Julie Lyonn Lieberman,
has helped develop the alternative string field over the last thirty+
years through her work as an educator, author, radio producer, composer,
recording artist, journalist, and performer.
Ms. Lieberman is the author of eight music books, including The
Creative Band and Orchestra, The Contemporary Violinist, 12 Rock Strings
Lesson Plans, Improvising Violin, Rockin’ Out With Blues Fiddle, You Are
Your Instrument, and Planet Musician. One of her newest books,
Alternative Strings: The New Curriculum, is helping to change the
landscape of the string world. 2007 included the release of her fifth DVD titled
Alternative String Styles in the Classroom. Ms. Lieberman
wrote, produced, and edited this video for American String Teachers
Association. Her other DVD titles include Rhythmizing the Bow, Techniques for the Contemporary String Player, The Violin in Motion, and Vocal Aerobics.
Julie was the first educator invited by Juilliard to teach improvisation to their students. A dynamic, participatory workshop leader, her ability to stimulate
participants to think and grow in new ways has earned respect for her
work throughout the world through organizations like American String
Teachers Association, European String Teachers Association, National
Orchestra Festival, Music Educators Association, International
Association of Jazz Educators, Suzuki Institute, National String
Workshop, International String Workshop, the Juilliard MAP Program,
National Young Audiences, the Carnegie Hall LinkUp Program and The
Academy (a Carnegie/Weill Hall/Juilliard-sponsored program).
Lieberman has also created seven
hours of programming for National Public Radio on jazz violin, and over
fifty articles for music magazines, including STRAD, STRINGS, Fiddler
Magazine, and American String Teacher Journal. In addition, Ms.
Lieberman produced four American Jazz String Summits in the eighties and
nineties featuring many of the top improvising string players in
America, and co-produced three alternative string festivals within
American String Teachers 2003, 2004, and 2005 conferences, serving as
the chair for the 2004 component
Julie is a J. D'Addario Elite Clinician. Her eclectic style scores are published by Alfred Publications and her books and DVDs are distributed world-wide by Hal Leonard Publications. She is now a member of the National Curriculum Committee for the American String Teachers Association.
Randy regularly steps beyond the boundaries of what many think of as jazz, forging headlong into the worlds of rock, blues and funk. The resulting sound is swinging, rocking, rhythmic and bluesy with a fiddle that often plays more like a saxophone than a violin. There are shades of Duke and Miles and you can certainly hear the echoes of the great jazz violinists from the swing era.
Randy is a pioneer and leader in the world of modern string education. He began in 1978 by creating the first college degree program for contemporary string performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He also teamed up with the string editor at Alfred Music Publishing to produce Jazz Philharmonic, an acclaimed comprehensive method for alternative styles on violin, viola, cello and bass. Currently, Randy is the founding chair of the String Department at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota offering both Bachelors and Masters degrees in alternative string performance.
Matt Turner is regarded as one of the world's leading improvising
cellists. Equally adept in many styles, Turner performs everything from
jazz standards and twentieth century new music to alternative rock and
improvised avant-garde.
Turner completed his undergraduate studies at Lawrence University and
his Master of Music degree in Third Stream Studies at the New England
Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Dave Holland, Geri Allen
and Joe Maneri, and where he was the recipient of a Distinction in
Performance Award.
Turner taught jazz piano, jazz strings, composition and
improvisation for many years at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music. He
is featured on more than 50 recordings on Sketch, Meniscus, O.O. Discs,
Asian Improv, Geode, Cadence, and other labels. He has performed at the International Cello Festival in Montreal,
the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, and with CUBE, Present Music,
and Dadadah. He has shared the stage with Bobby McFerrin, Kevin
Mahogany, Natalie McMaster and Randy Sabien. His compositions and
arrangements are published by Latham Music and Alliance Music. He
presents numerous improvisation workshops to string students and string
teachers each year. Turner is a Yamaha performing artist.
"Turner dazzles with his own improvisational excursions and displays
his expansive cello vocabulary..." Strings Magazine
"...represents Matt Turner as one of the great American
cellists...this rates as an important document of a major voice on the
cello..." Joee Conroy -- The Improvisor Review of Turner's solo
cello recording, "The Mouse That Roared"
Grammy-nominated Richard Greene, "one of the most
innovative and influential fiddle players of all time," grew up in Los
Angeles and studied classical music until his encounter with the
pyrotechnic fiddling of Scotty Stoneman; from then on Richard was a
fiddler. He first attained prominence with Bill Monroe and the
Bluegrass Boys in 1966 as one of Monroe's first "northern" band members,
then went on to found the revolutionary Folk-Rock group Seatrain,
pioneering one of the first uses of the electric violin in rock. His advanced
technique and intense yet "cool" tone shocked audiences and prefigured
such players as Jean-Luc Ponty and others, influencing a generation of
fiddle players including Darol Anger, Alison Krauss, Sam Bush and Stuart
Duncan.
Richard's return to acoustic
music occasioned the invention of "New Grass" or "New Acoustic"
instrumental music, now a mainstay throughout the world's acoustic music
festivals. As one of Los Angeles' premier string session players he
founded the trailblazing Greene String Quartet creating the first ever
amalgam of Jazz-Folk-Rock-Chamber music and producing three seminal
albums. His many acclaimed releases in the folk and bluegrass world
have been honored with Grammy and IBMA awards, his CD Sales Tax Toddle
was Grammy nominated for Bluegrass Album of Year.
Mr. Greene currently leads
seminars on all aspects of fiddling and violin playing nationwide,
teaching courses at The Mancini Institute, the RockyGrass Academy, the
Festival of Fiddle Tunes, the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp, the Rocky
Mountain Fiddle Camp, The Swannanoa Gathering, and dozens of ad hoc
workshops throughout the year. Also last year marked the debut of
Richard Greene's Piece for Bluegrass Violin and Orchestra entitled "What
If Mozart Played With Bill Monroe?".
KELLI TROTTIER Click to download Reel des Oignons and Tamcampworth from the 2011 Fiddle Jam Session
Raised in a mixed community of Scottish and French Cultures, Kelli was surrounded by music. Stepdancing at age five and playing fiddle at nine,
Kelli's unique "Celtic" style developed quickly. Family performances soon led to band work and then featured solo performances. In addition to her extensive performing experience, Kelli Trottier is a highly sought after instructor and judge of fiddle and stepdance events across Canada and parts of the U.S.
She has been nominated three times for Fiddle Player of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association and appears on many studio recordings for other artists. Kelli features her own writing through fiddle and voice on her seven independent recordings. Performing and touring her music with her band earns glowing reviews, requests to return and always more fans!
She is currently touring North America with the very successful Bowfire entourage. Kelli’s soaring vocal pieces are, for many fans, a highlight of the Bowfire productions, often described as “The finest lineup of fiddle and violin virtuosi ever assembled on one stage." Kelli has performed for Canadian soldiers in the Middle East and for the Inuit of the Canadian.
Bridgid Bibbens has performed with major artists in the rock, pop and jazz worlds, such as Christina Aguilera, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Gilby Clarke (Guns ‘N’ Roses), Johnny Colt (the Black Crowes), Mary J Blige, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, Harry Connick, Jr. and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Television appearances include NBC’s Today Show, the CBS Early Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, and a special broadcast for New York City’s PBS affiliate.
Bridgid joined forces with Mark Wood Music Productions and Wood Violins in August 2007 and has been trained by Mark in his groundbreaking educational methods in conjunction with his Electrify Your Strings!™ series of music education programs. She now travels the country with her Viper, sharing her passion for music of all genres with orchestra students in public schools all over the the country.
Dr. David Rudge, is the Director of Orchestras and Opera at SUNY – Fredonia, where he also teaches Free Improvisation, and leads the Improv. Collective, an ensemble He is also a member of the teaching staff and Board of Directors of Music for People, an international organization, dedicated to free improvisation for self-expression. As an improvising violinist, he has studied and/or performed with Paul Winter, Paul Horn, Arthur Hull and Don Campbell. He has also performed as conductor with David Darling and Jon-Luc Ponty. David has been involved with Music for People since its inception, has taught Free Improvisation in such diverse settings as Oklahoma State University, the Connecticut Public Schools, the Kiental Center in Switzerland, and the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies, where he was on staff for several summers.
Stephen Benham is currently an Associate Professor of Music Education at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, string pedagogy, music psychology, and music education history/philosophy. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Liberty University (VA) where he teachers courses in field research and Eastern European culture. Stephen holds degrees from the University of Minnesota (B.S.), the University of Michigan (M.M.) and the University of Rochester––Eastman School of Music (Ph.D.). Prior to coming to Duquesne, Steve taught at the public-school level in Michigan, Oregon, and New York.
Steve is an expert in Eastern European culture, having made nearly 40 visits to the region since 1997. He works actively with Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking communities throughout the region, including Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. His work has led to the development of numerous community music schools and string ensembles in the region, and his research has been featured in numerous international conferences and symposia, in addition to being published.
Steve has held numerous leadership positions. He is currently President of the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teachers Association, and the Chair of the National Curriculum Committee for the American String Teachers Association.
Roy Sonne started playing jazz violin at age 60, after a 40
year career as a symphony musician. He was a founding member of “Blues
on First” Pittsburgh’s Jazz String Quartet. He studied jazz
improvisation with James Guerra at City Music Center and attended the
Christian Howes/Yamaha Creative Strings Camp. He plays regularly with
jazz pianist, John Burgh.
Through playing jazz, Roy's musical universe became so much
richer, so much more exciting and fulfilling, that he became determined
to share this experience with other string players. In August 2004, Roy
organized Pittsburgh's first Jazz String Workshop for classically
trained string players. Based on the success of that workshop, in 2005
he organized the Pittsburgh Jazz and Fiddling Camp, now preparing for
it's second season.
Roy is active as a
conductor, violinist, pianist and teacher. He is a member of the first
violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He is a faculty
member of the CMU Preparatory division. For eleven years he was the
Music Director of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra. He maintains a large
private teaching studio in his home in Mt. Lebanon. He is also a
Pittsburgh Symphony Ambassador, making frequent visits to many high
schools in the Pittsburgh area, to do workshops and coaching sessions.
