This is last year's page.
We will post this year's facutly in the near future.
Kendra Ward & Bob Bence
Kendra Ward and Bob Bence are among the most influential and respected performers in traditional music, and the Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering is thrilled to feature them this year! Kendra, on hammer and mountain dulcimers plus vocals, is the "real deal." Raised in a musical family deep in Appalachia, Kendra began dulcimer when she was four and learned from constant exposure to fiddlers, banjo players, dancers and other traditional artists. Nowadays, Kendra is one of the best-loved and most in-demand dulcimer teachers on the festival circuit.
Bob Bence is an award-winning musician whose bold, powerful guitar style harkens back to the days of Riley Puckett and Roy Harvey, and whose professional credits include not only festivals and concert halls, but also comedy clubs and improv stages. Bob is known as both a superb guitarist and a clear and inspiring teacher.
For nearly thirty years, Kendra and Bob have crisscrossed the country and crossed the Atlantic, appearing at festivals, schools, colleges, private functions and even on street corners! They have appeared on stage with the Statler Brothers, Debbie Reynolds, Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, John Hartford, and David Holt. Kendra and Bob have released ten recordings and are the authors of a number of DVD's and instruction books. When they aren't touring, Kendra and Bob devote some of their time to building mountain dulcimers, continuing a Ward family tradition that began in 1925. Whether on stage, on record, or in teaching workshops, few artists communicate with the honesty, wit, charm and talent of Kendra Ward and Bob Bence.
Simple Gifts
Folk Gathering's host band is three women (Linda Littleton, Karen Hirshon & Rachel Hall) playing twelve instruments, performing styles that range from old time to Celtic to Klezmer and beyond. Combining tradition with innovation, Simple Gifts creates some of the finest arrangements in folk music today: swing fiddle creeps into a Romanian dance, spoons show up in an Irish reel, and the concertina ventures far beyond styles considered traditional for that instrument. Based in the hills of central Pennsylvania, Simple Gifts switches with ease among two violins, concertina, mandolin, banjolin, recorders, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, baritone fiddle, guitar, piano, and percussion.
Dearest Home
Dearest Home plays and sings music from the Civil War, Appalachia, and the British Isles. A particular interest, which they'll share at the festival, is traditional music of Pennsylvania, especially the Samuel Bayard Collection. The group features rich vocal solos and full four-part harmonies, with fiddle, concertina, guitar, bass, piano, mountain dulcimer, pennywhistle, and percussion. Although Dearest Home is a first-timer at Greenwood Furnace, the group includes three members of the Folkemer Family Band, a long-time festival favorite. Band members include Beth Folkemer (guitar and vocals), Margaret Folkemer (penny whistles and vocals), Stephen Folkemer (concertina, piano and vocals), Mike Paul (fiddle and vocals), Andy Rosenfeld (bones and vocals) and Chris Barnabei (bass).
Mountain Fire
Jerry Trusty has been a regular at the festival, and this year he returns with his band, Mountain Fire, which adds Carol Pharo on fiddle and Doug Romig on guitar and bass. Jerry plays clawhammer banjo, and all three sing, creating wonderful harmonies that complement their old-time sound. Jerry and Carol hold advanced degrees in music, and Carol is Artistic Director of The Music Academy in State College.
Henry Koretzky
Henry Koretzky is a mandolinist/ guitarist/singer from Harrisburg, PA, who has performed in a wide variety of styles and groups, from bluegrass with Cornerstone, Sweetwater Reunion, and High Strung, klezmer with The Old World Folk Band, old-time with the duo Rootbound, as well as swing, celtic, contemporary folk, and contradance music. He has taught at Folk College in previous years as part of The Keystone Rebels and as part of a duo with singer/songwriter/ guitarist Kevin Neidig, and has also been a staff regular at Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering.
Holly Foy and Patty Lambert
Holly Foy and Patty Lambert play with Callanish, a traditional Celtic band where Patty plays flute, whistle and concertina and Holly plays guitar. Patty has studied with National Heritage Fellowship award winner, Mike Rafferty as well as with Chris Norman. Patty has traveled through Ireland twice to collect tunes and to sample Guinness beer with bandmate Holly Foy, who will back her up on guitar. Holly has studied guitar with Daithi Sproule, guitarist from the band Altan, and with Matt Heaton and others.
Diana Wagner
Diana Wagner is an acoustic musician and folksinger who collects and preserves folk music. Diana plays acoustic and classical guitar, mountain dulcimer, a bit of banjo and diddley-bow. She also plays multiple percussion hand instruments. Folk audiences know that her show-opening trademark is to begin without any instruments and an a capella mountain song or ballad. Whether singing Civil War songs, blues, Irish love ballads, or indie folk from contemporary backroads, Diana is committed to telling the personal stories and sharing the histories of the lives preserved in song. Diana is also a classical guitarist with a variety of musical interests. In addition, she directs the Maryland site of Guitars in the Classroom, an innovative program that brings guitars and music integration to classroom teachers across the country.
Clark Parry & Cindy Durkee
Also known as The Allegheny Mountain Dulcimer Players, Clark and Cindy focus on old time and gospel songs, accompanying themselves on mountain dulcimer, guitar, strum stick, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, and bass. They are also the founders and organizers of the Heart of the Alleghenies Festival in north-central Pennsylvania. Now that Clark and Cindy have retired, they split their time between Florida and their sail boat on Lake Erie.
Kelly Parker
Kelly e. Parker is founder and artistic director of ABAFASI. Her life’s roles include: sistah, mother, grandmother, drummer, drum-maker, student, teacher, social worker, composer, craftswoman, wordsmith, jewelry-maker, and welder. Kelly’s first drumming experience occurred in 1994, and it recharged her life, since then drumming has been the soundtrack of her path. The drum is in her walk, talk, hair, children and spirit. Her travel to Africa in 2005 affirmed the influence that West African drumming has had on all genres of music. That influence has informed her rhythmic expressions.
Joe DeZarn
Joe DeZarn is a fiddle player from a family of fiddlers. His grandfather, Bill DeZarn, fiddled his way through the transition from Old-Timey music to Bluegrass in eastern Kentucky bands, with his chums Stringbean and Asa Martin. Joe's fiddling centers around traditional dance music, embracing the rhythms and repertoires of Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and of course, eastern Kentucky. A warm and enthusiastic teacher, his workshops are notable for good humor, clarity and for attendees leaving with a greater understanding of the music and a sense of their own greater musical possibilities.
Ryan Thomson
Ryan Thomson is a music and dance professional who tours with both the Traditional and Touring artist rosters of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. He is a past winner of the North Eastern Regional award of the National Fiddle Contest and has published numerous books on fiddle, banjo, accordion, flute, piano and more! See captainfiddle.com for more info and lots of videos!
Bob Nicholson
Based in Syracuse, NY, Bob is in demand as a contradance teacher and caller. His dances are easy for beginners while still being fun for accomplished dancers.
Peggy Leiby
Peggy is a founding member and director of FiddleKicks, a dance troupe that performs Appalachian clogging and other styles of percussive dance. In addition to teaching these styles, she has offered workshops in waltzing and couple dances since 1999, and has a strong background in international folk dancing. Peggy is currently working with Simple Gifts on a collaboration where FiddleKicks will perform to Simple Gifts' music. Peggy co-founded Mostly Waltz, a popular social dance in Philadelphia. She also plays recorders in early music ensembles, English country and contradances bands; and manages phillydance.com.
Paul Fagley
The Cultural Interpreter for Greenwood Furnace State Park, Paul is knowledgeable about the history of the people and places at Greenwood.