As you can see, Sol isn't a fiddle player. But he plays a mean klezmer clarinet and leads a group known as Little Oy on the Prairie. He's also very good at classical styles and holds a DMA in clarinet performance from the University of Illinois. Sol teaches clarinet at Milliken University in Decatur, Illinois and performs regularly with the Illinois Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Peoria Opera, Milliken-Decatur Symphony, and Sinfonia da Camera. Sol is also certified to teach the Alexander Technique
Lori is a Champaign-Urbana sculptor and installation artist. She received a BA in Photography from Cleveland State University in 1985 and an MA in Art Education from the University of Illinois in 2001. She has taught as a graduate assistant and the University of Illinois and has taught classes in the community for both adults and children. Lori exhibits regularly at the Boneyard Arts Festival, various galleries, and the Krannert Art Museum. She is an active member of OPENSOURCE art, a non-profit art space.
resident ethnomusicologist Tom is a Ph.D candidate in ethnomusicology at UIUC and has music degrees from the University of Maine and Tufts University. He's been teaching and performing for over 20 years, including at the Portland Conservatory of Music in Maine. He has played a multiplicity of styles over the years and currently plays old-time music and a curious assortment of other tunes on banjo and accordion with Oberon, the Possum King and bass with the Farmers' Market String Band.
Jon holds B.A. in viola performance from Northeastern Illinois University. He did master’s work in performance and conducting at Illinois State University. Jon is a registered teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has studied with Stacia Spencer, Mimi Zweig and Ronda Cole. He also has training in Dalcroze Eurythmics. He performed regularly with the Peoria Symphony and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in Springfield until relocating in Chicago where he taught general music in the Chicago Public Schools for two years before founding the Andersonville Suzuki Academy in 1998. He enjoys employing games and contests to challenge and motivate his students
Amy plays cello all over central Illinois with orchestras including the Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonia da Camera. She is also the cellist with the Kirkland Piano Trio. She's been on faculty at many different music camps and clinics and has taught applied cello, lower string methods, and chamber music at Millikin University since Fall of 2000. She loves teaching and can't wait to tell you all about playing the cello!
Pictures don't lie--Lavana is prepared for any event. She is the keeper of lists, watcher of the clock, and the maker of coffee for the camp. She carries a note book, wields a pen and is the go to person for questions and problems like, "I can’t find my rosin.", "Where is the bathroom?", and "Oh, no, I spilled paint on my favorite pants!" She will be on hand to greet parents and students in the mornings and she will be at the camp the rest of the day for any need that arises. During the rest of the year, Lavana home schools her sons, coordinates field trips for many area home school families, volunteers at WRFU radio station and works part time at Champaign Public Library as a Bookmobile Driver and Clerk. Steve Hill: guided jamming, theater coordinator,& resident ethnomusicologist Steve looks like just another friendly guitar picker, but don't let that fool you! He's a stickler for playing in the groove, and has the knowledge to back up his demands. Grueling fieldwork in Tanzania and even more grueling writing about that fieldwork earned him a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. His day job as assistant professor of Ethnomusicology and assistant director of the Office of Fellowships at Northwestern University in Chicago keeps him going in between summer camp sessions.
Will is working toward a PhD in anthropology at the University of Illinois. He plays old- time and assorted other types of music on guitar with Oberon, the Possum King and popular Cuban styles on tres with Sandunga.
Jordan has led Chambana's most entertaining bluegrass and country western music group, the Prairie Dogs, for 12 years, and is equally at home in other genres including old-time and jazz. He has accompanied championship fiddlers at state fairs and other contests and leads an early jazz ensemble at Parkland College in Champaign, where he is also a guitar instructor. Jordan holds a BA in jazz studies with music performance from Eastern Illinois University. Robin Kearton: Director of the Bow-Dacious String Band Robin has enjoyed performing with professional orchestras and teaching violin and viola since 1983. She loves to play non-classical music too, and has performed with bands specializing in tango, old-time, bluegrass, country, klezmer,and café music. She is the founder and director of the Bow-Dacious String Band, and plays principal 2nd violin with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and The Prairie Ensemble. One of her chief sources of delight and favorite ways to spend time is playing fiddle and old-time viola with Oberon the Possum King. Robin has taught string methods and pedagogy and assisted in World Music classes at the University of Illinois and is a former assistant conductor of the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony in Springfield, Illinois. She holds a BA in viola performance from the University of Illinois, where she also studied musicology. Robin is registered with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and is certified to teach the Alexander Technique. She is a member of ASTA and MENC. Brenda Koenig: old-time fiddle Brenda has been playing old-time fiddle at dances, jams and festivals since 1990. She has taught soccer to first graders, French to high schoolers, contemporary poetry to college students and fiddling to young and old alike. She plays fiddle with the Farmers' Market Sting Band, and believes there's nothing more fun than rockin' out on fiddle tunes with friends! Billy Mathews: old-time fiddle Billy's been playing fiddle for about 30 years. He's a serious collector of tunes and has traveled all around the Midwest ferreting them out. He has recorded several CDs full of both traditional and original selections. Always ready to play, Billy loves to teach people either privately or in groups, and he's a regular clinician at several fiddle retreats and workshops. Check them out on his web page!
Jan has extensive experience playing in string chamber groups and orchestras. Locally he has performed with The Prairie Ensemble, Sinfonia da Camera, the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. He's currently working on his doctorate in viola performance at UIUC; he has a masters of music degrees from UIUC and bachelors degree from the University of Cape Town in his native South Africa. His teaching philosophy is to always find the most effective and comfortable way to play, to be respectful to your peers and the music, and to have as much fun as possible!"
Kelli has a bachelor's in music history from UIUC. Her senior research project is on Medieval music, focusing on Hildegard von Bingen's chants for the Trinity. She played with Balkanalia, specializing in music from Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and surrounding regions, for three years. She loves working with children and enjoys assisting with the Bow-Dacious String Band all year around. |
