ABOUT US
Sarah Hotchkiss is a Vermont fiddler and banjo player who has been teaching in Northern Vermont for over two decades. Much of this time she spent teaching strings in private and public schools such as Monteverdi Music School, Northfield Public School, Lake Champlain Waldorf School, and directing the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra as well as leading numerous camps, workshops, and events for fiddlers and folk musicians throughout the state. She now devotes herself full time to her Woodbury Strings Studio and is a regular on the faculty at Northeast Heritage Music Camp. Sarah has special training working with young children and is one of the few teachers in the area able to teach fiddle to pre-school age children. She is equally known for her ability to bring out the musicianship in beginning adults who are starting with no prior musical experience of any kind. Her gentle and patient approach has made her an ideal instructor for beginning and intermediate students. She believes in fostering the musical individuality of each of her students, whatever their goals may be.
John Mowad brings more than 53 years of experience to his teaching. Over the years John has played jazz, blues, rock and country guitar. John describes his fiddle style as “Yankee Independent:” a lively blend of Old Time, French Canadian, New England, and Celtic and is one of Vermont’s top fiddlers in the American Old Time style and repertoire. John is also a composer and has made many arrangements for the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, for whom he was assistant director and backup leader from 2003 - 2013. John approaches his teaching with kindness and patience and is especially known for his ability to bring out the individual style of his students. For advanced classical string players, he is an ideal teacher to go to in order to “crossover” and get a handle on the stylistic uniqueness of fiddling as well as a great source of general information about folk music in North America and Europe.