Midwinter Festival 2019 - Performers and Workshop Leaders
Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami
A 17th-generation musician, Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami is one of the foremost performers and music instructors from Pakistan. Reigning from the Senia gharana, he masterfully presents a vast array of musical styles including Ghazal, Geet, Qawwali, Bhajan, Classical Indian, Pakistani Folk and Sufi poetry. For more than 25 years he has performed for diplomats and on innumerable radio and television appearances. He has performed for heads of state around world including Queen Elizabeth, Lady Diana, Prince Charles, late King Hussein of Jordan, Tony Blair, the Prime Ministers of China, Nelson Mandella, and numerous US presidents.
Brandi Pace & Dean Barber
The origins of Pace & Barber began with a simple email. Brandi Pace emailed Dean Barber in her search for a banjo teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Conversations ensued, and the wily and irascible Dean would eventually recruit the innocent and unassuming Brandi to play guitar in the Lone Star String Band. One day a gig came along that only the two of them could take. And the rest, as they say, is history.
ABIZIHIRWA
ABIZIHIRWA is an Austin Rwandan community dancing troupe that created in 2017 in Austin. The main purpose of its creation was to promote the Rwandan folkloric traditional dance in the USA.
Csárdás Hungarian Dancers
Csárdás Hungarian Dancers was founded over thirty years ago by a small group of individuals in Austin, TX passionately interested in Hungarian and Transylvanian music and dance. Currently Csárdás performs 6 to 8 times a year throughout the state of Texas. We hold weekly rehearsals as well as classes for beginners. We are presently making an effort to refresh our repertoire and bring new material and dancers to our group in order to have a bigger presence in the community. The goals and purpose of the group are to share our enthusiasm and use our skills to showcase Hungarian dance and culture, including the broad range of styles, music, and costumes.
Mira Dickey & Ian Files
Mira Dickey and Ian Files met many years ago through classical music, but have reconnected more recently through their mutual love of Scandinavian folk music. Over the last year, they have been trading tunes and honing their twin fiddle skills. They have learned tunes from fiddlers at camps together, and have gathered repertoire on their own as well. Ian has spent every summer he can remember absorbing Swedish music, and Mira also performs tunes on the Norwegian hardanger fiddle, adding a unique touch to their arrangements.
Flat Earth Rounders
In their prime the Flat Earth Rounders were the all-stars of the North-South Central Austin old time square dance scene. After a much storied and somewhat checkered world tour, they faded back into the kind of obscurity that only trendy kids with weird haircuts and too tight jeans are happy to tell you about. Rising like a phoenix from the $1 records bargain box, comes an uptempo banjotastic reunion show that will have you swinging your partner and do-si-doing long into the night. Grab your sweetheart and hold on to your britches!
- Britt Irick - fiddle
- Aaron Zischkale -fiddle
- Cameron Knowler - banjo
- JT Harechmak - guitar
G’beda Song and Movement
G’beda Tonya Lyles is a drum Instructor, facilitator and innovative multicultural world percussionist whose musical background is rooted in African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern traditional rhythms. Her style is diversified and influenced through her experiences as a solo African dance class djembé accompanist, West African drum and dance ensemble member, West African dancer, multicultural storyteller, hand percussion instructor and gospel, funk, soul, folk vocalist and auxiliary percussionist.
G’beda means Earth Medicine. This is a holistic mind, body, spirit experience that nourishes the inside out. Tonya is a licensed acupuncturist, sound therapist, planetary herbalist, gemstone therapist (Gbeda Acupuncture and Sound Medicine), workshop facilitator, meditative movement instructor, performing healing artist, and writer. Her website is https://gbeda.com
J.T. Harechmak
J.T. Harechmak moved to Austin in 2010 with a trunk of clothes, some textbooks, and a washtub bass. Since then, he’s played in a few bands, taught a few workshops, and had a great time playing on the street to people stunned that you can play a tub.
In the washtub workshop, J.T. will teach you how to build a washtub, give you some pointers on getting started, and ramble about his washtub idols. The cost for the workshop is $40 and you’ll go home with a working washtub bass — the only instrument that J.T. has made enough playing to pay for itself.
Cameron Knowler
Cameron Knowler is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, recording artist and national touring act who specializes in jazz and old time music forms. He has established himself as an accompanist, collaborator and solo artist, with a parallel focus on sharing his craft with others. His teaching methods are tailored to the aspirations of the student, methods which are rooted in practicality, theory, and intuition. Knowler is currently pursuing a degree in jazz guitar performance at the University of Houston, while penning a book on the political disparity between bluegrass, flatpicked guitar and old-time guitar. To learn more, visit www.cameronknowler.com.
Chris Buckley
Christopher Buckley was introduced to Irish music as a teenager and his Irish music roots developed under the tutelage of renowned fiddlers Martin Dowling, Liz Carroll, Brendan Mulvihill and James Kelly. Christopher has received numerous awards and recognitions for his outstanding achievements in Irish music and has performed at festivals and in venues across Europe and the United States.
In Austin, Christopher has been a member of and recorded with Cluan, Blaggards, the Tea Merchants, and currently, The Here and Now, www.thehereandnowmusicatx.com.
Austin Irish Music Academy
Austin Irish Music Academy, run by Niamh Fahy and Chris Buckley, is a fun, interactive and educational way for music students to learn traditional Irish music. Academy students learn a wide array of tunes and the styles with a strong focus on ensemble playing. Students have performed at The Irish Consulate, St. Patrick’s Day Austin Festival, B.D. Riley”s and Opal Divine’s.
For more information about the Academy please visit our website at www.austinirishmusicacademy.com.