Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering Performers

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MLAG 2008 Featured Performers

Bryan Bowers For nearly three decades, Bryan Bowers has been to the autoharp what Earl Scruggs was to the five-string banjo. He presents instrumental virtuosity combined with warmth, eloquence, expression and professionalism. From his rather unglamorous beginning as a street singer, Bryan Bowers has become a major artist on the traditional music circuit. He has redefined the autoharp and is also well known as a singer-songwriter. Bryan has a dynamic outgoing personality and an uncanny ability to enchant a crowd in practically any situation. His towering six foot four inch frame can be wild and zany on stage while playing a song like `Dixie’ and five minutes later he can have the same audience singing `Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ in quiet reverence and delight. Bryan’s creativity and talent have won him in-duction into Frets Magazine’s First Gallery of the Greats after five years of winning the stringed instrument, open category of the magazine’s readers’ poll. This distinction put Bowers along side other luminaries, such as Chet Atkins, David Grisman, Stephan Grappelli, Itzhak Perlman, Tony Rice, Rob Wasserman and Mark O’Connor, recognized for their personal accomplishments. In 1993, Bryan was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame to stand only with Maybelle Carter, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter.

Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen have combined their talents to create one of the most potent duo teams in acoustic music. They are both gifted instrumentalists, strong and versatile singers, and prolific songwriters, and are comfortable in a dizzying array of styles of roots and Americana music. They jump from showstopping celtic jigs and old-time fiddle tunes to house-shaking blues rockers, soaring gospel duets, and achingly beautiful ballads. Reid’s legendary acoustic and slide guitar work make a perfect backdrop for Andersen’s powerful fiddling, and they take turns on lead and harmony vocals to showcase a large and interesting repertoire of original, traditional and contemporary music. They have brought audiences to their feet at folk & bluegrass festivals, clubs, coffeehouses and concert halls across the US and in Europe, and have released 4 highly-acclaimed collaboration recordings. Harvey & Joyce form a rare and versatile musical partnership, combining the best of American virtuoso instrumental work with razor-sharp harmony singing and a captivating stage presence. They take to the stage with a rich and varied songbag, an arsenal of stringed instruments, which includes autoharp, and a deeply-satisfying emotional purity, with a fresh northern New England sensibility, free from showbiz and pretense.

Tom Schroeder - If you have read one of the autoharp magazines since 1982, you have probably read an instructional article by Tom Schroeder. He has also written over 100 instructional articles for the Autoharp Teachers Digest, Autoharpoholic Magazine, Autoharp Clearinghouse Magazine, and the Autoharp Quarterly Magazine. Thousands of autoharp players have gotten playing ideas from his writing and published music. He has taught autoharp lessons in Kansas City for 25 years and his beginning and intermediate students have gone on to win the International and National Autoharp contests. He has taught and performed at festivals throughout the United States since the 1980’s and has performed at the Mountain Laurel Festival twice before. Tom’s dynamic playing style can be heard on his latest recording, An Artistic Autoharp, where he plays solo and with the American/Celtic group, Calliope. He is a two-time winner of The International Autoharp Contest. As a performer and teacher, Tom has been referred to as “a master of the autoharp.”

Jerimoth Hill - Award-winning folk duo Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly blend gorgeous and unusual harmonies and play guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, mandolin, tin whistle, harmonica, banjo, bones, spoons, limberjacks, and other surprises including Appalachian clogging and French Canadian footwork. Married since 1989, they perform widely in the United States and abroad and their ten recordings receive international airplay. Aubrey and Elwood have taught classes, studied with traditional musicians and folklorists, played and called dances, appeared on television, and received standing ovations for their concerts. Jerimoth Hill is Atwater-Donnelly’s most recent project led by Elwood and is a band performing old-time American gospel songs. They are joined by Heidi Cerrigione on autoharp & vocals and John Cerrigione on bass & vocals. This endeavor summarizes years of research throughout those hidden pockets of America where music, as an integral part of daily life, weaves an emotional thread through work and play, commitment and faith, endurance and hope, struggle and peace. Their 2007 recording, The Halfway Ground, also includes Uriah Donnelly on piano & guitar and Cathy Clasper-Torch on fiddle & cello. The halfway ground refers to a place where the hereafter is ever-present in conversation and song, and greener pastures are a simple assurance.

Eileen Kozloff has won competitions for her songwriting, singing and instrumental work on autoharp, mandolin and piano. She plays in a variety of band configurations in addition to performing solo. Eileen is well known for her soaring vocals, stunning harmonies and commanding performances. Eileen has been part of the autoharp world for nearly two decades. She has a particular affinity for the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering as she was one of the founding members of MLAG, Inc. Eileen has developed her own unique style of autoharp playing that frequently merges contemporary themes with a traditional feel. Known for playing pick-less, she has been cultivating and grooming calluses while trying to capture some of the elements inspired by the playing of the late, great Mark Fackeldey. Eileen recorded two critically acclaimed CD’s with her former band, Well Tempered String Band. Now blazing a trail on her own, she has released two CD’s on her own MoosiCowlia Label: “Solitary Rider” (2006) and her newest baby, “Hearts and Souls Entwined” (2007). Both recordings have garnered stellar reviews.

Drew Smith is a two-time winner of the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Championship, in 2007 and in 1997. He’s won the Winfield International Championship in 1984 and 2000, and won the National Autoharp Championship as well as Blue Ribbons at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, VA, where he regularly leads an autoharp workshop. Drew has been a band member with Roger Sprung and the Progressive Bluegrassers for over 25 years, which is the major reason he has a harp that can play in so many keys! Drew has given workshops at Augusta Heritage Arts, in Elkins, WV; at Swannanoa Gathering, Asheville, NC; California Summer Solstice Festival, the California Autoharp Gathering, the Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View, AR, and many other major festivals.

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