Teachers

Adam Johansson is a guitar player from Northern Sweden. He grew up playing blues and jazz. He found folk music when he was 14 and fell in love with the social aspect of it. He has been exploring the genre ever since.

Educated at the Royal College of music in Stockholm. He works as an instrument teacher, arranger and conductor at the Ånge Music School when he is not touring with Sver and the Folk All-in Band (FAB).

Is one of the great masters of Scottish folk music. Born in Clackmannan, he discovered the fiddle at age 8, and it has accompanied him ever since. In 1973 he won the “National Mod” fiddle competition, and after graduating from university with a degree in physics he decided in 1985 to dedicate his life to music.

He is an exquisite performer, both dynamic and delicate, who has inspired millions of fiddlers around the world with his albums, performances and, for more than 20 years, his fiddle camps in Scotland and California. Now also in Spain.

His film credits include solo performances on the soundtracks of several major films, including Titanic, Last of the Mohicans, Wyatt Earp and The Spitfire Grill.

He formed the band Skyedance, whose very special latest album, “Live in Spain”, featured collaborations with some of the most important musicians from the Iberian Peninsula. Recently, apart from working with his friend and composer Paul Machlis, he has published four delicate and brilliant albums (“Fire and Grace”, “In the Moment”, “Highlander’s Farewell” and “Abundance”) with Natalie Haas. Both are a clear example of his free spirit, musical path and the perfect duo they form together.

Alberto Ablanedo is one of the musicians from the “Folk Generation” in Asturias, following the steps of the musicians who took part in the first folk revival in the 80s. He’s a self-taught Bouzouki player who began his musical journey at the end of the 90s playing with several Asturian bands such as Tejedor, Acuei!, Bron, Llangres, Los Gatos del Fornu or Dubrám He also performed with well-known musicians such as Niall Vallely, Karan Casey, Duncan Chisholm, John McSherry, Kepa Junquera, Josep-Maria Ribelles, Xosé Manuel Budiño, David Munnelly and many more.

For many years, he’s been an active blogger in Folkenlared, where he wrote extensively about folk music in the Atlantic regions. Later, the blog changed formats into a podcast where he interviews other musicians about their upcoming projects. For over 10 years he’s been an active member of some of the most popular folk sessions in Asturias.

Alec Brown is a contemporary cellist from Pine Bluff, Arkansas who now lives in Limerick, Ireland. Having completed a practice-based Ph.D. at the University of Limerick in 2019 specialising in incorporating the cello into Irish traditional music, Alec continues to push the boundaries of what the cello is capable of within the idiom of Irish traditional music by collaborating with many artists both in and out of the tradition. As a result, he blends techniques that span multiple genres to create a unique sound which he can truly call his own.

Along with releasing his acclaimed solo album, The Stepping Stone in 2017, he has performed extensively throughout Ireland, England, Europe, Japan and has recently performed on Broadway in the cast of the critically-acclaimed Irish dance show “Velocity” at the New Victory Theatre in 2018, resulting in a 5-week tour of the US in March 2022. Alec is also a full-time member of award-winning singer-songwriter Emma Langford’s band, with whom he has toured throughout Germany in 2019 and 2021 and Ireland since 2013.

She has a long and extensive musical education, which includes the Aula de Jazz i Música Moderna del Conservari del Liceu, and still continues with Anna Catalá and Voice Craft technique. She has specialised in singing, ear training and harmony, but also studied piano, dance, and guitar.

Her professional career includes various styles (argentinian and latin-american folk, Iberian folk, MPB, jazz, pop …), sharing the scene with excellent musicians, such as Elisabet Raspall, Albert Bover, Juan Quintero, Juan Pablo Chapital, Mario Rossy, Marcelo Mercadante, Aleix Tobias, Xavi Lozano, Juan Quintero y Luna Monti, Martín Laportilla, Julio Santillán, Paulinho Lêmos, Eliseo Parra… .

She also possesses a rich experience as a teacher in several schools, teaching voice and body percussion to children as well as adults, among other disciplines.

Anders Hall was born in Arbrå, Hälsingland, Sweden.

He plays the fiddle, the viola and the Hardanger fiddle which he studied in the Ole Bull Academy in Voss, Norway, between 2006 and 2008. As a result, he has a unique point of view with deep knowledge of both Norwegian and Swedish music.

He is established as a very creative musician in the Scandinavian folk scene, and he is an active member and co-founder of The Nordic Fiddlers Block and Sver. He also works regularly with Sigrid Moldestad.

Anders has natural talent to reach the audience, mixing old tunes with new ideas and innovative expression.

Aoife Granville is a flute player, fiddle player & singer from Dingle, Co. Kerry. Aoife's music has been influenced greatly by the music of the Dingle peninsula and she is currently completing her third album as well as a duet album with her sister, Deirdre (harp). She has worked recently on projects highlighting Women Flute Players in the Irish tradition, Blasket Island Music & Song and the Goodman Collection. Her PhD focused on the Dingle Wren Tradition & European Carnival Culture and Aoife currently lectures in Folklore at University College Cork. She was appointed to the Arts Council of Ireland in 2022.

Fiddler, guitar and mandolin player. He studied both classical, folk and contemporary music and has been active in the musical community of the Basque Country for years. He has collaborated with many bands focused on the Trikitixa (Basque button accordion) such as Tapia eta Leturia, Imuntzo eta Beloki and Alaitz eta Maider. He has a bast repertoire of popular basque music, particularly around dance music, which he reinterprets on his violin to give it his own special character.

He published an album with the Basque Fiddler Juan Arriola, recording repertoire from the Basque Country arranged for two violins and featuring collaborations by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. On 2014 he publishes his first solo album named “Esan”.

Through the violin and singing, he practices the traditional music from the Massif Central in France (regions of Auvergne, Limousin, Languedoc). He is deeply impressed with the force of this artistic expression, where singing, dancing and instrumental practicing are one. Nowadays, he researches the sound and the energy present in this music. He vividly experiences how its elements turn into movement through the dance bands he has founded (Duo Artense, Tornamai, TRES, la Clèda, Fai Petar).

He puts into perspective his knowledge on historic music (has taken part in the Musiciens de St Julien, under the direction of F. Lazarevic) and the experimental music from the collective La Nòvia (Flux, Trio Puech/Gourdon/Brémaud, la Baracande).

Basile feeds his practice diving into music compilations close to folk musiciens and singers. Also, he has shared with musiciens and collectors who have kept this music alive for 40 years, such as J. M. Delaunay, J. P. Champeval, O. Durif…

From 2000 to 2003, he teaches violin in Brayauds (Departamental Centre of Traditional Musique of Puy de Dôme). In 2003 he is awarded an Academic Diploma of Musical Studies (DEM) on traditional violin in the Regional National Conservatory (CNR) of Limoges. He also owns a Estate Diploma as a teacher of traditional music since 2005.

Begoña is the go-to fiddler of galician folk music. She began her artistic career on the year 2000 by joining the band of the famous bagpiper Carlos Nuñez and in this period she performed regularly in all 5 continents and collaborated with well-known musicians such as the Chiftains, Dan Ar Braz, Sharon Shanon,… and recorded multiple albums.

She is an active member of the galician folk orchestra Sondeseu and is the leader of her own band: Riobó, with 2 published albums.

She’s a regular teacher in Crisol de Cuerda and San Simón Fiddle Camp. She’s currently teaching celtic harp in the Escuela Municipal de Música Folk (ETRAD) in Vigo (Galicia).

Pianist and musical therapist, Betlem started her professional path as a music and dance teacher in primary schools. In 2012 she left her job and made a bet on her passion. She moved to Ireland and joined the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick. In 2013 she finished 3rd in the world championship of Irish dance. Back in Barcelona, she started the Irish dance school Mediterrania, where she teaches Irish dancing and balfolk. Betlem is still active as a professional dancer and has performed with well-known international bands like Moxie, Capercaille, Luar na lubre, Celtas Cortos and Carlos Núñez amongst others. Her performances brought her to some of the most prestigious festivals in Germany, Austria, Belgique, Italy and France, and a good amount of stages in the Iberian Peninsula.

Blanca Altable (1984) is one of the few fiddlers in the traditional scene in Castilla. She begins her studies of classic violin at 5 years of age, but soon she devotes herself to the fiddle, since hers is a family of traditional musicians.

With a particular and creative vision, she makes much of her repertoire from the dulzaina, her field work as a fiddler consisting in adapting scores for dulzaina to the fiddle. Particularly, music from the center and north of Castilla, since her grandfather, Simón Altable, was a dulzaina player, and started Blanca in the oral tradition from this region.

Out of this field work, she has co-founded two projects: Blanca Altable & Chuchi² y Cira Qu; And also participated in other folk projects like El Hombre Folkíbero & Cía.

Always in search and study, her advanced education as a fiddler grows with her participation in international fiddlecamps in California, New York and Scotland, getting closer to places and social environments where fiddle music happens in a vernacular and spontaneous way … Galicia, Basque Country, Quebec, Scotland, USA.

She has got opportunity of playing in scenarios and festivals all over Spain, showed her music in the USA, Africa and part of Europe, and participated in projects like VocalizÁfrica, Nélida Karr, Vallarna, Dario Bontempi, Salvador Amor, Pure Hemp, Sammy Jankis, Kasparov Vs Deep Blue, Roberta Medley, Sons d’ Cabiella…

She is an increasingly demanded teacher as well, committed with the personalized and creative education.

Casey Driessen is (just like his music) inspired, unconventional and truly original. His distinct and soulful approach to the fiddle has led to collaborations with artists such as Béla Fleck (& the Flecktones), Bassekou Kouyate, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Darrell Scott, Steve Earle, & Zac Brown Band. Driessen’s style of funky fiddle rhythm is quickly earning him the reputation as the leader of “The Chop,” a new percussive bow technique permeating every corner of the fiddle/violin world. A choptastic interpretation of Jerusalem Ridge on his debut record, 3D, earned him a GRAMMY nomination and was hailed a “tour de force” (New York Times). He currently performs as The Casey Driessen Singularity—a one man, one fiddle, one pedal board show of live looping and effects. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Driessen created Fiddle/Sticks: The Drummer Project—a collaborative exploration of rhythm that pairs him with landmark drummers and percussionists and documents these explorations through recordings and videos.

In 2015, Driessen moved to Valencia, Spain, to become the new Director of Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) master’s degree a Berklee College of Music’s recently opened international campus. As program director he’ll assist forward thinking, motivated and talented individuals of all instruments and genres develop their artistry through leveraging technology in their writing, recording and live performance.

And although you can’t hear them (or can you?), you know he’s wearing red shoes.

Jesús Enrique “Chuchi” is a big name in folk contemporary guitar world in Spain. His versatility and style have made him be one of the most precious guitar players in the Iberian Peninsula folk scene. Cofounder of Vallarna, the Buho Dinámico duo with bouzoukist Carlos Martín Aires and the awarded folk duo Blanca Altable & Chuchi⎮.

As guitarist, composer or arranger he has worked with Folkfussion, A Gramalleira (recording with Goyo Yebes from Celtas Cortos), Celtas Cortos (folk cover of Retales de una Vida), Xerfa, María Salgado and Anxo Lorenzo (Galician pipes virtuoso).

He has been taught by renowned guitarists from Spain, Scotland and US such as Tony Macmanus, William Coulter, Scott Law, Carlos Beceiro, Raúl Olivar and Yann Falquet to say just a few. His curiosity about new musical styles and his broad background make him to be one of the most demanded musicians among the Castilian and Spanish folk scene.

Born in Madrid, 1976, she has been more than 10 years learning world folk dances: traditional, meditarrenean, dances of the atlantic, … through a number of courses and workshops by several organizations and festivals, in Spain, France, Portugal and Italy.

For more than 6 years now she has been teaching european traditional dances and world dances, in workshops and courses (short and long ones, and also intensive) for festivals, schools and other organizations. Also, she animates live concerts for several folk bands, and takes part in organizing some international folk dance festivals.

Nowadays, she has created “Folkeando Madrid”, an organization meant to promote dances, and through which she teaches in workshops, and also organizes and animates folk festivals and parties.

Caoimhín Ó Fearghail is a multi-instrumentalist who comes from An Rinn in the Waterford Gaeltacht. A piper, flute player and accompanist, he is influenced by the many great traditional musicians and singers from his home area.

He has featured on a number of albums in recent years, quite often as accompanist. His latest album, however, is a solo pipes album simply called 'Uilleann Piping from County Waterford' which is part of NPU's 'Ace & Deuce of Piping' series. He also recorded an album with fiddler Paddy Tutty in 2018 called ‘Flute & Fiddle’.

A frequent teacher and performer, he has taught and performed solo, and with groups such as Caladh Nua and Danú, all over Ireland, the US, the UK, Europe, Newfoundland and New Zealand.

Caoimhín was awarded Best Folk Instrumentalist in the 2021 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.

Colin Cotter picked up the fiddle at the age of 4, beginning a life-long journey building upon several generations of his family’s intimate relationship with traditional Finnish music. Over time, musical influences from Scotland to Quebec to New York City to West Africa crept in rendering him a genre-defying folky, unencumbered by traditional convention yet warmly familiar with it. As self-taught guitarist, he has crafted a unique accompaniment style that, in tandem with hard-hitting, poignant songwriting, bridges the gaps between American and Celtic folk music and rock. Colin has released 4 studio records of largely original music and has toured internationally as a lead-singer, guitarist, and front-man in several bands while also performing extensively as a guitar accompanist to traditional fiddlers of varying backgrounds.

Born in Zaragoza, David has been playing the accordion for over 20 years. He studied with the accordionist Ángel Calonge for 12 years and then complemented his education by playing folk music for more than 10. As of today, he keeps learning and playing on the accordion in several bands. His main project, Vegetal Jam, has toured extensively in the Spanish Peninsula and Europe.

Began his musical studies at the age of 6 with the composer Alejandro Yaüe and the violinist Isabel Vilá. Soon, he became involved with several bands in his native town of Burgos and starts experimenting with different musical genres (folk, blues, jazz, flamenco, pop, rock,…). In 1997 he joins the Spanish band La Cabra Mecánica.

He has collaborated and recorded with many well-known musicians: Kroke, Marta Sebestyen, Kepa Junquera and many more.

Galaz is the founder and director of the Festival de Instrumentos e Interpretes Insólitos (Festival of Unusual Instruments and Musicians) which takes place in Burgos once a year. He himself is one of the few players of the musical saw in the peninsula and enjoys investigating, creating and preforming on unusual instruments.

He studied in Barcelona, in the Aula de Música Moderna, in Film Scoring seminars with José Nieto, Enric Alberich, Frances Burrul, Tomas Lorenzo and Horacio Fumero.

He studied violin in the Berklee College of Music with Mat Glaser, Darol Anger, John Blake and Mimi Rabson.

He has been working as a violin teacher for 20 years in several music schools in Barcelona and giving several masterclasses on the violin in world music and the violin in flamenco.

Born in the early 1960s in Ciudad de México, he is the grandson of exiled political refugees. He grew up commuting between Colonia Condesa, near Roma (Mexico) and Colonia Catalana. After a few years, he abandoned his formal studies on Piano, classical Guitar and ethnomusicology to immerse himself in the fandangos of Sotavento, the topadas of huapango serrano and the depths of the huasteco violin. In the early 1980s, he emigrated back to Catalonia. Spent almost a decade in Barcelona trying to find his place and 25 more years in a small village near Girona, where his children were born. There he keeps working and building ties of family, community, culture and freedom.

Galen Fraser is an accomplished fiddle player, composer, engineer and producer from the foothills of Northern California. Best known for his modern take on Celtic traditional music, he tours with the praised Galen Fraser Quartet, Soulsha, and the Europe-based Atlantic Folk Trio. Fraser has played with renowned musicians such as Alasdair Fraser, Natalie & Brittany Haas, Martin Melendez (of the Aupa Quartet), Hanneke Cassel, and Colin Cotter. He has performed at The Mandavi Centre, The Palace of Fine Arts, Symphony Hall in Boston, Ma, with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many other esteemed venues in the United States and Europe. With a love for improvisation and composition, Galen’s passion led him to pursue music as a career, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. In August 2016, Galen released his debut solo album, “Mischief Managed” featuring all original fiddle music and songs with guests such as Natalie Haas, Alasdair Fraser, Jenna Moynihan and Conor Hearn.

Gerry O’Connor comes from Dundalk, in County Louth and is the product of four generations of fiddle players. His recordings have focused strongly on local music and his work as a soloist and as a band member of Lá Lugh and Skylark is well known across the world. Over the past two decades he has recorded 12 albums and performed with all the leading performers of the Irish music industry including members of the Chieftains, Boys of the Lough, Planxty, De Dannan and Bothy Band. His solo album Journeyman has been hailed as one of the significant albums of Irish fiddle music in recent times. Gerry has also toured for more than fifteen years celebrating Irish and Breton music links with Gilles le Bigot (Barzaz, Skolvan), recording with him a live album in 2006 (In Concert). In the same period Gerry recorded and toured with The Irish Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Elizabeth Wallfisch, recording Ardee Dances, a piece commissioned from Rachel Holstead. Gerry (also a violin-maker, music teacher and music producer) currently tours with the Canadian Irish legends The Irish Rovers. He is a four times winner of the Fiddler of Oriel and regularly adjudicates the competition.

“Exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness,” says the Boston Globe about Hanneke Cassel’s playing. Such charismatic fiddling has brought the native Oregonian many honors and awards. She is the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, she holds a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music, and she has performed and taught across North America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and China. Influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island fuse together with grooves and musical innovations from the hip Boston bluegrass/Americana scene to give Hanneke a uniquely American approach to Scottish music. She creates sounds on the cutting edge of acoustic music, while retaining the integrity and soul of the tradition.

Multi-instrumentalist specialised in ethincal and medival sounds. He self-learnt to play the traditional flute and the accordion. Later on he attended several masterclasses by the Breton musician Jean-Michel Veillon, Kepa Junkera and several more seminars all over Europe.

He is a founding member of the traditional Castilian Music Band “La Musgaña”. The band has recorded 8 albums and is one of the main referents of Folk Music in Spain. Together they’ve toured for over 30 years throughout Europe, United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

Born on the coast of Brittany, Jean-Michel Veillon is one of the most acclaimed wooden flute players in Europe. He was greatly influenced by the Irish flute masters and was the first one to adapt it to the Breton folk music. His style is unique and distinct.

He has performed all over Europe and the United States with bands like Kornog, Pennoù Skoulm, Den, Barzaz, Alain Genty, Toud’Sames, Jacques Pellen & Celtic Procession, Flook (Ireland), Gilles Le Bigot & Empreintes, Zakir Hussain & Pulse of the World (a marriage of music from India, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany), amongst many others.

John grew up in the Cooley Mountains of north County Louth where he took up guitar at 8 years of age. He began his career as electric guitarist with the successful indie band, The Revs with whom he performed on many famous stages and festivals including Oxygen, and Slane in Ireland, Reading and Leeds in the UK, and toured extensively in USA, Australia and Europe. He has worked alongside many world-renowned producers, and is now also producing and recording in many genres. John studied classical guitar and piano for many years, and from early childhood was immersed in the language, songs and traditional dance music of south west Donegal – his father’s homeplace.

Together with Zoë Conway has been described as “simply one of the best folk duos on the planet” (BBC), and audiences in Ireland and beyond keep coming back for more. The duo has recorded on major film soundtracks including Finding You (Red Sky Studio 2021), Riverdance The Animated Adventure (Universal 2021), and Zoë has recorded on award-winning Float Like A Butterfly (Samson Films 2018) and Artemis Fowl (Disney 2020) as soloist with a hand-picked symphony orchestra in George Martin’s world-renowned AIR studios in London. Zoë and John have collaborated over the past five years with award-winning Scots Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis and bouzouki player of international renown, Éamon Doorley. Together, they have released a couple of albums and are currently working on new material.

José Climent is one of the pioneers of the fiddle in Castillian folk music. He is one of the founding members of the band La Musgaña and toured with them for many years, performing internationally all over Europe. In 1991, he started with Jaime Muñóz the folk music sessions of Taberna Elisa in Madrid. During those years he also performed with musicians such as Javier Bergia, Xosé M. Budiño, and Barahúnda. He taught Castillian bagpipes in Casa de Zamora (Madrid) from 1998 until 2013 and has performed and recorded several bagpipe albums. Between 2015 and 2018 he published two solitary projects. He is currently performing with two Castillian folk projects: Climent & Ballarín duo and trío Atairao. Both projects published new albums in 2022.

As a fiddle teacher, he has participated in multiple workshops with Begoña Riobó, Alasdair Fraser and Blanca Altable. Recently, he has started with Blanca Altable and Carlos Martín Aires the “Arrejuntada Violinera” (fiddle gathering), a physical and virtual gathering that looks for the characteristic sound of Castillian fiddle playing.

León, 1963, it’s hot there. A Coruña 1967, it's wet there.

Music awakens amongst guitars in his neighborhood and the beach. At 16, the conservatory. Very few people worth remembering from this era.

Nani García, Xosé Manuel Eirís, some folk... but at the time, too little self-confidence and no voice of his own. Then, in his twenties, the Xoven Orquestra de Galicia was just too much. Hence, cello gets locked away.

Without music in his life, only the office work is lect. Fastforward 10 years, Nirvana and “Red Hot” rescue this poor cello... and the blues, there's always the blues!!

Around the year 2000, he starts teaching in Ribeira... love and death. He moves to Cangas, until today, where he keeps on teaching. And an old dream: unlike a coin, life has got more than 2 sides, things can be another way.

Eugene Friesen (el Trio Globo), one sound, the voice.

He plays at popular celebrations and pubs. Traditional music and recorded music to play on fearless... that’s his school.

And at last, Alasdair and Natalie: the old dream made real, learning to love your own voice.

Now he is part of San Simón Fiddle, offering what he never had.

And of course there still are things to say, but how could you hold the whole sea in a bottle?

Is one of the more accomplished fiddlers in Basque traditional music. He first approached folk music in a self-taught manner while he was studying classical music in San Sebastian’s Conservatoire. After that, he’s always kept his love for the traditional repertoire and has contributed greatly to the basque tradition by recording two reference CDs with the band Alboka. He has also recorded the album Hariari Tiraka together with Arkaitz Miner, where they revisit many basque traditional melodies on two fiddles. He has also contributed with many compositions and acquired a rich and personal style. He currently works as a teacher in several music schools near his hometown.

Renowned for her work in the Swedish folk scene, Lena Jonsson has spent over 15 years performing in the US, UK, Europe, Australia and Asia. At the age of 21 she was nominated ”Newcomer of the year” at the Folk and world music awards in Sweden and since then her career has continued to grow. Her ability to balance a deep knowledge of traditional Swedish folk music with innovative artistic sensibilities has made her one of the most distinct artists, in-demand musical collaborators and teachers in the folk scene.

Lisardo Prieto. He began his journey in traditional music as a bagpiper and later took up the violin self-taught. With the guidance of violinists Guzmán Marqués and Elías García, he adapted part of the bagpipe repertoire to this instrument. In the following years, he continued his education at the Muñiz Toca School of Music in Oviedo and the Corvera School of Music, while attending various workshops and courses on traditional violin.

As an educator, he has taught traditional violin classes at different traditional music schools between 1999 and the present day (Traditional Music School "Llacín", Traditional Music School "La Quintana," Traditional Music School "Xacara," Avilés Modern Music Foundation). He has collaborated with violinists Anna Wendy Stevenson and Simon Bradley on the AlbaAstur Cultural Exchange project, conducting workshops on Asturian music, and has been a teacher at the "III Xornaes de vigulín tradicional n’Asturries."

In 1996, he co-founded the group N'arba with Miki López and Xosé "Ambas," and in 1999, he joined the group Felpeyu, with which he has been professionally active to this day, offering traditional violin workshops in addition to concerts at various international festivals.

He has collaborated with bands such as Corquieu, Xéliba, or Naheba.

Louise Mulcahy is one of Ireland’s most talented and gifted instrumentalists in Irish traditional music today. Louise is an internationally renowned performer on the flute, uilleann pipes and whistle. Louise is a member of the highly acclaimed Mulcahy Family and no musical family today is more impressive in upholding the best principles of the tradition. Alongside four album releases with her father, Mick, and sister Michelle, Louise released her highly acclaimed début solo album titled ‘Tuning the Road’ in 2014 to widespread critical acclaim, “A complete wonder of an album from a truly brilliant musician” – Bill Margeson. She has toured extensively throughout the world including performances in Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, America and Canada. Louise was voted Female Musician of the Year at the Live Ireland Awards in 2017 and together with her father and sister received the prestigious award ‘Tradconnect Album of the Year” in 2017 for their latest album release titled, ‘The Reel Note’. Louise is a regular contributor to music programmes, nationally and internationally, both on television and on radio. Louise presented and researched the landmark documentary for TG4 titled Mná na bPíob which was released in 2021. Louise was named one of the stars of 2018 and praised for her groundbreaking musicianship in The Irish Times Culture Review.

Native of El Bierzo, he began his interest in traditional music with the work songs of his elders and by attending traditional music sessions, a passion he combined with musical training at the Ponferrada Conservatory. In León, he formed the groups Pandetrave and Robernscroll with the intention of adding new sounds to traditional Leonese music and joined the group Aira da Pedra. Graduated in guitar performance from CONSMUPA, he currently combines his work as an educator and performer collaborating with bagpipers such as Anxo Lorenzo, being part of the group Felpeyu, and with Llau, a recently formed ensemble alongside Dani Álvarez and Lisardo Prieto.

Beginning the violin at age three, Maria developed a passion for the instrument as well as a true vocation for music. She pursued her studies at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Valladolid and finished her music studies in University at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León. Her interest in trying to complete her music education brought her in touch with other music styles, eventually collaborating with the Edu Soto Plan Renove Band, Mariachi Guerrilla and more. Her newfound fascination for other culture´s music and its origins guided her to Scottish folk music which woke up her curiosity for the Castillian folk music being played in her own culture. Simultaneously her passion for teaching and pedagogy specialized in infants, learning from the musician and pedagog Paulo Lameiro, let her put together part of what is becoming a worldwide trend: Music Workshops for Infants. She has conducted these workshops to great success in both Spain and Germany. Currently, she continues her classical and folk music studies, taking classes from Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas, Diego Galaz, Begoña Riobó, Casey Driessen and belongs to the acclaimed European folk bands, “Atalantic Folk Trio”, “Brigantia” and “CastellanAs”.

In 1998 she starts her training in figure skating. Six years later she starts teaching skating to different groups both for leisure and competition, which she has been doing to the present day.

In 2005 she discovers the world dances and the European Bal Folk. She falls in love with this genre of music and dance and that feeling impels her to participate in plenty of festivals and workshops across Europe.

In 2011 she collaborates with Juan Ramón Campos and his initiative for teaching Bal Folk in a self-managed center in Madrid: “CSA Tabacalera”, which continues today. From this moment she starts imparting her own traditional dance workshops, both in solitary and in workshop-concerts with different groups from the current folk scene in Spain and Portugal.

Her dancing training suffers a great transformation in 2011, when she discovers the tango. It becomes a significant element in her professional development, dedicating a main part of her teaching activity to this area.

In 2015, along with Franceso Palmeri, founds the association Folqué? promoting the Bal Folk by organizing classes, workshops, concerts and other events.

Marta Roma is a splendid and versatile cellist and singer from Barcelona who has an eclectic background in music and other arts. Marta has developed her unique approach through improvisation and singing in different genres and cultures. She has performed with great artists such as Gary Burton, Alejandro Sanz, Dream Theater, Susana Baca, A.R Rahman and many others.

Marta has toured all around the world and performed and offered workshops in Spain, México, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, USA, Japan, Philippines and the Dominican Republic.

Marta has completed a stage in the Fedujazz Foundation of Music Education in the Dominican Republic, where she taught and oriented young students and created materials for her educational programme. She also collaborated with the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival on its 20th anniversary.

She is currently developing her music career in Boston, where she combines performance with teaching.

Drummer, percussionist, actor and sound creator. It doesn’t matter where the sound comes from if it achieves the desired effect: he’s an expert at creating musical atmospheres to fit whatever’s happening. Started as a jazz and fusion musician, studying in the Escuela de Música de Badalona and then with Toni Meler, Ramón Ángel Rey or Marc Miralta, amongst others. He became more interested in traditional music by playing flamenco in the Talanos in Barcelona, the galician-catalan band Keympa and Coetus (Iberic Percussion Orchestra) founded by the singer Eliseo Parra.

He’s been on stage with Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Lídia Pujol, Judit Neddermann, Aziza Brahim, Marina Rosell, Marco Mezquida, Carles Dénia, Celeste Alías, Anna Ferrer, Elêctric Gozarela, Tara, etc…

Born in Moscow, 1982, from cuban parents, he studied classical cello in the Conservatory Amadeo Roldán and in the I.S.A. in La Habana, Cuba. From an early stage, he carves deep in rythms from modern music, like salsa, flamenco and jazz. This way he takes the cello into a different path, gives it another vision, closer to modernity. He has collaborated in recordings with great musicians like Pablo Milanés, Pavel Urquiza, Lucecita Benítez, Yusa, Haydee Milanés, David Torrens, Chano Dominguez , Reynald Colom. entre otros.

Martin has shared the scene with Roberto Carcasés, Descember Bueno, Santiago Feliú, Lenine, Gema y Pavel, Cesar Portillo de la Luz, X Alfonso, Síntesis, Chano Dominguez, Monserrat Caballé, Anthony and the Johnsons, Marina Albero, Antonio Rey , Roxanne Butterfly. Nowadays he lives in Barcelona, and makes part in a number of bands: aupaQuartet, TRAZAquartet, Cordas del Món, Gani Mirzo Band, Flamenco Hoy de Carlos Saura , Opera y Flamenco.

Juilliard grad Natalie Haas is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser have toured as a duo for over twenty three years, wowing audiences at festivals and concerts worldwide with their unique sound. Natalie has also toured with sister Brittany Haas and with Mark O'Connor as a member of his Appalachia Waltz Trio. As a studio musician, Natalie has been a guest artist on over 100 albums, including those of Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, Irish greats Altan, Solas, and Liz Carroll, and Americana icon Dirk Powell. Her skills as an educator make her one of the most in demand teachers at fiddle camps across the globe.

Nicolas Quemener is a Breton guitar player and multi-instrumentalist, well-known for his mastery of the open-tunning guitar. He was born in the region of Angers and spent most of his early years in Brittany. He studied percussion for 4 years until a friend gave him his first guitar.

He lived in Ireland for several years where he met many musicians from the Galway area and founded the band Arcadi. Once back in Brittany, he founded the band Skeduz and toured internationally for several years. During his long musical trajectory, he has collaborated with many musicians like Soïg Sibéril, Dan Ar Braz, Capercaillie, Donal Lunny, Gilles Servat, Ronan Le Bars, Martin O’Connor and Ronny Drew.

From Segovia, passionate about music, tradition and cultural diversity. Over the last few years, she’s been amazed by teaching and its capacity to transfer much more than just notes.

She begins her musical studies in conservatorio profesional de Segovia, but she doesn’t find her true passion in music until she meets Blanca Altable and attends Crisol de Cuerda. Later on, she expands her knowledge of harmony, improvisation and composition in Música Creativa de Madrid and ESMUC in Barcelona. Following the same steps as Vanesa Muela and Cristina Pérez Tejera, she studies traditional percussion from Castilla.

She has worked as a folk violin teacher and in music and movement projects in several schools from Madrid and Vigo. She has also taught violin in Crisol de Cuerda and other summer camps for kids.

As an artist, Paula starts the project Triguiñuelas, where she mixes didactics and the traditional music from her hometown. At the end of 2020 she releases a CD-book titled “Un día con el abuelo”, followed by a presentation tour of more than 80 concerts. At the same time, she is a member of the Xosé Liz band and performs regularly with the galician bagpiper Óscar Ibáñez.

In 2018, she creates and works as the artistic director of the festival “El Folk de la Reserva” in the San Ildefonso farm, Segovia, which becomes one of the reference festivals of the Castilian music.

He began his relationship with music with the Asturian bagpipe in 1990, although soon the flute became his focus of attention. In 1996, he started playing the wooden flute, focusing on it ever since. He attended classes with Marcos Llope (Llan de Cubel) and courses with Jean-Michel Veillon.

In 2000, he founded "Bron" with three companions, with whom he recorded on the compilation album "Nueu Folk Asturianu, IV". In 2001, he founded "La Bandina'l Tombo" which released a self-titled album in 2004. He also recorded three albums with "Tuenda" in 2005, 2008, and 2011. And with "Caldo y Os Rabizos" in 2019, where he played the alto saxophone. In 2022, he joined the group "Son d’Arriba" playing the clarinet. In 2023, he joined "La Bedur" playing the violin.

Primarily self-taught, he has played and collaborated with: Héctor Braga, Xel Díaz ("Da Robotz"), MariLuz Cristóbal Caunedo, Fernando Largo, Sergio Rodríguez, Dark La eMe, Xaime Arias & Alberto Varillas, "Banda Gaites Llacín", Humberto Carás, Banda Gaites Xácara, Josep-María Ribelles, D'Urria, Eva Tejedor y Les Pandereteres, Llan de Cubel, Bagad "Ronsed Mor", Eladio Díaz, Javi Tejedor, La Tarrancha, Un de Grao, Rubén Bada, among others.

Cellist, workshopist and freelance teacher. He often conducts workshops on music creation for people with functional diversity for “La Caixa” welfare. Improvisation, accompaniment and instrument didactic professor in ESMUC (Barcelona) from 2015-18. Cello teacher in Artebi (Bilbao) and Bergarako Musika Eskola (Bergara). He works developing didactic materials for cello in different musical styles (tangramcello). He’s been a member of the ‘Quartet Brossa’ and the company of family concerts ‘Com sona?’. He’s been an active member of several orchestras in Spain and performed internationally in multiple occasions.

He is a self-taught mandolin player. Over 20 years ago he picked up a dusty mandolin and every single bluegrass album he could gather, he started playing and never stopped. He dwelled for years in the Americana music circuit but missed the Castilian music so much that he joined his brother Quique to get the Hermanos Cubero project started and fuse Ameicana and Castilian Music together.

The Hermanos Cubero have been a great success and performed in all kinds of festivals, venues and theatres in all the peninsula, sharing stage with bands like Los Planetas, Kepa Junkera, Manuel Luna, Los Deltonos or Guadalupe Plata.

Saúl Jiménez Montalvo is a teacher of music in Primary Education in arts. For more than 10 years now he has been teaching in schools of Comunidad de Madrid. He uses and develops innovative methodologies such as the BAPNE method of Body Percussion, Soundpainting (The Art of Live Composition) by Walter Thompson, and the educational project LOVA (The Opera as means of learning).

As a violinist, he has been playing for more than 15 years in bands with different styles, like La Colina del Coyote (Rock, blues, country, tango) y Proyecto Tríptico (jazz), in addition to collaborations in orquestras such as the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Orquesta Athanor de la Escuela Municipal de Rivas (Madrid). He has created the educational project “El Bosque Musical” (The Musical Forest) in partnership with the association “Siempre en Medio”, aiming to join nature and music for education, walking the most important parks in many cities. Also, he collaborates playing the violin in the project for young kids “Talleresdemúsica.com”, by Raquel Rodríguez.

He is a volunteer in the musical project “Music for Them“, by the NGO “Streets of India”, promoting educational concerts in orphanages, schools, hospitals all over India.

Silvia Quesada is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist linked to traditional Asturian music from a young age. She began her musical journey with the bagpipe and the flute, and later started singing and playing the tambourine in groups like "Tejedor," "Blima," or "Los gatos del fornu." She was also part of the bagpipe band "Cántara" and the ethnographic collective "Muyeres." In 2022, she founded "Calea" alongside Rubén Bada and Leticia Baselgas, a group of traditional Asturian music where vocal harmonies are the foundation and highlight of the project. That same year, she also joined the Breizh-Asturies project, a group that merges and unites the root music of the two countries from a contemporary perspective.

In addition to these formations, Silvia collaborated with artists such as Xabier Díaz, Carlos Núñez, Guadi Galego, or L-R, among others. She also participates as the Asturian representative in the Interceltic Festival of Lorient in the creation of Celtic Odyssey I and III, directed by the Breton bagpiper Ronan Lebars, sharing the stage with names like Julie Fowlis, Karan Casey, Dónal O’Connor, or Karen Matheson.

She has two solo albums, "La pena abierta" (2014) and "Prefiero ver llover" (2019), closer to pop music with an authorial touch. With these albums, she won the awards for "Best Voice" and "Best Other Scenes Album" in 2015 and 2020, respectively, at the AMAS awards, Asturian music awards.

Galician folk dancer since 1981 in his hometown Moaña and Santiago de Compostela. He studied folk dances in several workshops and festivals all around Europe like the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, the Willie Clancy Summer School in Ireland, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society in Scotland, Andanças in Portugal ad Danzas Sin Fronteras in Spain. Since then he teaches dances from Europe in different courses in Galicia and several cultural associations all over Spain. Since 1992 teaches in the Asociación de Danzas del Mundo MONTEIRA, in Vigo. In 2002 he attends the Universidade de A Coruña (INEF) to undergo a post-graduate degree in Artistic Expression and Dance. He co-authored a book with Javier Jurado and Pilar Sampil titled “De roda en roda. Músicas e danzas do mundo” Ed. Galaxia, 2013.

Tony McManus was born in 1965 in Paisley, Scotland, in a family with strong Irish roots.

He started off as a violin player, which led him to pick up the mandolin and then, at the age of 10, the guitar.Ha had always been passionate about traditional music, which he listened at home and in the radio.

Finding his unique voice in an instrument as popular as the guitar was a big challenge, as was applying a language with several centuries of history to an instrument with no real history. That was truly remarkable.

McManus has been acclaimed all over the world as the most influential guitar player of celtic music. In Tony’s hands, the complex ornamentation associated with fiddles and flutes gets transferred with precision to the guitar whilst preserving the emotional impact of the music.

Comes from classical education, but has always been in touch with all sorts of musical identities: from traditional to experimental passing through all sorts of fusions.

Specialised in traditional aerophones, he’s collaborated with and been a part of multiple projects and artists (Lluís Llach, Mª del Mar Bonet, Eliseo Parra, Jorge Drexler, Silvia Pérez-Cruz, Marc Parrot, Xavi Maristany, Carles Santos, Tactequeté, Kepa Junquera, La Fura dels Baus, L’Auditori, Museu de la Música, Museu Etnològic de Barcelona, Coetus, Orquesta Mediterranea de Sao Paulo, Expo Shanghai 2010, TEDx…).

He’s been host and assessor in the musical education TV show “L’Atrapa Sons” in TV3.

Frequent collaborator in radio and TV shows, he develops most of his professional career in the field didactics and pedagogy, doing shows and workshops (both solo and with his trio Bufa&Sons) on how to make music using recycled materials and objects.

He is a member of FLADEM (Foro Latinoamericano para la Educación Musical).

Renowned musician, nationally and internationally recognized in the field of folk music and Celtic music with an artistic and educational career of more than two decades. His discographic productions with top artists (over 50 albums: Cristina Pato, Son DeSeu, Susana Seivane, Rodrigo Romaní, Lizgairo, Uxía, Riobó, Anxo Lorenzo among many others) and his regular presence on the best stages for this genre of music (Interceltique du Lórient Festival, Ortigueira Festival, Celtic Connections Glasgow, Piping Live, Vall D'aOsta, etc.) endorse the professional trajectory of one of the most prolific musical figures in the country. In the career of this multi-instrumentalist from Vigo, his participation in the origins of great Galician folk bands stands out: Lizgairo, Riobó, Beladona, Entretrastes, Castroverde, Arxe, obtaining with them critical acclaim (Entretrastes: second best Galician album 2008, Lizgairo: best album of the year award 2009, 2019 award for best group and best song...). In 2018, he decided to release his first solo album, focusing on his solo career ("O cantar dos Frautares" 2018) with his wooden flutes as protagonists.

Irish fiddle player, Zoë Conway, is a prodigious talent, equally at home in both traditional Irish and classical styles. Zoë has performed across the globe, both as a solo artist and also playing with international acts such as Riverdance, Damien Rice, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Lisa Hannigan, Nick Cave and Lou Reed among others. She is a holder of the much coveted All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Champion title, winning the prestigious competition in 2001. She was voted Best Traditional Female of the Year in Irish Music Magazine and she is also a featured musician on the current Leaving Certificate music syllabus in Ireland. Zoë is increasingly in demand as a tutor, regularly giving workshops and lectures on the merits of classical and traditional music on the violin. She has performed at festivals such as Glastonbury, L’Orient, Tonder and Womad and has also performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world including The National Concert Hall, Dublin; The Kremlin, Russia; The Kennedy Centre, Washington; The Broadway Gershwin Theatre, New York and Carnegie Hall, New York.

Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre have been described as “simply one of the best folk duos on the planet” (BBC), and audiences in Ireland and beyond keep coming back for more. The duo has recorded on major film soundtracks including Finding You (Red Sky Studio 2021), Riverdance The Animated Adventure (Universal 2021), and Zoë has recorded on award-winning Float Like A Butterfly (Samson Films 2018) and Artemis Fowl (Disney 2020) as soloist with a hand-picked symphony orchestra in George Martin’s world-renowned AIR studios in London. Zoë and John have collaborated over the past five years with award-winning Scots Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis and bouzouki player of international renown, Éamon Doorley. Together, they have released a couple of albums and are currently working on new material.