Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering

Kendra Ward and Bob Bence

Holly Foy & Patty Lambert

The music of Kendra Ward and Bob Bence has its roots deep in the mountains of Appalachia and it possesses a universal appeal that the duo has shared with audiences around the world for nearly 30 years.
Kendra is a musician, teacher, author, composer and performer with a lifetime of experience in tra- ditional Appalachian arts. She has played dulcimer since the age of four, learning primarily from her Father and her Grandmother, and from her con- stant exposure to the fiddlers, banjo players, dancers and other traditional artists who call the Appalachian hills home.
Bob is an award-winning musician whose bold, powerful guitar style harkens back to the days of Riley Puckett and Roy Harvey, and whose profes- sional credits include not only festivals and concert halls, but also comedy clubs and improv stages.
Together Kendra Ward and Bob Bence have earned a reputation as one of the most entertaining and influential traditional music duos in the nation. They have released ten recordings and are the authors of a number of DVDs and instruction books.

Holly Foy and Patty Lambert play with Callanish, a traditional Celtic band where Patty plays flute, whistle and concertina and Holly plays guitar. Patty has studied with National Heritage Fellowship award winner, Mike Rafferty as well as with Chris Norman. Patty has traveled through Ireland twice to collect tunes and to sample Guinness beer with bandmate Holly Foy, who will back her up on guitar. Holly has studied guitar with Daithi Sproule, guitarist from the band Altan, and with Matt Heaton and others.

Henry Koretzky

Clark Parry & Cindy Durkee

Henry Koretzky is a mandolinist/ guitarist/singer from Harrisburg, PA, who has performed in a wide variety of styles and groups, from bluegrass with Cornerstone, Sweetwater Reunion, and High Strung, klezmer with The Old World Folk Band, old-time with the duo Rootbound, as well as swing, celtic, contemporary folk, and contradance music. He has taught at Folk College in previous years as part of The Keystone Rebels and as part of a duo with singer/songwriter/ guitarist Kevin Neidig, and has also been a staff regular at Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering.

Also known as The Allegheny Mountain Dulcimer Players, Clark and Cindy focus on old time and gospel songs, accompanying themselves on mountain dulcimer, guitar, strum stick, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, and bass. They are also the founders and organizers of the Heart of the Alleghenies Festival in north-central Pennsylvania. Now that Clark and Cindy have retired, they split their time between Florida and their sail boat on Lake Erie.

Mountain Fire

Diana Wagner

Mountain Fire consiste of (left to right) Doug Romig, Carol Pharo and Jerry Trusty. Jerry grew up in Mississippi where he learned and played traditional music at an early age. He has a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in music performance (French horn). Jerry was a high school band director for several years, and he is now a professor in counselor education at Penn State. His current musical passions include playing, researching and building clawhammer and old-time banjos.

Diana Wagner is an acoustic musician and folksinger who collects and preserves folk music. Diana plays acoustic and classical guitar, mountain dulcimer, a bit of banjo and diddley-bow. She also plays multiple percussion hand instruments. Folk audiences know that her show-opening trademark is to begin without any instruments and an a capella mountain song or ballad. Whether singing Civil War songs, blues, Irish love ballads, or indie folk from contemporary backroads, Diana is committed to telling the personal stories and sharing the histories of the lives preserved in song. Diana is also a classical guitarist with a variety of musical interests. In addition, she directs the Maryland site of Guitars in the Classroom, an innovative program that brings guitars and music integration to classroom teachers across the country.

Kelly Parker

Stephen, Beth and Margaret Folkemer

Kelly e. Parker is founder and artistic director of ABAFASI. Her life’s roles include: sistah, mother, grandmother, drummer, drum-maker, student, teacher, social worker, composer, craftswoman, wordsmith, jewelry-maker, and welder. Kelly’s first drumming experience occurred in 1994, and it recharged her life, since then drumming has been the soundtrack of her path. The drum is in her walk, talk, hair, children and spirit. Her travel to Africa in 2005 affirmed the influence that West African drumming has had on all genres of music. That influence has informed her rhythmic expressions.

Margaret, Beth and Stephen Folkemer are founding members of Cormorant's Fancy (Celtic Music) and Folk and Friends (Civil War era and American music). Stephen has directed choirs for over 30 years and teaches music at the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg.

Peggy Leiby

Ryan Thompson

Peggy is a founding member and director of FiddleKicks, a dance troupe that performs Appalachian clogging and other styles of percussive dance. In addition to teaching these styles, she has offered workshops in waltzing and couple dances since 1999, and has a strong background in international folk dancing. Peggy is currently working with Simple Gifts on a collaboration where FiddleKicks will perform to Simple Gifts' music. Peggy co-founded Mostly Waltz, a popular social dance in Philadelphia. She also plays recorders in early music ensembles, English country and contra dances bands; and manages phillydance.com.

Ryan Thomson is a music and dance professional who tours with both the Traditional and Touring artist rosters of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. He is a past winner of the North Eastern Regional award of the National Fiddle Contest and has published numerous books on fiddle, banjo, accordian, flute, piano and more! See captainfiddle.com for more info and lots of videos!

Joe Dezarn

Joe DeZarn is a fiddle player from a family of fiddlers. His grandfather, Bill DeZarn, fiddled his way through the transition from Old-Timey music to Bluegrass in eastern Kentucky bands, with his chums Stringbean and Asa Martin. Joe's fiddling centers around traditional dance music, embracing the rhythms and repertoires of Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and of course, eastern Kentucky. A warm and enthusiastic teacher, his workshops are notable for good humor, clarity and for attendees leaving with a greater understanding of the music and a sense of their own greater musical possibilities.

Bob Nicholson

Paul Fagley

Based in Syracuse, NY, Bob is in demand as a contradance teacher and caller. His dances are easy for beginners while still being fun for accomplished dancers.

The Cultural Interpreter for Greenwood Furnace State Park, Paul is knowledgeable about the history of the people and places at Greenwood.

Pennsylvania Heritage Musicians

A goal of the Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering is to identify and preserve traditional music of Pennsylvania. Towards this goal, a project was initiated at the 2006 Folk Gathering to invite musicians with a long history of playing music in Pennsylvania to share their history and early experiences.
2006 - Charlie Arentz and LeRoy Mumma
2007 - the late "Fiddlin' Joe" Yesolivich and his wife Helen
2008 - John and JoAnn Dively
2009 - Bob Foster
2010 - Gene Hoffman
2011 - Clyde & Dale Wilson

2012 Heritage Musician: Leo, Cletus, and Skip Steinbeiser

Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering will honor Leo, Cletus, and Skip Steinbeiser as the 2012 Heritage Musicians.