Past Instructors

Isaac Alderson grew up in Chicago listening to his father play blues and jazz. At the age of 12, he discovered Irish traditional music and began obsessively practicing the uilleann pipes, learning from such players as Al Purcell, Patrick Cannady, Kieran O'Hare, and many others. At 14, he began to study the flute and whistle with Laurence Nugent from Co. Fermanagh. Many trips to Ireland over … [Read more...] about Isaac Alderson

Albert Alfonso has been playing bodhran since the early 1980’s - that’s right, since last century. At some point he was asked to participate in some local and regional workshops. Over the years, one thing and another has lead to workshops at The Royal Academy of Music in London, The Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, as well as workshops at many Irish and Celtic festivals and traditional … [Read more...] about Albert Alfonso

Russ Alvey has played guitar for more than 40 years. He has played rock to folk, ol' timey to Irish, all influencing his accompaniment style. He has played with the New Dallas String Band, Tinker's Dam, Malarky and currently plays with the TIMES Band & Session Players. In addition to his guitar abilities, he is recording and sound engineer specializing in acoustic music. … [Read more...] about Russ Alvey

Accomplished flute and whistle player and traditional singer Hanz Araki is the son of Irish and Japanese parents. His mother's family left Ireland in the early 20th century and traveled across the Atlantic; landing first in Canada and making a second long journey across North America before arriving in Seattle, Washington. Hanz's father is shakuhachi grandmaster Tatsuya Kodo Araki, the fifth … [Read more...] about Hanz Araki

Jeff Baker has studied and performed traditional music for 25 years, fueling a passion for seeking the "pure drop" in Irish dance and social music. His performance of the East Galway-West Clare-style repertoire has won him numerous American and International awards, including CCE All-Ireland recognition. Jeff appears regularly in performances and sessions around New England, the SouthWest and the … [Read more...] about Jeff Baker

Randal Bays is a self-taught US-born musician who's been playing Irish fiddle for more than thirty years; he's now widely recognized as a master of that complex, ancient art, with a special love of the traditional styles of Co. Clare and Co. Galway. He's "among the best Irish style fiddlers of his generation", according to Fiddler Magazine. Randal has toured and recorded with many of the … [Read more...] about Randal Bays

Séamus Begley is an accomplished accordionist, singer and storyteller. He started playing accordion at local dances at the tender age of 14. In 1972 he recorded his first album, An Ciarraíoch Mallaithe with his sister Máire. They made a second album, Planxtaí Bhaile na bPoc for Gael Linn in 1989, with Séamus on accordion, Máire on piano and piano-accordion and both of them singing and … [Read more...] about Séamus Begley

Shay Black is an avid songcatcher, musician and singer and is known for his extensive knowledge of songs and music from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he moved in 1994 to Berkeley, CA from Liverpool, where he had lived for the previous twenty years. While in Liverpool, he toured and recorded with Irish band Garva, the illustrious Stan Hugill and the fabled sea … [Read more...] about Shay Black