MORE 2026 STAFF
MARY FRASER
Mary Fraser (Montague, MA) has been fiddling in the region throughout her life in dance halls, cafes, and festivals. She's a mainstay at Maine Fiddle Camp, organizer of the Harry Smith old time weekend in Greenfield, MA, and a founding organizer of our very own RiverJam Romp.
GARRETT SAWYER
Garrett Sawyer (Wendell, MA) is a bassist and educator who loves bringing flavor from global genres into the melting pot of contra dance music. He has performed with a Trinidadian soca band in an abandoned fort in the heart of Grenada, a Senegalese hip-hop group in a National Geography concert at Grand Central Station, a klezmer group at the opening of the Boston Greenway, and an Eastern European heavy metal/reggae band in a dark club in Springfield.
Garrett writes and performs with a depth of understanding borne from both academic analysis (as a Berklee graduate) and real-world experience. Since 2012, Garrett has played concerts, festivals, and contra dance weekends across the US with The Gaslight Tinkers.
ALICE CUMMING
Alice Cumming (Brattleboro, VT) is an Eastern Massachusetts native, now transplanted to the green hills of southern Vermont. She has been exposed to folk dance all her life and has more than 22 years of experience as a ritual dancer. Alice has most recently danced with Marlboro Morris & Sword, Harbour Steel Rapper, and Muddy River Morris, and was part of the creative team behind the stage show Rootbound featuring Maple Morris, Morris Offspring, Ian Robb, and more. Alice has also danced at Midwinter Revels at Sanders Theater (Boston) and acted as Ritual Dance Director for Revels North (Lebanon, NH) since 2022. Alice lives in Brattleboro with her wife, musician Alex Cumming, and their two children.
We are excited to have Alice on staff as our Romp Children's Coordinator this year. Alice brings tremendous energy and creativity, great respect for people of all ages, and a deep love for music and dance traditions. She'll be available to facilitate fun activities with willing kids during the six workshop periods on Saturday/Sunday and the farewell gathering on Sunday afternoon. Because parents and children often feel extra challenged at weekend events, we hope this will make the weekend more fun for everyone!
TOM YAHNER
Tom Yahner (Brattleboro, VT) teaches juggling in a low-key and VERY accessible way that underlines the fun! Tom learned to juggle in 1985, paid off his part of two houses as a professional juggler, and takes quite a bit of pride and enjoyment in the fact that he seems to have been placed on Earth to help people have a terrific time while learning to juggle.
Come to Tom's Sunday juggling workshop with whatever level of skill you have, whether it is something you have never tried before or if you already have significant skills. There will be something for everyone—especially the laughs and fun, which tend to be much more important than the throwing and catching!
LOUISA ENGLE
One of Louisa Engle’s (Brattleboro, VT) 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.
Louisa 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.
PETER SIEGEL
Educator and founding member of The Gaslight Tinkers, Peter Siegel's (Brattleboro, VT) 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.
AMANDA WITMAN
Amanda Witman (Brattleboro, VT) is a singer, song leader, instrumentalist, and event organizer. Her love of harmony infuses her singing and playing. She is an advocate for inclusive, community-based music where players and singers at all levels are encouraged and supported.
Amanda leads the monthly 3rd Saturday Brattleboro Pub Sing, which she founded in 2011 with legendary Brattleboro singer, Tony Barrand. She helps organize the annual Northern Roots Festival and teaches at the Brattleboro Music Center. Since 2015, she has performed with Vermont-based quartet Big Woods Voices, presenting detailed, original art arrangements of poetry and other songs. But her favorite thing is just sitting around with a few friends and swapping songs wherever and whenever they happen to be together.