James Kelly - fiddle

James is one of the finest fiddlers playing traditional Irish music today, with a virtuosic yet perfectly traditional style all his own. Growing up in Dublin in one of Ireland's best known musical families, he started performing as a teenager and later emigrated to the U.S. James was a member of such famous bands as Planxty and Patrick Street, and has a number of solo recordings, including such classics as "Is It Yourself", "Capel Street" and more.

James' website

Antóin MacGabhann - fiddle

Cavan native Antóin MacGabhann is one of Ireland's most revered fiddlers and a highly regarded teacher, who has influenced a generation of musicians in Ireland. He performs regularly at festivals in Ireland, often along with members of his very musical family. This is a rare opportunity to study with Antóin outside of Ireland.

Read more about Antóin

Marcus Hernon - flute

Marcus Hernon was born and raised in Roisín na Mainíach in Carna, the very heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht. As Marcus puts it, he plays "by ear and by instinct", with a strong commitment to traditional style, as he heard it himself from his elders. One of Ireland's finest flute players, Marcus has won seven All-Ireland championships. He's also an excellent maker of Irish style wooden flutes.

Read more aboutMarcus

Mary Bergin - tinwhistle

‘Just about the best Tin Whistle player this century’ is how the Irish Times referred to Mary in a recent interview. Her 1979 album ‘Feadóga Stáin’ is without doubt one of the classic recordings of Irish traditional music, and Mary has continued to play with the same passion and brilliance down through the years. She's a very experienced teacher and we're delighted to have Mary at Friday Harbor this year.

Read more about Mary

Johnny Og Connolly - button accordion

From one of Conamara's great musical families, Johnny is a master of the traditional style of playing on the two-row accordion, and won the All-Ireland accordion prize at the age of 12. In recent years Johnny has performed and recorded with many great musicians including Charlie Lennon, Brian McGrath, etc. His playing is lively and expressive and represents the best of the Irish accordion tradition. In Irish, "Og" means "young", and in this case it distinguishes Johnny from his father, Johnny Connolly, a famous accordion player in his own right.

Florence Fahy - concertina (anglo)

Florence is a native of north Co. Clare's Newquay, just up the road from Belharbour, home to famed concertina player Chris Droney and the center of an unusually rich tradition of concertina playing in Ireland. As musician and author (and former Friday Harbor instructor) Fintan Vallely points out, Florence is among those gifted young players who are helping to sustain the older dialects of Clare music. She's taught concertina extensively at home in Ireland and in the U.S.

Davey Mathias - guitar accompaniment

Davey comes from a musical family in South Carolina, where he teaches guitar and banjo. He tours regularly with Randal Bays and has appeared at many festivals and concerts around the Southeast with the group Corner House. Davey plays in DADGAD tuning and is an excellent teacher whose classes will focus on key elements of Irish accompaniment including rhythm, right-hand technique, chord choices, etc.

Angelina Carberry - tenor banjo

Angelina was born in Manchester into a County Longford musical family steeped in traditional music. Starting on the tin whistle she later moved on onto the banjo following in the footsteps of her father Peter and Grandfather Kevin Carberry. Though her style echoes that of her Grandfather, Kevin, who was a well known musician at Longford ceilis and house dances, Angelina has developed a light handed, sparkling touch on the banjo, a highly personal style that is unmistakably her own.

Eileen Sullivan - Intro to Irish Fiddle

Eileen has been playing traditional Irish fiddle for over ten years and has performed throughout the Southwest. She's an excellent teacher and often teaches workshops and private lessons, where she combines her love of traditional music and her music education background (Wisconsin Conservatory of Music) to give students a firm technical foundation for learning the Irish fiddle.