2010 Instructors
We're excited to announce the faculty for the 2010 Song School.
Songwriting Instructors
Jonatha Brooke | Sheila Carabine | Vance Gilbert | Pat Pattison | Paul Reisler | Darrell Scott | Steve Seskin | Amanda Walther | David Wilcox
Elective Instructors
"Chicago" Mike Beck | Michael Bowers | Ron Browning | Joe Craven | Ellis | Girlyman | Bob Hemenger | Jagoda | JJ Jones | Diana Korpi | Arthur Lee Land | Terri Mazurek | Bill Nash | Brendan Okrent | Siobhan Quinn | Justin Roth | Alan Rowoth | David Slater | Amy Speace | Mary Vyn | Judith Wade
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Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonatha Brooke has been issuing albums that merge folk and pop since the early '90s, first as a member of a duo called the Story and then as a solo artist. Known for her intimate songs and energetic performances, the vivacious multi-instrumentalist has won immense critical acclaim and built a remarkably devoted fan base with a series of beguiling albums showcasing her supple, expressive voice and adventurous, insightful songwriting. Beginning in the late '90s, Jonatha's albums were issued via her own record label, Bad Dog. Her latest studio release, co-produced with Bob Clearmountain, sets previously unheard lyrics by the legendary Woody Guthrie to original music written and performed by Jonatha, including duets with Glen Phillips, Eric Bazilian and Keb’ Mo. People calls it “…some of her best work yet…Guthrie’s long-lost lyrics could hardly have found a better interpreter.” 
Sheila Carabine formed the acoustic duo Dala after meeting Amanda Walther in their high school music class. After writing their first song together in 2002, they are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark. Dala have toured across Canada six times, opening for artists such as Jann Arden, Tom Cochrane, Matthew Good and most recently Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The Edmonton Folk Festival, Mariposa and The Ottawa Folk Festival, among others. Dala's last two albums , 2006's "Angels and Thieves" and 2007's "Who Do You Think You Are" earned them a total of four Canadian Folk Music Award nominations. Their videos have been in rotation on Bravo, CMT, Much More Music and MTV, and their songs have been featured in shows like CTV’s “Flashpoint” and The Movie Network’s “Regenesis.”
Vance Gilbert burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90 ’s when the buzz started spreading in the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-jazz singer who was knocking ‘em dead at open mikes. The word spread of this Philadelphia born and raised performer to New York; Shawn Colvin invited Vance to be a special guest on her Fat City tour. Gilbert took audiences by storm ( “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar of a god, it was enough to earn him a rarity: an encore for an opener ” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in its review of a show from that tour). Gilbert ’s five albums, with guests as varied as jazz greats, Tuck and Patti, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin, Dee Carstensen, Vinx, and Issa (formerly Jane Siberry), are essential ingredients to the American singer-songwriter collection. His presence, both as performer and teacher, will renew your belief in the importance of songwriting.
Pat Pattison is an author, clinician and Berklee Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry whose students have composed for major artists and written number one songs. At Berklee, he developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country. His books, including Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming and Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, are recognized as definitive in their genre, and have earned many ecstatic reviews. His clinics are attended by songwriters all over the country, and his articles appear regularly in a variety of industry publications.
Paul Reisler has been performing and writing for over 30 years. He was the
founder of Trapezoid and performed close to 3,000 concerts worldwide. He has
been involved in over 35 recording projects in various roles as a musician,
engineer, producer and composer. He has just released a new album of
original songs with his new band, Paul Reisler and a Thousand Questions
featuring Angela Kaset and Howard Levy called At Night the Roses Tango.
He is the founder and director of Kid Pan Alley™ and has now written over
800 songs with over 18,000 children nationally. Their recent CD, Kid Pan
Alley Nashville, features many of that city’s best-known artists recording
the songs written with the children. That album received a Grammy nomination
and won both Parents’ Choice and NAPPA Gold Awards.
He has taught songwriting to adults at workshops and songwriting schools
throughout the country including the Rocky Mountain Song School, Utah Song
School, Swannanoa Gathering, Blue Ridge Songcamp, Augusta Workshop,
Hollyhock, Kerrville, NSAI, Songcamp in the Mountains and many others.
He’s currently working on a Kid Pan Alley musical, a full-length piece for
orchestra and narrator based on Aesop’s Fables, and a new Kid Pan Alley CD
in Charlottesville, VA.
If there has ever been a deep soul capable of healing us through song, voice, and virtuosity, it is Darrell Scott. Recognized with 2 Grammy nominations, multiple songwriter of the year awards from ASCAP and the IBMA, and universal acclaim from peers like Tim O’Brien and Sam Bush, the depth of Darrell’s gifts is simply remarkable. Darrell writes timeless songs drenched in traditional folk with a twist of contemporary phrasing — true American gems. His songs have been recorded on over 70 CDs, including the Dixie Chicks (“Long Time Gone) and Travis Tritt (“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive”). As an instrumentalist Darrell is dazzling on everything he touches - from banjos to guitars to pianos. And when he opens his glorious pipes to sing, we are transported and healed.
Steve Seskin started out in the 70’s as a street musician in San Francisco, and has steadily built an exceptionally successful career both as a songwriter and as a performer. He has written seven number one songs, including Grammy-nominated “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” recorded by Tim McGraw, and “Don’t Laugh at Me,” winner of NSAI Song of the Year and Music Row Magazine Song of the Year as recorded by Mark Wills. While Steve is best known for writing hits, he is also a successful performer and recording artist. His latest recording is "Two Paper Town." He is also a sought after songwriting teacher participating in seminars for the NSAI, West coast Songwriters and at many folk festivals. He is often a guest lecturer at the Berklee School of Music, The JMC Academy and McNally Smith College.
“Don’t Laugh at Me” was also recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary and became the impetus for the Operation Respect/Don’t Laugh at Me project, a curriculum designed to teach tolerance that has been taught in more than 20,000 schools across the country. The song is now available as a children’s book, Don’t Laugh At Me, which was a featured book on PBS’s Reading Rainbow. His latest book is called "Sing My Song" (a kids guide to songwriting) It is a "how to" book for kids interested in writing songs. The goal of that program is to instill a love of creativity in kids at an early age and to put more songs into the world about love, kindness and respect.
Amanda Walther formed the acoustic duo Dala after meeting Sheila Carabine in their high school music class. After writing their first song together in 2002, they are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark. Dala have toured across Canada six times, opening for artists such as Jann Arden, Tom Cochrane, Matthew Good and most recently Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The Edmonton Folk Festival, Mariposa and The Ottawa Folk Festival, among others. Dala's last two albums , 2006's "Angels and Thieves" and 2007's "Who Do You Think You Are" earned them a total of four Canadian Folk Music Award nominations. Their videos have been in rotation on Bravo, CMT, Much More Music and MTV, and their songs have been featured in shows like CTV’s “Flashpoint” and The Movie Network’s “Regenesis.”
While he's sold over 750,000 discs across his catalog, his music really takes flight in its natural environment - the live performance. Depending on the city, David plays venues from 150 seats up to 1000 seats. On stage alone, armed with a single guitar, David weaves a rich tapestry in every concert. He's a tremendously talented singer and inventive guitarist, utilizing numerous alternative tunings and cut capos. In addition to his musical skills, he's an expert storyteller. Performances feature his beautifully crafted songs offset by wonderful stories and wry observations on the world. His shows are a journey through the full range and richness of life. While there's plenty of weight to the topics covered in his lyrics, David's wit is never far away as well. His songs are an invitation to ask for more - more from your music, more from your relationships, more from your life. He strives to create the soundtrack for a life well lived.
Since 2001, Mike has toured
Europe over a dozen times, spending more than 24 months performing and
touring in Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France,
Ireland and Belgium as a solo performer and with his band The
Intergalactic Brother & Sisterhood of Big Eyed Beans. His debut CD,
released in 2002 has received radio airplay in the USA, Germany,
Holland, Denmark, Transylvania, Romania, Macedonia and Japan. He has
personally brought over 20 musicians on their first overseas tours.
Mike is currently in the midst of recording his follow-up CD
release, due out this Autumn, which includes vocal contributions from
Bloodshot Records' Nora O'Connor. Mike has been a
featured panelist at South-by-Southwest, the Folk Alliance National
Conference, and several other music industry events.
Mike loves empowering and inspiring musicians to pursue their
dreams, and enjoys sharing practical ideas, methods and information to
help make them real. He also loves to sing, and apologizes in advance
for when his usually-too-loud voice heard around the Folks Fest
campfires keeps you awake all night. He is the founder of Access Film-Music,
an organization dedicated to connecting music-makers with film-makers.
Presenting music which has been referred to as "folk with an attitude" and "urban campfire music," Michael Bowers is rapidly becoming known as a first rate songwriter and engaging, talented performer. His lyrics range from the heartfelt to humorous, always with both feet on the ground, but with eyes toward the horizon. The music he writes shows influences of blues, jazz, country, and the best of the singer-songwriter tradition.
Maestro Lorin Maazel, world-renowned conductor for the New York Philharmonic: “RON BROWNING is simply a master! The singers absolutely love working with him!” Ron is an internationally sought voice, performance, and crossover coach based in Nashville, Tennessee. His clients include Grammy® Award recipients and major recording artists in all genres of music. He has had the privilege of coaching leading singers from the Metropolitan and New York City Operas, and from other major domestic and international opera houses. He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and a voting member of The Grammy Foundation® and Country Music Association. Ron has traveled the globe with celebrity singers, grooming them for events such as the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony Concert and Royal Command Performances. Her voice reduced to a whisper, Grammy® winner, Patti LaBelle, called Ron a “miracle worker” after he helped her quickly restore her voice by show time, avoiding a costly show cancellation. Accolades about Ron’s work by major artists on TV and radio talk shows, press, and liner notes of CDs have earned Ron the title of “Voice Coach to the Stars.” Wynonna Judd says in the liner notes of her 2006 CD A Classic Christmas, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears. God sent Ron to me just in time.” Ron is an accomplished jazz pianist and successful songwriter, which earned him Artist in Residence for the city of Winnipeg, Canada. He developed the voice and performance curriculum for the Nashville Jazz Workshop where he is currently on staff. Ron holds music degrees from UCLA, California State University at Northridge, and the University of Kentucky.
Joe Craven is a musical madman with anything that has strings attached or not, his stage setup often resembling a yard sale. But there's more to Craven than meets the ear. Educator, visual artist, former museum curator, motivational speaker, actor/storyteller and festival emcee, Joe’s work is born out of respect and reverence and seeks to honor the creative energy in everyone. An advocate of the folk arts, Joe’s educational mission is to empower individuals to take possession of their own music and tell their stories by “demystifying” art through self-expression as a daily ritual. For almost 17 years, Joe Craven was the highly respected multi-instrumentalist with the David Grisman Quintet. He’s made a wide range of music with a wide range of artists including Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, The Alison Brown Quartet, Maria Muldaur, Vassar Clements, Psychograss, Rob Ickes, The Persuasions, and many others. Widely known as a re-composer and recycler of music as object and idea, Joe believes that "Music that's informally made and shared is a hallmark of folk music and it is this spirit of art making that leads to a more creative life of not just art consumer but art maker as well."
Ellis is a nationally-known touring
singer, songwriter and guitarist known for her powerful vocals, charismatic
stage presence and playful sense of humor. She founded her own record
company at age 18 and has released six albums including the critically
acclaimed Break The Spell (2008). Though she keeps a full-time touring
schedule, she has maintained a loyal following in her home base of
Minneapolis, where she has been named "Best Musician" for the past five
consecutive years. This will be her third year teaching at Song School with
her partner in crime, Terri Mazurek. A past Song School attendee, she was
also a finalist in the Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase in 2005 and she
performed on the main stage in 2007.
Can the members of Girlyman read each other's minds? Sometimes it seems so. Onstage they often finish one another's sentences or burst into improvised three-part ditties so tight they seem rehearsed. Truth is, the Atlanta-based trio has had years to develop this rapport. Doris Muramatsu and Tylan Greenstein became best friends in second grade. The two met Nate Borofsky in college at a talent show, and since then they've been creating their own unique language of three-part harmony. Informed by 60s vocal groups like Simon & Garfunkel and The Mamas and the Papas, and infused with years of classical and jazz training, Girlyman's songs are a dance of melody and suspensions - an irresistible blend of acoustic, Americana, and rock The Village Voice calls "really good, really unexpected, and really different." Girlyman formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, where the friends shared an apartment; their first rehearsal was scheduled for Tuesday, September 11. It was postponed, but the events of that day helped the trio clarify its vision: "We decided to just have fun," explains Nate, "and not take ourselves too seriously. We started by naming our new band Girlyman." Others, however, took the group quite seriously. The first few years brought critical delight, awards, and long opening runs with the Indigo Girls, Dar Williams and Catie Curtis. Girlyman quickly became a strong headliner in its own right, and now plays in every corner of the country to intensely loyal "girlyfans" who often travel hundreds of miles to see shows. Girlyman sells out renowned venues such as The Barns at Wolftrap, The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, The Ark, and The Freight and Salvage. They also frequent festival main stages, making a huge splash this past year at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, the Kate Wolf Memorial Folk Festival, and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, to name a few.
Bob Hemenger is a Colorado based musician, educator and naturalist. His soulful approach to music and many years of teaching how indigenous people lived with the land have led him down many interesting roads. He grew up in Michigan and has spent the last eighteen years in Pagosa Springs (where he continues to grow up). His experiences include; many great nights of playing music, Tracker School instructor, director of Touch the Earth Camps, adventure travel guide, EMT/search and rescue, high school teacher (special education, science and ESL), as well as being principal of an alternative high school. He is currently on staff with Victor Wooten’s Music/Nature camps in Tennessee. It is there that he has been a part of the magic that takes place when creative people slow down enough to really listen and connect. "Bob Hemenger is at the top of my list when it comes to embodying Music and Nature. He was there when I first made the connection almost 20 years ago. I can't say enough good things about Bob"~ Victor L Wooten. He has also been a musical guest lending his vibrant saxophone sound to many talented musicians including; Darrell Scott, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Sarah Siskind, The Infamous Stringdusters, Drew Emmitt, The Belleville Outfit, Victor Wooten Band and many more. Bob truly believes that a great musician doesn’t play music….music plays a great musician.
Jagoda is a new york city based drummer/percussionist who has work with artists as diverse as Sam Shepard, T Bone Burnett, and Richie Havens to Jill Sobule, Tom Prasada-Rao, Amy Speace and Swamp Cabbage. He teaches drums and percussion privately and has taught rhythm workshops with Paul Reisler and Billy Jonas.
His experience spans genres as wide as orchestral work, theatre and film to world music and folk music from many cultures. equally as comfortable behind a drum set or a single tambourine, Jagoda brings joy to rhythm and brings rhythm to music.
“While exploring the nature of rhythm you become aware of your own internal rhythms and the rhythms of your surroundings. you also get a better understanding of the rhythms that you bring to your music. I can’t think of a more perfect environment than the Rocky Mountain Song School for this kind of exploration.”
JJ Jones began playing drums and guitar at age fourteen while attending a high school for the arts in Seattle. During her career she has been the drummer and arranger/producer for a multitude of bands and studio projects covering a wide variety of styles. JJ plays with the folk-pop band Girlyman. She has also toured nationally and internationally with the Canadian band Po' Girl, and played with many solo singer/songwriters including Ellis, Edie Carey, Vance Gilbert, Beth Wood, and Tret Fure, among many others. JJ played with six different acts at both the 2008 National Women's Music Festival and the Red Rock Women's Festival. This will be her fourth year as an instructor at Song School. A sensitive and expressive player, JJ specializes in finding the just the right rhythmic touch and dynamics.
Diana Korpi has been working with independent musicians for 5 years including doing publicity, creating press materials, building websites and managing web presence. What began as an internship at an independent record company has grown into a satisfying career providing independent musicians with the support and help they need to make their businesses thrive. Diana now works for several instructors from Song School, including Steve Seskin, Pat Pattison and Ellis, and last year she and Terri Mazurek started MusiciansMom, a business focused on meeting the business needs of independent musicians. Diana is the owner of a handmade jewelry business and is an aspiring songwriter and regular Song School attendee.
Arthur Lee Land combines diverse influences to create a fresh new musical vibe: Afrograss Flavored Folk Rock. During a tour of Nigeria and Ghana, West Africa in 2001, Arthur spawned the concept of Afrograss: a synthesis of West African percussion and bluegrass in a folk rock context with a touch of funk, reggae, latin and world beat. Touring as a multi-instrumental solo act Arthur calls “A One-Man Afrograss Folk Rock Ensemble,” he utilizes THE ART of LIVE-LOOPING to create a full band sound by layering African percussion, bass, acoustic & electric guitars, guitar synth, vocals and talk box. In and around touring and recording Arthur has been devoting more time to his passion of working with youth and teaching. Since 2007 Arthur's Musical Life Skills K-12 Assembly Program & Looping Clinics have been presented to over 20,000 students in more than 15 states. This is Arthur’s 7th year teaching at the RMFF Song School.
Terri Mazurek is a Minneapolis-based social worker turned booking agent.
What started as a brief consulting gig for a local musician turned into a
full-time music career. Terri founded Peppermint Booking Agency in 2000
and currently represents eight nationally touring musicians on the college
circuit. She received the National Association of Campus Activities award
of "Agent of the Year" in 2005 and has helped six of her eight artists to
receive showcases at the regional and national college conferences. She
also collaborates with nationally touring folk/rock musician Ellis,
co-managing her record company Rubberneck Records. Terri applies her
social work training in her music career, and she is known for her
passionate commitment to helping artists reach their full potential. In
addition to coaching musicians and helping them to set goals and action
plans, Terri has taught workshops at several festivals and music
conferences throughout North America.
Bill Nash is a 13 year veteran of the Rocky Mountain Song school and has
been a
guitarist for the past 36 years, with 32 years of teaching experience under
his
belt. He has been mentoring guitar students at the Song School for the past
5
years, in a one on one basis under his canopy. He teaches fingerstyle guitar
technique (mostly three finger Travis style) and also instructs students on
the
use of altered tunings, capo use, assorted other guitar techniques and music
theory. More recently, he has been working on cutting edge guitar
technique,
using cut capos, multiple cut capos, altered tunings, and altered tunings
with
multiple capos. One of his songs even uses 4 capos, in DADGAD tuning, and
each
capo is critical to performing the song. He also works with songwriters on
polishing their melodies, chord choices in their songs, and honing their
musical ideas.
Brendan has worked with songwriters and publishers for most of her career. After a brief stint as a publicist after graduating from the Ohio State School of Journalism, she went on to run her own independent music publishing company and was later West Coast Creative Director for Motown’s publishing arm, Jobete Music. As Assistant Vice President/Creative at ASCAP’s Los Angeles membership office, which she joined in 1989, Brendan has been involved with a number of projects which include producing the nationally-known Quiet On The Set showcase series which she began in 1991; co- producing the ASCAP Pop Music Awards (which has bestowed honors upon such icons as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne); coordinating the Lester Sill Songwriters Workshop (whose guests have included people like Sir George Martin, Linda Perry and Jonatha Brooke) as well as a range of other activities designed to discover, educate, nurture and develop songwriters. She has initiated ASCAP’s sponsorship in a number of national events such as the Newport Folk Festival. Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest and Song School.
Siobhán Quinn received the 2006 WAMMIE award for Best Folk-Traditional Vocalist, has been a 2007 Kerrville New Folk Finalist (with Michael Bowers), a top 5 Boston Folk Festival songwriting Finalist, and Master Class vocal teacher at the Swannanoa Gathering, Kerrville Folk Festival, Rocky Mountain Song School (Planet Bluegrass), and Summersongs. She was born of immigrant parents, and is a force and talent that should not be ignored. Siobhan released “Dreamers, Lovers and Outlaws” with husband and music partner Michael Bowers in late April 2007. She previously released “Two Rivers” (1999) & “Grande Affaire” (ltd ed., 2003) with Ben Murray and an EP with the UK band Boneshaker (2005). She has toured through the U.S./U.K., and has had airplay on four continents. In addition to writing and performing, Siobhán has nearly two decades of professional arts and cultural administration experience in both public and private institutions including museum, cultural, arts center, educational, funding and presenting institutions. With an expertise is in jump-starting programs through evaluation, strategic planning, and the development of arts related community & educational programming, she has assisted individual artists with programmatic/artist-as-product business plans, booking, and has nearly two decades of experience developing program proposals for arts grant applications.
Justin Roth is a nationally touring singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist who combines an artful blend of pop hooks laid on a bed of brilliantly inventive guitar technique. "Fans of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges will find themselves right at home with [Roth's] intricate guitar work...beautifully written lyrics." (San Francisco Art Magazine) His path to acoustic music was solidified at 17, when he saw innovative guitarist Michael Hedges open for Crosby, Stills & Nash. Seeing that the acoustic guitar was capable of so much more than he had been exposed to before, from that moment on, he knew it would be the root of his musical world. His use of alternate tunings, partial capos and his two-hand tapping technique leaves audiences mesmerized. "One of the best singer/songwriter/guitarists I've heard in ages...Roth rivals a young Willy Porter...His vocal delivery is smooth. His guitar playing is extraordinary." (The Journal Times, Racine, WI) Acting as his own booking agent/manager/record label, he performs an average of 125 shows a year across the country and has sold over 10,000 copies of his four independent CDs. He also contributed songs to an instrumental album produced for Target Stores, entitled "Lifescapes - Solo Guitar," which has sold over 70,000 copies nationwide. He has toured with Red House recording artist John Gorka and has repeatedly opened for some of the finest acts in the acoustic music scene, including Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, Lucy Kaplansky, Susan Werner and David Wilcox. He has twice been a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival and has won the Indie Acoustic Project's award for Best Song of 2005 for his song "Shine" (which was inspired by and is about his experiences at Song School). Justin's will be releasing a new album in Fall 2010.
In 1991, Alan started the folk music listserv, and later organized the first
Internet Quartet Songwriters Showcase, a tour that took 24 songwriters to 11
cities in the Northeast in a total of 66 concerts. Alan has written for
several music magazines including Dirty Linen and Sing Out! and has taught
seminars on the internet for musicians at national and regional Folk
Alliance conferences, the Kerrville Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk
Festival, Christine Lavin’s Martha’s Vineyard Singer Songwriter Retreat, and
of course, our own Song School.
David Slater is a Massage Therapist, who attended the Healing Spirits massage school in Boulder.
David's massage goes beyond the physical - listening with his heart and intuitively knowing how to serve each person best. He loves the art from of massage. He works with different styles of massage including Swedish (relaxing light strokes that improve circulation, soothes muscle aches, increases range of motion, and reduces stress), Shiatsu (acupressure by meridians), Reflexology (point pressure on meridians), and a number of other forms providing the ultimate relaxing experience.
Never turn down a gig. That’s the story of how Amy Speace’s career took a radical turn. Playing in the corner of an Austin coffeehouse in the late afternoon to seemingly nobody during 2006’s SXSW, Amy was randomly heard by Judy Collins’ manager (who’d gone in for a latte), in town to scope out new talent for Judy’s Wildflower Records label. Her demo was brought back to Judy Collins who immediately proclaimed herself a fan, signed her, released “Songs For Bright Street” (2006) and “The Killer In Me” (2009), brought Amy out on tour as her opening act and recorded one of Amy’s songs, “The Weight of the World” for her forthcoming album. Paste Magazine called “The Killer In Me” “a resolutely hopeful take on heartache and loss, [Speace’s] beautiful lyrics are spun with a soulful, husky voice that lilts like a country sweetheart but mourns like Leonard Cohen.” WFUV NYC named it to its list of Top 10 Releases of 2009, and named “Weight of the World” to its list of Best Songs of 2009. Amy spent the past year touring the US and the UK with Judy, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Nanci Griffith, relocating from her long time home in NYC to East Nashville, TN and appearing on Mountain Stage, NPR, Tennessee Shines and at various festivals. In a not-so-distant former life, she was the Artistic Director of Five Points Theater Company in NYC, an actress, director and playwright, having toured with The National Shakespeare Company and taught performance with the NSC.
Mary Vyn has not written a song yet. She has written stories, a screenplay, countless letters and the rhyming clues to eight scavenger hunts. She was honored with the Smith Book Award at age 17, but deferred enrollment to university and never stepped foot in the classroom again. She loved dancing more than anything and endeavored to find enough success, somehow, to dance every day. To that end, by profession, Mary is a chef. Her company, Sujata & Meera serves performing artists and pro-athletes with food as medicine, for strength, fluidity, and creative power. It's with great reverence for the songwriter that Mary comes to Lyons this year. Dancing is intrinsic, cooking natural, but making music seems magic. Her hope is to introduce Song School to a 60 year old practice called Authentic Movement, or "movement in depth", and to offer her original technique, Movement for Songwriters. She has a hunch it might make the songs, and the songwriting life, more real, vivid, and satisfying. She has practiced movement arts since infancy and credits this particular discipline with the success of her entrepreneurship. Over the years of peach picking and party throwing, Mary has kept up a practice of Authentic Movement. She has held courses in Kingston, Miami and New York.
Judith is gentle and compassionate intuitive healer. She uses a variety of nurturing hands-on healing techniques that heal and balance the body, mind, and spirit helping you reach your full potential and freely express your full potential. She believes in the amazing transformation that energy work can provide just by being open to receiving it. Are you ready to live your life? Judith specializes in
Reiki: a Japanese technique that uses Universal Energy (Chi, Prana) for stress reduction and relaxation that provides healing on all levels and brings the body back into balance with the universe and our heart space. Reiki enhances and generates creativity, relief from physical pain, and relief from stress, as well as energizing the body, strengthening the immune system, providing comfort from emotional stress, and helping us let go of those things we no longer need. Judith also practices Kundalini Reiki, providing the same benefits of Reiki while helping us open our hearts and see the oneness in everyone and everything. Kundalini Reiki works well with lower chakra issues such as insecurities, writers block, financial issues, childhood issues, etc.
Past Instructors
2009 Song School Instructors
Mary Gauthier, Peter Himmelman, Karin Bergquist, Linford Detweiler, Pat Pattison, Steve Seskin, Vance Gilbert, Paul Reisler, Carmen Allgood, "Chicago" Mike Beck, Michael Bowers, Ron Browning, Tim Burlingame, Chuck E. Costa, Ellis, Rebecca Folsom, Thomas Golubic, Jagoda, Jennifer "JJ" Jones, Diana Korpi, Arthur Lee Land, Terri Mazurek, Ryan Mintz, Kathy Moser, Bill Nash, Brendan Okrent, Siobhan Quinn, Justin Roth, Alan Rowoth, Kathrin Shorr, Maggie Simpson, Christopher Smith, Amy Speace, Annie Wenz
2008 Song School Instructors
Josh Ritter, Melissa Ferrick, Pat Pattison, Susan Werner, Steve Seskin, Vance Gilbert, Paul Reisler, Carmen Allgood, "Chicago" Mike Beck, Michael Bowers, Ron Browning, Tim Burlingame, Ellis, Rebecca Folsom, Jagoda, Jennifer JJ Jones, Arthur Lee Land, Terri Mazurek, Bill Nash, Brendan Okrent, Julie Portman, Siobhan Quinn, Justin Roth, Alan Rowoth, Kathrin Shorr, Moira Smiley, Amy Speace, and Annie Wenz.
2007 Song School Instructors
Peter Himmelman, Darrell Scott, Mary Gauthier, Zoe Lewis, Catie Curtis, Steve Seskin, Vance Gilbert, Arthur Lee Land, Moira Smiley, Annie Wenz, Rebecca Folsom, Ellis, Terri Mazurek, Alan Rowoth, Amy Speace, Kathrin Shorr, Tim Burlingame, Jennifer "JJ" Jones, Siobhan Quinn, Michael Bowers, Anna Wolfe, Justin Roth, Ben Wisch, Carmen Allgood, and "Chicago" Mike Beck.
