Details
Great tunes from Daphne, Matt, and Tom! With fun dances taught and called by Nancy Spero.
Introduction to contra at 7:00, and the dance starts at 7:30.
Caller
Nancy Spero
Nancy Spero lives in Ithaca NY. She has been calling contra dances, square dances, and community/family dances in the Northeast since 1988. Her dances provide high energy fun for participants of all ages, whether they are newcomers or seasoned dancers. She will have you movin’ and groovin’ to the music in no time!
Bands
Daphne Pickens
Daphne Pickens (fiddle)
Fiddler Extraordinare! Daphne has played for Rochester contras since high school, when she and Casey Murray played for us, and also with Ginger Majority. Daphne has her BA from the Oberlin Conservatory and her master’s from Eastman. Daphne now teaches music in the Penfield Schools and the Kanack School of Musical Artistry.
With strong roots in folk and classical styles, she currently performs with The Crooked North and Birch Trio. She has released one folk 2013 album to date with her best friend and bandmate, Casey Murray, titled To Zamir. In addition to her roles as a performer and teacher, Daphne is also an avid composer, arranger, and visual artist. In 2016, Daphne collaborated with the Great Bear Trio, composing and recording string parts for their album, Magic Fantasy Dream Dance. Her drawings are featured in Basslines & Fantasies by Alice Kanack.
In her free time, Daphne enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family, playing board games, knitting, attending contra and blues dances, and creating art out of broken, unusable musical instruments.
Matt Sloboda
Matt Sloboda (Fiddle, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Accordion)
Raised in the tradition, Matt has played with many bands, including Lake Effect and Glenrose. Matt brings a great lift to his style that swings.
Tom Santarsiero
Tom Santarsiero (Guitar, Mandolin, etc.)
One of our favorite pickers, Tom is equally at home with the guitar, mandolin, banjo and other fine instruments. We’ve enjoyed his music in many ways, including with The Groovemongers and Riverbend.