2008 Teaching Staff (see below for details)

This year's camp will feature the fiddle styles of Alasdair Fraser, Pascal Gemme and Hanneke Cassel. A mix of Scottish, Quebecois and beyond!

Fiddle Classes

Fiddle classes are scheduled in the morning and early afternoon and allow participants to study the various styles taught by each instructor. All tunes are taught by ear, and class divisions, ranging from advanced to those who have never played before, are based on students’ rate of learning by ear.

Alasdair Fraser is recognized throughout the world as one of the finest fiddle players Scotland has ever produced; [his] name is synonymous with the vibrant cultural renaissance which is transforming the Scottish musical scene." —Scots Magazine

Renowned performer and master teacher of the rich fiddling tradition of Scotland, Alasdair inspires us to higher and deeper levels of self-expression within an embracing community of listeners, learners and like-minded folk. The variety and expressivity of Alasdair's playing is evident in his numerous recordings—from intimate fiddle/guitar duets, to a more contemporary interpretation of tradition, to high energy original tunes with his Skyedance band. Recent, highly acclaimed albums include "Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle, Vols. 1 and 2," and "Fire and Grace, " which was named Scots Trad Album of the Year for 2004. In Alasdair's class, you will learn a variety of Scottish tune types and how to use special bowings, ornaments and a rhythmic drive to make the tunes come alive.

Pascal Gemme (Quebec) Since the completion of his degree in big-band arrangements and classical and jazz guitar, Pascal has been searching for seldom heard songs and melodies and interpreting his own compositions with a unique, unmistakable style. Inspired to take up the fiddle by the playing of his grandfather, he developed a solid technique and acquired a wide repertoire through the years. He has played with and has been inspired by many great Québécois singers and fiddlers. He gave some master classes in the USA in recent years and since 2003 has taught fiddle in a folk music school in Montreal (École des Arts de la Veillée). Pascal is also a great singer of Quebec folk songs with a rich and interesting style and repertoire, mostly learned from older singers. Pascal does most of the arrangements for Genticorum and was also the arranger/composer for the show Chantier by Zeugma, a Québécois-Celtic-World dance company. He’s also working as a producer for different musical projects and a studio musician for commercial radio and television

Hanneke Cassel's approach to music is aptly expressed in the title of her debut album, "My Joy." Alasdair Fraser characterized the album as "…fiddle music played with great stylistic integrity and personal flair…" Hanneke's second album, "Some Melodious Sonnet," released in 2004, contains a variety of her own compositions, some hauntingly melodic, others exuberantly energetic. Hanneke has immersed herself in the music of Scotland and Cape Breton for many years and has won three U.S. National Scottish Fiddling championships. She is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music.

Laura Risk is a fiddler whose love of the music of Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton and Quebec has led her into a rich journey of performing and teaching. Laura is known throughout the U.S. as an outstanding teacher, able to inspire students at any level. As evidenced in several highly praised albums, her playing is especially expressive and versatile, ranging from elegant music composed for 18th century Scottish drawing rooms to driving strathspeys and reels suitable for a Cape Breton dance floor. The eloquence of Laura's fiddling is especially evident in her recent album of Scottish tunes, "2000 Miles." To help fiddlers learn new tunes by ear, Laura has recorded two sets of CDs containing nearly 150 tunes from a variety of fiddle traditions, played slowly and at normal performance tempo.

Deby Benton Grosjean combines the best of both the Celtic and classical music worlds in her playing and teaching. Of her CD, “Beyond the Shore,” Pattie Mills, of Connection Magazine, wrote, “It will touch your heart and dance your soul.” As a teacher Deby has been especially effective in working with kids and is involved in putting on two Celtic music camps for children and teens in the Santa Cruz area. In her basic beginning classes for children Deby’s individual attention will provide young fiddlers with a solid technical foundation while fostering their pleasure in playing.

Ethan Lewis began taking private violin lessons when he was four and a half years old. Lewis attended The Crowden School, from fourth through seventh grade, which is a prominent musically oriented institute in Berkeley, California. Lewis won the Music Teacher's Association Award in 1994, as well as in 1995, going on to win the Music in the Mountains violin competition located in Grass Valley, California, in 1997, and 1998. Ethan has an extensive list of private violin students, who study with him in the local region.

Liana Campus, born and raised in Nevada City, California, began studying classical violin and piano at the young age of four. After many years of playing at street fairs and music festivals, in the Nevada County Youth Orchestra and The Auburn Youth Symphony, and competing in The Music in the Mountains Young Musicians Competition Liana decided that she wanted to try "fiddle" music. She attended Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School when she was 12 and quickly fell in love with Scottish and old time fiddle music. Since then she has played throughout Northern California with many different ensembles and for the past four years in a Celtic duo with her younger brother. She has taught at the California Bluegrass Associations Fathers Day Music Camp, and teaches privately. Liana attends the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where she is studying Biology and Environmental Studies. When she is not in class or playing music Liana can be found riding her mountain bike on the beautiful trails of Northern California.

Cello Class

Natalie Haas is in the vanguard of young cellists pushing the envelope of the cello while simultaneously carrying it back into the fold of traditional Celtic music. She has graced the performances and recordings of many renowned fiddlers, particularly Alasdair Fraser, with whom she has been performing in the US and Europe for several years. Since she began teaching at Celtic Connections in Glasgow and VOM in 2002, various music camps and festivals have been eager to engage her. Her recent album with Alasdair, "Fire and Grace," was named Scots Trad Music Album of the Year for 2004. Natalie's powerful and rhythmic playing make it easy to understand why Alasdair says, "In18th century Scotland, the fiddle and cello were the dance band of choice." In Natalie's class you will learn bowing techniques, ornamentation, bass lines and rhythmic techniques to suit the style and mood of a variety of music, including the tunes the fiddlers are learning.

Joel Cohen had his early musical training in the San Francisco Bay area with Irene Sharp and Margaret Rowell. After receiving his B.Mus. from the University of Western Ontario , further studies took him to Holland until his return to the San Francisco Bay area where he served as co-principal cellist with the Oakland Symphony from 1979 to 1985. Cohen lived in Vienna from 1985 to 1997 where he was a principal cellist of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. During those years he also performed with the Vienna Radio Symphony (ORF/RSO), the Wiener Kammeroper, the Wiener Akademie (on period instruments), and Quartett Yggdrasil. He toured extensively throughout Europe and Asia with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Johann Strauss Festival Orchestra of Vienna.

Guitar Classes

Tony McManus is from Paisley, Scotland. In a relatively short time Tony’s music has come to define a new role for the guitar in Celtic music. He has come to represent Celtic music in the guitar world, making regular appearances at guitar specific events where just a few years ago jigs and reels would be unheard of. He is now invited annually to the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville, has appeared at Guitar Festivals in Soave and Pescantina, Italy; Frankston, Australia; Issoudun, France; Kirkmichael, Scotland; Bath and Kent, England; Bochum and Osnabruck, Germany and has taught at five of Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Maryville, Tennessee. He recently appeared at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in the “All Star Guitar Night” featuring Steve Morse, Bryan Sutton, Muriel Anderson, Béla Fleck and Victor Wooten and headlined by the legendary Les Paul. In addition to his critically aclaimed guitar albums, he has released a much-loved joint CD, "Return to Kintail", with Alasdair Fraser.

Yann Falquet (Quebec) is a truly active and creative acoustic guitar player on the Québécois music scene. He has explored many styles of music and completed a Bachelors degree in Jazz. Since then, he has developed a personal guitar style for Québec folk music, inspired by the playing of the accompanists of different cultures (Brittany, Scandinavia, Ireland, North America, etc). His involvement in traditional French Canadian music brought Yann to perform on numerous recordings, and to tour throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. He also toured for three years with the Edmonton based celtic/world group The McDades.

Song Classes
Laura Cortese . abundantly talented as a singer dancer and fiddler, will be leading and coordinating singing classes this year. She puts her own spin and rhythms on traditional and contemporary songs, deftly strumming, plucking and chopping her fiddle behind her rootsy voice. Cortese's Irish American grandmother first handed her a fiddle at the age of 4. Eight years later, she discovered folk music in what seems like an unlikely place, the bustling metropolis of her hometown San Francisco. "I found an exceptional community of singers, musicians and dancers at the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp," she says. "People from age 2 to 80 that just love making music together. It's strange to say, but I think that was the year I decided that music was IT." In 1999, Cortese moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. Over the next few years she played in several bands including fiddle trio Halali formed with two childhood friends. "I had never really sung solo on stage before Halali. I realized songs are an amazing way to connect to an audience." In an apartment across the street from Berklee College, Cortese set out to record her debut album Hush in 2002 (re-released on Jar productions 2004). Hush showcases 12 tracks of pop-inspired arrangement that captures the raw sincerity of traditional Celtic music.

Piano Classes

Cali McKasson makes her debut this year on the VOM teaching staff.  She is known to most of those who have attended VOM, as she has been a frequent participant since her first year at camp in the early 1990s.  It was then that she met Barbara MacDonald Magone, whom she credits as a major influence in her musical development.  A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, she is now the principal harpist for the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra.  Cali is also pursueing a career in Scottish Music and last year released an album, Tall Tales ,  with her brother, Ryan, an accomplished fiddler.  Cali's playing can equally inspire a musical conversation with a solo fiddler or elevate the energy of a session or a dance.  She will be teaching students how to become innovative accompanists through creative chording and rhythm. Classes will be for both beginners and advanced students. Come ready to create your own style of playing!