Woods Hole Trad Stroll 2022

L’Esperance Mandolin Ensemble features musicians from Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut of different backgrounds and ages who come together for the joy of making music. Led by conductor Josh Bell, they play music ranging from classical to contemporary, from Celtic to Klezmer, from rock standards to Baroque.

Ganivelle plays lively traditional French dance music from Brittany, Haute Savoie, and the Auvergne, on fiddle, mandolin, crumhorn, cornamuse, recorders, bagpipe, hurdy gurdy, accordion, and concertina. Their name, Ganivelle, is taken from one of their favorite tunes. A ganivelle is a traditional wooden fence, used to keep the sand of the coastal dunes from shifting. It is the same kind of fence seen on beaches all around Cape Cod.

The Falmouth Fiddlers play bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, country, and folk music on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, cello, string bass, banjo, Irish whistle, and more. They love to play music with others and to promote acoustic music. All are welcome to join.

The Solstice Singers offer Renaissance style merry making in song, catches, madrigals, and verse. They celebrate the winter solstice annually with a performance in Woods Hole Community Hall. The Solstice Singers are directed by Lore Loftfield DeBower.

The Rum-Soaked Crooks are Tom Goux, Jacek Sulanowski, and Dan Lanier. They offer a pungent mix of sailors’ chanteys, ballads, and ditties.  Their repertoire spans three centuries of seafaring songs and poetry, featuring an exceptional sampling of Cape and Islands sea songs and poetry. They have performed across the country and in Europe and have recorded on the Smithsonian-Folkways and Whaling City Sound labels.

Trained as a classical violinist, Heather Swanson loves to play folk and traditional Celtic music. She teaches music and performs in the Cape Violin and Cello Duo with her daughter. Her CD, “Beside Quiet Waters,” is a collection of traditional and contemporary Celtic tunes. She is joined by Don Gauland on bodhran and rhythm bones.

Cat’s Melodeon is an Irish multi-instrumental group led by Bill Black, who was the one who suggested, back in 2014, that ArtsFalmouth host a traditional music event. He has performed at every Trad Stroll since then. Cat’s Melodeon specializes in authentic Irish traditional music–the “pure drop” as it’s known in Ireland and includes guitars, pipes, banjo, flute, and fiddles.

Morgan Rattler offers music and song from the Golden Age of Piracy—the 17^th through the 20^th century—traditional American, Irish, Scottish, English, and French seafaring music. The group includes Jacek Sulanowski on vocals and bodhrán, Barbara Blair on fiddle and whistles, and Ron Geering on hurdy-gurdy, concertina, and melodeon.

Led by their teacher, Nikki Engstrom, the Sonnay Fiddlers, ages 5 and up, perform a large repertoire of Celtic tunes. Sonnay stands for Students of Nikki, Not All Young, a nod to the adults in the group. Engstrom, a member of the Celtic duo Stanley and Grimm, has performed, competed, and taught throughout New England and Canada.