Experience Voice Works
Artistic Director
Pharis Romero
Pharis has been a part of the Voice Works family since 2009. She’s taught every year, expanded into her role as Artistic Director beginning in 2018. An early student of technical classical and casual country, she grew up performing with her family’s folk-country band while jamming out to her dad’s original songs and her mom’s opera and 60s rock. She has spent her life learning the songs and stories that made her want to dig deeper into every aspect of the music. These days she performs and writes music mostly with her husband Jason, and is equally at home disappearing into an old-time jam as she is singing on stage or teaching the joy of song and sound at music camps around the world. Fewer things fill her cup more than three part harmonies or a terrific melodic line. She’s won four Juno Awards for her recordings with Jason, and is a three-time Canadian Folk Music Awards Traditional Singer of the Year. She makes her home in the lovely little town of Horsefly, British Columbia, and when she’s not playing music she’s working in the J. Romero Banjo shop, running with their two kids, and heading for the woods.
Artist Faculty
2026 Artist Faculty
Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small
About
Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small have captivated audiences around the globe with their stirring harmonies and deep-rooted sound. The duo moves seamlessly between heartbreaking country duets and foot stomping breakdowns as they explore various combinations of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and guitars. Ashlee and Andrew have won many awards from fiddler’s conventions throughout the region including first place in the old-time band contests at the storied festivals in Galax, VA, Mount Airy, NC, and Clifftop, WV. As songwriters, Ashlee and Andrew were featured in the 2025 IBMA Songwriter Showcase and won first prize in the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. The duo has been featured onstage at the Blue Ridge Music Center, the Barns at Wolf Trap, on the PBS television show Song Of The Mountains, and performed at the Virginia Executive Mansion for multiple governors and first ladies. They were the hosts for the 10th season of The Floyd Radio Show and their music is also featured on the soundtracks of The Green Tunnel podcast and the PBS documentary Rock Castle Home. Read MoreCathy Fink
About
Two-time Grammy Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning over 35 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and many other instruments. An eclectic folk festival on their own terms, their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk including some original gems. Their versatility defies a brief description, perhaps “well rounded Americana” does it best.
Read MoreElise Leavy
About
Armed with her father’s first guitar, a wry sense of humor and a startlingly cohesive and masterful tone to her writing, Elise Leavy writes and sings folk songs that sound like they came straight from Laurel Canyon in the 70’s. Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old. “I don’t really remember a time before I wrote songs and sang them for people- it’s just always been there…” Since graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music at the tender age of 19, she has taken to the road, having written over one hundred songs at age 27, and traveled the world singing them for the people. She was recently selected as a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition, and for an official showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance in Albany, NY. Take note because this young artist has arrived as a songwriting force.
Read MoreGideon Crevoshay
About
Gideon Crevoshay is a vocalist, teaching artist, composer, facilitator, and sonic eco-archaeologist from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. He works with the countless dimensions that sound, improvisation, and deep listening can touch upon. Gideon has studied and taught myriad forms of vocal music from around the world, finding inspiration from the wisdom contained within these traditions and how they can inform ideas of music-making, communities of resilience, ritual, and explorations of consciousness.
Read MoreHubby Jenkins
Banjo
About
Hubby Jenkins is a talented multi-instrumentalist who endeavors to share his love and knowledge of old-time American music. Born and raised in Brooklyn he delved into his southern roots, following the thread of African American history that wove itself through America’s traditional music forms. As an integral member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and later Rhiannon Giddens band, Hubby has performed at festivals and venues around the world, earning himself both Grammy and Americana award nominations. Today he spreads his knowledge and love of old-time American music through his dynamic solo performances and engaging workshops.
Read MoreIsa Burke
About
Isa Burke is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer based in Durham, North Carolina (and sometimes in southern Maine). Using electric and acoustic guitars, fiddle, voice, and sometimes other instruments, she creates music that draws from traditional folk, modern indie-rock, and beyond.
Read MoreJoe Newberry
About
Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise,” featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.”
Read MoreJulie Pfeffer
About
Julie Pfeffer grew up in a musical family and has been singing and harmonizing since grade school, in genres from classical to old-time. Since moving to New Orleans in 2018, she has prioritized music, focusing on intensive voice study, and joined the local bluegrass, jazz, and classical scenes. Having progressed from choral singer to soloist, she spent several years as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Monday Night String Band in New Orleans and continues to perform in multiple genres around town. Julie co-leads the weekly NOLA Pickin’ Party bluegrass jam and developed the jam’s popular Foundations of Bluegrass learning sessions. She teaches workshops and individual lessons on vocal technique in New Orleans and beyond. Her goal is to help as many people as possible become the best singers that they can be!
Read MoreLaurie Lewis
About
For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers. Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music. She has shown how a Californian can appeal to traditional bluegrass audiences, as well as winning acclaim in the worlds of Americana and folk music. For almost as long as she’s been performing, Laurie has been sharing her passion for bluegrass and her knowledge of the voice, bluegrass instruments and song arranging with eager students at music camps across the country. She has become a mentor to many young women, among them Molly Tuttle, Tatiana Hargreaves and Kimber Ludiker, who have gone on to stellar professional music careers.
Read More
Mara Kaye
Voice
About
Referred to by Jazz Lives as “one of New York’s great gifts to the world,” blues and jazz vocalist Mara Kaye is “like some lost pocket of the blues that had never been explored in the old days, all wrapped up in a ball of 21st-century Brooklyn-bred attitude.” For over a decade she has traveled internationally and throughout the US, sharing legendary stages with champions of the genre, singing beloved songs of the past with a deep passion and respect for its original storytellers. Imagine a new artist with deep roots, one with the emotional power and swing of Billie Holiday, the deep-blue sorrows and joys of Bessie Smith, all the while leavened with Brooklyn spice. Her heart is in her music and there is no pretense, no distance as audiences from Moscow to Lincoln Center have found out. Mara’s voice has been compared to “Louis Armstrong’s trumpet at a rent party” by blues legend Jimmy Vivino and praised by The Wall Street Journal as proof that things are getting better. Her debut EP, It Had to Be You, recorded straight-to-tape by Bigtone Records, was released in February of 2022 and features incomparable piano legend, Carl Sonny Leyland. Mara will be accompanied at the gathering by Tim McNalley, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter from Southern California. While most commonly seen on the upright and electric bass, he also performs, records and tours on guitar, cello, mandolin and sitar- a breadth that has allowed him the opportunity to collaborate with artists such as Ariana Grande, Lianne La Havas, Changuito, Steve Grand, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Lianne La Havas, lostboycrow, Juanita Stein, Aashish Khan, Earl Thomas, Jim Kweskin, Burt Turetzky, and more.
Read MoreMarcy Marxer
About
Two-time Grammy Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning over 35 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and many other instruments. An eclectic folk festival on their own terms, their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk including some original gems. Their versatility defies a brief description, perhaps “well rounded Americana” does it best.
Read MoreMax Malone
About
A life in music is practically unavoidable when you’re born into a family of musicians. Max Malone was weaned on country music in the rural wilds of Ontario, through both the radio and his mother’s work as a background vocalist on the Tommy Hunter show. By the age of twelve he was performing as a singer and bassist with his family band on a weekly gig in Toronto’s Cabbagetown. He got his first upright bass in high school and played gigs in his dad’s jazz trio throughout his teens. in 1998 he discovered bluegrass and old time music and, drawn to the rich soulful harmonies and the depth of the tradition, he’s been hooked ever since. Max is highly respected as an intuitive and seasoned bass player. He also plays both clawhammer and Scruggs style banjo and rhythm guitar, which informs his overall understanding of the unique rhythms of bluegrass, old time and country music. He is renowned as a vocalist – his powerful voice and ability to sing with an emotional commitment to the song leave the listener feeling truly connected. The rich soulful environment of a bluegrass vocal ensemble is a home away from home for him.
Read MoreRachael Price
About
Rachael grew up in a musical environment in Portland, OR. At an early age Rachael began taking voice lessons and singing in local choirs and discovered that she wanted to sing professionally. She attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship as a vocalist. Rachael graduated with a degree in Professional Music with an emphasis in Songwriting from Berklee in 2010 and has been pursuing music ever since, recording albums and touring nationally. She and her husband and band mate, Luke Price, are currently working on their third studio album of original Soul-Americana music as Love, DEAN. In addition to singing and songwriting, she loves cooking, going to as many shows as she can, and playing tenor guitar!
Read MoreClass Descriptions
Partial list of class descriptions
All faculty teaching concurrently in the mornings. These are intensive 90-minute sessions.
There’s no limit to class size unless noted.
Morning Classes
Improvisation - Gideon Crevoshay
Explore the infinitudes of the voice, beginning with deep listening and embodied meditation to awaken the senses and open our ears. We will then develop improvisations inspired by sound painting, movement, and the elements of the natural world around us. This is an opportunity to play, listen, and discover together!
From the Appalachians to the Ozarks - Joe Newberry
Settlers who moved from the Appalachians to the Ozarks took all their worldly belongings, as well as their music. From ballads and popular songs of the day, to tunes with floating verses, to newer composed songs, this class will get folks up and singing and will help build repertoire.
Help Your Body to Help Your Voice - Julie Pfeffer
Fundamentals of singing technique that enable you to produce your best tone as well as more volume and range than you ever thought possible, while keeping your throat safe and your body calm. We will focus on relaxation of every imaginable body part, optimal intake and use of breath, and what goes into achieving great sound. This class is suitable for singers in every genre and will provide you with lots of specific tips and tricks on how to practice, overcome trouble spots, and delight your audience.
Western Swing Songs, Harmonies & Yodels - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
Songs, stylings, yodels and harmonies of Patsy Montana, Bill Boyd and the Cowboy Ramblers, The Sons of the Pioneers and the wild vocals of the DeZurik Sisters. We’ll learn melodies, harmonies, vocal approaches, yodels and a few trick vocal stunts. Songs may include: Way Out There, Blue Shadows on the Trail, The Arizona Yodeler, I Wanna Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart and That’s Where the West Begins
Working with the “Maturing” Voice - Laurie Lewis
As we age, we face many changes. Our voices may lose range and suppleness, but we also gain other strengths and tools. We will explore the fine art of working with what we have, exploring what’s new, and maintaining it.
Songwriting with Elise Leavy
Writing with a prompt, how to get unstuck, cowriting, how to start and finish a song... a little bit of talking, a lot of songwriting
Ring shouts - Hubby Jenkins
The ring shout is one of the oldest African traditions in America. Early enslaved used the ring shout to worship and preserve parts of their African lineage in defiance of their captors. In this workshop, we will explore the rhythm, stories and songs that make up this early root of American music
The Art of Close Harmony: Early Country Duet Singing - Andrew Small and Ashlee Watkins
We'll listen critically and explore essential elements of style and technique demonstrated by a range of country harmony masters such as the Carter Family, Delmore Brothers, Monroe Brothers, Louvin Brothers, Davis Sisters, and many others. Working through some great old songs along the way, we’ll try our hands (and voices!) at summoning that rare magic that comes to life when two singers blend their voices into something greater than the sum of its parts.
Becoming a Harmony Singing Chameleon - Isa Burke
We'll practice matching phrasing, tone, and pitch with other singers, talk about the conventions of harmony singing in different music styles, and develop our voices and our ears to be more agile and flexible.
Vocal Presence & Performance - Khari McClelland
Build a reliable, expressive sound through working with breath, resonance placement, and tension release. We'll use simple patterns and short songs to strengthen tone, range, and stamina—without forcing. This supportive class will include work on a grounded presence, simple stage craft, and nervous-system friendly tools.
(Option B) Performance Without Panic - Presence & Connection (limit 20) - Khari McClelland
A supportive performance lab focused on grounded presence, simple stage craft, and nervous-system friendly tools. Participants can sing a short excerpt (optional) and get clear, kind feedback.
Afternoon Sessions
60 minutes classes
Corsican polyphony - Gideon Crevoshay
Corsican polyphonic singing, which is traditionally sung with 3-4 voices (bassu, segunda, and terza), is an ancient singing style distinctive to this Mediterranean island. Here we will learn both sacred and secular pieces, and how the voice parts fit together to create beautiful tension and resolution. We will also spend time learning the basics of Corsican ornamentation. There will be full group sessions, and small ensemble time to really dig into the dynamic nature of this music.
Creative Harmony Arranging - Isa Burke
We'll listen to recordings with unique and creative harmony arrangements and discuss what we love about them, then split into smaller groups (depending on attendance) and come up with our own harmony arrangements for songs we love. Attendees can bring in original songs or favorite songs by other artists, and I'll have some songs in mind as well.
The Golden Ear: Improving Musicianship and Confidence Through Focused Listening – Andrew Small and Ashlee Watkins
Developing our musicianship starts with learning how to listen. In this workshop, we’ll use focused listening exercises to strengthen pitch accuracy, rhythmic feel, musical awareness, and related core skills. Each day will introduce practical tools and approaches that can be applied to individual practice and ensemble singing alike. By cultivating a more attentive and responsive ear, participants will gain confidence and flexibility as singers and musicians.
Work Songs - Hubby Jenkins
Traditionally, cultures around the world have accompanied work with songs. These songs help to coordinate work and pass the time. In America, songs were used and developed for many types of labor from picking cotton to hammering railroad spikes. In this class, we will explore the history, poetry, and beauty of these songs through singing and rhythmic use of our bodies.
Spirituals and Gospel - Hubby Jenkins
In America, black religious music has been the cornerstone of communities, the soundtrack of the civil rights movement, and the inspiration for many popular songs. Hubby endeavors to have a little church as we sing our way through the history of spirituals and gospel.
Dirty Blues Listening Session - Hubby Jenkins
Bawdy blues with their double entendres, sexual depictions, and jovial drug use were very popular during the golden age of recording. Get low down and dirty with Hubby as we listen to - and sing - some of his favorite bawdy blues.
Improv Games for Encouraging Vocal Bravery - Khari McClelland
Low-stakes, high-joy vocal improv through games that build listening, courage, and spontaneity. Expect group textures, short solos (optional), and a lot of laughing while getting better.
Old Songs From the Black Tradition - Khari McClelland
With themes of protest, love and resilience.
Creative Harmony Singing - Elise Leavy
Learning to write a harmony that brings out the most glorious aspects of a melody, and how to sing it so it haunts you forever.
Performance Lab / Coaching - 5-7 students per day (sign up at camp) - Joe Newberry
This daily session helps participants to either structure a performance - whether it is an individual song or an entire set. Any students not signed up are welcome as audience. Folks can sign up for multiple days, first come first serve each day.
Resolve Your Singing Challenges - five slots per class, spectators welcome - Julie Pfeffer
Sign up for a slot and bring a song that you want to improve. We'll tackle any challenge--delivery, developing a harmony part, genre-specific technique, or anything that gets in your way (“I keep running out of air!” or “I can never hit this note!”). This class is for singers of any level of ability and is meant to be a safe space to learn!
Learn to Yodel – Cathy Fink
Who doesn’t love a country yodel? Yodeling requires breath control along with learning to manipulate where your voice “breaks” between your head voice and your falsetto voice. Think Patsy Montana, Pete Seeger, Riders in the Sky. Cathy will teach you how to yodel the same way she taught Better Midler how to yodel for the movie “Big Business.” And we’ll listen to some fabulous yodeling songs along the way.
Community Sing & Song Leading – Cathy Fink
A community sing is more than a song swap. It’s an opportunity to build community by joining our voices in songs that are either very familiar, or very easy to learn. It is generally not a “request” session and though jamming is often cool, it’s not really a jam session. Bring your instrument if you play one, or just your voice and join the community. Think ahead of a song to lead where either you can teach the chorus or repeating lines easily. If you don’t have experience doing this, you can learn by doing!
The Boswell Sisters – Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
This close harmony singing trio of the 1920’s and 1930’s created amazing jazz arrangements with their voices. We’ll listen to and learn the song “It’s The Girl.” Boswell version Cathy & Marcy version Lyrics and accompaniment will be provided so we can focus on the melody and 2 harmony parts. Recommended for intermediate/advanced harmony singings, but others are welcome to hang out! Listen to the song 20 times before class! You can’t learn this one on the fly.
Write Your First Song (or part of it) – Cathy Fink
Is there a songwriter hiding in you that’s just dying to come out? Don’t know where to start? In one short hour, I’ll get you started and who knows, you might even finish a song! At least you’ll have started one.
Rounds – Marcy Marxer
Two-, three-and four-part rounds will go around and around and around and around. Might even do some in harmony! Lyrics provided when needed. I’ll have plenty of songs, but you’re invited to share and lead rounds that you know, too!
Sing Your Way Through Basic Music Theory – Marcy Marxer
Without becoming too pedantic, we’ll have fun assigning sounds to their place in music theory. We’ll sing and identify scales, intervals and chords in unison and harmony to develop the ear training that makes us better singers. Major, minor, short and tall, we can all do this!
Improve Your Accompaniment – Marcy Marxer
Do you have a song you love, but need help coming up with a guitar, ukulele or other accompaniment that will help you put it all together?
Learn Vocal Stylings with Close Listening – Marcy Marxer
Taking examples from Eva Cassidy in the folk world and in the bluegrass world, Del McCoury, we will listen to one or two songs each as well as the roots of where their vocal styles came from. Who did they listen to? Then we break down some of the details in their vocal style through close listening and singing to try to replicate the sound.
Hazel at 101: the songs of Hazel Dickens, 101 years after her birth - Laurie Lewis
Something to Sing About - Laurie Lewis
Songwriting is probably equal parts hard work and inspiration. I love the “magic” of the miraculously completed song, but we all need to hone our skills to capture the Muse whenever she might decide to grace us with her presence. We will engage in exercises to identify and sharpen that skill set, explore what it is that makes a song great, and roll up our sleeves and get down to the nitty gritty of the all-important editing process.
Bring a recording device (voice memos on your phone work great), a notebook with blank paper, a surfeit of sleep, and pens that won’t run out of ink (shouldn’t we all have this?). And bring a scrap of an unfinished song to share in a cowriting situation.
A Classic Bluegrass Trio - Laurie Lewis
We will break down a classic trio of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, with special attention to Earl’s baritone line.
Schedule
2026 Schedule
Here is how you’ll spend your time:
THE FIRST DAY! Monday, June 22
Check-in starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Centrum office. Dinner is served at 6:00 p.m. in the Commons.
SHORT FORT WORDEN TOUR – Find out where classes are held, which buildings we’ll be using, and get a general feel for the Fort Worden campus. The tour ends at the Wheeler Theater in time for orientation. Meet behind 204, we’ll depart at 7:10 p.m.
An extensive welcome and orientation session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Wheeler Theater. Bring this book and a pencil, and your badge. We will introduce each of the musicians who are on staff, ask them to sing a little, and to talk about what they’ll be teaching. We’ll also talk about the workshop schedule, bring any fresh information, and try to get your questions answered.
General Schedule - subject to change
9:30: warm ups
10:00 - 11:50: class session #1 - all faculty teaching concurrently
12:00 - 1:00: lunch
1:00 - 2:00: siesta or practice
2:00 - 3:00: class session #2
3:30 - 4:30: class session #3
4:45 - 5:45: wildcard/ALL CAMP SING/open mic
6:00 - 7:00: dinner
Evenings
Thursday - public performance at 7:30 p.m. in the Wheeler Theater featuring all of the Voice Works faculty.
Friday - Honky Tonk Polka Dot Dance at 8:00 p.m. in the USO
Kids & Teens
Most of our workshops are family events, and we welcome musicians of all ages and abilities to participate.
If you are under 18, you must be accompanied by a registered adult. Please register the adult first, as you will need a confirmation number.
Costs
2026 Costs
Workshop tuition includes admission to everything, including a great seat at the public performance.
Adult Tuition: $550
Additional Family Member (sibling, spouse, child; limit of two): $275
Youth (under 22): $275
Canadian Resident: $380 USD
Private dorm room: $300
All meals: $350
Lunches only (4): $100
Airport shuttle (optional): $130 round trip or $65 one way
Centrum has a variety of ways to be able to attend our workshops even if you’re on a budget. If you need financial assistance, Centrum has a robust scholarship program awarded on a first-come, first-served; and as-needed basis. Apply online as you register. Please note that except in rare cases, scholarships are available for tuition only. Centrum requires a $200 deposit of scholarship applicants, which is fully refundable before May 25 if you are unable to attend.
Room & Board
Most participants stay in private dormitory rooms at Fort Worden. There are a limited number of double rooms, that is, rooms with two twin beds. If you’d like a double, please request one, and list another registered participant who has signed up for room and board in order to share that room. It is first come, first served.
Meals are served at Fort Worden Commons. The first meal is dinner on June 22; the last meal is breakfast on June 27.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
All but $50 is refundable if cancellation is made on or before May 25, 2026.
FAQ
Scholarships
Apply online as you register. Please note that except in rare cases, scholarships are available for tuition only. Centrum requires a $100 deposit of scholarship applicants, which is fully refundable before May 23 if you are unable to attend. If you are interested in volunteering, or a work trade position, please contact Peter McCracken at peter@centrum (dot) org.
Voice Works shuttle schedule:
Arrive – Monday, June 22, 2026, depart SeaTac airport, 2:30pm, Pacific Time.
Depart – Saturday, June 27, 2026, depart Centrum at Port Townsend, 9am, Pacific Time.
If you have any more questions about Voice Works, please contact Peter McCracken at 360-385-3102, x127, or peter@centrum (dot) org.
PERFORMANCES
Workshop tuition includes admission to everything including the public performances.
VOICE WORKS EVENTS
A Sublime Singers Showcase
Thursday, June 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Wheeler Theater
An inspiring evening of song featuring the acclaimed Voice Works faculty, including Pharis & Jason Romero, Laurie Lewis, Hubby Jenkins, Rachael & Luke Price, Gideon Crevoshay, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Isa Burke, Joe Newberry, Elise Leavy, Andrew Small & Ashlee Watkins, Khari Wendell McClelland, and more. Experience an unforgettable showcase of harmony, storytelling, and vocal artistry from some of today's finest singers and musicians.
Click here to purchase tickets
Honky Tonk Polka Dot Dance
Friday, June 26 | 8 p.m. | USO Hall
Put on your dancing shoes—and your polka dots—for an evening of classic honky-tonk music and community dancing. Featuring an all-star house band and a rotating cast of Voice Works singers, this lively dance brings together great songs, spirited performances, and plenty of room on the dance floor. Refreshments will be available from The Bar Car.
Tickets are $15 and sold at the door.
Past Artist Faculty
Bridge Kennedy
Faculty
About
Dr. Kennedy (he/him/his), attended his first Sacred Harp singing in June of 2002. This life changing event came about when he was invited to accompany his sister-in-law to a singing for a commissioned painting (“All Day Singing and Dinner on the Grounds” by Bethanne Hill, 2003, commissioned by Max Berueffy). Since then, Bridge has been honored to serve as an instructor at both Adult and Youth sessions of Camp Fasola (2013-2018), Camp Fasola, Europe (2014) and several Sacred Harp Convention singing schools—including: Berlin, Germany (2022) Cork, Ireland (2019); Ontario, Canada (2018); and Portland, OR (2015). Bridge has, also, conducted singing schools in collaboration with Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc., the band Ruckus (LaGuardia High School, 2022), and the Ruckus Holy Manna tour (2022). As a social scientist, Bridge enjoys teaching on the sociocultural aspects and benefits of Sacred Harp and the importance of the Memorial Lesson. However, he is most frequently sought after for his Sacred Harp leading workshops. Currently, Bridge serves as an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Online Undergraduate Degree Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where his teaching and research interests focus on: special topics in LGBTQIA+ rights, Psychology of Gender, and Positive Psychology.
Read More
Christine Balfa
About
Christine Balfa is a native Louisiana French speaker, a committed and caring teacher, and a deeply- rooted Cajun musician with a passion for culture and education. As the daughter of Cajun cultural ambassador and National Heritage Fellow Dewey Balfa, she grew up in the center of the renaissance of Cajun and Creole culture. After his passing, she formed the musical group Balfa Toujours and created the non-profit Louisiana Folk Roots, of which she was the founding executive director. She also founded Grammy nominated group, Bonsoir, Catin. She is also an artist. She has been studying art for almost 20 years. She works in oils, watercolor, and most recently acrylics and mixed media.
Read MoreDaShawn and Wendy Hickman
About
Wendy and DaShawn Hickman are a married couple of sweetheart musicians, rooted in gospel roots and soulful tradition. They share a home in Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
Read MoreDawn Pemberton
About
Dawn Pemberton has deep musical roots that take her powerful voice from gospel and soul to jazz, funk and world music. She has become a staple of the Vancouver music scene and can often be found tearin’ it up as a vocalist, teacher, facilitator, choir director and “go to girl” for live performances and studio sessions. A passionate songwriter and performer Dawn crafts her music with a sense of adventure, quirkiness, and serious groove and shapes it into her own unique and dynamic package. Tight, expressive and bold, Dawn will hit you where it counts, funk you up and make you say “Go ‘head!”
Read MoreDina Blade
About
Dina Blade is a singer with a deeply relaxed sense of time and swing. She spent her early childhood watching old cartoons with jazz soundtracks and has been enthralled with the music ever since. She has graced stages in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Cuba and Brazil, singing at festivals, jazz clubs, schools, parties and other community events. An effervescent performer with a devotion to the timeless songs from the 1930s and 40s Great American Songbook, Dina has created several thematic shows preserving the work of the master composers and lyricists from that era. For this reason she is a recipient of the American Masters Performance Initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts. In lessons, workshops and master classes, Dina builds an easy rapport with students through gentle encouragement, helping each one find their own unique voice. She mentors many aspiring singers, passing along her knowledge about this great mode of expression with much enthusiasm and love.
Read MoreEli West
Faculty
About
It’s always illuminating to ask an artist how they understand music, but Eli West’s perspective is nothing short of ground-breaking. A trained designer, he sees music architecturally, visualizing his compositions spatially. It’s a highly unusual way to think about music, tied to his verdant natural world of the Pacific Northwest. On his new album, Tapered Point of Stone, West lays out original songs and tunes like houses built by hand, weaving their melodies into the setting of acoustic roots music that first inspired him. Recorded in 2020, just before everything shut down, the album brings together West’s favored quartet of musicians: Andrew Marlin (Watchhouse) on mandolin and guitar, Christian Sedelmeyer (Jerry Douglas) on fiddle, himself on mandolin, guitar, and banjo, and Clint Mullican (Watchhouse) on bass. This is the third album this quartet has built, including solo albums for Marlin and Sedelmeyer, and at this point they operate on a near-magical wavelength. As both a noted arranger, songwriter, performer, and composer, West has been crafting a Northwest-centric roots music aesthetic through earlier collaborations with Cahalen Morrison and John Reischman, and recordings with Bill Frisell and Dori Freeman. Tapered Point of Stone showcases West’s collaborative nature.
Read MoreEmily Miller
About
Emily Miller is the Artistic Director of the Augusta Heritage Center, the string band director of the college’s Appalachian Ensemble, and a professional singer and fiddle player. At Augusta, Emily works with the director to oversee all programming and helps the theme week coordinators to execute a joint artistic vision. She received her BA in Anthropology-Linguistics from Brown University and her MS in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University. In her career as a musician, she has toured with bands such as the Sweetback Sisters, The Starry Mountain Singers, and as a duo with Jesse Milnes, performing multiple times on national radio programs Mountain Stage and A Prairie Home Companion. She has released several albums of traditional and country music including In the Valley (2006), Chicken Ain’t Chicken (2009), Looking for a Fight (2012), Jesse Milnes & Emily Miller: Deep End Sessions (2015) and King of Killing Time (2017).
Read MoreGail Davies
About
Gail Davies is one of Nashville’s finest singers, songwriters, and record producers. A pioneering performer, she was the first female in country music to produce her own recordings and has been cited as a major influence by such diverse acts as Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss, and Pam Tillis. A gifted, multi-faceted musician with country, bluegrass and blues leanings, Gail has delighted in spreading her creative wings since she scored with her revival of Webb Pierce’s No Love Have I in 1978. She went on to produce a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, including I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me), It’s A Lovely, Lovely World, (a duet with Emmylou Harris) Jagged Edge of A Broken Heart, Blue Heartache, Round The Clock Lovin’ and her own self-penned singles, Someone Is Looking For Someone Like You, and Grandma’s Song. She has lectured at The Berklee College of Music in Boston, Belmont Univerity in Nashville and for ten years taught the songwriter’s workshop at the Kerrville Folk Festival. But really her long and illustrious career can’t be summed up in a few paragraphs here; for a more detailed look at her life and career, click here.
Read MoreGrace Love
Faculty
About
Singer songwriter Grace Love is the Olympic Peninsula’s shining jewel of grit, beauty and power – think Etta James and Betty Wright meet Mahalia Jackson. She grew up in Tacoma, just a stone’s throw from Seattle, which infused her R&B melodies with fortitude and grunge. She was raised on soul music, southern food, and stories about the south. “I breathe music and do my best to give that divinity to others,” says Grace, who between her tireless performance schedule runs a soul food restaurant and community show space, Nadine’s Kitchen. Outside of her band life and arts organizing, Grace is an accomplished actress and playwright who has produced several one-woman plays and large-scale productions throughout the U.S. She is a 2016 OneBeat Fellow.
Read MoreJohnny Nicholas
Blues Songs
About
Time is a river and you can never step in the same river twice. It’s all gonna change, but what came before shapes what comes after. There are certain people who seem to be in both places at once. Johnny Nicholas has played music and rambled with some of the most original and artistically powerful individuals of the American 20th century. To name a few, Big Walter Horton, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Koko Taylor, Jimmie Vaughan, Nathan Abshire, Houston Stackhouse, Carol Fran, Lightnin’ Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, Arthur ‘big boy’ Crudup, BB King, Bonnie Raitt, S.P. Leary, Marcia Ball, Lazy Lester, Snooky Pryor, Robert jr. Lockwood and Johnny Shines. Johnny’s live performances and the music on his nine solo albums attest to this journey along these age-old paths. There’s no way that they couldn’t be with the life that he’s led and the people he’s known. Yes, there are people who seem to be able to stand in two places at once. Where they are now and where it all began. Destroy the illusion of time and live in the truths that spoke to you as a child. The sounds of the summer night, the train whistle and the open tuned guitar. Surely you are there at least as much as you are here.
Read MoreKarin Plato
About
Canadian vocalist and composer Karin Plato came to jazz almost by accident. The music she heard in her formative years was the rock and pop music of the day and the classical music she studied from a young age. She didn’t get the “jazz bug” until she was in her early 30’s and that’s when her music career really began when she made the move from central Canada to the West Coast. Karin was born on the prairies, in the province of Saskatchewan. She studied classical piano throughout her childhood and eventually she went on to study voice and piano at the University of Saskatchewan where she received a Bachelor of Music Degree. In 1985 she moved to Vancouver to further her studies at Capilano College in a quest to learn more about composition and arranging. In 1996 and 1998 she studied vocal jazz at The Banff Centre for the Arts with renowned vocalists Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton. Over the years she has also been able to study with Nancy King and Kurt Elling. Karin has performed across Canada and in some areas in the USA and she continues to work in Vancouver as a music educator, pianist, vocalist and arranger and she is the artistic director of the Joy of Jazz Concerts series in Vancouver. She is a Juno nominated artist, West Coast Music Awards nominee and 3 times nominated Canadian Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the National Jazz Awards in Toronto.
Read MoreKarla Mundy
About
Karla Mundy is a vibrant, soulful and diverse vocalist, pianist, arranger and choir leader. She grew up outside Calgary, Alberta and from a young age, was extremely passionate about piano, singing and dancing. She studied piano from the age of seven onwards, sang at all times and was introduced to many styles of music through her study of jazz, modern, flamenco, African and Latin dance as a teenager.
Read MoreKhari McClelland
Faculty
About
Khari Wendell McClelland is a diversely talented and ever-evolving artist. Originally from Detroit, Khari has become a darling on the Canadian music scene with reviewers lauding his performances as a clever mix of soul and gospel. Khari’s songwriting crosses genres and generations, joyfully invoking the spirit of his ancestors who straddled the US-Canadian border in efforts to escape slavery and discrimination. His music draws from this rich history, integrating the rhythms and folklore of early African-Americans with contemporary sounds and stories of struggle. Recently, Khari received critical acclaim for his Freedom Singer project, recreating the music fugitive slaves carried on their journey north into Canada. Khari also performs with the Roots Gospel group The Sojourners. Whether on stage or in the studio, Khari’s passion for community, equality and justice is palpable, as is his belief in the redemptive power of music.
Read MoreLaurie Lewis
About
For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers. Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music. She has shown how a Californian can appeal to traditional bluegrass audiences, as well as winning acclaim in the worlds of Americana and folk music. For almost as long as she’s been performing, Laurie has been sharing her passion for bluegrass and her knowledge of the voice, bluegrass instruments and song arranging with eager students at music camps across the country. She has become a mentor to many young women, among them Molly Tuttle, Tatiana Hargreaves and Kimber Ludiker, who have gone on to stellar professional music careers.
Read MoreMara Kaye
Voice
About
Referred to by Jazz Lives as “one of New York’s great gifts to the world,” blues and jazz vocalist Mara Kaye is “like some lost pocket of the blues that had never been explored in the old days, all wrapped up in a ball of 21st-century Brooklyn-bred attitude.” For over a decade she has traveled internationally and throughout the US, sharing legendary stages with champions of the genre, singing beloved songs of the past with a deep passion and respect for its original storytellers. Imagine a new artist with deep roots, one with the emotional power and swing of Billie Holiday, the deep-blue sorrows and joys of Bessie Smith, all the while leavened with Brooklyn spice. Her heart is in her music and there is no pretense, no distance as audiences from Moscow to Lincoln Center have found out. Mara’s voice has been compared to “Louis Armstrong’s trumpet at a rent party” by blues legend Jimmy Vivino and praised by The Wall Street Journal as proof that things are getting better. Her debut EP, It Had to Be You, recorded straight-to-tape by Bigtone Records, was released in February of 2022 and features incomparable piano legend, Carl Sonny Leyland. Mara will be accompanied at the gathering by Tim McNalley, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter from Southern California. While most commonly seen on the upright and electric bass, he also performs, records and tours on guitar, cello, mandolin and sitar- a breadth that has allowed him the opportunity to collaborate with artists such as Ariana Grande, Lianne La Havas, Changuito, Steve Grand, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Lianne La Havas, lostboycrow, Juanita Stein, Aashish Khan, Earl Thomas, Jim Kweskin, Burt Turetzky, and more.
Read MoreMax Malone
About
A life in music is practically unavoidable when you’re born into a family of musicians. Max Malone was weaned on country music in the rural wilds of Ontario, through both the radio and his mother’s work as a background vocalist on the Tommy Hunter show. By the age of twelve he was performing as a singer and bassist with his family band on a weekly gig in Toronto’s Cabbagetown. He got his first upright bass in high school and played gigs in his dad’s jazz trio throughout his teens. in 1998 he discovered bluegrass and old time music and, drawn to the rich soulful harmonies and the depth of the tradition, he’s been hooked ever since. Max is highly respected as an intuitive and seasoned bass player. He also plays both clawhammer and Scruggs style banjo and rhythm guitar, which informs his overall understanding of the unique rhythms of bluegrass, old time and country music. He is renowned as a vocalist – his powerful voice and ability to sing with an emotional commitment to the song leave the listener feeling truly connected. The rich soulful environment of a bluegrass vocal ensemble is a home away from home for him.
Read MoreMelody Walker
About
Melody Walker is a songwriter, producer, performer, and fervent believer that songs can change the world. Best known for her writing with Molly Tuttle, Sierra Ferrell, Della Mae and her own band Front Country, Melody’s post-pandemic recalibration has found her setting real roots down in her home of Nashville, co-writing with her talented neighbors, and hosting her weekly writers’ round, Writers’ Kitchen. Her blend of Americana and Pop has won her accolades from Merlefest to Telluride and now the GRAMMYs with four co-writes on Molly Tuttle’s GRAMMY-winning album Crooked Tree. 2023 finds Melody releasing her first solo music in a decade, stepping into her own as a songwriter and artist and collaborating with other queer creatives to make magic.
Read MoreMiss Tess
About
Miss Tess has always been known for creating an eclectic array of vintage blues, country, and jazz sounds. Currently residing in Nashville, she finds no shortage of inspiration in the roots scene there. However varied Tess’ music can be, front and center sits her voice that has been described as “alternately seductive and sexy, and a pure joy to listen to” (Pop Matters).
Read MoreMoira Smiley
Faculty
About
Her clarion voice and joyous, embodied performances have carried Moira and her songs around the planet and inspired millions of harmony singers to sing her songs. She’s immersed herself in early American, Irish and East European vocal traditions and seeks to honor the many powerful, cultural roles of singing beyond stage and microphone. She’s a much sought-after commissioned composer, with recent premieres at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and on BBC Radio 3. Moira recently appeared with Tune-Yards on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Live on KEXP At Home, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Chris Thile’s 65th St. Session. Her recent songwriting albums, ‘Unzip The Horizon’ and ‘In Our Voices’ feature richly layered vocals, percussive movement and guest appearances by Seamus Egan, Sam Amidon, Darrell Scott, Rising Appalachia and other musical leading lights. Alongside her performing and writing, Moira has taught at countless musical institutions, continues to develop new experiences for singers and loves to share music-making with singers of all experience levels. She recently moved from Los Angeles back to Vermont, where her banjo, accordion and shape-note songbooks feel very at home.
Read MoreNikki Dee
Past Faculty
About
Nikki Dee is an award-winning vocalist and transformational vocal coach based in Honolulu. Her renowned Deeva Method takes the mystery and confusion out of vocal technique, making vocal power, confidence, and healing accessible to singers and speakers around the world. As a performer, Nikki specializes in a unique blend of international jazz, blues, and cabaret repertoire in multiple languages. She currently sings and plays ukulele with the Django-inspired band Gypsy 808 as well as her “tropical jazz” and Bossa Nova band, Blue Hawaiian. As winner of the 2017 SKSCA Vocal Jazz Queen competition at Jazz Alley, Nikki represented the Seattle jazz scene in Kobe, Japan and was an Earshot Jazz Award finalist for NW Vocalist of the Year. She has performed throughout the United States as well as Europe, Asia and Australia, most recently spending the summer performing in Paris and New York City
Read MorePharis Romero
Artistic Director, Voice Works
About
Pharis has been singing and playing music her whole life. An early student of classical and country, she grew up performing with her family’s band and learning the songs and stories that made her want to dig deeper. These days she performs mostly with her husband Jason, and is equally at home disappearing into an old-time jam as she is singing on stage or teaching the joy of song and sound. She’s the Artistic Director for Voice Works, has won three Juno Awards for her recordings with Jason, and is a three-time Canadian Folk Music Awards Traditional Singer of the Year. After more than ten years of teaching at Centrum, she is honoured to be the Artistic Director of Voice Works.
Read MoreQueen Esther
About
One of country and Americana music’s most fascinating artists, Queen Esther’s range stretches far and wide creatively. Bold and outspoken, sweet and generous in spirit, her music shines a light on violence against Black Americans, her passion for country music, and the myths that have haunted the South since long before the Civil War. She’s a vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, musician, solo performer, playwright, librettist, essayist, actor, TED speaker and producer. As a bandleader, her projects range from The Hot Five (1920s) to jazz and Americana collectives that shift easily from electric to acoustic. If her wide range of artistic endeavors seems strange to some, Queen Esther will tell you right away that she sees jazz, blues, country and rock ‘n roll as close kin of course — and all a part of who she is. That’s especially true of country and Americana music, which truth be known, Black Americans have been integral in from the beginning. “How can you leave Black artists out of country and Americana music, when we are everything that it’s made of?” Queen Esther asked. “The shock and awe of the irony is just dizzying to anyone that’s paying attention.” Her Blackness is the DNA of all American popular music.
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Rich Hill
About
Rich Hill is from Wyoming. He began learning Gaelic when he was seven years old from a Scottish immigrant who had come to the Rocky Mountains. He met a “new family,” the Gaels of Vancouver, in 1989. He has been heavily immersed in Gaelic since that time, teaching and singing in Scottish Gaelic. He is a founder of Slighe nan Gaidheal and Féis Seattle, and is also well-known in Seattle’s early music scene.
Read MoreSarina Partridge
About
Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader, educator and activist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs — especially songs that grow out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading of her own original songs; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; performing and teaching vocal harmony folk music music she’s studied with master teachers around the world; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song – her own musical lineage. Sarina has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses harmony singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world around us.
Read MoreThe Chapin Sisters
About
The Chapin Sisters carry on a proud family musical legacy: Father Tom Chapin is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, legendary late uncle Harry Chapin was an artist and activist best known for his #1 hit “Cat’s in the Cradle”, and grandfather Jim Chapin literally wrote the book on how to play the drumkit. For nearly 20 years these masters of blood harmony have garnered critical acclaim by forging a distinctive musical imprint by blending dynamically complex vocal harmonies and folk-influenced melodies with dark, wryly sarcastic lyrical content.
Read MoreTim McNalley
Vocal Support
About
Tim said he didn’t have much interest in music until he started playing it. Because his dad (bassist Joe McNalley) is a musician, he was always around it, went to concerts all the time and was “tripping over upright basses his whole life.”
Tim started playing the electric bass and guitar at the same time when he was twelve. He had a good friend who was doing Band Camp in Encinitas. He was playing guitar and said Tim should play bass. He had never thought about music seriously, and when he went home and told his dad his dad said, “Great! Here’s an electric bass, here’s an amp, here’s a cable, here’s everything you need.” He also started playing guitar that week as well.
Valerie Mindel
About
Val Mindel is a longtime musician, teacher and workshop leader, known for helping singers achieve the sound they want and have fun doing it. She teaches a wide range of harmony styles from the buzzy sound of American old-time and early country harmony to the weaving harmonies of songs from across the ocean. In the process she addresses such indefinables as tone, ornamentation and lead singing. In addition to being a regular on staff at the Augusta Heritage Center, she has taught at numerous music camps elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad, including SongRoots, Targhee Music Camp, Ashokan Music and Dance Camps, Centrum’s Voice Works, Pinewoods and Sore Fingers. She is a founding member of the California-based Any Old Time string band, and has two CDs with daughter and old-time country musician Emily Miller. Val is also the author of So You Want to Sing Folk Music, and she is in the process of cowriting with Dr. Kathy Bullock a chapter on traditional singing for the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy. She lives in Elkins, West Virginia.
Read MoreYoseff Tucker
About
Yoseff’s early life exposure to traditional bluegrass and American roots music came courtesy of his grandfather who moved to Central California from the Ozarks in the early 20th century. His first guitar came to him while he was still in diapers and an appreciation for music laid a great foundation in his life. After years of playing rock ‘n roll, Yoseff found his way back to bluegrass music and in a matter of years created a life centered on the proliferation and progress of bluegrass. His prodigious flatpicking skills have been acknowledged by the Northern California Bluegrass Society via the Guitarist of the Year award (’09, ’10, ’11, ’13, ’15). He has also been humbled with the award for Male Vocalist of the Year (’10, ’16). Yoseff lends his guitar work and vocals to the Bow Ties, the Central Valley Boys, as well as San Francisco band Supermule.
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