Teachers old and new

Gina Salá is a vocalist, composer, teacher from Seattle whose love of the human voice has taken her to performing and studying throughout much of the world. She has performed at the US Pentagon, the US Capital, the United Nations, and recently finished a contract as principal singer for Cirque du Soleil's "O." With a repertoire spanning 20 languages, Gina Salá shares her passion for singing us awake to Shine!

Greg Schochet is a full-time performer, teacher and producer in Boulder, Colorado. Equally adept on guitar and mandolin, he is fluent in number of acoustic and electric styles, including bluegrass, swing, new-acoustic and country. He currently is the lead guitarist for Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams, who have been featured on Prairie Home Companion and at South by Southwest. Greg is an integral part of Colorado's thriving roots music scene, and is a sought after instructor, session player, producer, and collaborator.

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Tracy has been a part of The New Lost City Ramblers (with Mike Seeger and John Cohen) for 46 years, the band that introduced many of us to the authentic music of the American south, including Old-Time Stringband, early bluegrass, unaccompanied Appalachian and Ozark mountain ballads, and southwest Louisiana Cajun. They have twice been nominated for a Grammy.

Tracy started working with Cajun music and culture with Dewey Balfa about 35 years ago when Dewey requested his help for a Cajun version of Tracy's very successful record, "How to Play Fiddle Country Style." His recordings with Dewey also resulted in a Grammy nomination.

Tracy continues to perform and teach several stringed instruments and singing, often with his wife, Ginny Hawker.

Greg Scott's CD Nameless Love was in the Performing Songwriter magazine "Top 12 DIY" list. His songs have been recorded by Mollie O'Brien, Belinda Bowler, Margo Murphy, and others. He has produced CDs for Rebel Voices, Tom Hodge, and Marnie Jones. Greg currently performs with The New Radio Cowboys, and Birds of Paradox (with Ron Peters).

Jennifer Scott is considered one of the most important jazz artists working and recording in Canada and the United States today. Her vibrant voice and solid piano playing have been featured on many CBC and NPR shows, including JazzBeat. Jennifer has toured, performed and recorded with such Jazz Legends as: Clark Terry, Randy Porter and Tommy Banks, to name a few. Jennifer also sings and plays piano in Ed Johnson's group Novo Tempo, based in the San Francisco area. Jennifer's latest recording, "Emotional Girl" is with her quintet. Jennifer Scott is also in demand as a teacher and clinician internationally.

Cosy Sheridan has been described as "one of the era's finest and most thoughtful singer/songwriters," and her wryly insightful songs have been showcased everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Dr. Demento Show. She first appeared on the national songwriter scene in 1992 when she won both the Kerrville NewFolk and Telluride Troubadour awards and released her critically acclaimed CD, "Quietly Led." Since then she has released 6 more CDs and written a one-woman-show, "The Pomegranate Seed."

One of the pre-eminent songwriters on the folk scene documenting the lives of modern women, Cosy "fuses myth with modern culture, Persephone with Botox. She is frank, feisty, sublimely and devilishly funny." - Cornell Folksong Society.

She recently composed a song-cycle for best-selling author Robert Fulghum's latest book "Third Wish," which has been at the top of the bestseller list in the Czech Republic since last year. Two of the songs from that project appear on her latest CD, "Live at CedarHouse."

The Boston Globe has called Sheridan "a wonderfully lively, very funny and enormously amiable entertainer, with a keen and wicked eye for the excesses of our fast-food, tv-happy and noisome culture."

Cosy has taught at camps around the country, including The Swannanoa Gathering, Summersongs Songwriter's Camp, and the California Coast Music Camp.

Mark Simos is a songwriter, tunesmith, and composer, dance fiddler, and guitar and piano accompanist, who weaves a lifetime's love of many traditions--Irish, Southern old-time, New England, Quebecois, bluegrass, and Klezmer among others--into innovative musical forms.

Julian Smedley started his musical career as a choirboy in an English Cathedral. As a violinist he performed regularly on BBC television & radio both as a soloist and an orchestral player. He co-founded the Bowles Brothers Band that recorded on Decca Records. After moving to Washington State he joined Cornish Institute's jazz orchestra, playing with guests such as Art Lande, Ralph Towner, Gary Peacock, and Gil Evans. A Bay Area resident since 1985, he's a violinist with the Hot Club of San Francisco and the Connie Doolan Quartet and he tours with Paul Horn. Recently he's been recording CD projects including a commissioned work for UC Berkeley's dance theater, which premiered at Berkeley's Zellerbach Playhouse in Spring 2005.

I'm a guitarist, singer, and sometimes songwriter. I just added it up, and I found that I've taught at PSGW for a total of 18 years, starting back in 1984! Way before that I started off as a classical guitarist, migrated to bluegrass and old-time, fell in love with swing, dallied with country and a bit of pop and rock... the usual restless wandering. I have played in a bunch of bands all over the Northwest (and back in New England too), including Highwater String Band, The Wholly Cats, Grant Street String Band, and the Russ Barenberg/Matt Glaser quartet. Along the way, I made up some songs and, together with some of my favorite musicians, put them on an album that I called (that's right) "Cyd Smith." I've also taught at California Coast Music Camp, the Sound Acoustic Music Camp, the Augusta Heritage Festival, and the Georgia Straight Guitar Workshop. I live in southern Oregon now with a calico cat. I'm playing more music than ever and I can't wait to see everybody.

Laura Smith was born and raised in Hawaii, surrounded by the music of the islands, her Dad's piano and tenor banjo playing, and the rich harmonies of the church choir. She started playing old time banjo in 1973 when she attended the Sweet's Mill Music Camp in California and was introduced to a wide range of live traditional music. She has been playing and singing ever since. Laura sang with Larry Hanks for many years, and together they toured Great Britain. She has taught classes at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop for 18 summers. Classes have included banjo, guitar, song repertoire, and hula. She has also taught at the Georgia Strait Guitar Workshop. Laura has been a public school teacher for the last 17 years and uses music daily in her classroom.

Steve Smith has been performing mandolin and vocals for over 20 years in about as many different types of musical situations as one can imagine, from hard-driving traditional Bluegrass, his first love, to New Acoustic, Celtic, and Jazz ensembles, Old-Time, and chamber music. In addition, Steve has been involved in a number of theatrical productions.

Besides his regular touring schedule, Steve maintains a busy teaching and workshop schedule, including mandolin instruction at Camp Bluegrass, private guitar and mandolin lessons, and a broad pallette of recording sessions including mandolin, mandola, and guitar.

Tracy Spring's singing has been favorably compared to k.d. lang, Joan Armatrading, Kathy Mattea, and Yo Yo Ma's cello. She has won regional and national honors for her songwriting. She's toured internationally. She came to PSGW for the first time, yet another Flip convert, in the late 1970s. She continues to pop up, like the proverbial penny, every few years or so, as student, faculty, or on some special PSGW project. In the outside world, Tracy writes and performs contemporary folk and blues when the spirit moves her, often simultaneously raising funds for international relief and development NGOs. Happy as a clam at high tide, she resides in Bellingham with Al Snow and with Gabe and Aleah SpringSnow.

Larry Squire is a retired teacher from the Edmonds School District in Washington (state). He taught guitar to teachers through Central Washington University as an adjunct instructor for twelve years. He also taught inservice classes in the school district. He is a co-founder of PSGW, and has taught level 1 and 2 guitar and ukulele workshops. For the past eight years he has taught guitar and ukulele at the Edmonds Recreation Center each fall. Larry winters in Arizona jamming with friends at fiddle and bluegrass festivals.

Orrin Star is an award-winning guitar, banjo and mandolin player who's also funny. With music ranging from fiddle tunes to topical ballads to western swing, and storytelling both sharp and droll, he has been described as "Arlo Guthrie-meets-Doc Watson." He was the 1976 National Flatpicking Champion and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion.

Susan Streitwieser (www.susansroom.com) is a Berkeley born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter. She has released five albums with her band Susan's Room ("A soulful, commanding voice" said the New Yorker), and has taught singing for over twenty years. Her instructional book/CDs "The No Scales, Just Songs Vocal Workout" (www.singersworkout.com) has been helping singers worldwide.

Alice Stuart's early career, (1961-1978) found her on stages with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, Lightnin' Hopkins, Albert King, Jerry Garcia, John Prine and Frank Zappa. She made albums for Arhoolie, Fantasy & Burnside Records. Alice presents a unique and original blend of American music which is a mixture of folk, blues, country and rock. She has 9 albums to her credit and maintains a very busy schedule teaching, writing and performing.