Allegheny Echoes - Music Workshops

Banjo 1 - Beginning
Chad Ashworth is from Nitro WV. His grandfather, banjo player Denzil Woods, taught him to play guitar at an early age. He moved to banjo and was influenced by Jimmy Costa, Elmer Bird, Kim Johnson, Jim Mullins and Tim Bing, but his biggest influence was Frank George, with whom he spent a 6 month apprenticeship in 2009. Chad has placed in both the Vandalia Gathering and Appalachian String Band contests..

Banjo 2 - Intermediate
Andrew Dunlap, of St. Albans, West Virginia, grew up listening to the fiddling of his uncle Ralph “Junior” Dunlap. He counts among his other influences Kanawha Valley musicians Brooks Smith, Pete Humphries, and Bobby Taylor. A past Vandalia Gathering champion, he also has judged many of the major contests in the Southeast including the West Virginia State Folk Festival at Glenville, the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop, and the Galax Old Fiddler's Convention. Andrew frequently appears live and in person with Kanawha Tradition. The intermediate class will focus on expanding student's knowledge of tunes and styles.

Banjo 3 – Advanced
Tim Bing, originally from Barboursville WV, is widely recognized as one of the best old time banjo players anywhere. A nominee for the first class of inductees into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, Tim learned his craft first-hand from such legendary West Virginia greats as Sherman Hammons and Frank George. His driving yet
intricate drop-thumb style has led to many banjo contest blue ribbons. He is a member of the Bing Brothers Band, and has performed across the U.S., Canada, Ireland Australia and Scotland. He can be heard on “Banjo Legacy” and “Just For The Sake Of It”.

Fiddle 1 - Beginning
Pam Lund lives in the Williams River area of Pocahontas County, WV, where she is well known for her patient and caring teaching manner, as well as her outstanding musicianship. An instructor at the Augusta Heritage Workshops, she has won numerous contests in the Appalachian region for her traditional clawhammer banjo playing. Pam can be heard at many venues throughout the state and in the Pocahontas County area with local musicians.

Fiddle 2 -Intermediate
Danny Arthur is a resident of the Barboursville area of Cabell County, West Virginia. Already well known as an established backup and lead guitar player and singer for the “Bing Brothers Band”, Danny has come into his own as an outstanding old time fiddler. He has taught and performed at Appalshop, Augusta Heritage Workshops, the Vandalia Gathering, the Wheatland Music Festival, and in Ireland and Scotland.

Fiddle 3 - Intermediate
Jake Krack, from Nicut, West Virginia, started playing the fiddle at the age of six. Now at twenty five he has spent fifteen years studying and apprenticing with West Virginia master old-time fiddlers Melvin Wine, Lester McCumbers, and Bobby Taylor. He has performed and taught workshops at venues such as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Chicago Folk Festival, Merlefest, and the Detroit Festival of the Arts. Jake has won fiddle contests at Vandalia, Appalachian String Band Festival, Galax Old-time Fiddlers Convention, Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention, Ed Haley fiddle contest, and the Henry Reed Fiddlers Gathering. He currently has over thirty fiddle students of all ages and levels.

Fiddle 4 – Advanced
Bobby Taylor, a fourth-generation West Virginia fiddler, has played fiddle for more than 30 years, learning from his Kanawha County neighbors Clark Kessinger and Mike Humphries. He also was influenced by Doc Roberts, The Skillet Lickers, and Sam Jarvis. He has performed with the Morris Brothers Band, The Kanawha Tradition, and many other groups, and can be heard on his solo tape, “Bobby Taylor: Kanawha Tradition”. He is the contest coordinator for the Vandalia Gathering and the Appalachian String Band Festival, and has served as a judge for the Galax Old-Time Fiddler's Convention. Bobby toured Ireland and Australia in 2007, and appeared at the National Folk Festival in Australia in March of 2008.

Fiddle 4 - Advanced
Chance McCoy was raised in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where he first discovered old time music at a local speak easy. A relative of Doc White was there and sold him his first fiddle. He began going to fiddlers conventions and visiting old time fiddlers around the south, picking up everything he could about old time fiddling. In 2007 he started winning fiddle competitions around the south including the WV fiddle championship at Vandalia. Since then he has acquired an impressive amount of awards and come to be recognized as one of the top younger musicians in old time music today. He has appeared on radio and television here and in Europe and in 2008 released his debut record to much acclaim.

Guitar 1 - Beginning
Judy Hudnall, from Morgantown, has been involved in traditional music for many years as a guitar and lap dulcimer player/teacher. She is found behind the guitar at most WV festivals and local jam sessions. She is currently playing with Wee Bluets, a Celtic band, Drumdelgie, a Scottish country dance band and Worley Dervish, a traditional Appalachian band. Her class will concentrate on getting acquainted with the instrument and the music, tuning, fingering of basic chords, changing chords, chord families, timing, and alternating bass strum used to accompany traditional fiddle tunes. This class will happily progress very slowly.

Guitar 2 - Backup
Patrick Shields was an early baby boomer. Born in Illinois in 1942, he was raised in Georgia. Pat moved to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia in 1964, and to a farm in Keyser, W.Va. in 1973. He became an Musician in Residence for the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Council in 1976 in Braxton County, and in Mineral County in 1978. In this capacity he was fortunate to play with West Virginia greats Melvin Wine, Sloan Staggs, Andy Boarman, Woody Simmons, Wilson Douglas, Phoebe Parsons and many others. His early influences John and Robert Lancaster, Mabel Carter, Gene Mead, Riley Puckett, and Rodney Dillard gave him the inspiration to stay strictly with backup guitar work. Pat's approach to the guitar in old-time music is simple: fill the holes, add the bass, use a varied chord pattern, use appropriate runs, don't be afraid to experiment, try not to play the tune the same way twice, and put the power in it. He has been involved in a number of old-time and bluegrass bands playing mandolin and guitar, most recently with the Georgia Mudcats, a North Georgia based stringband.

Guitar 3 - Intermediate Simple Leads
Doug Hepler grew up in Richmond, Va. and has been playing guitar since age 13. He started writing songs and tunes of his own about age 18 and played in “soul music” bands in high school and later in several country music bands. In 1998, Doug took Robin Kessinger's class and from that point on learned to play guitar all over again. He also learned from Chris Nickel and Robert Shafer and has tried to incorporate that knowledge into his own playing. Doug has entered the Virginia Folk Music Association Competition and took first in flatpicking in 2002, 2nd in 2004 and 3rd in 2005. At present he plays in two bands, Full Circle, which had the privilege of playing the Opera House in Marlinton last year, and a new band which is yet to be named.

Guitar 3 - Intermediate Finger Picking
Jon Mosey is a multi-instrumentalist from the Akron, Ohio area. Since the early 1970's he has performed virtually every style of 20th century American traditional music on a wide variety of instruments. Although many fans know him as a flatpicker, mandolinist, singer, banjo player or songwriter, Jon is best known for his fingerpicked guitar style. Jon performs full-time and has released over a dozen recordings as a solo musician and with many bands in a wide variety of styles. He has been teaching people to play traditional music for over 25 years. This class will cover the history and development of the Ragtime /Piedmont Blues style of guitar, the influential players and basic techniques. Students will learn two or three tunes in the Piedmont/Ragtime style. Students should be able to play some tunes and know the basic chords.

Guitar 4 – Advanced
Robin Kessinger, from St. Albans, West Virginia, was the National Flatpicking Champion on guitar in 1985 and 1988. Robin also won the Best Overall Performer at Galax, Virginia. He is the son of mandolin great Bob Kessinger and the greatnephew of fiddle legend Clark Kessinger. His adaptations of fiddle tunes have amazed audiences across the U.S. and in Ireland. “Contest Favorites” with Wayne Henderson, “Star of County Down” with Steve Kaufman, and “Breakfast of Champions” with Robert Shafer are among his audio offerings. Robin's class will concentrate on developing and refining complex and intricate techniques and styles.

Bass – All Levels
Tim Corbett is an experienced bass player from Lesage, WV who has played with several bands throughout the region including Buck Carroll & Breakin' New Ground, Bobby Maynard & Breakdown, Timberline, Union Ridge, and The Bing Brothers Band. In 2007 Tim hit the professional circuit and played Bass for Blue Moon Rising and Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, and was featured on the Lonesome Standard Time's Live XM Satellite Radio recording from their show at the Old Town School of Folk in Chicago, IL in August 2006. Tim is originally from The Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where he was taught by fellow musicians Walt & Keith Edwards, as well as his father. Tim is a knowledgeable and energetic musician, and loves to produce, write, and arrange Bluegrass music.

Mandolin - All Levels
Alan Dutchess, from Marlinton, WV, has been playing music for over twenty years. His repertoire is heavily influenced by the Bing Brothers and those West Virginia fiddlers whose recording inspired him to play mountain music years ago; Lee Triplett, French Carpenter, and John Johnson. A multi-instrumentalist, he has shared the stage with several old time and bluegrass stringbands across the state. Alan has been teaching music in and around Pocahontas County for several years.

Hammered Dulcimer - All Levels
Bob Shank, from Morgantown, was influenced on banjo by Sloan Staggs. As a member of Hickory Wind, Curmudgeon, The Percolators and the Big Otter Orchestra, Bob has played in over 30 states, toured Europe, played The Kennedy Center and has shared the stage with Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, John Hartford and the Dirt Band. Bob has made several recordings with his bands. He has taught privately for years and has been an instructor at Augusta.

Vocal Instruction - All Levels
Patt Plunkett first heard tradtional music as played by her grandfather Carl Voorhees, an old-time fiddler from Western Illinois. A professional choral music director with a Masters degree in vocal performance, Patt also calls square dances and plays piano accompaniment for some of the finest fiddlers in the Midwest.

Val Mindel is a versatile teacher, singer and instrumentalist (fiddle and mandolin). A longtime teacher at Chicago's Old Town School fo Folk Music (vocal harmony, early country repertory and fiddle classes) and a leader of Village Harmony, she leads adult harmony workshops around the country. She also has performed and led workshops in Hong Kong, Canada, Scotland and England. Val is a founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area string band Any Old Time. Patt and Val will provide a program based on traditional secular and gospel old-time songs, small ensemble work, harmony and improvement of singing technique.

Bluegrass Banjo
Bobby Maynard was born in Huntington, WV. His professional career, spanning 23 years, encompasses a broad range of musical styles. Bobby has played in approximately 45 states as well as Canada with entertainers such as Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Don Rigsby and many others. Notable performances include the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, The Strawberry Festival in Yosemite California, the Philadelphia Folk Festival in ennsylvania, Wintergrass Festival in Tacoma, Washington and the TNN television special Sunset Music Fest. Bobby is an accomplished musician on banjo, mandolin, guitar, fiddle and bass.

Bluegrass Guitar
Robert Shafer from Elkview, WV will teach a variety of Flatpicking playing styles. Robert's numerous awards include – 2 time National Flatpicking Champion, State Guitar Champion of Kentucky (3), Ohio (2), Tennessee (1), and Alabama (1), 2 time Appalachian Open Guitar Champion, and 4 time Vandalia Gathering Guitar Champion. His performances include appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, TNN, CNN, The BBC, The Today Show, and the IBMA as guitarist for Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys. Robert has appeared frequently on American Public Radio's Mountain Stage, both as a featured artist and as a backup guitarist for many noted performers.

Bluegrass Mandolin
Joe Hinkebein is a multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the mandolin. He plays in a variety of styles
including bluegrass, old-time, and traditional Irish. His bluegrass mandolin style is best characterized as being rooted in Monroe-style playing and with a thorough grounding in the vast fiddle tune repertoire. He has been playing mandolin for over 30 years. He has played with numerous bluegrass and old-time music luminaries throughout his career. In recent years he has been the mandolinist for the“Missouri Bluegrass All-Stars featuring Bob Black” (former Bill Monroe banjo-great), the popular Midwest combo “The Rank Sinatras”, and “Nanny Goat Vibrato” which won 4th place in the 2006 Clifftop Traditional Band Contest.Sunset Music Fest.

Bluegrass Fiddle
Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 11 when inspired by players in a fiddler's contest at the Boone County
Fair in his native Missouri. Since then he has won dozens of local fiddle contests as well as major championships in Missouri, Illinois and West Virginia. He has taught fiddling privately to dozens of players and has served as an nstructor
at the Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. Charlie has toured with Josh Graves, of Flatt and Scruggs fame, and played festivals with the Bing Brothers in Ireland and Australia. In addition, he is an avid performer of traditional Bluegrass and “Hot” fiddle styles.

Allegheny Echoes Masters
Jim Mullins is a multi-instrumentalist from St. Albans, WV. He played banjo in the Rebel Yellers Stringband in Morgantown, WV during the late 70's, with a focus on North Georgia fiddle tunes from the likes of the Skillet Lickers, Dr. Humphrey Bates and the „Possum Chasers, and Little Dixie and the Hoss Hair Pullers. Jim was a member of the Frothy Band during the early 80's, a Morgantown ensemble playing Irish and Old Time music. He has placed many times in banjo contests, including the WV Vandalia Gathering. Jim recently was a judge at the Glenville State Folk Festival. He teaches old time banjo and fiddle at Fret & Fiddle in St. Albans, WV.

Mike Bing resides near Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. He credits the Hammons Family, Frank George, and Red Rector as his strongest influences. A member of the Bing Brothers Band, he has performed at the Vandalia Gathering, the Chicago Folk Festival, Appalshop, and the Wheatland Music Festival. His clean, driving style can be heard on his CD “Just For Spite”. Mike has toured Australia, Ireland and Scotland several times with the Bing Brothers and Allegheny Echoes.

Chuck Kinder is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the novels SNAKEHUNTER, THE SILVER GHOST and HONEYMOONERS: A CAUTIONARY TALE. His most recent book is a redneck noir, pulp romance meta-memoir titled LAST MOUNTAIN DANCER: HARD EARNED LESSONS IN LOVE, LOSS, AND HONKY-TONK OUTLAW LIFE. Chuck has worked variously as a coal miner, moonshiner, bartender, bouncer, bandit, prize-fighter, circus performer, tango teacher, white-water river guide, professional cook, cowboy, and itinerant college professor. Along the way he received both a BA and MA in English and Creative Writing from West Virginia University, entertained two years of graduate study at Stanford University, and was appointed to a three-year position as a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford. Chuck frequently performs and tours with The Deliberate Strangers, an alt-country, outlaw band often on the run.

Richard Hefner lives in Renick, WV, but was born and raised in Mill Point, Pocahontas County, WV. His traditional bluegrass group, the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, has played across WV and the East Coast since 1968. The band's high finish in Nashville's SPBGMA contest solidified Richard's standing as one of the best traditional bluegrass banjo players in the field. A three-time winner at Vandalia Gathering, he has won the WV and Maryland state championships. His repertoire includes tunes from Flatt & Scruggs, Don Reno, The Stanley Brothers, and Del McCoury.

David O’Dell began playing banjo at the age of 14, and has since become one of West Virginia's best-known old time musicians. Much of his early musical experience was gained playing at square dances, where he developed his rhythmic style. He was first recorded at age 16 on “The Cedar Point String Band” with Frank George and the late Bob Roark. A multiple winner of first-place prizes for both banjo and dulcimer at the Vandalia Gathering, he appears throughout West Virginia at fairs and festivals. He currently plays with the band “Kanawha Tradition”, and promotes old time music by producing recordings of West Virginia musicians.

Charlie Loudermilk and Junior Spencer, from the Frankford area of Greenbrier County, WV, will contribute their repertoire and experience gained from 50 years of picking together. Charlie is an award winning banjo player in both regular and senior divisions, and is an accomplished guitar player as well. Junior has placed in the Senior Fiddle at the Appalachian String Band Festival and many other prestigious competitions, and their band Mud Hole Control is well known throughout the State.

The Allegheny Echoes Masters Programs are sponsored in part by:

Music Workshops
The 14th Annual Summer Workshops June 20 - 26, 2010 - Marlinton, West Virginia
		The 2010 Allegheny Echoes Music Workshops Banjo \| Fiddle \| Guitar \| Bass \| Mandolin \| Hammered Dulcimer \| Vocal Bluegrass Banjo \| Bluegrass Guitar \| Bluegrass Mandolin \| Bluegrass Fiddle \| Masters
Banjo 1 - Beginning Chad Ashworth is from Nitro WV. His grandfather, banjo player Denzil Woods, taught him to play guitar at an early age. He moved to banjo and was influenced by Jimmy Costa, Elmer Bird, Kim Johnson, Jim Mullins and Tim Bing, but his biggest influence was Frank George, with whom he spent a 6 month apprenticeship in 2009. Chad has placed in both the Vandalia Gathering and Appalachian String Band contests.. Banjo 2 - Intermediate Andrew Dunlap, of St. Albans, West Virginia, grew up listening to the fiddling of his uncle Ralph “Junior” Dunlap. He counts among his other influences Kanawha Valley musicians Brooks Smith, Pete Humphries, and Bobby Taylor. A past Vandalia Gathering champion, he also has judged many of the major contests in the Southeast including the West Virginia State Folk Festival at Glenville, the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop, and the Galax Old Fiddler's Convention. Andrew frequently appears live and in person with Kanawha Tradition. The intermediate class will focus on expanding student's knowledge of tunes and styles. Banjo 3 – Advanced Tim Bing, originally from Barboursville WV, is widely recognized as one of the best old time banjo players anywhere. A nominee for the first class of inductees into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, Tim learned his craft first-hand from such legendary West Virginia greats as Sherman Hammons and Frank George. His driving yet intricate drop-thumb style has led to many banjo contest blue ribbons. He is a member of the Bing Brothers Band, and has performed across the U.S., Canada, Ireland Australia and Scotland. He can be heard on “Banjo Legacy” and “Just For The Sake Of It”. Fiddle 1 - Beginning Pam Lund lives in the Williams River area of Pocahontas County, WV, where she is well known for her patient and caring teaching manner, as well as her outstanding musicianship. An instructor at the Augusta Heritage Workshops, she has won numerous contests in the Appalachian region for her traditional clawhammer banjo playing. Pam can be heard at many venues throughout the state and in the Pocahontas County area with local musicians. Fiddle 2 -Intermediate Danny Arthur is a resident of the Barboursville area of Cabell County, West Virginia. Already well known as an established backup and lead guitar player and singer for the “Bing Brothers Band”, Danny has come into his own as an outstanding old time fiddler. He has taught and performed at Appalshop, Augusta Heritage Workshops, the Vandalia Gathering, the Wheatland Music Festival, and in Ireland and Scotland. Fiddle 3 - Intermediate Jake Krack, from Nicut, West Virginia, started playing the fiddle at the age of six. Now at twenty five he has spent fifteen years studying and apprenticing with West Virginia master old-time fiddlers Melvin Wine, Lester McCumbers, and Bobby Taylor. He has performed and taught workshops at venues such as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Chicago Folk Festival, Merlefest, and the Detroit Festival of the Arts. Jake has won fiddle contests at Vandalia, Appalachian String Band Festival, Galax Old-time Fiddlers Convention, Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention, Ed Haley fiddle contest, and the Henry Reed Fiddlers Gathering. He currently has over thirty fiddle students of all ages and levels. Fiddle 4 – Advanced Bobby Taylor, a fourth-generation West Virginia fiddler, has played fiddle for more than 30 years, learning from his Kanawha County neighbors Clark Kessinger and Mike Humphries. He also was influenced by Doc Roberts, The Skillet Lickers, and Sam Jarvis. He has performed with the Morris Brothers Band, The Kanawha Tradition, and many other groups, and can be heard on his solo tape, “Bobby Taylor: Kanawha Tradition”. He is the contest coordinator for the Vandalia Gathering and the Appalachian String Band Festival, and has served as a judge for the Galax Old-Time Fiddler's Convention. Bobby toured Ireland and Australia in 2007, and appeared at the National Folk Festival in Australia in March of 2008. Fiddle 4 - Advanced Chance McCoy was raised in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where he first discovered old time music at a local speak easy. A relative of Doc White was there and sold him his first fiddle. He began going to fiddlers conventions and visiting old time fiddlers around the south, picking up everything he could about old time fiddling. In 2007 he started winning fiddle competitions around the south including the WV fiddle championship at Vandalia. Since then he has acquired an impressive amount of awards and come to be recognized as one of the top younger musicians in old time music today. He has appeared on radio and television here and in Europe and in 2008 released his debut record to much acclaim. Guitar 1 - Beginning Judy Hudnall, from Morgantown, has been involved in traditional music for many years as a guitar and lap dulcimer player/teacher. She is found behind the guitar at most WV festivals and local jam sessions. She is currently playing with Wee Bluets, a Celtic band, Drumdelgie, a Scottish country dance band and Worley Dervish, a traditional Appalachian band. Her class will concentrate on getting acquainted with the instrument and the music, tuning, fingering of basic chords, changing chords, chord families, timing, and alternating bass strum used to accompany traditional fiddle tunes. This class will happily progress very slowly. Guitar 2 - Backup Patrick Shields was an early baby boomer. Born in Illinois in 1942, he was raised in Georgia. Pat moved to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia in 1964, and to a farm in Keyser, W.Va. in 1973. He became an Musician in Residence for the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Council in 1976 in Braxton County, and in Mineral County in 1978. In this capacity he was fortunate to play with West Virginia greats Melvin Wine, Sloan Staggs, Andy Boarman, Woody Simmons, Wilson Douglas, Phoebe Parsons and many others. His early influences John and Robert Lancaster, Mabel Carter, Gene Mead, Riley Puckett, and Rodney Dillard gave him the inspiration to stay strictly with backup guitar work. Pat's approach to the guitar in old-time music is simple: fill the holes, add the bass, use a varied chord pattern, use appropriate runs, don't be afraid to experiment, try not to play the tune the same way twice, and put the power in it. He has been involved in a number of old-time and bluegrass bands playing mandolin and guitar, most recently with the Georgia Mudcats, a North Georgia based stringband. Guitar 3 - Intermediate Simple Leads Doug Hepler grew up in Richmond, Va. and has been playing guitar since age 13. He started writing songs and tunes of his own about age 18 and played in “soul music” bands in high school and later in several country music bands. In 1998, Doug took Robin Kessinger's class and from that point on learned to play guitar all over again. He also learned from Chris Nickel and Robert Shafer and has tried to incorporate that knowledge into his own playing. Doug has entered the Virginia Folk Music Association Competition and took first in flatpicking in 2002, 2nd in 2004 and 3rd in 2005. At present he plays in two bands, Full Circle, which had the privilege of playing the Opera House in Marlinton last year, and a new band which is yet to be named. Guitar 3 - Intermediate Finger Picking Jon Mosey is a multi-instrumentalist from the Akron, Ohio area. Since the early 1970's he has performed virtually every style of 20th century American traditional music on a wide variety of instruments. Although many fans know him as a flatpicker, mandolinist, singer, banjo player or songwriter, Jon is best known for his fingerpicked guitar style. Jon performs full-time and has released over a dozen recordings as a solo musician and with many bands in a wide variety of styles. He has been teaching people to play traditional music for over 25 years. This class will cover the history and development of the Ragtime /Piedmont Blues style of guitar, the influential players and basic techniques. Students will learn two or three tunes in the Piedmont/Ragtime style. Students should be able to play some tunes and know the basic chords. Guitar 4 – Advanced Robin Kessinger, from St. Albans, West Virginia, was the National Flatpicking Champion on guitar in 1985 and 1988. Robin also won the Best Overall Performer at Galax, Virginia. He is the son of mandolin great Bob Kessinger and the greatnephew of fiddle legend Clark Kessinger. His adaptations of fiddle tunes have amazed audiences across the U.S. and in Ireland. “Contest Favorites” with Wayne Henderson, “Star of County Down” with Steve Kaufman, and “Breakfast of Champions” with Robert Shafer are among his audio offerings. Robin's class will concentrate on developing and refining complex and intricate techniques and styles. Bass – All Levels Tim Corbett is an experienced bass player from Lesage, WV who has played with several bands throughout the region including Buck Carroll & Breakin' New Ground, Bobby Maynard & Breakdown, Timberline, Union Ridge, and The Bing Brothers Band. In 2007 Tim hit the professional circuit and played Bass for Blue Moon Rising and Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, and was featured on the Lonesome Standard Time's Live XM Satellite Radio recording from their show at the Old Town School of Folk in Chicago, IL in August 2006. Tim is originally from The Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where he was taught by fellow musicians Walt & Keith Edwards, as well as his father. Tim is a knowledgeable and energetic musician, and loves to produce, write, and arrange Bluegrass music. Mandolin - All Levels Alan Dutchess, from Marlinton, WV, has been playing music for over twenty years. His repertoire is heavily influenced by the Bing Brothers and those West Virginia fiddlers whose recording inspired him to play mountain music years ago; Lee Triplett, French Carpenter, and John Johnson. A multi-instrumentalist, he has shared the stage with several old time and bluegrass stringbands across the state. Alan has been teaching music in and around Pocahontas County for several years. Hammered Dulcimer - All Levels Bob Shank, from Morgantown, was influenced on banjo by Sloan Staggs. As a member of Hickory Wind, Curmudgeon, The Percolators and the Big Otter Orchestra, Bob has played in over 30 states, toured Europe, played The Kennedy Center and has shared the stage with Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, John Hartford and the Dirt Band. Bob has made several recordings with his bands. He has taught privately for years and has been an instructor at Augusta. Vocal Instruction - All Levels Patt Plunkett first heard tradtional music as played by her grandfather Carl Voorhees, an old-time fiddler from Western Illinois. A professional choral music director with a Masters degree in vocal performance, Patt also calls square dances and plays piano accompaniment for some of the finest fiddlers in the Midwest. Val Mindel is a versatile teacher, singer and instrumentalist (fiddle and mandolin). A longtime teacher at Chicago's Old Town School fo Folk Music (vocal harmony, early country repertory and fiddle classes) and a leader of Village Harmony, she leads adult harmony workshops around the country. She also has performed and led workshops in Hong Kong, Canada, Scotland and England. Val is a founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area string band Any Old Time. Patt and Val will provide a program based on traditional secular and gospel old-time songs, small ensemble work, harmony and improvement of singing technique. Bluegrass Banjo Bobby Maynard was born in Huntington, WV. His professional career, spanning 23 years, encompasses a broad range of musical styles. Bobby has played in approximately 45 states as well as Canada with entertainers such as Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Don Rigsby and many others. Notable performances include the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, The Strawberry Festival in Yosemite California, the Philadelphia Folk Festival in ennsylvania, Wintergrass Festival in Tacoma, Washington and the TNN television special Sunset Music Fest. Bobby is an accomplished musician on banjo, mandolin, guitar, fiddle and bass. Bluegrass Guitar Robert Shafer from Elkview, WV will teach a variety of Flatpicking playing styles. Robert's numerous awards include – 2 time National Flatpicking Champion, State Guitar Champion of Kentucky (3), Ohio (2), Tennessee (1), and Alabama (1), 2 time Appalachian Open Guitar Champion, and 4 time Vandalia Gathering Guitar Champion. His performances include appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, TNN, CNN, The BBC, The Today Show, and the IBMA as guitarist for Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys. Robert has appeared frequently on American Public Radio's Mountain Stage, both as a featured artist and as a backup guitarist for many noted performers. Bluegrass Mandolin Joe Hinkebein is a multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the mandolin. He plays in a variety of styles including bluegrass, old-time, and traditional Irish. His bluegrass mandolin style is best characterized as being rooted in Monroe-style playing and with a thorough grounding in the vast fiddle tune repertoire. He has been playing mandolin for over 30 years. He has played with numerous bluegrass and old-time music luminaries throughout his career. In recent years he has been the mandolinist for the“Missouri Bluegrass All-Stars featuring Bob Black” (former Bill Monroe banjo-great), the popular Midwest combo “The Rank Sinatras”, and “Nanny Goat Vibrato” which won 4th place in the 2006 Clifftop Traditional Band Contest.Sunset Music Fest. Bluegrass Fiddle Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 11 when inspired by players in a fiddler's contest at the Boone County Fair in his native Missouri. Since then he has won dozens of local fiddle contests as well as major championships in Missouri, Illinois and West Virginia. He has taught fiddling privately to dozens of players and has served as an nstructor at the Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. Charlie has toured with Josh Graves, of Flatt and Scruggs fame, and played festivals with the Bing Brothers in Ireland and Australia. In addition, he is an avid performer of traditional Bluegrass and “Hot” fiddle styles. Allegheny Echoes Masters Jim Mullins is a multi-instrumentalist from St. Albans, WV. He played banjo in the Rebel Yellers Stringband in Morgantown, WV during the late 70's, with a focus on North Georgia fiddle tunes from the likes of the Skillet Lickers, Dr. Humphrey Bates and the „Possum Chasers, and Little Dixie and the Hoss Hair Pullers. Jim was a member of the Frothy Band during the early 80's, a Morgantown ensemble playing Irish and Old Time music. He has placed many times in banjo contests, including the WV Vandalia Gathering. Jim recently was a judge at the Glenville State Folk Festival. He teaches old time banjo and fiddle at Fret & Fiddle in St. Albans, WV. Mike Bing resides near Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. He credits the Hammons Family, Frank George, and Red Rector as his strongest influences. A member of the Bing Brothers Band, he has performed at the Vandalia Gathering, the Chicago Folk Festival, Appalshop, and the Wheatland Music Festival. His clean, driving style can be heard on his CD “Just For Spite”. Mike has toured Australia, Ireland and Scotland several times with the Bing Brothers and Allegheny Echoes. Chuck Kinder is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the novels SNAKEHUNTER, THE SILVER GHOST and HONEYMOONERS: A CAUTIONARY TALE. His most recent book is a redneck noir, pulp romance meta-memoir titled LAST MOUNTAIN DANCER: HARD EARNED LESSONS IN LOVE, LOSS, AND HONKY-TONK OUTLAW LIFE. Chuck has worked variously as a coal miner, moonshiner, bartender, bouncer, bandit, prize-fighter, circus performer, tango teacher, white-water river guide, professional cook, cowboy, and itinerant college professor. Along the way he received both a BA and MA in English and Creative Writing from West Virginia University, entertained two years of graduate study at Stanford University, and was appointed to a three-year position as a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford. Chuck frequently performs and tours with The Deliberate Strangers, an alt-country, outlaw band often on the run. Richard Hefner lives in Renick, WV, but was born and raised in Mill Point, Pocahontas County, WV. His traditional bluegrass group, the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, has played across WV and the East Coast since 1968. The band's high finish in Nashville's SPBGMA contest solidified Richard's standing as one of the best traditional bluegrass banjo players in the field. A three-time winner at Vandalia Gathering, he has won the WV and Maryland state championships. His repertoire includes tunes from Flatt & Scruggs, Don Reno, The Stanley Brothers, and Del McCoury. David O’Dell began playing banjo at the age of 14, and has since become one of West Virginia's best-known old time musicians. Much of his early musical experience was gained playing at square dances, where he developed his rhythmic style. He was first recorded at age 16 on “The Cedar Point String Band” with Frank George and the late Bob Roark. A multiple winner of first-place prizes for both banjo and dulcimer at the Vandalia Gathering, he appears throughout West Virginia at fairs and festivals. He currently plays with the band “Kanawha Tradition”, and promotes old time music by producing recordings of West Virginia musicians. Charlie Loudermilk and Junior Spencer, from the Frankford area of Greenbrier County, WV, will contribute their repertoire and experience gained from 50 years of picking together. Charlie is an award winning banjo player in both regular and senior divisions, and is an accomplished guitar player as well. Junior has placed in the Senior Fiddle at the Appalachian String Band Festival and many other prestigious competitions, and their band Mud Hole Control is well known throughout the State. The Allegheny Echoes Masters Programs are sponsored in part by:
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