Joanna Mell and Alison Gillespie 

November 8, 2019 

 Alison Gillespie has been performing and teaching Irish and Scottish fiddle and classical violin for thirty years. She performs currently with Celtic groups Blackwater and Banna Lach, and in a duo with Celtic harpist Joanna Mell, as well as with the award-winning band Big Valley Bluegrass. She teaches in the Music Department at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, where she directs the Moravian College Celtic Ensemble, and also at the River Valley Waldorf School in Bridgeton, PA, and at her home-based studio in Center Valley, PA. Alison founded and hosts a monthly traditional Celtic music session at Braveheart Highland Pub in Hellertown, PA. More than 20 years ago she founded the Celtic Classic Fiddle Competition held each September as a popular event at the Celtic Highland Games and Festival in Bethlehem, PA. Alison’s fiddling can be heard on three Blackwater albums and several other Celtic compilation CDs. She has performed at numerous concert halls, festivals, colleges, pubs, and private events on the East Coast and also in Ireland. 

Joanna Mell is an accomplished harpist and harp teacher performing and teaching in the Southeastern Pennsylvania area.  She makes any occasion special with her beautiful harp music.  With over 30 years of experience, Joanna carefully tailors her musical selections to the desires of her clients, making each special event unforgettable.  Joanna‘s students love her innovative and exciting style of teaching.  Many of them have won awards on the local and national levels.  Joanna teaches students all over the world by video on-line call.  She is also a gifted composer and arranger. You can hear Joanna’s beautiful music in streaming audio at www.DeepPeaceMusic.com 

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    Ken Gehret has been performing as a musician for more than thirty years primarily, as a guitarist/violinist. He performs, teaches, composes and arranges, for over 17 instruments including: voice, woodwind, reed, string and keyboards. His main instruments are guitar and violin. His musical experiences stem from country music background, performing with well known stars including Roy Clark and Mell Tellis. Live performances with Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys were televised from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville Tennesee.  Mr Gehret's musical abilities are wide and varied. His talents, reflect years of true dedication.  He is truly, a natural born musician.  When not  performing, Ken has a full teaching schedule. He is the designer/inventor of the 10 string guitar. Ken's philosophy is: "Some people play golf. Some play bridge. Others, jump from cliffs using bungee cords. I like to play music.  Music, is what I do and love.  I love getting together with my musical friends to create interesting and  wonderful sounds. I believe music is the most honest and immediate form of  communication available to human beings." 

Top 3 musical influences:(out of many!)       Johann Sebastian Bach ,  Niccolò Paganini ,  John Coltrane

http://www.kengehret.com/index.html 

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Ed Conover 

March 13, 2020

A first time performer at the Kutztown Folk Music Society we welcome Ed to our venue! He makes the music that made America from the 1800’s to 1900’s. His genres include Folk, Country & Western, Acoustic Blues, to 50’s Rock N’ Roll. He plays Mountain Dulcimer and guitar among other instruments. To learn more about Eddie Bluestone Conover, check out his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Oletymers/

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Travis Wetzel Trio 

May 8, 2020

Travis Wetzel is a dynamic musician, songwriter, and vocalist. His music has many folds including bluegrass, jazz, swing, Celtic, Klezmer, Native American, gospel, country, and classical. He is the lead fiddler/violinist on countless recording projects ranging from country to rock and has often performed at the Grand Ole Opry. He has performed and recorded with artists such as Bill Monroe, Jesse McReynolds, Bill Harrell, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Fortune, John Schneider, and David Frizzell.  Jazz legend Stephane Grappelli invited Travis to perform the Rogers and Hart classic, Where or When at Kutztown University with him.

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