Teachers old and new

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer met in 1980 at the Toronto Folk Festival. After a few years of supporting each other's solo recording and performing careers, they officially became a duo in 1984. They have played over 2000 shows in concert halls, schools, festivals, and clubs throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.

Marcy grew up in Michigan where she learned guitar, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, and button accordion while in high school. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and settled on a full time career in music in 1978. Her instrumental virtuosity on stringed instruments has made her a studio musician in demand and a popular instructor with Homespun Tapes on Swing Guitar. She's known as the Queen of the Gibson L4 Archtop Electric Guitar!

Cathy & Marcy have won tremendous praise for their songwriting, tight harmony singing, and exquisite interpretations of traditional music. Marcy was recently a finalist in the prestigious "John Lennon Songwriting Contest". Their original songs contributed to their 4 GRAMMY nominations for family albums that both kids and adults adore.

Debby McClatchy is an expert entertainer with wit and imagination. While she plays a variety of acoustic instruments, when touring she just totes her 1907 Bacon 'FF Professional' banjo and maybe a fiddle. She is recognized as one of the finest frailed-banjo players in the accompanying style and is much valued for her banjo and singing workshops. Her combination of goodtime, old-time banjo, glorious singing- with occasional outbreaks of mountain fiddling and freestyle Appalachian stepping - has made her a favorite in clubs and at festivals.

"Through countless recordings, tours, and workshops, Debby McClatchy has shown herself to be one of our most indefatigable collectors and flawless interpreters of American traditional music. To use Gordon Bok's expression, Debby is a great 'keeper of songs.'"
--Sing Out magazine

Carol McComb is a vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, teacher, and recording artist with over 25 years of teaching and performing experience. Check out Carol's newest CD, "A Little Bit of Heaven." Carol's songs have been recorded by Bill Staines, Laurie Lewis, The Good 'Ol Persons, and others.

"McComb writes very personally delivering deceptively plain lyrics in a lovely voice that glides from contralto richness to silvery soprano. Her guitar playing is a marvel of spare technique, rich counterpoint adding texture to lyrical images...the intimacy she brings forth is both chilling and ennobling." - The Boston Globe

Mary Mc Laughlin is a singer of songs original and traditional, in both the Irish and English languages, who also teaches voice and runs workshops in Gaelic song (for non Gaelic speakers). She has recorded and performed with Martin Simpson, Stéafán Hannigan, Kathy Mattea, William Coulter, Neal Hellman, Robin Bullock, and many others.

Mary was born and raised in Northern Ireland and became interested in Gaelic & "sean nós" (old style) singing at age eleven. When recently asked in an interview about her early influences, she replied: "Irish traditional music, Latin Church music, and 'Duran Duran'!"

Having worked in local schools teaching music for some years, Mary now works on ad hoc basis for arts education organizations in California. This gives her the freedom to attend to the many creative projects with which she is involved. She performs and teaches at festivals and music camps throughout the U.S. and while at home in Northern California runs courses and workshops in Gaelic singing and Voice exploration.

Michael J. Miles is a rare and engaging artist. He grew up in Chicago in an Irish family where music was served like dinner—everybody had some. His blue collar father played the player piano and filled the house with singing. Everybody sang. Everyone read. Everyone debated politics.

Michael took it all in with great relish and has now turned the theatrical stage into his own living room—similarly filled with songs and stories. His theatrical works, his orchestral works, and his unplugged concerts all resonate with honest intimacy. This is music to be shared.

With an MA Music degree and four CDs to his credit, he also works as educator, sharing his zeal for music with both children and professional educators.

Singer, Choir director, Instrumentalist (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, double bass), Teacher: (singing - harmony singing, various traditional folk styles, fiddle, mandolin)

Val Mindel has more than 20 years’ experience as a singer, fiddler and music teacher. She regularly performs and teaches in the Chicagoland area, both in bands for contra- and square dances (her specialty is American and French Canadian fiddle styles), and with the Teflons, a group that specializes in tightly harmonized parlor, early-country and swing songs. Her musical credentials include recording on the Arhoolie and Bay record labels, most prominently with Any Old Time, a popular string band that recorded and toured nationally in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition she has led folk choirs, including the touring group Village Harmony, which performs throughout the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Eastern Europe. Val has taught at the Old Town School since 1997. She teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced Vocal Harmony, Early Country Ensemble classes and Fiddle.

Sweet tremolo on a ballad, soulful Monroe-style blues licks, or a lightning-fast instrumental--Tom's playing keeps you on the edge of your seat. Tom has that rare gift of being innovative without ever losing touch with his pure bluegrass roots. He is the author of Mandolin Magazine's bluegrass column and the founder of the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra. Tom also teaches a bluegrass class at Shoreline Community College in Seattle.