Ben Allison
Faculty
Bass
In a career that spans over 30 years, bassist, composer, producer and educator Ben Allison has developed his own instantly identifiable sound. Known for his inspired arrangements, inventive grooves and hummable melodies, Ben draws from the jazz tradition and a range of influences from rock and folk to 20th century and a broad range of music from around the world, seamlessly blending them into a cinematic, cohesive whole.…
Rion Amilcar Scott
Morning Workshop Faculty
Rion Amilcar Scott is the author of the story collections The World Doesn’t Require You and Insurrections, which was awarded the 2017 PEN/Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction and the 2017 Hillsdale Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He teaches creative writing at the University of Maryland. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 and McSweeney’s Quarterly, among other publications.
Yaw Amponsah
West African Drumming
Yaw Amponsah is a master percussionist from Ghana. Coming from a musical family from West Africa he is at home in the world of rhythm. A versatile player, Yaw can play many styles of music from Ghana including Highlife, Agbadja, Kpanlogo and more. His specialty is the music of the multi-part percussion ensembles of the Ashanti people.…
John Harrod and Tona Barkley
Kentucky
John Harrod and his wife Tona Barkley will make several presentations during the course of the week. John has documented, recorded, and performed traditional music for more than 45 years. Born and raised in Shelby County, Kentucky, he has a B.A. from Centre College (1967) and an M.A.…
Alice Anderson
Morning Workshop Faculty
Alice Anderson is the author of the national bestselling memoir, Some Bright Morning, I’ll Fly Away, which was published in fall of 2017 from St. Martin’s Press and was recently optioned for film. Anderson’s second poetry collection, The Watermark, was published in the UK and US simultaneously from Eyewear Publishing. A bestselling first collection of poems, Human Nature, was awarded both the Best First Book Prize from the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the Elmer Holmes Bobst Prize from NYU.…
Bryce Andrews
Morning Workshop Faculty
Bryce Andrews is a rancher, conservationist, and co-owner of Thunder Road Farm. His award-winning books Badluck Way (2014), Down from the Mountain (2019), and Holding Fire (2023) describe the complex realities of living and working in the wild landscapes of the contemporary American West. He lives with his family on the Flathead Indian Reservation, in Montana.
Keeth Monta Apgar
“An acoustic treat.” – Seattle’s Child Magazine
With a 1000 songs written in his 35 prolific years of songwriting, Northwest singer-songwriter Keeth Monta Apgar has created an enormous pile of music.
Keeth strums ukuleles, acoustic guitars and fronts Indie-Folk band The Harmonica Pocket.…
Keeth Apgar
Faculty
With a 1000 songs written in his 35 prolific years of songwriting, Northwest singer-songwriter Keeth Monta Apgar has created an enormous pile of music. Keeth strums ukuleles, acoustic guitars and fronts Indie-Folk band The Harmonica Pocket. Rich in image, harmony and rhyme, his lyrical songs tell stories about plants, love, forgiveness and the outdoors.…
Maxwell Apra
Mandolin
Maxwell is a New Orleans-based, internationally recognized multi-instrumentalist performer and music teacher. Specializing in mandolin and banjo, Maxwell began his training in California and then spent several years busking professionally in New Orleans’ city streets and night clubs, integrating himself into a rich and diverse array of musical styles including jug band, ragtime, jazz and little-known catalogue of traditional Italian mandolin music.…
Janeen Armstrong
February 14, 2026 Reading
Janeen Armstrong has a BA from University of Washington. She studied with Lidia Yuknavitch and Gary Copeland Lilley, among others. She is the Reader Services Manager at Copper Canyon Press.