Matthew Olzmann
Morning Workshop Faculty
Matthew Olzmann is the author of Constellation Route as well as two previous collections of poetry: Mezzanines and Contradictions in the Design. A recipient of fellowships from Kundiman, MacDowell, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Olzmann’s poems have appeared in the New York Times, Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prizes, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. He is an assistant professor at Dartmouth College and also teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
The Onlies
Artistic Directors: Fiddle Tunes
The Onlies are a young group of old friends who perform together in a stringband. They grew up playing fiddles, guitars, and banjos in their hometowns of Seattle, WA and Lexington, VA. With their latest self-titled recording, the band digs deep into performances of traditional American popular (old time) music. The music moves with a pulsating drive, sharp arrangements, and rich vibration — it resounds with the present.…
Ronnie Ontiveros
Ronnie Ontiveros lives in Hood River, Oregon and plays bass in about 8 different bands. He also plays guitar and uke and has appeared at many festivals, camps and musical happenings around the Northwest over the last several years. He is usually very serious and rigid about all things, however if you catch him in a good mood he may even smile and make a low key attempt at humor.…
Los Originarios del Plan
Leonel “La Chona” Mendoza, harp
Rafael “Caña” Farías, violín
Fernando “Perico” Amezcua, violín
Elías Francisco “Pancho” Cárdenas, vihuela
Today’s arpa grande musical tradition is both old and new. The sound of the large harp (arpa grande), regional guitars, two violins, and full-throated, high-pitched vocals goes back to the late 19th century in the hot, agricultural lowlands and foothills of the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, the riverplain known to locals as El Plan.…
Lisa Ornstein
Washington
with Sabin Jacques, button accordion, and Rachel Aucoin, piano
Fiddle virtuoso Lisa Ornstein is an outstanding interpreter of the traditional music of French Canada and Appalachia, blending compelling and inventive playing with impeccable tune choice. Befriended by North Carolina fiddle legend Tommy Jarrell while she was in her teens, Lisa quickly became an accomplished fiddler in the Round Peak style.…
Sarina Partridge
Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader, educator and activist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs — especially songs that grow out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading of her own original songs; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; performing and teaching vocal harmony folk music music she’s studied with master teachers around the world; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song – her own musical lineage.…
Erick “Spider” Paul
Faculty
With a goal of encouraging and motivating others, Erick “Spider” Paul brings a wide array of knowledge in the arts. He’s worked in the Los Angeles dance Industry for over 12 years and loves bringing his professional and versatile knowledge to each student he encounters.He and his wife Abby’s company Æ Creative produces stage shows, music videos, and routines for both the national and international stages.…
Jerron Paxton
Guitar
Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Paxton’s music is steeped in the rich cultural heritage of the Great Migration. His family’s journey from Shreveport, Louisiana, to the Athens neighborhood of South LA in the 1950s laid the foundation for his appreciation of Southern Black culture. As an only child, he spent much of his upbringing absorbing the culture his family had taken with them to California from the South.…
Neal Pearlman
Multi-instrumentalist, producer, step dancer and host of the TradCafe podcast, Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary folk music. Described as “a tremendous pianist” on BBC Radio Scotland and “a force to be reckoned with” by WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan, Neil is best known for his groundbreaking approach to the piano in Celtic music.…
Dawn Pemberton
Dawn Pemberton has deep musical roots that take her powerful voice from gospel and soul to jazz, funk and world music. She has become a staple of the Vancouver music scene and can often be found tearin’ it up as a vocalist, teacher, facilitator, choir director and “go to girl” for live performances and studio sessions.…