HEATHER MARTIN BIXLER is a classical violinist and educator whose playing has been described as “emotionally riveting” and “astonishingly musical and sweet.” She is a graduate of Indiana University, The Juilliard School, and the University of Memphis where she received a doctorate degree in violin performance. As a recording artist, Bixler was a featured soloist on the GRAMMY nominated recording, Forty Acres and a Burro. Bixler held first violin positions in the Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona and Orquesta Sinfonica de Galícia, and concertmaster positions with South Dakota Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de la Minería, and Garden State Philharmonic. She worked as substitute violinist with orchestras including The New York Philharmonic and The New York City Ballet. Pursuing her interest in studying the effect that music has on the brain, Bixler completed Bachelor of Arts degree in neuroscience at Columbia University in 2021 where she was awarded the Dean Peter J. Awn Scholarship, the Joey O'Loughlin Academic Scholarship, and upon graduation, the Jennifer A. Pack Prize for excellence in the study of neuroscience and behavior as the best student overall in the School of General Studies. After graduation she worked as a research assistant in a neuroscience lab at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, recently completing a two-year, ground-breaking study on neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, she lives in New York, performing and teaching violin.
https://www.heathermartinbixler.com/
https://www.heathermartinbixler.com/contact-horizon
ANNA BOSNICK is a fiddler originally from Washington State now living and performing in New Jersey and the surrounding states. A life long player or Irish, Scottish, Québécois and any traditional genre she can get her hands on, she now plays for sessions, contradances, and other events. Both her albums of original and traditional music, “The Ring” and “Fable”, are out on streaming services.
MATTHEW CHRISTIAN is a fiddle player based in Brooklyn. Originally from Vermont, Matthew has found inspiration and a musical home in the long tradition of Irish traditional music in New York City. He runs several local sessions and is also a dedicated teacher of music.
https://matthewchristianmusic.com/
m.andrews.christian@gmail.com
LISA GUTKIN is a Grammy-winning violinist, singer/songwriter, and composer – a fearless musical storyteller who weaves American and global traditions into an unforgettable experience. Lisa has an instantly relatable style, taking audiences with her wherever she goes.
Lisa is best known as violinist and vocalist for the ground-breaking Jewish Roots band, The Klezmatics, with whom she won the Grammy; and as fiddler for the “Downtown” Celtic band Whirligig. She’s also known for scoring, performing, and music directing the two-time Tony award-winning Broadway play, Indecent. She was in the house band for the Fast Folk Musical Magazine; had an on-screen cameo and compositions featured in Sex and the City; and performed in Sting’s Broadway musical The Last Ship. Gonna Get Through This World - with music by Lisa and words by Woody Guthrie - “is a piece of genius.” - Pete Seeger
Lisa Gutkin On Stage, Lisa’s solo concert, is a whimsical wander through her musical styles, intertwining traditional music sounds with improvisations and humorous touring stories. It features Lisa on fiddle, tenor guitar, voice, and piano, and is often expanded to duo or trio, and occasionally to full band. Her concerts are not just performances, but musical journeys where audiences laugh, cry, and travel through cultures and traditions with her. It’s an evening where boundaries between performer and listener dissolve — leaving you uplifted, inspired, and connected.
“Great player, great singer, great musician, great person. Don’t miss her.” - Tom Chapin
https://www.lisagutkin.com/
https://www.lisagutkin.com/contact
LIZ HANLEY is a Brooklyn based singer and fiddle player across many genres.
Growing up in Boston, Hanley learned traditional fiddle tunes from family and friends. She attended the New England Conservatory Preparatory school where she studied with Blanka Bednarz and Eric Rosenblith. Hanley graduated from NYU with a BM in violin performance. There she studied with NYC Ballet concertmaster Arturo Delmoni and folk musician/ethnomusicologist Dr. Mick Moloney. She has toured globally with Mick Moloney and the Green Fields of America, as well as prog folk rock ensemble Frogbelly and Symphony chamber rock band Emanuel and the Fear and folk duo The Murphy Beds.
Hanley spent many years living between Brooklyn, NY and Sheffield, England, immersed in the both city’s rich folk music scenes and collecting songs and tunes. Today she can be found mostly playing around NYC in the Irish traditional seisiún scene.
Hanley’s debut album “The Ecstasy of St Cecilia” was hailed “a gentle work of beauty” by FolkWorld. Hanley’s sophomore album “Paint This Life” was released in 2024. Both records feature long time collaborators and friends Jefferson Hamer and Eamon O’Leary of the Murphy Beds.
WINIFRED HORAN is a legendary Irish-American fiddler, composer, champion dancer, celebrated recording artist, and renowned instructor. After extensive classical training, she played with the all-female Celtic music ensemble Cherish the Ladies before co-founding the award winning group Solas, which will be celebrating their momentous 30th year anniversary in 2025.
Horan was born and raised in New York City to Irish parents and studied piano (taught by her father, a carpenter and musician) and Irish fiddle playing at a young age. As a teenager in NY she won a full scholarship from General Mills to attend the Mannes College of Music Preparatory School for 5 years. She attended and graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied classical violin, with renowned Japanese violinist Masuko Ushioda and the Aspen Music School. She played with multiple orchestras, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, and string quartets, before joining the all-female Celtic music ensemble Cherish the Ladies in 1990.
Horan was a member of and toured and recorded with The Sharon Shannon Band, and also performed with Irish singer-songwriter Pierce Turner. She is also a nine-time champion National Irish step dancer and an All-Ireland fiddle champion.
To date, Winifred has released three award-winning solo records, and a multitude of acclaimed albums with her various projects. One of Horan's compositions was featured during the third season of the American reality television competitive dance series So You Think You Can Dance. In 2022, she co-founded the band Reverie Road, which has toured extensively over the last two years and received the "Debut Album of the Year" title by Ireland Tonight in 2024.
Horan is also an in-demand fiddle instructor and teaches fiddle to all ages and levels throughout the country from her private studio and at camps nationwide, encouraging the next generation of Irish fiddlers and leading students to qualify to compete at the All-Ireland fleadh. Contact:
https://www.winifred-horan.com/contact
https://www.winifred-horan.com/
PATRICK MANGAN is a Brooklyn-based fiddler who made his Broadway debut at age 16 with “Riverdance on Broadway” in 2001 and has since performed with the Grammy award winning Irish dance production and other luminaries of Celtic music in over 30 countries on every continent.
Recent performance highlights have included the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Moya Brennan of Clannad, Lincoln Center with “Riverdance” composer Bill Whelan, and frequent appearances on Broadway and on tour with the hit show “Come From Away.” Pat is also a regular featured guest at New York’s most renowned traditional Irish music session spots such as The 11th Street Bar and The Dead Rabbit.
Growing up in New York, Pat was mentored by some of the most revered fiddlers in the tradition including Brian Conway, Tony DeMarco, Andy McGann, and Paddy Reynolds, amidst a vibrant Irish music community. In addition to his passion for live performance, Pat is a fiddle teacher, recording artist, and award-winning composer.
https://patrickmangan.com/
https://patrickmangan.com/#contact
CHRISTY McNAMARA plays concertina & button accordion, and both his traditional and original tunes are some of the most beautiful and haunting ever to come out of East Clare. He was prominently featured in the award-winning documentary film “The Job of Songs” (2023), and his recordings include “The House I Was Reared In” (2007), and the forthcoming “The Year of the Blizzard” (coming soon on CD/Vinyl/Bandcamp) which features all original tunes and the stories behind them. He comes from a long line of musicians, including his father Joe who played with the Tulla Céílí Band, as did his uncles Paddy and PJoe Hayes. His book “The Living Note” received wide acclaim and features his photographs which have exhibited & received awards all over the world.
DON MEADE grew up in southern California, where he was introduced to Irish folk music by recordings of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. After moving to New York City in 1976, he immersed himself in the area's Irish traditional musical life. Don plays several instruments, including the tenor banjo and fiddle. He won an All-Ireland championship on the mouth organ in 1987. Since 1986, Don has produced traditional music concerts at the Eagle Tavern, the Blarney Star, Glucksman Ireland House at New York University and, currently, at the New York Irish Center. He was part of the team that launched the Catskills Irish Week in 1995, is an alumnus of the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra and leads a long-running Monday night session at the Landmark Tavern. He is a former music columnist for the Irish Voice and was the main writer for "From the Bridge," an online exhibition on traditional music in New York hosted by the Irish Traditional Music Archive.
DANIEL NEELY is a musician and ethnomusicologist (Ph.D, New York University 2008). He's written the weekly column about traditional music for New York's Irish Echo newspaper since 2012 and has been a member of Ward Irish Music Archive's advisory board since 2021. From 2008-2023, he was the Public Relations Officer for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann and from 2012-2016 he was the artistic director of the Augusta Irish Week in Elkins, West Virginia. In addition, he led the popular traditional music session at Lillie’s Bar and Restaurant in Manhattan from 2009-2017, played tenor banjo with the champion New York Céilí Band in 2016-2017, and from 2005–2013 he led the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra, a New York-based group that was modeled on the Irish-American dance bands of the 1920s and 1930s. He learned to play the tenor banjo from Mick Moloney and the fiddle from Brian Conway. Dan gives lectures and multimedia performances about Irish music history, and has shared his work at institutions including Boston College, Holy Cross, Technical University Dublin, Na Píobairí Uilleann, the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Irish American Heritage Museum, and the Ward Irish Music Archives.
NIALL O'LEARY is a former All-Ireland and World Champion dancer from Dublin, Ireland. The Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance has been community-building and training champions since 1995, and currently has multiple locations in New York City. We also offer video and Zoom classes in Irish dance and music worldwide. He was a member of Mick Moloney's Green Fields of America ensemble for over 20 years. He is the correct president of the Dublin Society of NY. Additionally, O’Leary practices as an architect He really enjoys leading the Sláinte Session, with his accordion, spoons, a dance, and an occasional song!
JERRY O’SULLIVAN has been widely hailed as America's premier uilleann piper. His reputation for technical and melodic mastery of this Irish bagpipe known for its subtlety and expression is unsurpassed in the United States. His >90 albums, film soundtracks & worldwide performances have earned accolades such as this from The Boston Globe: “The breathtaking intricacy ofO'Sullivan's was delivered with such confident abandon that it brought the crowd to its feet.”
https://sites.google.com/view/jerryosullivan/home
jerry@jerryosullivan.com
CATE SANDSTROM is a Traditional Irish Fiddler based in New York. She has a versatility that has enabled her to move seamlessly among several genres, which has guided her to her love of traditional Irish music.
She fell in love with traditional music in Canada, and then spent seven weeks in Ireland in 2012 where she began playing Irish music. Throughout college, Cate studied classical and Irish music.
Cate currently plays with the McLean Avenue Band and teaches private lessons and group workshops. She has taught at internationally recognized camps and for Tune Supply, has appeared on screen in "Life & Beth" and "Malevolence 3," has appeared on Brian Conway's latest album Wallace Avenue, and has performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
DAVID SIDMAN has been guitar-picking melodies on Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass tunes for over 40 years, performing at festivals and venues such as NEFFA, Theatre80, the Eagle Tavern, Swift’s, Slainte, Passim, etc., and with artists such as Kenny Kosek, Harry Bolick, Christy McNamara, Jimmy Coen and many others. He also plays for the sword-dance team Half Moon Sword, and is a fixture on the NY contra dance scene with David Sidman’s Elastic Band, often featuring his son Jonah on fiddle. As a Jazz player, he has worked with the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra, Leroy Jenkins, Rahn Burton, Ken McIntyre and many others, and his own his band Speak of the Sun has issued several commercial recordings of original music and performed internationally at major festivals and clubs such as the Kool Jazz Festival and The Blue Note.
Contact: dsidman78@gmail.com
YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@davidsidman566/videos
CAITLIN WARBELOW hails from a family of entrepreneurs and bush pilots in Alaska and most recently served as the violinist/fiddler in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated musical, Come From Away. She is on the faculty at Manhattan’s Irish Arts Center, and is the artistic coordinator for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival’s Celtic program. Caitlin is an instructor at the Swannanoa Gathering and the Far North Fiddle Festival, and maintains a large private teaching studio in Manhattan. When not on Broadway, Caitlin performs and tours as a solo artist, with numerous ensembles, and as a symphony soloist. She founded the new trad ensemble Warbelow Range with Kyle Sanna, Alan Murray, and Dan Lowery and co-produced their first self-titled album. Her live album of Irish trad in Manhattan pubs, Manhattan Island Sessions, was nominated for an Independent Music Award. An All-Ireland winner and New England Fiddle Champion who holds degrees from Columbia University (M.S., Urban Planning) and Boston University (B.A., Anthropology and B.Mus., Violin Performance), Caitlin’s versatility and expertise lies not only in music, but also entrepreneurship, research, data analysis, writing, community organizing, and activism. Caitlin is the co-founder of Tune Supply.