We are absolutely blessed with such wonderful students! Their patience and persistence coupled with their flexibility to roll with requirements here at the studio, make it so much more pleasurable to work with them than one could imagine!
2022 Student Roster
Coming back for another year is Keith Higginson. Keith joined the original mandolin group class in 2014. At the time, he was living in Leominster, MA, so the drive was about 45 minutes each way. Now, 8 years later, he relishes the fact that lessons are online and there's no driving involved! Principal mandolinist with the Granby contingent of Mandolin New England, Keith is working his way through the JS Bach (violin) Partitas and Sonatas.
Another long-timer, Will Melton, is no longer taking mandola lessons, but retains his top spot in Mandolin New England as our historian and mandola-ist (sp?). Will still lives in South Hadley, but since his retirement from UMass, has had a lot of exciting adventures all over the world.
Linda N. has been taking violin lessons since 2010. First in South Hadley, Linda followed the studio as it moved to West State St, Center Church, Open Square and finally Granby. Linda prefers to take in person lessons, so she hasn't been able to attend anything since the pandemic in 2020, with one brief appearance in the summer of 2021. Here's hoping to restart IN person lessons in 2022! Linda is now studying classical violin, specifically Bach.
Nancy K. is on her 7th year at the studio. Also a member of Mandolin New England, she has studied tenor mandola, alto mandola and mandolin. Nancy is currently working her way through JS Bach's (violin) partitas and sonatas.
Wesley Autio, mandolin, has been taking lessons in person at the studio since 2010. Wes is a founding member of the Celtic Group Class (Celtic Calamity), but since March of 2020, he has decided to go on a break until the Covid19 situation has come to some resolution. Wes's son Zac also took lessons on mandolin and fiddle for a year while the studio was in South Hadley.
April Nicotera takes fiddle lessons in person out of the studio in Granby when she can, but is super flexible and willing to take remote lessons if necessary. April has worked her way through the first 2 Waltz Books by Bill Mathieson, many tunes from the Fiddler's Fake Book by David Brody, and the original 6 sets of tunes from the Celtic Group Class. Enthusiastic and vivacious, April also plays bass drum in a local fife and drum corps.
David Ross is currently in his third year of the mandolin. He was given a beautiful A-style mandolin for Christmas one year and has been with the studio since. Starting out in-person, David was amenable to going remote during the brunt of the pandemic, returning to in-person lessons over the summer of 2021. Because of the onslaught of the Delta and Omnicron variants, David feels happy to return to remote learning until further notice. David has worked on Celtic and Bluegrass mandolin for the first two years, and is now working his way through JS Bach (violin) partitas and sonatas.
Dallas Ducar has been working with us for a couple years. Starting originally with her partner and kids on guitars and mandolins, schedules and other conflicts reduced them to one lesson a week instead. Dallas is originally from Arizona. She's an RN with Mass General Hospital, clearheaded and a joy to work with!
Sharon E. is one of the more recent members of the studio. She joined us in 2021, and is taking bi-monthly fiddle lessons remotely from her home near Marblehead, MA (north of Boston). Sharon is working through the Fiddler's Fake Book by David Brody and is interested in Celtic music.
Walter Poxton is our newest member of the studio. He started mandocello lessons in January 2022. He's a long-time classical cello player, studying the greats and playing in orchestras and chamber ensembles for years before taking a break with career and family. It was logical for him to pick up the mandocello because fingering it is very similar to the violincello. Walter wants to learn some blues and folk styles.
Over the December break, the studio was hired for 3 fiddle lessons for a gentleman colloquially named "Buddy" in Northfield, MA. There's no expiration date on those lessons. We're looking forward to working with him when he's ready to start.
Missing due to the Pandemic:
- Karen Adamski, mandolin
- Karen P., fiddle
- Mike R., mandolin
- Amy G., fiddle
- Louisa N., fiddle
