson- Fiddle & Guitar - A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Arlene's creative approach to teaching is well known. A regular clinician for the Suzuki Association of America, she is also a national judge for Scottish fiddle competitions and performs for dancing and Scottish events. Her day job is general music teacher in an elementary school. Come to class prepared to have fun.Abby Newton- Cello - Abby is well known for her groundbreaking work in the revival of the cello in American and Scottish traditional music. In the mid-seventies, she began performing with John Cohen and Jay Ungar in the Putnam County String Band, making it the first modern string band with a cello. At the same time, she began an active and continuing recording career, performing on over 100 recordings of prominent folk artists. Abby's solo CDs "Crossing to Scotland" (1997) and "Castles, Kirks, and Caves" (2001), have earned her critical acclaim both in the US and abroad. She has appeared on Prairie Home Companion and in 2001, Fiona Ritchie, of the nationally syndicated NPR show Thistle and Shamrock, did a feature program on Abby's music and her influence on the folk cello movement. In addition to many workshops conducted in Scotland promoting the use of the cello as both a melodic and rhythmic instrument in traditional music, Abby has taught in the US at Gaelic Roots, the National Strings Workshop, the Swannanoa Gathering and Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp. The combination of her teaching, performing and publishing have inspired many amateurs and professionals to enjoy playing traditional music on the cello. Visit Abby's Website. Loretta Thompson - Fiddle & More - Loretta Thompson is a high-spirited musician and singer whose versatile performances captivate audiences everywhere. Dynamic fiddling and a radiant voice echo the fervor of her Scottish-Irish and American heritage. She possesses a passionate and spontaneous enthusiasm for traditional music and dance which shines in every aspect of her life. Combining fiddle, guitar, and whistles with moving vocals, Loretta entertains with repertoires in Celtic music, American Historic and Nostalgia, Old Time Country, and more. She literally fiddled her way across Scotland and Ireland and is embraced wherever she travels for her talented fiddling and enthusiastic charm. Loretta has been featured for many years at local, state, and national Scottish and Irish gatherings, Celtic Festivals, and in concerts with a long list of leading Celtic entertainers. Loretta majored in music education and conducting, has experience as a full-time public school orchestra director, clinician, and general music teacher, and is a member of the Evergreen (CO) Chamber Orchestra. Loretta is a full-time entertainer, composer, private teacher, and plays for all forms of Scottish and Irish dance. Visit Loretta's Website. Topher Gayle- Mandolin, Guitar, Songwriting - A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Topher plays a variety of stringed instruments and hand percussion, and enjoys playing many styles of music. He's especially fond of funny songs, and what he calls "genre abuse" or "tune fixing." Topher is in a number of bands in the SF Bay area, has toured with his contra dance band on both coasts, and is in demand as an accompanist for singer/songwriters. He’s often asked to lend his compositional and arranging skills and excellent ear for harmony vocals. He's been on staff numerous times at music camps, including California Coast Music Camp, California Bluegrass Association Music Camp, Camp Kiya, and RMFC, and gives private lessons and workshops in San Jose, California. He teaches a range of technique, theory, and workshop topics, and has published several instructional books. In all his classes, Topher emphasizes the fun to be found in playing music. Topher is also a skilled luthier, and is especially known for the Mandonator™, his adaptation of the resonator mandolin. Visit Topher's Website. Steve Scott- Cello, Bass - 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. Steve also brings with him over 25 years of pro bass experience with various bands and symphony orchestras, and has something to offer everyone. Tina Gugeler- Hammered Dulcimer - Tina first heard a hammered dulcimer in 1986 while living in Ketchikan, Alaska. It quickly became her passion and soon it seemed everyone on the island had heard Tina and her band, BearFoot. Since moving to the Denver area in 1990, Tina has become a full time musician, performing solo and in small combos with fiddle, guitar or piano, and in several local contra dance bands. Along with her busy performance schedule, she teaches students on the dulcimer and bodhran. Tina has published a book of her arrangements, "Arrangements for the Hammered Dulcimer." She has taught at several festivals including Dulcimer Festival, Irish Week at Augusta, the California Traditional Music Society Annual Summer Solstice Festival, Winterfest, the Sawdust Festival ,and was a jam session leader and teacher at the Southwest Dulcimer Festival. Over the years, Tina has won many local and regional competitions, and in the year 2000 she won the U.S. National Hammered Dulcimer Championship. Click here to see a video of Tina at RMFC - Visit Tina's website. Frank Fyock- Orchestra, Composition - Frank is the former director of the orchestra at Denver School of the Arts and conductor of the Jefferson Young Artists Orchestra. He is a composer and song writer and has directed choirs, orchestras, and drum & bugle corps. He has his own recording studio and played fiddle professionally with a touring country band for ten years. After his stay at RMFC in 2001, he wrote "Escapes for Fiddlers," a collection of original solo fiddle tunes, which will be available at the camp store. He will again be teaching his fascinating and popular course in music history and composing. Cosima & Christopher Luther- Bluegrass, Jazz, Viola & Fiddle Duets - Co-founders of RMFC, C&C have been studying various fiddle styles, including Jazz, Swing, & Bluegrass, for over 20 years. They have been performing as professionals since age 8. Classically trained, they graduated with their respective Masters degrees in violin performance at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Spring of 2008. Christopher is continuing his Doctoral degree (DMA) in viola at UT Austin. Cosima is conducting several youth orchestras in Southern California as she embarks on a career as a conductor and freelance musician in Los Angeles. Overseas appearances include Europe and Asia. In 2007, Christopher produced and released his first CD, "Personality," which includes Cosima on several tracks; CD available here. The Bogglemuffins - Rachel Baiman, Kyle Murphy, Tyler Rusco, & Jake Simpson
The Bogglemuffins were formed during a wonderful music filled week at Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp 2006. After much laughter and music making, The Bogglemuffins were born: a four piece band of best friends who meet once a year to rehearse and perform bluegrass standards. Jake Simpson’s captivating vocals and lead guitar playing are complemented by Kyle Murphy’s Monroe style mandolin and vocal harmonies. Tyler Rusco holds down the groove on the upright bass while Rachel Baiman’s fiddle weaves in and out of the vocals and drives fast fiddle tunes. Two years ago, the Bogglemuffins recorded a live CD at RMFC, which has received rave reviews from campers and non-campers alike. The Bogglemuffins will team up to teach strategies of ensemble playing, conduct a Bluegrass Band Lab as well as classes in their individual instruments. The Bogglemuffins are all experienced multi-instrumentalists and band members pursuing professional careers in music performance, and have much insight to offer about interacting musically with a band, including what and when to play depending on the song, style, and instrument that you are playing
Two-Time Illinois State Fiddle Champion Rachel Baiman started playing the fiddle at the age of four. A native of Chicago, Rachel decided to take her musical aspirations to Nashville in the Fall of 2008, where she joined The Second Stringers; a bluegrass and old-time string band, and was invited to perform with this group on the Grand Old Opry with Mike Snyder. In the summer of 2010 this group won first place in the Midwestern Fiddle Championships and were awarded a spot at the Old Town School’s Folk and Roots Festival in Chicago. Rachel is currently a student at Vanderbilt University, where she is a double major in Anthropology and Music, and studies fiddle with Matt Combs. She spent the Fall 2010 Semester in Edinburgh, Scotland where she was able to experience the Scottish music traditions first hand, and had the opportunity to perform at ceilidhs, sessions and with the Scottish/American/Norwegian fusion group Duck River. Her strong interest in both Scottish and American traditional music led to the release of her first studio project, a 6 track EP with incredible mandolin player and pianist Neil Pearlman, a former RMFC instructor. In May 2011, Rachel was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from Vanderbilt University to create complete transcriptions of the 1920’s string band The Skillet Lickers, and is currently working on this project. Rachel'splaying is deeply informed by American Old Time and Bluegrass traditions, but she is not hesitant to explore progressive, international, and boundary crossing acoustic music. She currently lives in Nashville where she is in demand as a performer, and has recently appeared with string trio Roustabout, bluegrass band Stopgap, and plays for the Nashville Country Dancers Friday Night Square Dances.
Kyle Murphy has been attending RMFC for six years, during which he has played with The Bogglemuffins for four years. Outside of camp, Kyle attends East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he is pursuing a double major in Bluegrass Music Studies and Mathematics. During the school year he plays with other students in a band known as Sons of Bluegrass. When not in school he lives in Los Angeles, where he gives private lessons. He plays with his family in the Murphy Family Band, which plays throughout Southern California and won first place in the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest. Along with mandolin, Kyle is an accomplished fiddle and guitar player. He specializes in bluegrass, old-time music, swing, and blues music.
Tyler Rusco recently graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in double bass performance. He is a prolific performer who has played in master classes for such great bass pedagogues as Albert Lazslo (Julliard), and Ira Gold (Catholic University of America). Tyler is currently bass section principal of the Boulder Symphony, and has held other principal positions in the past. He is active in several genres of music, playing electric bass with local artist Daniel Luthjohn, and has been involved in several recording projects with MGB records. This year Tyler will join his fellow Bogglemuffins members, Jake, Rachel, and Kyle, to teach bluegrass ensemble playing and band member roles, as well as a class on bass technique and his approach to being a strong foundational and supporting player in any ensemble.
Jake Simpson first came to RMFC in 2004 at age 12. Since then he has developed a professional career in fiddle, guitar and vocals. He was inducted into the Old Time Fiddlers Hall of Fame at age 15, the youngest inductee ever by about 40 years.
Jake has many more interests in addition to music. You can read about them here.
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