2022 STAFF
PETER & MARY ALICE AMIDON
Peter and Mary Alice Amidon's choral arrangements and compositions are rooted in their life-long immersion in the harmonies of Sacred Harp singing, African American spirituals and gospel, pub singing, and other spontaneous group harmony singing, and American and English folks songs. The Amidons lead choral harmony singing workshops at major traditional music festivals, and weekend/week-long choral singing workshops in the United States and the UK.
Peter has been one of the major U.S. leaders of American shape note singing. Mary Alice is a member of, and Peter is Music co-Director of the Guilford (VT) Community Church, UCC Choir and the Hallowell Hospice Choir. The Amidons’ choral arrangements are being sung by hundreds of choirs throughout the United States and the UK.
RACHEL BELL
Rachel Bell is a Brattleboro-based accordion player, performer, tunesmith, and teacher whose playing spans an enormous range of emotion, from nuanced and sensitive to exhilarating and powerful, pushing the boundaries of what is expected from an accordion. Rachel draws her inspiration from Celtic, French, English, and Québécois traditions, creating scores of innovative tunes while deeply respecting traditional melodies. She thrives on collaborative musical work, especially with her bands Eloise & Co., Peregrine Road, Alchemy, and Old World Charm School. In demand throughout North America and abroad for concerts, contra dances, French BalFolk dances, English country dances, workshops, and festivals, Rachel is a musical adventurer at heart.
MIA FRIEDMAN
Mia Friedman is a fiddler and singer as well as a composer and educator. She fell in love with traditional music at a young age and loves working with students of all ages! She currently teaches ukelele and fiddle at Little Roots and is the co-director of the Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts. She also teaches at the Community Music School of Springfield and leads elementary string programs in various public schools in Holyoke and Springfield. Mia performs in Ari & Mia, a duo she has with her sister, Ariel Friedman. They have toured all over the United States and Australia and have four CDs, two of which were ranked high on National folk radio charts. Mia also performs with the Ephemeral Stringband and Hollow Deck.
Mia's song “Across the Water” won the 2010 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the folk category, and she was the 2006 New Hampshire Highland Games Scottish Fiddle Champion. She graduated from New England Conservatory in 2012 where she studied with Anthony Coleman, Carla Kihlstedt, and Hankus Netsky.
ANN PERCIVAL
Ann Percival is a pianist, guitarist, dancer, singer, erstwhile social worker and artist. Ann’s dancing days started when her Norwegian grandparents took her dancing at the Sons of Norway hall in Brooklyn. At Girl Scout Camp she discovered that she loved singing. She has in recent years found special enjoyment teaching visual arts and crafts. Ann is a founding member of Wild Asparagus and the O-Tones and is an exceptional dance musician for contras, squares and swing. Her vivacious personality and amazing repertoire of swing, gospel and other songs of many traditions are sure to keep everyone in camp jumpin’ and jivin’.
DAVID CANTIENI
David Cantieni has been making people dance to his music for more than two decades with his captivating performances on the Irish style wooden flute, Breton bombard, oboe, and sax. David switched to playing dance music from Bach and Stravinsky (music which he still adores) after developing a passion for traditional New England contra dancing. The love of music and dance infuses all of David’s many activities, which range from performing with the well known bands Swallowtail and Wild Asparagus, to leading a parade of costumed campers at family dance camps.
EVEREST WITMAN
Everest Witman, known for his rock-solid rhythm guitar style, fell in love with traditional music growing up in Brattleboro, VT. Having received mentorship from players such as Keith Murphy and Roger Kahle, he plays in the DADGAD tuning and draws on a variety of styles to inform his playing such as contemporary Irish and Scottish trad. Everest cut his teeth as a musician playing contra dances across the North American continent with the neo-trad trio Nova, who are also a driving force behind the emerging Bal Folk scene in the US. They released their second album, “Chasing the Sunset,” at the end of 2019. Everest currently lives in Montréal, Québec, where he benefits from the vibrant music scene and plays with the Celtic trio Kavaz and the Québécois quartet La Pastourelle. When not touring, he works as a guitar instructor and recording/audio engineer.
STEVE ZAKON-ANDERSON
Steve Zakon-Anderson has been a caller and organizer for contra dancing for almost 40 years, and in real life has also been a chef at various locations, notably the Dublin (NH) School, Fiddleheads cafe (owned and operated with his wife Bettie) in Hancock, NH and currently at MacDowell in Peterborough, NH. Steve has fond memories of cooking at the Northern Roots weekend at this very camp facility and is looking forward to returning there once again to, along with Bettie, offer up meals to inspire much music-making and singing.
SALLY NEWTON
Sally Newton grew up singing and dancing with her family. Her father, John Newton, was a caller of traditional New England squares and contras. In college she began calling and since then has taught and called dances throughout Vermont and the surrounding states, and in Alaska. While living in Anchorage she was one of the founders of The Dancing Bears, a non profit that supports traditional music and dance.
Sally retired two years ago after 30 years of teaching elementary school. Having grown up with music and dancing such a part of her life, she strove to give her students some of that experience with daily singing and lots of dancing.
Sally is known among old time musicians for her driving back up guitar and her ability to call and play at the same time (as long as the tune is predictable and things don’t go too wonky on the dance floor). She loves those old time tunes and songs, and enjoys harmony singing.
PETER SIEGEL
Educator and founding member of The Gaslight Tinkers, Peter Siegel's music is deeply rooted in American traditions yet spans the globe. Over the years he's shared the stage and been mentored by folks like Pete Seeger, Jay Unger and Molly Mason, Utah Phillips, and Noel Paul Stookey. He was a bandmate of bluegrass powerhouse Michael Daves and poet Alicia Jo Rabins in the 90's "New Old Time" band Underbelly, which the Berkshire Eagle called "a supergroup of New England talent". Peter also contributed and recorded on the Grammy award winning Pete Seeger album, "Tomorrow's Children," and has published songs in Sing Out! magazine and the fiddle tune compilation, The Portland Collection. As as educator, Peter has been teaching in the public schools and writing songs and theatrical productions with children for the last 20 years, as well as being a contributing writer to The George Lucas Foundation site Edutopia on social curriculum and music educational practices. His Symonds School CD Peace Place won a Parents Choice Award in 2012.
MARY LAUREN FRASER
Mary Fraser trained intensively in classical violin for the first decade and a half of her life. Since moving from the classical music world into traditional music, she has traveled to many places with rich fiddle traditions, immersing in the tunes and styles of Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia and New England. She loves the fun of ragtime tunes and sappy waltzes from the 20s, as well as haunting Kentucky tunes, strathspeys from the rocky ledges of northern Scotland, and slippery jigs from West coast Ireland. She has also developed a crankie habit and shares her beautiful, artistic, musical crankies everywhere she can.
AMANDA WITMAN
Amanda Witman is a singer, song leader, instrumentalist, and event organizer. Her love of harmony is evident in her singing and playing. She is an advocate for inclusive, community-based music where players and singers at all levels are encouraged and supported. She founded and co-leads the monthly Brattleboro Pub Sing and helps organize the annual Northern Roots Festival. She sings with Vermont-based quartet Big Woods Voices, performing detailed, original art arrangements of poetry and other songs.
LOUISA ENGLE
One of Louisa Engle’s fondest childhood memories is dancing through a long tunnel of clasped hands during a contra dance at her elementary school. She grew up to be a fiddler and fiddle teacher who is passionate about bringing together musicians and dancers of different ages and abilities. She has taught at the Brattleboro Music Center, Maine Fiddle Camp, and Nelson Elementary School, has had numerous private students, and has called and played at family contra dances throughout New England. She has helped run the legendary all-night Brattleboro Dawn Dance for a decade. Her current interests include Maypole dances, claw hammer banjo, family dance calling, and alternate fiddle tunings.
Staff
CASS & QUENA CRAIN
Cass and Quena (Kay-nuh) Crain (a mother daughter duo) have been having fun with music and dance together for as long as Quena remembers!
Quena went to her first contra dance before she could walk and called her first contra dance the year she turned sixteen. It wasn’t until she moved to Blue Hill, Maine in 2007 that she really caught the calling bug though and since then she has enjoyed calling all along the Atlantic seaboard. She enjoys teaching dancing and singing games to folks of all ages. Quena is currently the Lead Elementary Teacher at The Hiland Hall School, a small progressive school in Bennington, Vermont, where she enjoys incorporating the joy and community focus of traditional song and dance into her daily classroom life.
Cass started her first guitar band, “The Stripers” at age ten with her brother, Darrel, and has enjoyed playing and sharing music with others ever since. During her 29 years of classroom teaching, Cass incorporated music and storytelling into her students’ daily routine and engaged the whole school in sing-alongs each month. Since retiring, Cass continues to enjoy sharing music and stories with children whenever she can, especially at Quena’s school!