The Ottsville Traditional Arts Center presents a concert & workshop with
CARDINAL DIRECTION
Massachusetts-based band Cardinal Direction (formerly Firefly) brings beautiful melodies and relentless energy to dance floors and listening audiences across the Northeast. Cardinal Direction is Cedar Stanistreet on fiddle, Rebecca Bosworth-Clemens on clarinet, and Jonathan Cannon on guitar. Their repertoire is drawn from the Irish, New England, and Quebecois traditions, and seamlessly mixes oldies-but-goodies with modern compositions. They take particular pleasure in playing for contra dances, where their love of the drive and flow of the dance comes across clearly in their music.
Cedar Stanistreet, fiddle
Cedar is well versed in both traditional fiddle and classical violin. He studied violin performance at the Crane School of Music, and violin making at the North Bennet Street School. He has performed with a variety of folk musicians, and along with Cardinal Direction he currently plays for dances with Nor’easter and the Agnostic Fiddle Insurgency. In addition to playing for dances, Cedar is an avid contra dancer and is on the organizing committees for the Brattleboro Dawn Dance and the Swinging Star dance in Greenfield MA.
Rebecca Bosworth-Clemens, clarinet
Rebecca studied music performance and music education at the University of Maine, and now teaches K6 music in western MA. She started playing for dances with the band Upriver Reel while in college, and since then has performed with a variety of other musicians for contra and English dances throughout the northeast. Along with Cardinal Direction, she often plays for dances with David Kaynor and occasionally with the Great Bear Trio.
Jonathan Cannon, guitar
Jonathan recently received a PhD in mathematics at Boston University, and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at Brandeis in computational neuroscience. He organized the first annual Brown University Folk Festival, and currently sits on the board of the New England Folk Festival Association. In addition to performing regularly on both violin and guitar for contra dances, he is a devoted klezmer and Romanianviolinist. He occasionally performs on other instruments including mandolin, banjo, jaw harp, washboard tie, Irish drum, and saw.
Cedar Stanistreet, fiddle
Cedar is well versed in both traditional fiddle and classical violin. He studied violin performance at the Crane School of Music, and violin making at the North Bennet Street School. He has performed with a variety of folk musicians, and along with Cardinal Direction he currently plays for dances with Nor’easter and the Agnostic Fiddle Insurgency. In addition to playing for dances, Cedar is an avid contra dancer and is on the organizing committees for the Brattleboro Dawn Dance and the Swinging Star dance in Greenfield MA.
Rebecca Bosworth-Clemens, clarinet
Rebecca studied music performance and music education at the University of Maine, and now teaches K6 music in western MA. She started playing for dances with the band Upriver Reel while in college, and since then has performed with a variety of other musicians for contra and English dances throughout the northeast. Along with Cardinal Direction, she often plays for dances with David Kaynor and occasionally with the Great Bear Trio.
Jonathan Cannon, guitar
Jonathan recently received a PhD in mathematics at Boston University, and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at Brandeis in computational neuroscience. He organized the first annual Brown University Folk Festival, and currently sits on the board of the New England Folk Festival Association. In addition to performing regularly on both violin and guitar for contra dances, he is a devoted klezmer and Romanianviolinist. He occasionally performs on other instruments including mandolin, banjo, jaw harp, washboard tie, Irish drum, and saw.