Our Instructors

John Kirk is known for his lyric voice

and versatile instrumental skills.  On

fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo and tin

whistle, John demonstrates a vast         

knowledge of musical traditions.  He is

also a composer, dancer and dance

caller. Sing Out magazine has said "John

Kirk is a fine player on all his

instruments and he sings quite well.

With such a widely varied repertoire,

there’s really something here for

everyone. This is one that’s worth

seeking out.”  In addition to his work

with Quickstep, John works with

the Vanaver Caravan and the

Susquehanna Stringband.  The Dixie

Chicks recorded his song, “Long

Roads”.  John and the band,

Quickstep, have their own

recordings; the newest of these is

titled, “Shuffle About”. In addition

to performing, John teaches music

at Bennington College in Vermont,

and at Skidmore College in

Saratoga Springs, NY.

Grey Larsen is a musician of many

talents and accomplishments.

He is a performer, recording artist,

composer, teacher, author,

producer, and a mastering and

recording engineer. An accomplish-

ed fiddler, singer, and songwriter,

Grey is perhaps best known as

one of the world's foremost players

and proponents of the Irish flute.

To many musicians and music

lovers, his recordings are classics.

His first two books are both now

available. A labor of love and

many years, The Essential Guide

to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle is a

480-page work (with two

accompanying CDs) on playing

and appreciating Irish flute and

tin whistle. The Essential Tin

Whistle Toolbox, at 187-pages

(with one companion CD) takes

the beginner, novice, or

intermediate player of Irish tin

whistle to a high level of

competence.

Fiddler Rachel Maloney was born in the

coal mining town of Norton, Virginia, where

her father worked in themines. Growing

up in the heart of Appalachia, her love

of fiddle music developed at an early age.

Living later in North Carolina and Rhode

Island, her repertoire continued to grow,

remaining predominantly Appalachian.

While attending the Royal College of Art in

London, England, Rachel's musical

horizons greatly widened with the

discovery of musicfrom Ireland,England,

\Wales, Scotland, and the Shetlands.

Traveling extensively throughout

Europe and West Africa, she also explored

many new, exciting and eclectic forms of

traditional music. She earns her living from

performing,lecturing & teaching, typically

touring for ten months outof the year.

The bands she has been involved in have

performed throughout eastern North

America and in much of Europe.  In 1987,

Rachel was offered a position as

performer, composer & musical director

at Trinity Repertory Company in

Providence, Rhode Island.  Her musical

interests also include film and TV

scores, electronic and multi-media

collaborations,and new music

compositions.

Bands Include: The Whompers, Nee Ningy,

The Portsmouth Sinfonia, The Terribles Jug

Band,Big Zucchini Washboard Bandits,

Big boy Henry Band,Drink Small Band,Frog

Strike Pack,Smiling Dog Band,The

Hubbard¹s,The Players,The Noogies,

The Hankies,Sleet Sops,100th  Monkey,

The Repeato¹s, The Providence

Wholebellies, Hair of the Dog, Chris

Turner and the Blue Hussars¹,

The Third Program and many more.

Trish Miller has been teaching and 
performing Appalachian clogging since
1980. She  plays guitar, banjo and a little
ukelele. Trish is a dance caller and
country dance choreographer.  Her
stepping style is rooted in the southern
mountains mixed with some steps from
tap and Celtic repertoires. As a member
of  the Green Grass Cloggers,  from
Asheville, N.C., she toured throughout
the U.S. & internationally. Trish and John
are teaching artists in school music and
dance programs. They lead dances for
all ages at festivals & parties. Trish 
teaches banjo at Skidmore College in
Saratoga Springs, NY.

"World class fiddler... far from just offering

settings allow the true beauty of the music

 one dance tune after another, simple               

to shine through" - Sing Out

The traditional music of New England can

be as warm and comforting as a winter

fire or as potent and exhilarating as a summer

 thunderstorm. Fiddler and singer

Lissa Schneckenburger is a master of both

moods, a winsome, sweet-voiced singer

who brings new life to old ballads and a

skillful,dynamic fiddler who captures the

driving rhythm and carefree joy of dance

tunes old and new.

Raised in a small town in Maine and now

living in Vermont, Lissa grew up with

music. She began playing fiddle at the age

of six, inspired by her mother's interest in

folk music and a family friend who was a

professional violinist. Soon she was

studying with influential Maine fiddler Greg

Boardman and sitting in with the Maine

Country Dance Orchestra. By the time she

was in high school she was playing

concerts on her own, specializing in the

sprightly New England dance tunes that

combine influences from the British Isles

and Quebec with homegrown twists that

have been evolving since Colonial days.

Another of her major influences was the

diverse musical community that she found

at fiddle camps,where she had a chance

to play with and learn from a wide variety

of musicians including noted Scottish

fiddler Alasdair Fraser. In 2001 she

graduated from the New England Conser-

vatory of Music with a degree in contemp-

orary improvisation,and since then has

been performing around the US and

internationally for a growing audience of

enthusiastic listeners. She has recorded

seven CDs, (four solo and three with

various groups). Lissa's fiddling is uplifting

and lively, and her singing is gentle and

evocative. Both in concert and in the

studio she is regularly accompanied by

some of New England's best musicians,

including guitarists Keith Murphy and Matt

Heaton and double bassist Corey DiMario.

Recently she has been closely studying

the roots of the Downeast traditional music

that she first heard as a young girl.

Her latest project is a pair of CDs dedicated

to reintroducing some wonderful but

largely forgotten songs and tunes from

New England that she uncovered through

archival research at the University of

Maine and elsewhere. "Song", released in

April 2008, contains ten timeless ballads

that go back as far as the eighteenth

century that she set to carefully crafted

modern arrangements, while "Dance",

scheduled for 2009, will feature fiddle

tunes. "There is currently a lot of focus

on traditional American music from the

South", she explains, "and many bands

are exploring and recording that repertoire,

but no one is getting to hear the amazing

repertoire of traditional music from the

North. This is my first attempt at getting

some of that music out there for

people to enjoy."

Whether playing for a folk club audience

or a hall full of dancers, Lissa brings to

the stage enthusiasm, energy, and the

bright future of New England's musical

traditions.

Vermont native Pete Sutherland

has been on staff at more dance

and teaching camps nationwide

than anyone would care to name.

 Raised on a diet of Broadway show

tunes, operatic arias and British

invasion melodies, he discovered

both traditional music and

songwriting in college and like

Huck Finn, "lit out for the territories".

Pete has toured nationally and

internationally, but currently bases

himself in his home state, where

he teaches fiddle, banjo and other

musical pursuits both privately and

at Middlebury College. With half a

dozen of his own recordings behind

him, he has appeared on dozens

more, he has produced CDs for over

fifty artists, and had original pieces

covered by an equal number.  A warm-

voiced singer and accomplished

multi-instrumentalist known equally

for his potent originals and his

intense recreations of age-old

ballads and fiery fiddle tunes,

Pete's music "covers the map", and

shines with...."....a pure spirit which

infuses every bit of his music ,and

cannot fail to move all who hear him."

- The American Festival of Fiddle Tunes.

Pete Sutherland
Epact Music
PO Box 123
Monkton, VT 05469
epact@gmavt.net
Pete (802) 989-2303