LEARN FROM THE KEEPERS OF THE TRADITION
the music, the technique, the lore, the joy
Our teachers are extraordinary musicians who either grew up within their musical traditions or have devoted a major portion of their lives to learning and understanding its subtleties. They are highly gifted teachers - personable, approachable, attentive - who are eager to pass on their technical skills and lore to students.
FACULTY TEAM - 2025
Rachel Aucoin - Piano
Born in New-Brunswick with roots in Cape Breton, pianist Rachel Aucoin was raised in an Acadian community and now lives near Quebec city. Passionate about teaching music, she has also accumulated, over the years, lots of stage experience, primarily as a dance musician as well as a concert performer. On recordings, you’ll hear her alongside fiddlers such as Donnell Leahy, Natalie MacMaster, Calvin Vollrath, Eric Favreau, Lissa Schneckenburger and so many more. She is the founder and director of the extraordinary Quebec trad music and dance Camp Souches à Oreilles, in Kamouraska. Rachel has received honors for her duet recording with accordionist husband Sabin Jacques as well as, more recently, a recording with Laura Risk and Nicholas Williams entitled Traverse.
Baron Collins-Hill - Mandolin
A Portland, Oregon based musician and educator, Baron plays and teaches mandolin, tenor guitar, six string guitar, tenor banjo, bouzouki, and other mandolin family instruments. Baron grew up playing the mandolin in Maine and graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts with a degree in music performance and ethnomusicology. While traditional fiddle music takes up most of his time, he also loves to play bluegrass, jazz, and open improvisation. He plays tenor guitar and mandolin in Velocipede, teaches and performs throughout the West Coast and New England, and busies himself with a host of other projects.
to learn more about baron: mandobaron.com
to learn more about baron: mandobaron.com
Joanne Garton - Fiddle
Fiddler and dancer Joanne Garton mixes her pervasive passion for Scottish culture with the drive and rhythms of the New England dance floor. A resident of Montpelier, Vermont for the last 15 years, Joanne teaches music, music theory, and step dancing to kids and adults, plays regularly for contra, English, and Scottish dances around the US and Canada, and performs on stage with her duo The Turning Stile with Aaron Marcus. Find her also pursing all the best (and oldest) Scottish tunes with Vermont mega-band Stravaigin, playing fiddle in the session, teaching a ceilidh dance, and of course, stepping out on the dance floor herself to enjoy the evening. Read and watch more at joannegarton.com or listen to her debut solo album The Bee’s Knees on Bandcamp.
Shannon Heaton - Flute
Boston-based Irish flute player/singer Shannon Heaton has performed and taught on four continents. She is an Artist Fellow of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was twice named Live Ireland’s Female Artist of the Year, and is half of acclaimed duo with guitarist Matt Heaton.
A wildly creative teacher, Shannon has created free resources for musicians, including her long-running “Tune of the Month” video/podcast series. During the early days of the pandemic, she and Matt Heaton started the Virtual Guided Session with participants from over 50 countries. She co-founded Boston’s Celtic music fest and served on its board for 15 years, creating performance and mentoring opportunities for hundreds of traditional musicians and dancers. Her original music has been recorded by the Battlefield Band, Tricolor, Childsplay, Allie Robertson, and many others.
to learn more about shannon: https://mattandshannonheaton.com/about/
A wildly creative teacher, Shannon has created free resources for musicians, including her long-running “Tune of the Month” video/podcast series. During the early days of the pandemic, she and Matt Heaton started the Virtual Guided Session with participants from over 50 countries. She co-founded Boston’s Celtic music fest and served on its board for 15 years, creating performance and mentoring opportunities for hundreds of traditional musicians and dancers. Her original music has been recorded by the Battlefield Band, Tricolor, Childsplay, Allie Robertson, and many others.
to learn more about shannon: https://mattandshannonheaton.com/about/
Katie McNally - Scottish and Cape Breton Fiddle
Katie McNally grew up playing Scottish and Cape Breton music near Boston, Massachusetts and currently tours with her own projects, Fàrsan, Pine Tree Flyers, and the Katie McNally Trio. A member of the cross-genre fiddle supergroup, Childsplay, Katie has also toured with Karan Casey, John Whelan, and Galician bagpiper Carlos Núñez. She has appeared at Celtic Colours, Celtic Connections, Newport Folk Festival, and The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, as well as countless folk venues throughout North America and Europe. In addition to her busy touring schedule, she is the artistic director of the Boston States Fiddle Camp and is a devoted educator who teaches regularly at fiddle camps across the country and gives private lessons at her home in Portland, Maine.
to learn more about katie: katiemcnally.com
to learn more about katie: katiemcnally.com
Jeremiah McLane - Accordion and Piano
Accordionist Jeremiah McLane plays a wide variety of ethnic musical styles from Northern and Eastern Europe as well as American idioms such as jazz, swing, blues, and Zydeco. At this year’s Accordions Now Festival he is delighted to offer selections from the classical repertoire including works by composers Astor Piazzolla, Bela Bartok, Antonin Dvorak, Francis Poulenc and Alan Hovhaness as well as several of his own compositions. Mr. McLane has taught and performed throughout the United States and Europe, including such venues as the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the Picolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. He holds a Master’s in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music and teaches at St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont. He has been on staff at numerous music programs throughout the country including The Augusta Heritage Arts Center, The Swanannoa Gathering, Ashokan Fiddle & Dance, The John C. Campbell Folk School, and Centrum’s American Festival of Fiddle Tunes. He has composed numerous pieces for film and theatre and has received National Public Radio's “favorite picks” award for his second solo recording, Smile When You’re Ready, and French music magazine Trad Mag’s “BRAVO” award for his fifth release, Hummingbird.
to learn more about jeremiah: jeremiahmclane.com
to learn more about jeremiah: jeremiahmclane.com
Max Newman - Guitar and Mandolin
Max has spent a good portion of his life playing dances great and small across the continent. His guitar playing is refreshing, fun, and creative, and has allowed him to collaborate with a great variety of traditional musicians. In the Stringrays, he often alternates between hammering down rhythms and trading licks with bandmate Rodney Miller. His attention to detail with pairing music and dance is almost as well known as his love for a fresh cup of coffee. His playing has been profiled in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. When not with the band, he can often be found at his local dance in Concord, Massachusetts.
to learn more about max: maxnewman.com
to learn more about max: maxnewman.com
Laura Risk - Quebecois Fiddle
Laura Risk’s fiddling has been described by filmmaker Ken Burns as “a revelation and achingly beautiful” and Living Tradition hails her “powerful, percussive style… bursting with energy and passion.”
Originally from California, now living in Montreal, Laura performs and teaches Québécois and Scottish fiddling internationally and has over a dozen albums to her credit. Her distinctive sound and compelling interpretations of traditional tunes are intensely personal yet grounded in meticulous archival and ethnographic research. Laura has toured with Cordelia’s Dad, Triptych, Ensemble Galilei, and dancer Sandy Silva; served as musical director for ensembles Childsplay and Revels North; and produced seven albums, including three for fiddler Hanneke Cassel. Her research credits include articles in Ethnomusicology and MUSICultures, co-authorship of The Glengarry Collection: The Highland Fiddle Music of Aonghas Grant (Mel Bay), and the CD-booklet Douglastown: Music and Song from the Gaspé Coast, awarded the 2014 Prix Mnémo. Laura holds a PhD in Musicology from McGill University, for which she received the 2017 Governor General’s Gold Medal.
to learn more about laura: laurarisk.com
Originally from California, now living in Montreal, Laura performs and teaches Québécois and Scottish fiddling internationally and has over a dozen albums to her credit. Her distinctive sound and compelling interpretations of traditional tunes are intensely personal yet grounded in meticulous archival and ethnographic research. Laura has toured with Cordelia’s Dad, Triptych, Ensemble Galilei, and dancer Sandy Silva; served as musical director for ensembles Childsplay and Revels North; and produced seven albums, including three for fiddler Hanneke Cassel. Her research credits include articles in Ethnomusicology and MUSICultures, co-authorship of The Glengarry Collection: The Highland Fiddle Music of Aonghas Grant (Mel Bay), and the CD-booklet Douglastown: Music and Song from the Gaspé Coast, awarded the 2014 Prix Mnémo. Laura holds a PhD in Musicology from McGill University, for which she received the 2017 Governor General’s Gold Medal.
to learn more about laura: laurarisk.com
Oliver Scanlon - Fiddle
Oliver Scanlon began his early training with a stint with the Vermont Youth Orchestra and years in the Young Tradition Vermont’s Fiddleheads. Fiddler, mandolinist and tunesmith Scanlon was introduced to his mentor Pete Sutherland and the parallel universe of fiddle music at the age of nine. In 2008, Oliver and a few talented middle school friends formed the group which became The Irregulars and in 2013 he co-founded Pete’s Posse and became the youngest member of Sutherland’s long running dance band The Clayfoot Strutters. Oliver now teaches private fiddle and mandolin lessons, performs at concerts and contradances, provides live sound reinforcement in and around Vermont, and works at local violin shop Vermont Violins.
to learn more about oliver: petesposse.com
to learn more about oliver: petesposse.com
Ethan Tischler - Guitar and Song
Ethan Tischler is a Maine-based vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with roots in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. 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, and Owen Kennedy, and co-leading the Young Tradition Vermont Touring group with his partner Elsie Gawler.
As a song leader, he has collected songs from Maine's woods and maritime traditions, from the Copper and Waterson families in England, and has just turned his attention to Margaret MacArthur, the "Green Mountain Songster," and traditional songs of Vermont. He loves teaching not just the melodies, but working up harmonies and arrangements to really fill out the songs.
to learn more about Ethan: www.ethanstokestischler.com/
As a song leader, he has collected songs from Maine's woods and maritime traditions, from the Copper and Waterson families in England, and has just turned his attention to Margaret MacArthur, the "Green Mountain Songster," and traditional songs of Vermont. He loves teaching not just the melodies, but working up harmonies and arrangements to really fill out the songs.
to learn more about Ethan: www.ethanstokestischler.com/
Becky Tracy - Irish and Contradance Fiddle
There is nothing Becky Tracy likes better than to take a room full of fiddle players and fashion them into harmonious bowing beauties. Becky has certainly played around, being the longest surviving fiddle player with Wild Asparagus (20 years!) and the only fiddle player in the soulful but now defunct band Nightingale. She has a driving yet sweet sound to her playing and her awareness of what makes that happen has led her to be a popular teacher at music camps. Her playing has been shaped by the influence of teachers Brendan Mulvihill and Eugene O'Donnell and Lisa Ornstein as well as her many years of playing for dancing. Her solo CD, Evergreen, is an album of haunting beauty, intimacy and exuberance.
to learn more about becky: blackislemusic.com
to learn more about becky: blackislemusic.com
Emily Troll - Accordion and Old Time Fiddle
Emily plays fiddle and accordion, with a special love for Quebec, New England, and Old-time traditions. She currently performs with several projects, including Anadama and the Pine Tree Flyers. At her home in South Portland, ME, she teaches music and runs the Rage Potatoes, an all-comers band full of fun. In between events, you’ll find Emily digging weeds out of her garden or riding her bike to town.
to learn more about Emily:www.emilytrollmusic.com
to learn more about Emily:www.emilytrollmusic.com
meet our 2024 faculty here in our flipbook
