learn from 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.
Teaching Staff for Labor Day Weekend 2021
We will welcome back fiddlers BECKY TRACY and KATIE McNALLY, as well as a return visit from pianist NEIL PEARLMAN and a first appearance from guitarist MAX NEWMAN. Expect workshops (some collaborative), jams, mini-concerts and hangouts along with informal singing.
Katie McNally - Fiddle
Katie McNally grew up playing Scottish and Cape Breton music in Boston, Massachusetts and currently tours with her own projects, Fàrsan 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. Her 2020 album, Now More Than Ever, was recorded with the guidance of producer Anna Massie (Blazin' Fiddles) and was hailed by Strings Magazine as "breaking new ground" and by the Songlines as "exhilarating...electrifying".
Max Newman - Guitar
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.
Neil Pearlman - Piano
Multi-instrumentalist, stepdancer and host of podcast TradCafe, Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary traditional music. Neil is recognized in many Celtic music circles for his unique approach to the piano. Rooted in traditional Cape Breton piano styles, he adds jazz harmony and the syncopations of funk, Cuban, and Brazilian dance music to create a unique and infectious sound.
Today Neil’s musical projects run the gamut from deeply traditional to refreshingly contemporary. His podcast TradCafe is a series of conversations and collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. He is a key member of the 9 piece Afro-Celtic Funk band Soulsha and the new quartet Fàrsan which blends Gaelic song, stepdance, fiddle and pipes. He also collaborates regularly with a number of musicians in duo and trio formats including saxophonist Dylan Sherry and fiddlers Katie McNally, Alden Robinson, Galen Fraser, and Ed Pearlman.
Today Neil’s musical projects run the gamut from deeply traditional to refreshingly contemporary. His podcast TradCafe is a series of conversations and collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. He is a key member of the 9 piece Afro-Celtic Funk band Soulsha and the new quartet Fàrsan which blends Gaelic song, stepdance, fiddle and pipes. He also collaborates regularly with a number of musicians in duo and trio formats including saxophonist Dylan Sherry and fiddlers Katie McNally, Alden Robinson, Galen Fraser, and Ed Pearlman.
Becky Tracy - 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.