Faculty

Centrum Faculty

This skilled creative collective could wrap their arms around the globe. Much respect, big hugs.

Photo of Laurie Lewis

Laurie Lewis

For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers. Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music.…

Laurie Lewis

with George Guthrie (bio coming)
California
fiddle

For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers. Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music.…

Photo of Dennis Lichtman

Dennis Lichtman

Mandolin

Dennis Lichtman is a multi-instrumentalist (clarinet, mandolin, fiddle, and more) who has been living, performing, composing, and teaching in New York City since 2002. He is a Selmer Paris Artist as an endorser of their Signature Clarinet. His music was recently used in director David Simon’s The Plot Against America (HBO) and he has appeared this year as a clarinetist on Succession (HBO) and The Blacklist (NBC).…

Photo of Sam Ligon

Sam Ligon

Afternoon Workshop Faculty

Sam Ligon’s most recent novel — Miller Cane: A True & Exact History — was serialized for a year in Spokane’s weekly newspaper, The Inlander, as well as on Spokane Public Radio.

Photo of Samuel Ligon

Samuel Ligon

Afternoon Workshop Faculty

Samuel Ligon’s most recent novel—Miller Cane: A True & Exact History—was serialized for a year in Spokane’s weekly newspaper, The Inlander, as well as on Spokane Public Radio, and will be published in book form by Slant Books in 2026.

Photo of Alexandre Lora

Alexandre Lora

Faculty

Percussion/Pandeiro

Alexandre Lora moves easily within different styles of Brazilian popular music, performing as a drummer and percussionist. He has been on the faculty of Centrum’s Choro Workshop since 2012. He has performed extensively in Europe including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and a tour of 33 cities in Spain. With Trio Brasileiro he has performed in major US cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Miami and Portland.…

Photo of Douglas Lora

Douglas Lora

Artistic Director, Choro Northwest

Three-time Grammy nominee guitarist and composer Douglas Lora moves with versatility through the worlds of Classical and Popular Music and has established himself as one of the most prominent artists of his generation. 

With his wide musical repertoire, Douglas has collaborated with renowned artists such as YoYo Ma, Paquito d’Rivera, Assad Brothers, Anat Cohen, Marco Pereira, Jovino Santos Neto, Ney Rosauro, Marina Piccinini, Paulo Bellinati, among others.…

Photo of The Lost Keys

The Lost Keys

The Lost Keys

Tricia Spencer, fiddle
Howard Rains, fiddle, guitar
Isaiah Sibi, fiddle, guitar
Orion Spencer-Speirer, banjo uke
Ru Yother, bass

The Spencer & Rains family of Douglas County, Kansas have been playing music for many generations on both sides of the family.…

Photo of Grace Love

Grace Love

Faculty

Singer songwriter Grace Love is the Olympic Peninsula’s shining jewel of grit, beauty and power – think Etta James and Betty Wright meet Mahalia Jackson. She grew up in Tacoma, just a stone’s throw from Seattle, which infused her R&B melodies with fortitude and grunge.