Fiddle – Saskia Tomkins www.saskiatomkins.com

My musical education experience is varied: I have a degree in Jazz and Popular Music with a side of classical performance and have been teaching music privately for nearly 30 years in the UK and Canada, including six years of teaching on a music diploma course at Northampton College, UK three years as violin teacher at a Waldorf school, and many workshops at various folk festivals in Europe and North America. I love helping old & young to play the music of their dreams. I don’t follow a set system, rather I tailor my teaching to the needs of the learner in a solo or group setting. We work together towards the learners goal, in whatever music styles they are interested in. I am very specific in correcting technique but without compromising the joy of playing music. I have a vast supply of patience, and teach people with a wide range of abilities and learning styles. Where there’s a will there’s a way, all within a safe, respectful environment.

Fiddle – Rosalyn Dennett www.rosalyndennett.com

Rosalyn Dennett is a fiddler, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has established herself on the international roots scene through her role as one of the founding members of the highly acclaimed quartet Oh My Darling. With four nominated albums, headlining four international tours, and sold out shows across the country, she has also traveled extensively through Ireland, Appalachia and Louisiana to pursue her love of traditional music. Some of her projects include Ken Whiteley & the Beulah Band, Pigeonhawk Stringband & Old Pony (Old Time Appalachian/Bluegrass), Bon Fer (Cajun/Zydeco), and many more. Rosalyn has had the pleasure of performing with Donovan Woods, Fred Penner, David Francey, The Fugitives, Zachary Lucky, Kaia Kater, the Crooked Brothers, Gabriel De Santis, Hannah Shira Naiman, Shawna Caspi, Sarah Jane Scouten any many more great artists and has recorded on over 20 albums as a freelance musician.

Clawhammer Banjo – Riley Baugus www.rileybaugusbanjos.com

Riley Baugus, a North Carolina native who lives in Walkertown, began singing and playing music at an early age. Raised in a household where recordings of old-time music were often played, he developed a love and appreciation for traditional southern Appalachian music. Already expertly playing fiddle and guitar, by the time he was twelve, he and his father built a banjo from scrap wood, and he once again began to learn another instrument.  Riley has played with numerous old-time string bands, including the Red Hots, Backstep, and Old Hollow Stringband. He currently plays with the Dirk Powell Band and Polecat Creek. He teaches banjo, guitar, and fiddle at music camps throughout the country and tours regularly with Dirk Powell and Tim O’Brien, and with Ira Bernstein. As a producer and performer, Riley worked with the Lonesome Sisters on their recording Going Home Shoes. His singing is featured on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film Cold Mountain. He built the antebellum-style banjos that were used in the film.  He has also collaborated with Laurelyn Dossett and Ira Bernstein on recordings and contributed to albums by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Polecat Creek, Martha Scanlan, Dirk Powell, Adam Tanner, Kirk Sutphin, and the Lonesome Sisters.

Denis LePage – Bluegrass Banjo

Denis LePage started his banjo career years ago in London, Ontario as a founding member of the then popular bluegrass band, The Dixie Flyers. The band toured throughout Canada and the US and Denis’s driving banjo style, original tunes and precision playing helped the band become known as one of the best bluegrass units in the country at the time. He continued playing and touring with other groups including Station Road, Limited Edition, Switchback Road, HighBanks and several more. Denis has been a prolific banjo instructor and session musician and has played on numerous artist, band and commercial recordings. He also has recorded two solo banjo albums on Boot Records and was an in-house producer for many bluegrass groups that recorded with Boot records. He has participated on stage and done workshops with many well known bluegrass groups and artists including the Country Gazette, Byron Berline, The Seldom Scene, Lester Flatt, Alan Munde, Tony Trishka, John Hickman and many more. Denis’s banjo playing draws from his rich family background in Canadian fiddle and old time music as well as from his traditional and progressive bluegrass influences. He has composed many banjo tunes, has published a book of banjo tablature and is a regular contributor to the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada magazine and website.