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Joshua Horowitz has a list of musical credentials as long as
your arm. He received his Masters degree in Composition and
Music Theory from the Academy of Music in Graz, Austria, where he taught
Music Theory and served as Research Fellow and Director of the Klezmer Music
Research Project for eight years. He is the founder and director of the
European ensemble Budowitz and co-founder of Veretski Pass in the US, and
has performed and recorded with Theodore Bikel, The Vienna Chamber
Orchestra, Rubin and Horowitz, Brave Old World, Adrienne Cooper and Frank
London. Joshua taught Advanced Jazz Theory at Stanford University with the
late saxophonist Stan Getz, and is a regular teacher at KlezKamp, The
Albuquerque Academy, and Klez Kanada. His musicological work is featured in
four books, including The Sephardic Songbook with Aron Saltiel and The
Ultimate Klezmer, and he has written numerous articles on the
counterpoint of J.S. Bach. His recordings have achieved international
recognition and he is the recipient of more than 40 awards, including the
Prize of Honor for his orchestral composition, Tenebrae, presented by
the Austrian government. Beside his work as a musician, he led the first
post-WWII music therapy group at the pioneering Beratungszentrum in Graz,
Austria. His music was featured in the prizewinning 2004 British film, Some
of my best friends are... Jewish / Muslim and the documentary, The
Holocaust Tourist, and has provided the soundtrack to the popular German
TV series, Berlin, Berlin. www.Budowitz.com
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Cookie Segelstein received her Masters
degree in Viola from The Yale School of Music in 1984. She is the co-founder
of Veretski Pass, a member of Budowitz, principal violist in Orchestra New
England, and assistant principal in The New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Cookie
teaches klezmer fiddling at Living Traditions' KlezKamp, Educational Center
for the Arts in New Haven, and many other venues. She has performed with
Theodore Bikel, The Klezical Tradition, The Klezmatics, Kapelye, Margot
Leverett and The Klezmer Conservatory Band, and more ... and has taught
klezmer fiddling workshops at several major universities. Her music
has been heard on HBO’s “Sex and the City,” and she appears on
numerous klezmer and classical recordings. She is also active as a
Holocaust educator and curriculum advisor, and has been a frequent lecturer
at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Niantic, CT. Cookie lives in
Madison, CT. www.Budowitz.com
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Jem Moore is well known in many hammered dulcimer
circles in this country, since he has been performing an amazing variety of
amazing music for over 25 years. His repertoire ranges from Irish
music to original, polyrhythmic compositions, to “world” music, to
improvisations, to the Classics ... and even a recording of original,
non-dulcimer electronic music. (His solo recordings of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D
Minor and Tarrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra are, frankly,
jaw-dropping.) From his roots at Café Lena in upstate New York, Jem
has been featured at many dulcimer festivals, as well as major folk
festivals, such as Philadelphia and Winnipeg. He has toured North
America, Europe, Asia, and Australia with his music, and recorded 15
albums. Before a car accident damaged his knee, Jem was also an
accomplished dancer, with a background in ballet, jazz, and modern
dance. When not performing on the dulcimer, he lives in Colorado and
spends his time as a commercial airline pilot. www.jemmoore.com
Also... Click
here to see a Video of Jem playing "Recuerdos de la Alhambra"
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MinTze Wu is both a world-class violinist and a celebrated
traditional fiddler. She grew up in Taiwan, began her violin
study at the age of nine, and moved to the US to attend Juilliard
Pre-College, before receiving her Bachelor and Masters of Music at the
Cleveland Institute of Music. She started fiddling in 2002, and has dazzled
crowds in classical and folk concerts, and Irish sessions, from Colorado to
Poland. A former member of the Azmari Quartet, she served as faculty at
Northern Kentucky University. She is currently sharing duties as co-director
of Gros Morne Summer Music in Newfoundland, Canada. She and Jem
released their first album together in 2007.
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Aaron O’Rourke is one of the rising, young
stars of the mountain dulcimer world. In the past couple of years, he has
been featured at major dulcimer festivals in other parts of the country,
such as Augusta, Cullowhee, and Unocoi ... and also at bluegrass and
folk-rock festivals. In addition, he was featured in last winter’s
article on young players in Dulcimer Players News. Aaron has two CDs:
One solo and one with the aptly named Aaron O’Rourke Trio (dulcimer,
mandolin, and bass). From one review of the latter CD: “Utilizing
a unique acoustic blend never heard previously, the Aaron O’Rourke Trio
has made a fine debut recording that is sure to please old and new grass
fans alike” ... wrote legendary mandolinist David Grisman. Aaron
lives in Florida, and this is his first performance in New England ...
though he grew up in Schenectady. We’re thrilled to be able to
introduce him to you.
www.aaronorourke.com
And Here is a video of
Aaron's trio (click) But
unfortunately, he came down with the H1N1 flu this week, and will be unable
to appear at Nutmeg this year.
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Stephen Seifert's
teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over
the country since 1991. In that time, he's been a featured performer at
hundreds of dulcimer festivals and other music events including Kentucky
Music Week in Bardstown, KY, Mountain Dulcimer Week in Cullowhee, NC, the
Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV, the John C. Campbell Folk School in
Brasstown, NC, the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR, Stringalong near
Milwaukee, WI, the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS and The Tono
American Music Festival, in Tono, Japan.
Stephen has been a dulcimer soloist with the Nashville
Chamber Orchestra, now know as Orchestra Nashville, since 1996 and is
featured on their Warner Classical recording of Connie Ellisor and David
Schnaufer's Blackberry Winter, a concerto for mountain dulcimer and string
orchestra. The piece continues to be in regular rotation on many classical
stations around the U.S. (The recording album is titled "Conversations
in Silence" and can be sampled and purchased on iTunes.) Stephen most
recently performed this piece with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the
Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra.
Stephen was Adjunct Instructor of Mountain Dulcimer
with David Schnaufer at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music from 1997 to
2001. He also taught, performed, and recorded with Mr. Schnaufer as a duo
throughout the country. Stephen has authored ten books, four CDs, and 16
instructional videos.
We are delighted that Stephen was able to change his
schedule at the last minute and fly up to Nutmeg.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMER BIOS
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Rich Carty has been playing the mountain dulcimer for 30 years
and is one of the founding members of the Greater Pinelands Dulcimer
Society. He has taught mountain dulcimer since 1986, and is
currently co-owner of Pinelands Folk Music Center, located is south
Jersey. www.pinelandsfolkmusic.com
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Ron Ewing has been playing mountain dulcimer since 1970, and has
built over 1,700 during that time. He is especially known for his
innovative designs, including the baritone, dulcimette, dulcimer capo,
the 1½ fret; and his lively renditions of Irish, Appalachian, and Euro
dance tunes. He lives in Columbus, Ohio. www.ronewingdulcimers.com
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Moto Fukushima has been playing music as long as he can
remember. Raised in Japan, he is now a New York-based professional
6-string electric bass player. Moto has performed with many top
jazz musicians in the US, Japan, and elsewhere ... and he applies his
vast knowledge of jazz and world music to the mountain dulcimer. www.motobass.com
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Liz
Hanahan taught mountain dulcimer at Folkcraft in Winsted, CT,
after retiring from her real-life job as a teacher. She shares
her love of dulcimers by performing at area group living facilities.
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Lori Keddell has been playing dulcimer for more than 23
years, and has taught classes and workshops for children and adults in
NY, VT, PA, CT and MA. She has coordinated the annual Mountain Dulcimer
Music Fest in Albany, NY for the past 21 years, and has published 4
books of dulcimer music.
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Sandy Lafleur of Amherst, NH has been playing Appalachian
dulcimer since 1994. She teaches privately at her home, at the
Rivier College RISE program, and at festivals throughout the
Northeast. Her involvement in fife & drum corps, contra dance,
Scottish & English Country Dance, Sacred Harp singing, and playing
with the Strathspey & Reel Society of NH Scottish orchestra has
provided her with a boundless supply of tunes and musical styles. www.wanderingdulcimer.com
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Steve Miklos as been building mountain dulcimers and other
instruments for over ten years, and has in the past few years
concentrated on bringing advanced acoustics and visual surprise to the
crafting of Mountain Dulcimers. Steve is also responsible for all the
mistakes on the Nutmeg web site. www.carrotcreek.com
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Don Moore saw his first dulcimer 35
years ago at a craft fair. Fifteen years later, he stumbled upon
the Folkcraft store and the gentleman he'd seen at the craft fair,
David Marks! Don heads the Dulcimer Folk Association (DF#A)
which brings together dulcimer players and other musicians in northern
Connecticut every month. In his "spare" time, he runs
a sawmill that has sawn the wood for over half of his instruments, and
has been in his family for six generations. http://www.dulcimerfolkct.org/
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Laurel Schwartz has been a music teacher for over 20
years, and currently teaches at the Middle School of Plainville,
CT. She teaches dulcimer, drums, and recorder to her
students in groups of 15 - 36. She believes, "There is a true
joy and sense of accomplishment in playing a tune well."
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Lucy Joan Sollogub has been sharing her singing, dulcimer
playing, and teaching for over 30 years. Lucy teaches dulcimer, whistle,
recorder, guitar, and Celtic harp at two Boston-area music schools,
conducts a Jewish children’s chorus, directs a creative arts summer
program, and performs with the mountain and hammered dulcimer duo
“Ladies’ Triumph." Lucy has published two music books;
“Shiron L’Shalom” and “A Dulcimer Portfolio.”
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Dwain Wilder, founder of Bear Meadow Folk Instruments, has been
building dulcimers since 1991, and he regularly receives commissions
from Europe, Great Britain, and the Far East. Dwain also teaches
dulcimer building classes at the Northeast Dulcimer Symposium, as well
as at his studio in Rochester, NY. He also writes poetry, and inscribes
a short verse inside each dulcimer he builds ... making him one of the
world's highest paid poets, on a per-word basis. www.bearmeadow.com
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Nina Zanetti is the 2008 National Mountain Dulcimer
Champion. She comes to dulcimer from a diverse musical background,
including choral music, violin, viola, piano, and shape note
singing. She has taught at festivals around the Northeast and at
WCU Mountain Dulcimer Week ("Cullowhee"). She has
produced two solo tablature books, and has also co-authored (with Beth
Lassi) two books of duet arrangements. Nina has also produced a CD
of solos and duets, "The Sum of the Parts," with Bill
Collins. www.ninazanetti.com
HAMMERED DULCIMER BIOS
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Mike Kachuba is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who began
playing the hammered dulcimer in 1976. Mike performs frequently
solo, as well as with the Ash Creek String Band and with noted New Haven
musician Jeff McQuillan. He has also performed with mountain
dulcimer master, Rob Brereton. Currently, Mike uses the hammered
dulcimer in his work as artist in residence at the CT Children's Medical
Center and in other healing settings. www.yaconn.org/artists/M-mike-kach.html
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Jody Marshall, one of the East Coast's premier hammered dulcimer
players and teachers, is well known for her lively, expressive style and
creative flair. The Washington Post has described Jody's music as
"deftly balancing the artful and the playful...lovely, lively, and
shimmering." Jody has taught at numerous festivals, including The
Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, Spring Fling Rendezvous in
Oregon, and the Northeast Dulcimer Symposium in New York. She has
several CDs. www.JodyMarshall.com
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Tim Van Egmond built his first hammered dulcimer in 1973, and has
been playing ever since. He performs widely as a folksinger,
storyteller, and dulcimist. In the legendary contra dance band
Swallowtail he's performed nationwide, including the National Museum of
American History and "A Prairie Home Companion." In the
duo Yankee Notions, he's played hundreds of concerts and educational
programs throughout New England. www.timvanegmond.com.
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Jon Weinberg plays hammered dulcimer for contra dances,
weddings, concerts, and coffee houses throughout New England. He
has performed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the New England
Conservatory of Music. Jon also teaches hammered dulcimer lessons
to area students and is a regular workshop leader at dulcimer festivals
in the Northeast US.
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Max ZT has been hooked on the hammered dulcimer ever since he
heard one at a Chicago-area folk festival at age six. After
playing American and Celtic music for a dozen years, he went to Senegal,
Africa, three times to study with master kora and djembe players.
In 2005, he won the National Hammered Dulcimer Championship. NPR
has called him “the Jimi Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer.” He
lives in Brooklyn, works with scores of national and international
artists, and has 4 CDs. www.maxzt.com
OTHER
- Sam Edelston believes that dulcimers (of both types) are among
the world’s coolest musical instruments, and that they deserve to be
as widely known as, say, guitars and harmonicas (even though he’s
teaching guitar here this year). He is chair of this festival.