Here is a list of confirmed faculty:
Ethel Caffie-Austin
Known as West Virginia’s “First Lady of Gospel Music,” the gifted Ethel Caffie-Austin is a pianist, singer, choir leader and educator. With a big, passionate voice and mighty two-fisted piano style, Ethel Caffie-Austin drives her home gospel train with a fiery intensity and élan. The daughter of a Pentecostal minister, Caffie-Austin was born in Alabama and raised in Mount Hope, West Virginia, in the heart of the coalfields. Among the songs and stories passed on to her by her family and neighbors were veiled references to the Underground Railroad, and the community’s participation as a way station on the road north to freedom.
Ethel began playing piano at the age of 6, started accompanying church services when she was 9, and directed her first church choir at the age of 11. She began directing choirs for the Churches of God in Christ when she was 14, and has been active in that church ever since. Today, she serves as the pastor of Rimson Memorial Church of God in Christ in Charleston, and Minister of Music of the West Virginia Jurisdiction of the Churches of God in Christ. Outside of the church, Ethel received a teaching degree in Language Arts from the West Virginia Institute of Technology, and, several years later, was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts degree from that institution. In addition, Caffie-Austin has received a number of other awards, including the Jefferson Award for Humanity and West Virginia’s Brotherhood Award. She has appeared on public radio’s Mountain Stage, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. She has taught numerous vocal and piano workshops in the United States and Europe, where she incorporates spirituals and other pre-gospel styles into her presentations in order to expose people to the wide range of African American sacred music.
Elizabeth LaPrelleTwenty-one-year-old Elizabeth LaPrelle is exceptional in her devotion to and mastery of the ancient and deep art of Appalachian unaccompanied singing. She is renowned for her piercingly authentic mountain style and the devotion and honesty with which she approaches the poetry of the old songs. She sings with a sense of conviction, honor, honesty and an emotional force that evokes the great Appalachian ballad singers of generations past.
Raised in Rural Retreat, Virginia, she came from a home where there was always singing, and a community with many fine old-time musicians. Elizabeth has developed her style and repertoire from neighbors like Jim Lloyd, under the tutelage of powerful female ballad singers Ginny Hawker and Sheila Kay Adams, and from legendary singers like Cas Wallin. Virginia State Folklorist Jon Lohman says of Elizabeth, “One gets the feeling...that she is accessing those aspects of these songs that transcend place and historical time, and speak directly to the heart.” Elizabeth’s voice, stark and unaccompanied, can lift and carry the listener away to another time.
Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum
You can't measure Laurie Lewis's 30-year career with the usual commercial yardsticks. Though she has won a Grammy and has twice been named Bluegrass Female Vocalist of the Year, you'll soon realize this soft-spoken, sweet-singing California fiddler, singer and songwriter is something very special. "Judging by the respect she has among fans and peers in the industry," says IBMA executive director Dan Hays, "Laurie is one of the pre-eminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time. She spreads her talent over several genres - bluegrass, folk, country - and with the recognition she has within all those fields, I would certainly say she's one of the top five female artists of the last 30 years. And she continues to make great music."
Lewis's performing companion is ace mandolinist-singer Tom Rozum. “I love to have a partner to sing with, crave it deep down inside," Lewis says. "And Tom's the same way.” Originally from New England, Tom moved to Berkeley from Arizona, where he played many kinds of traditional and original music with Summerdog and Flying South; and from San Diego, where he honed his swing chops with the Rhythm Rascals. Since joining forces with Laurie more than 20 years ago, Tom's versatility and diverse musical influences come to the fore every time they play. He mostly plays mandolin, but is also an accomplished fiddle, mandola, and guitar player. And he sings, the ideal harmony partner for Laurie, as demonstrated on "The Oak and the Laurel," their Grammy-nominated album of duets.
Listen, people - there’s a lot of outfits out there singing harmony, really good harmony, but hardly any are actually singing duets. Laurie and Tom, though it’s just a small part of their musical contributions, are consciously engendering duets that are as fine as any in the history of recorded music. They’ll teach some of that at the workshop.
Pharis RomeroPharis Romero is an outstanding singer, songwriter, rhythm guitar player, and teacher, and a respected figure in West Coast acoustic music circles. She has performed and instructed at many of the major North American festivals and venues, from Wintergrass to the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals to the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.
But more than anything, she loves playing with other people.
Growing up deep in the Cariboo interior of British Columbia, in her hometown of Horsefly, she found both classical and old country mentors. She grew up singing Italian arias, German operettas, and French folk art songs, while at the same time performing with her family’s country band, The Patenaude Family. She went on to found the critically acclaimed and seriously cool roots outfit Outlaw Social.
Pharis is a prolific songwriter, influenced by early traditional music, but looking to British Columbia and Canada incidents, accidents and issues. Songs about daily living – work, divorce, drug addiction, love and death – flow from her upbringing in a small resource-based community. She currently plays with old time trio The Haints, and directs vocal and band workshops and the Old Time Vocal Choir in her home of Cobble Hill, BC. Pharis has a passion for teaching vocal skill and tradition that is widely enjoyed at these workshops.
Mark GrahamMark Graham's harmonica virtuosity on Irish and American fiddle tunes and his rich, woody sound on clarinet are well-known to Northwest acoustic music mavens. His musical career includes his early years as a street musician in Seattle and stints with such stellar old-time string bands as The Hurricane Ridgerunners and The Chicken Chokers. Mark has recorded or performed with Orville Johnson, Tom and Patrick Sauber, Tim O’Brien, Laurie Lewis, Danny Barnes, Pete Sutherland, The Horseflies, Benny Thomasson, and Irish fiddler Kevin Burke.
However, Mark’s deepest and longest-lasting impact has been his songwriting. He’s blessed with the ability to laugh at himself, and to capture the absurdities of modern existence in a few choice words. His sardonic skewering of contemporary life in such songs as "I Can See Your Aura and It's Ugly" and "Zen Gospel Singing," and his lampoons of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, sex change operations, the bible, Oedipus Rex, Oral Roberts, and dinosaurs have become immortal to singer-songwriters in the same way that fervent “Repo Man” followers gave rise to the term “cult classic.” His songs have been recorded by many, including the Austin Lounge Lizards, Bryan Bowers, and the Limelighters. Mark will be teaching a songwriting track at the workshop.
Orville JohnsonOrville Johnson, an instrumental gunslinger whom the Seattle Times describes as "the player's player," has a gift of finding the secret ingredient that makes a song sound letter-perfect, whether it's an R & B tune from New Orleans, a country blues or a jazzy ballad. Born in Illinois, he came up in the St. Louis music scene where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He moved to Seattle in 1978, where he was a founding member of the much-loved and well-remembered folk/rock group, the Dynamic Logs. Other musical associates include Laura Love, Ranch Romance, and the File' Gumbo Zydeco Band, and he has shared the stage with artists such as Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.
Orville's guitar, dobro, and quavering, honeyed vocals have seasoned more than a hundred recordings, soundtracks and countless TV and radio commercials. He’s an extraordinary and magnificent musician, with interests and passions and contributions simply too wide to be categorized by marketing bins. Orville will accompany Mark at the workshop, and lead a session of his own as well.
Jenny LesterJenny Lester, Jenny Lester, blessed with a voice with sweetness, clarity and power, is a dynamic bluegrass performer and recording artist who has established herself as an important singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Jenny's talent is superbly displayed on her shining debut CD, “Friends Like You,” of critical and popular acclaim. Her original songs, carefully crafted in the bluegrass convention, display a contemporary freshness and vitality that breathes new life into the fabled "high lonesome" sound. A love for nature weaves through many of her songs like "The River, Mother Nature and Me" which is being published in the Girl Guides of Canada 100 year celebration song book.
Jenny is a veteran stage performer, beginning on the fiddle at age eight with her family's Driftwood Canyon Family Band out of Smithers, B.C. Now into 27 years touring the world with different configurations of bands, working on a broad spectrum of professional recordings, movies, educational DVD's and having a degree in commercial music from South Plains College in Texas, Jenny brings a professional, compassionate and positive energy to her lessons and workshops. Most recently touring with the Yukon based bluegrass band, Hungry Hill, time at home off the road is spent writing songs in her log cabin in the mountains of Northern BC and training horses.
Nadine LandryNadine Landry was born and raised in a musical family on the Gaspe Peninsula on the east coast of Quebec. She’s spent a significant portion of her musical life playing upright bass in the Yukon, courtesy of the Canadian bluegrass band Hungry Hill. She has also leant her talents to various bands ranging from old time to honky tonk to swing and Cajun. Described as deeply passionate and powerful, her voice has been capturing the hearts of fans across North America, Ireland, England and Australia.
Nadine spends most of her time on the road. She calls the Yukon home, but frequently visits Portland, where she plays with the Foghorn Stringband/Trio and occasionally sits in with the Caleb Klauder Country Band. At the workshop, she’ll teach a beginning/intermediate harmony workshop with Jenny, as well as a honky tonk class.
Wylie Gustafson(Monday - Wednesday only)
Singer, songwriter, rancher, horseman, and the original, world-famous Yahoo!® yodeler, Wylie Gustafson leads the musical outfit known as The Wild West. He’s played thousands of gigs, delighting audiences around the world with his good-time cowboy music. He’s performed at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, The National Folk Festival, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, on A Prairie Home Companion, and he’s appeared more than 50 times on the Grand Ole Opry.
Growing up in northern Montana, Wylie Gustafson’s musical tastes were initially influenced by his father who loved to sing and play guitar. A rancher and veterinarian, Rib Gustafson sang cowboy and folk songs in the living room of the family home. His career as a performer began in his teens. Rock ‘n’ roll was sweeping the nation at the time and made its impact even in the most remote parts of Montana. He conveniently joined his brother’s band as a cheap–but willing–bass player.
He soon looked to play music full-time, and the first Wylie & The Wild West got its start at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood. The band’s sound borrowed elements of Western swing, cowboy, yodeling, honky-tonk, rock-a-billy, and traditional country. “The coolest cowpoke around” will teach cowboy songs and yodeling at the workshop.
Pamela Forman began her solo singing career at age 6 in a talent show in San Francisco – she won! Since then she has performed many styles of singing from light opera to vintage country western, Broadway, and jazz. She has worked with many bands and fabulous musicians including Mood Indigo, The Martini Brothers Big Band, Sweet Thursday Jazz Band, Cow Bop Western Swing Band, Dan Hicks, Bruce Forman, Howard Alden, and many others. Her true vocal love is singing swing vocals with a Big Band – in a vintage 1940s gown from her extensive collection.
Bruce FormanPamela will be accompanied during the week by Bruce Forman, whose guitar style has been an important part of international jazz for more than two decades. He has been featured as leader as well as sideman at most of the prestigious festivals and concert venues throughout the world. His numerous recording and performing credits include the likes of Bobby Hutcherson, Ray Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Henderson, and Barney Kessel. Known for bop-style phrasing and inventive harmonizations, his ability to work in a variety of settings keeps him in constant demand. His devotion to sharing his knowledge has been a constant throughout his career.
Together, Bruce and Pamela play in the band Cow Bop, a Western bebop band mixing swingin' grooves, thrilling riffs, sweet and hot vocals, and acoustic western sensibilities.
