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Faculty
Richard Brown - principal spokesperson for The Reunion Band, based in Cambridge, MA, Richie is one of the leading Monroe-style mandolin players in New England. He sings both lead and baritone vocals with the group and plays guitar as well as mandolin. Other credits include work with the Connecticut-based Apple Country in the late 1970s and with New England legends Bob and Grace French in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Richie also teaches at Mandolin Camp North. A practicing dentist by profession, he also serves on the faculty at Harvard University School of Dental Medicine.
Instruments:
Gibson, Fern 1927
Gilchrist, Model 5 2003
Mike Compton – Our Artistic Partner in the 2008 Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp is one of the leading mandolin players of our time. John Hartford once said Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe-style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself. Compton toured extensively with Hartford until his death in 2001. He has received multiple awards, including Grammy recognition for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Down From the Mountain.” A member of two-time Grammy recipients the Nashville Bluegrass Band, he also tours with David Long and David Grier. When he isn’t performing he teaches at various mandolin gatherings including the famous “Mandolin Symposium” and provides webcam lessons from his home studio in Nashville.
Instruments:
2002 Gilchrist F5 #536
2003 Gilchrist F4 #565
2008 Duff Mandola #133
Bobby Osborne shares his gifts by serving on the faculty of the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in his hometown of Hyden. Students benefit from his mandolin expertise, his knowledge of the music industry, songwriting, publishing, promotion, and bluegrass history, including accounts of his personal friendship with Bill Monroe and other first generation bluegrass musicians. After a lifelong career as half of the iconic Osborne Brothers duo, Bobby has embarked on a brilliant and prolific solo path as a Rounder recording artist releasing a new record in 2007 with his band, the Rocky Top X-Press. His incomparable tenor, nimble playing, and unerring ear for fresh material and ingenious arrangements put this ‘traditionalist’ among the most influential figures in ‘contemporary’ bluegrass.
Instrument:
1925 Gibson F5 Fern
Frank Wakefield – truly a Monroe-style mandolin legend, and first to thoroughly study Monroe’s mandolin style, Frank is one of the most innovative mandolin players in recent history. He is steeped in the traditional language of Monroe-style mandolin, dedicating a large portion of his early career to learning Monroe’s musical language, often note-for-note. After touring with bands like Jimmy Martin, Red Allen and the Kentuckians, and the Greenbriar Boys, Wakefield began a solo career that includes appearances with New York Philharmonic conductor Leonard Bernstein and the Boston Pops.
Instrument:
1923 Gibson F5 Lloyd Loar
Butch Waller - Waller’s band, High Country, long the keeper of the traditional bluegrass flame in California, was the first West Coast band invited to Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival. Butch’s long friendship with the Father of Bluegrass allowed him to observe Monroe closely, and his forty-two years of mandolin playing have been largely dedicated to the study and performance of Mr. Monroe’s music. Bluegrass Unlimited said: “Waller’s playing is soulful, vivid, and he consistently brings fresh spirited reinterpretations to the melodies and emotions of even the most familiar of songs.”
Instrument:
2000 Red Diamond F-5 #121
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