Faculty:
The faculty for this weekend of primarily Celtic CBOM fun and frolic are a small group of bouzouki+ folk who have been getting together for some time, have enjoyed it wildly, and have decided to spread the joy with like minded folk to do some learning and playing together in a lightly organized, informal way to enjoy and expand on the CBOM experience. To date, they include but are not necessarily limited to Lindsay Straw, Jordan Santiago, Steve Smith, Anne Luna, Louis Scuderi & Ken Gilman.
Lindsay Straw is a guitarist, bouzouki player and singer. She has been immersed in the vibrant Irish and folk music scenes of Boston for a decade, releasing two solo albums and one with her Irish band, The Ivy Leaf. From her home base in New England she’s toured the U.S., Ireland and England, both solo and in ensemble. Most recently, she’s been teaming up with partner Jordan Santiago to blend American fiddle tunes and improvisation with Irish tunes and British ballads.
Steve Smith has been performing and recording for nearly 30 years on mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and guitar. His repertoire includes bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, new acoustic, jazz and chamber music. He maintains an active educator schedule as well giving lessons and workshops all over the country.
Anne Luna is a full-time musician - living the dream - most known as an upright bass player across a wide spectrum of genres. From The Hard Road Trio to more recent collaborations with The High Desert Playboys and Hondo Coyote, Anne is a key player in the NM roots music scene. She is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and teacher, in high demand not only for private lessons but also at camps like ours, Desert Night Acoustic Music Camps, Camp Bluegrass, among others.
Anne has found the bouzouki to be a great muse for her songwriting, as well as expanding her musical growth and expression. Whether you're looking for songwriting guidance or a fresh way to approach the instrument, Anne's unique perspective and rich performance and teaching experience will have you fired up to play. She also leads the whole crew in some light yoga every morning to get us limbered up and in alignment!
Anne's bouzouki was made by fellow bassist and luthier Bill Bussman of Old Wave Instruments.
Ken Gilman is a bouzouki, bass mandolin & mandolin player (who occasionally shows up on tenor banjo, tenor guitar, baglama, Waldzither, fiddle or octave fiddle). Home base is Celtic music, but he sometimes dabbles. Besides playing with Mandology, he practices a little psychology, is music director for a weekly Episcopal folk mass, teaches a week long class on the Obbligato Instrument in the Liturgical Ensemble for the Guitar and Ensemble Institute of NPM, ‘manages’ the Albuquerque Mandolin Orchestra, and teaches a bit.
Louis Scuderi sings and plays the mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar among other instruments, though he started out on the cello. His music is most strongly influenced by the folk music of Scotland and Ireland as well as contemporary American Folk. He has been playing traditional music since the age of eleven and has been a regular session player and a member of several bands, most notably as the lead singer of Celtic Waves, the premier Celtic band residing on Oahu, Hawaii.