David Champagne - Songcraft and Performance, Garage Band
"Veteran Boston musician David Champagne, who was born in Oklahoma, grew up in Kansas City, and has lived in both New York and California, came to Boston to play in a rock and roll band in 1977. Since then he has played in the Shane-Champagne Band, Pink Cadillac, Treat Her Right (with Mark Sandman), the Jazz Popes, Super Eight and the Junko Partners. He currently makes music with his wife, Katie, in the Heygoods, and plays in Andrew Mazzone’s musical aggregation The Family Jewels as well as various reincarnations of Treat Her Right. David lives in Allston with his wife and two children and their pets." -Robert Birnbaum, identitytheory.com
Janet Feld - Guitar and Songwriting, Teen Guitar
I've been performing in clubs and coffeehouses around the country (and a small bit overseas) since 1986 and teaching music since 1987. I believe that the biggest challenge of most artists in any genre is to find a day job that doesn't suck you dry - that way you still have energy to do your work when you get home from your job. It's my wish that everyone who has the desire to play music allow themselves to take a leap of faith and sign up for lessons or classes. I encourage you to shop around for the most optimal "match" - take it as seriously as you would finding the right therapist or primary care physician. If you love to listen to music, it's highly likely that playing music would make you happy. Everyone I know who participates in any type of creative activity(ies) is happier.
Lauren Flaherty - Voice
Kimberley Fraser - Fiddle
Kimberley Fraser was born on Cape Breton Island, and nurtured within its rich musical heritage. She first began to impress audiences at the age of three with her step-dancing talents. Soon after that she took up both the fiddle and the piano. Like many in Cape Breton, music is not new to Kimberley’s family. She proudly owns the fiddle of her great great grandfather, spanning the musical tradition within her family over a hundred years.
Greg Hawkes - Ukulele
Greg Hawkes is the famed keyboardist and co-founder of The Cars (1977-1987), who helped define the sounds of the 80’s with his signature keyboard style heard on The Cars’ “Let’s Go” and “Just What I Needed,” as well as his arpeggiated and syncopated synth lines on “Shake it Up” and “Heartbeat City.” Greg’s music took an exciting new direction in 2001 when his wife gave him a “Fluke” as a gift. He has been hooked on Ukulele ever since. “It made playing music fun again” he says. Greg started collecting Ukuleles and getting involved in the ‘Uke’ scene in and around Boston.
Anne Heaton - Songwriting
Boston-based singer-songwriter/piano-player Anne Heaton will release her thoughtful and delicate new collection of music, Blazing Red, this coming March 3rd, 2009. The critically acclaimed artist returned to the studio after years of touring to put together her third album with co-producer Gary Maurer (of HEM). Recorded mostly live-in-the-studio, Heaton’s new record maps personal themes with organic vocals, pop melodies and piano-led arrangements. Heaton expresses feelings of loss and connection, from the desire to, one day, be a good mom, to letting go of past relationships. The music is at times lush and whimsical -- Heaton is often backed by a string quartet- and alternately intimate, she sings and plays piano only. What is created is a soulful record that gently urges the listener to both take risks and take comfort.
Ralph Jaccodine - Music Business
Ralph Jaccodine began his career in music promoting concerts in Allentown, Pa. and then as the concert director at the University of Notre Dame working with artists such as: Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Rush, etc. After running his own downtown Boston commercial real estate company for 12 years, he joined Mike Dreese, the founder of Newbury Comics, one of the nation's leading retail music chains, in starting Black Wolf Records, an independent record label. In 1994 he started Ralph Jaccodine Management guiding the career of songwriter Ellis Paul, and then expanded the business working with several additional artists including: Martin Sexton, The Push Stars, Flynn, Antje Duvekot, and more.
Jiro Kokubu - Mandolin
Jiro, a phenomenal multi-instrumentalist from Osaka, Japan, found a home in the Japanese bluegrass community, and on his band’s first tour of America, he met his hero Bill Monroe. He later returned to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2008. In The David Wax Museum, Jiro’s breath-taking dobro solos and spectacular mandolin ability make him a thrill to take in.
Paddy League - Bodhran, Brazilian Guitar
Paddy (Panayotis) League is a performer, composer, and music educator specializing in the traditional music of his ancestral Greece and Ireland as well as the folkloric and popular music of Brazil. Performing on a variety of instruments, including violin, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, various lutes, rabeca (a Brazilian folk fiddle), tsambouna (the Greek island bagpipe), and percussion, he is a driving force in the contemporary traditional music scene. Recently relocated to Boston from the island of Crete, Paddy performs throughout North and South America and Europe. Recent shows include A Christmas Celtic Sojourn at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston; the Magic Flute festival in Utrecht, Holland; the "Piping Shepherds" festival in Gergeri, Crete; FIAT in Quebec City; The Pancycladic Folk Wind Instrument Festival on the island of Paros; and A St. Patrick's Day Celtic Sojourn at Boston's John Hancock Hall.
Tavis Linsin - Music Theory, Guitar Improv
Tavis is a guitarist, composer, teacher and education researcher. He has been a Visiting Lecturer at Berklee College of Music and Founding Director of a music education program in Costa Rica. Tavis has performed with a number of groups in the Boston area over the years as a leader and sideman. As a player he is most interested in performing and exploring improvised music. Tavis is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He recently returned to Boston after a year-long research fellowship in India.
Kimber Ludiker - "Not Celtic" Fiddle, Fiddling for Beginners
Kimber began fiddling at the age of three years, and at the age of four was named the youngest fiddler at the National Old-Time Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho. Kimber has continued playing fiddle since then, also adding acoustic guitar and tenor guitar to her repertoire. She was the National Junior Champion in 2000, and in 2001 she went on to place in the top 10 of the Grand National Division.
Tim Mann - Beginning Ukulele
Tim Mann has been teaching ukulele since 2005, and has had students ranging in age from 5 to 75. As a founding memeber of 'Ukulele Noir', and current member of the Greg Hawkes Ukulele Trio, Tim has performed throughout the New England area, recently opening for Ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro.
Eric McDonald - Americana Ensemble, Mandolin
Eric McDonald, a former Berklee College of Music student, plays mandolin and guitar for many touring bands and songwriters including The Dave Rowe Trio, Matching Orange and others. He has brought his music all over the United States and into Europe. In addition to teaching at Passim, you can find him instructing young musicians at New England fiddle camps during the summer.
Eoin McQuinn - Bodhran
Born in Ireland in 1973, Eoin McQuinn graduated with a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology at University of Limerick in 1998. His extensive performance career has seen him develop projects in the USA, UAE, South America, Australia, China and Tawian and most recently in Nairobi, Kenya. He was Music Director of The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, The National Irish Dance Company and the first festival of Irish Music in Dubai. His lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Christopher Pappas - Songwriting
Currently the front man/songwriter for the national indie band The Everyday Visuals (Improper Bostonian – Best Band 2008, Boston Music Award winner - "Pop act of the year" plus four more BMA nominations, FNX Best Music Poll Nominee), Christopher has been playing, touring, writing, and teaching music for 13+ years. He graduated Cum Laude from the Hartt School of music in 2003 with a BA in Music Education with a Vocal Emphasis. While there, he caught the eyes of many professors who took him on in private instruction in conducting, theory, and composition. He tours nationally and has shared the stage with artists such as Josh Ritter (Epic Records), Pierre De Reeder (Rilo Kiley), Margot and the Nuclear So & So's (Epic Records), Juliana Hatfield, Autumn Defense (from Wilco), The Watson Twins (Vanguard) and many more.
Rose Polenzani - Songwriting
Rose Polenzani was first noticed for her 1998 unanimous win in the Chicago Lilith Fair competition, closely followed by her debut at the Newport Folk Festival. She spent several years touring and recording, moving from her native Chicago to California to Boston, where she has was recently nominated for Best Female Vocalist in the 2007 Boston Music Awards. Rose has released records both privately and on labels such as Rykodisc and Daemon Records.
Sean P. Rogan - Performance Techniques
Sean P. Rogan plays guitar AND sings at the same time. Rogan, a resident of Rhode Island, received “Best Singer Songwriter” in the 2009 Providence Phoenix, was a semi-finalist in the 2009 WBRU Rock Hunt and plays locally as well as touring nationally and internationally. He received his degree in Music Education from Berklee College of Music. Sean has spent the last 14 years writing and recording records and touring the world as a founding member of Boston’s Big D and the Kids Table. With a built in fan base for his solo project, Sean continues to write, record and tour with Big D as well as on his own. When asked how to describe his music, Rogan said, “It’s good for campfires or coffee shops, to fall asleep or make out to.” Sean’s musical inspirations include Jack Johnson, The Beatles, Nada Surf, Coldplay, Bob Marley, the Flaming Lips and Huey Lewis.
Charlie Rose - Banjo
Performer and teacher specializing in American music. Plays banjo, double bass, guitar, pedal steel,and cello. Originally from Lawrence, KS. Currently residing in Jamaica Plain, MA
Lloyd Thayer - Harmonica, Lapstyle Guitar, Music Theory, Americana Ensemble
Lloyd Thayer's lap style dobro and national steel guitar have made him an underground legend in the subways and on the streets of Boston for years.
Jordan Tice - Bluegrass Guitar
In 21 short years, Jordan Tice and his guitar have gone places that people twice his age can only imagine. Drawing from his roots in bluegrass, studies of jazz and classical composition, and love of traditional music of all types, Jordan synthesizes diverse elements into something new.
Chris Welles - Swing Guitar
Chris Welles is the guitarist and lead vocalist for Outrageous Fortune, a jug band who play early jazz and blues on both sides of the Charles River. Chris taught himself to play finger-style guitar as a teenager by wearing grooves in his country blues records. He went on to study jazz at Berklee College of Music ("but not enough to hurt my playing").
Brooks Williams - Fingerstyle Guitar, Blues Guitar
