Tag: music

Anne Bingham Goess enjoys wearing many hats (and wreaths!). Trained as a classical violinist, she immersed herself in choral singing and light opera for many years, and then fell in love with Irish fiddle in the 90s. These days she plays regularly for Irish, English Country and Contra dancing in the Bay Area, and wields the violin and viola with the band Erica & Friends. She has also performed since 2010 with the Christmas/Midwinter Revels, and served as music director for the 2022 Butterfly Lovers of Gold Mountain production. Last summer she reprised her role of Manuelita (after 30 years) in Carmen with Festival Opera (and has scars on the knees to show for it!)

Ben Saylor got his start in traditional dance music in 2006 when he began playing bass with the band Jubilee for contra dances and camps in and around Anchorage, Alaska. This exposure to Irish traditional music inspired him to pick up the mandolin, tenor banjo, and Irish flute, his main instrument ever since. He performed with Irish group Crooked Road before moving to the Bay Area in 2014, where he has frequented sessions and played with the Golden Gate Ceili band.

Craig Johnson has been to almost every Family Week, and has also played piano and accordion for dancers since 1982. He plays for community and Celtic dance at SF’s Dickens Fair, performs with the Dogwatch Nautical Band, and is a regular musician for San Francisco’s Cotswold and longsword teams, Goat Hill and Ring of Cold Steel.

David James has spent time in western swing bands, symphony orchestras, pop/rock bands, and ECD/contra dance bands. He’s the musician for Wild Wood Morris (Border) and Rising Phoenix Morris (Cotswold), and a member of the ECD/contra dance band Whirled Peas. David has spent the last 20+ years as a kindergarten through 6th grade classroom music teacher in southern California public schools.

Jeffrey Spero has been playing piano and singing since he was five years old. At a young age he discovered an affinity for popular music and developed his style emulating musicians like James Taylor, Elton John, and Bruce Hornsby. In his 30s, he brought his rhythmic style to American and Celtic folk and dance music and now travels around the country playing dances, concerts, and festivals with bands such as Syncopaths and Rhythm Raptors. In addition to editing and music, Jeffrey is a contradance caller and choreographer whose dances have been enjoyed all across this country and overseas.

M’Gilvry Allen is a musician and producer from Sebastopol, California. He tours as a fiddle player and utility hitter in several indie projects, while his solo music blends folk instruments, modern electronic production, and multilayered vocal harmonies into a kaleidoscope of familiar sounds. In 2019, M’Gilvry and some friends built an earth plaster music studio in a remote part of Oregon, where he produced his debut album, In My Garden. M’Gilvry’s work can be found at his website, mgilvryallen.com, on patreon at patreon.com/mgilvryallen, and on all major platforms as @mgilvryallen.

Talitha Amadea Aho is looking forward to her first time at BACDS camp! She grew up in a contra dancing and folk singing family and is excited to pass that down to the next generation. She sings sea chanteys and ballads as well as American gospel songs. Recent musical endeavors include “Months Advance,” a sea chantey band that performed at the SF sea music festival in years past, playing bass for Berkeley Morris, and a bluegrassy church band. 

David Brown (guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle) is a versatile instrumentalist, playing banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. He’s been at the heart of the Bay Area old-time music community for over 30 years, and also has a deep love for Quebecois, English country dance (Playford Clawhammer, anyone?), string ragtime, and many other types of music. David is in the band “Uncle Dave” with Kathrine Gardner and Dave Courchaine.

Nicolas Babineau accompanied the French Canadian dancing in 2023.

Susan Worland is looking forward to her fifth time in 2022 at the delightful BACDS summer camp. She will be coaching fiddling for kids of all ages, giving beginning lessons to anyone considering starting to play the violin, playing for the Scottish dance class, and just generally enjoying the company of other dancers and musicians. In her “real” life Susan teaches violin at Starland Music in Alameda and is one third of the Scottish dance group Red Thistle Music, along with her husband Michael Bentley (bodhran) and pianist Lyle Ramshaw. A versatile musician, she also plays in the Santa Cruz Symphony and the Bulgarian band Meraklii.