2010 fiddle festival program - California State Old Time Fiddlers

District 8 is proud to present this free event.
Any donations will be greatly appreciated!
Guest MC Dennis Witcher,
the founder of The Witcher
Brothers Bluegrass group, is not
only an award winning mandolin player, he also sings lead and
harmony vocals. His natural
soulful baritone voice is a treat
to hear whether on traditional
bluegrass, swing or his own
heartfelt original songs. Dennis
also produces and directs a local
bluegrass cable TV show in Los
Angeles and is considered to be
one of the driving forces in bluegrass in Southern California.
Ben Chapman, Pres.
CSOTFA Dist. 8
Hello, and a big welcome to
District 8 California State Old
Time Fiddlers Association
Fiddle Festival Reunion. We
are here today in this beautiful
park to present a fun filled day
of music entirely for your enjoyment. So, sit back & relax
or wander around, check out
the vendors, and take in all the
entertainment.
Most important-JUST HAVE FUN!!
Charl Ann Gastineau
I began teaching in the Preparatory Music Dept. at USC in 1968 and taught
there until 1980. It was at that time that
I became acquainted with the Suzuki
Method & have used it ever since. When
my husband & I moved to Ventura
County, I began teaching at home and
also at the new Children’s Music Dept.
at Ventura College. I was a member of
the Ventura County Symphony for a
number of years and also played with
Phil Salazar in a bluegrass band. I became a member of CSOTFA in 1982
and added fiddle & mandolin to my
teaching curriculum. Because of our Old
Time Fiddlers organization, fiddling has
been a very important part of my music
program for over 29 years.
MC Saarika Sharma,
currently living in New
York City
Fiddle Festival Co-Chairs
Wayne Agnew, CSOTFA State
President & Cathy Agnew State
Chairman of the Board. District
8 would like to thank all the
participants, volunteers, teachers, parents and bands for their
contributions to this festival!
We appreciate each and every
one of you!
Saarika Sharma started learning
violin from Charl Ann
Gastineau at the age of 5, and
her younger brother Sameer
Sharma started learning at the
age of 3. They were lucky to
have a wonderful teacher who
lived right down the street and
exposed them to multiple instruments and multiple styles
from classical to bluegrass and
more. Though Saarika is now a
physician and Sameer is an engineer, they continue to enjoy
music wherever they go.
Christine Plasencia
is a violinist from
Grand Rapids, MI
and has a B.A.A. in
violin performance
from Central Michigan University. She
has performed on
violin in various orchestras including the
Saginaw Symphony in Saginaw, MI, the
Memphis Symphony in Memphis, TN and
the Springfield Symphony in Springfield,
IL. She has taught private violin, viola,
cello and piano lessons for the past ten
years at Musicians Boulevard in Thousand
Oaks, CA. She is the Orchestra Director at
St. John’s Lutheran School and Church in
Oxnard, CA. She is the Violin Instructor at
Adam Giacopuzzi
Adam's musical career
began at the age of six
with violin lessons. After several years of classical study, he found an
interest in fiddle style
music, especially Texas
swing. Along with his dad backing him
on guitar, Adam joined the fiddle contest circuit, traveling across the state
and sometimes into other states to enter
the contests. By the age age of 18, he
was the 4 Time Advanced Fiddle
Champion at the Topanga Banjo and
Fiddle Contest, 4 Time Adult Fiddle
Champion at the District 8 Fiddle Contest in Oak View, Grand Champion at
the Death Valley Fiddle Contest, and
recently, Grand Champion and Open
Division winner at the Tehachapi District 3 contest.
Adam has been teaching music for over
12 years, with over 22 years of musical
experience, providing instruction for
guitar, violin, piano and bass. He studied violin for 12 years with Charl Ann
Gastineau
Adam currently teaches
over 30 private students from his home
studio in Camarillo, ranging in age
from 5 to adult. Adam graduated from
California State University Northridge
with a Bachelor of Music degree in
Media and Film Composition.
Morgan Gillaspy
Morgan Gillaspy earned a BA
from Westmont College in '07,
where she studied Music and Art.
She studied the violin under Emily Sommerman and Philip Fiscor
while she sat Concert Master for
the Westmont Chamber Orchestra. Morgan grew up in a very
musical family where she learned
to play several instruments such
as piano, guitar, drums, violin,
and mandolin. Morgan discovered her joy for fiddling at The
Old Time Fiddler's District 8
competitions where she competed
with her sister Tara while they
studied under Charl Ann
Gastineau. Morgan has taken lesson's with Charl Ann for 15 years,
and now is a fiddle and mandolin
instructor herself.
Tara Gillaspy
Tara Gillaspy is a recent 2010 graduate from Westmont College in
Santa Barbara graduating with a BA
in Music. Born and raised in Camarillo, Tara studied violin under
Charl Ann Gastineau for fourteen
years. She began playing the violin
when she was six years old and has
continued since then. Whether it be
performing a Mozart violin concerto or receiving first place at the
Topanga Banjo Fiddle contest, Tara
has always loved the violin. Her
love for the violin stirred her to
begin teaching violin in 2005. She
has continued teaching throughout
college and plans to continue teaching in Ventura County.
Taradactyls
Through toil and hardship a close-knit band
called Taradactyls has trudged on. Experiencing numerous line-up changes over the years
due to many unexplainable and only-Godknows-why type incidents, Taradactyls has
continued to express their youthful, original,
and organic music to people from all walks
of life. Even after a snow boarding accident
left their original drummer paralyzed from the
waist down in February of 2009, the friends
known as Taradactyls have brought their faith
and efforts together to work even harder at
creating new and artistic music. Inspired by
all sorts of genres, their music incorporates a
folk type of sound with country, rock, and
alternative blends. The goal of Taradactyls is,
has, and always will be: to allow people to
experience something new, refreshing, different, and most of all, uplifting.
Phil Salazar, Lauren Donahue, Gene Rubin
This threesome enjoy playing together whether
anyone is listening or not! Playing a mix of
bluegrass and western swing, Lauren joins with
Gene and local fiddle phenomenon Phil in a
sort of musical instrument switch and swap.
Mariachi Camarillo
Mariachi Camarillo was established in the year 1995,
under the management of Marie Rivera. They have been
since then, part of the mariachi movement in Ventura
County. The group has performed all over the state of
California. The group has performed all over the state of
California and has even traveled to the state of Washington to perform in a mariachi festival.
Mariachi Camarillo has been featured on TV and radio on
numerous occasions. The group has played for many
private parties, fundraisers, fairs, fiesta, school’s and
church events. The group is available for any type of
occasion. The group is currently in the process of producing their very first CD, which will be available soon. See
their website www.mariachicamarillo.com
Ashley Broder is an in demand mandolinist, violinist
and cellist living in Ventura
County, CA. Beginning her
musical studies at a young
age, she absorbed knowledge
from a variety of sources:
music
festival,
camps,
schools, jams, contests, lessons and performances.
After studying classical violin and cello in college,
she went on to tour the US and UK with Scottish
fiddler Jamie Laval, performing and teaching. She is
now exploring multiple genres of music, collaborating with different bands (The Syncopaths), teaching
and working on composition.
Hans began playing guitar and pursued his formal
education as a Studio Guitar major at the University
of Southern California, continuing his studies as a
Jazz Guitar/Music Theory major at the Manhattan
School of Music. He has been teaching guitar and piano
privately since 1992 in Ventura County, Los Angeles,
New York City, San Francisco. www.ashleybroder.com
California State Old Time Fiddlers Association
District 8
FIDDLE FESTIVAL REUNION SCHEDULE
July 17, 2010 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
10:00 A.M.
Opening Ceremonies Rae
Huffman, Charl Ann
Gastineau, Adam Giacopuzzi
CSOTFA Welcome Ben Chapman, Pres. Dist. 8
10:15-10:45 A.M.
Introduction and Fiddler Band
10:45-12:00 A.M.
Participants #1-14
1. Suzanne Spooner
2. Asher Smith
3. Isaac DeHart
4. Nilay Khatore
5. Cynthia Anderson
6. Adam Giacopuzzi
7. Saarika & Sameer Sharma
8. Abby Huynh
9. Justin Choi
10. Nikhil Maserang
11. Dane Baylis
12. Linda Spooner
13. Saarika & Sameer Sharma
14. Cynthia Anderson
12:00 –12:30 P.M.
Mariachi Camarillo
12:30-1:00 P.M.
Participants #15-20
15. Linda Spooner
16. Nilay Khatore
17. Asher Smith
18. Tarah Brown
19. Riley Hennigan
20. Isaac DeHart &
Suzanne Spooner
1:00-1:30 P.M.
Ashley Broder and Hans Ottsen
1:30-2:00 P.M.
Participants # 21-26
21. Tara Gillaspy
22. Clara & Riley Hennigan
23. Anna Schuberg
24. Maya Cervi
25. Morgan & Tara Gillaspy
26. Whitney Guthrey
2:00-2:30 P.M.
Taradactyls
2:30-3:00 P.M.
Participants #27-33
27. Morgan Gillaspy
28. Whitney Guthrey &
Morgan Gillaspy
29. Corey DeLillo
30. Emilie DeLillo
31. Savannah Johnson
32. Audrey Johnson
33. Chloe Johnson
3:05-3:35 P.M.
California State Old
Time Fiddlers Band
4:00-4:30 P.M.
39. Steve McPeters
Participants # 34-38
34. Derek Ducharme
35. Gage McKinney
36. Jillian Baker
37. Jonathan Blanck
38. Cian Hawkins
4:30-5:00 P.M.
Lauren Donahue,
Gene Rubin, Phil Salazar,
Charl Ann Gastineau
5:00 P.M.
Closing with everyone on
stage for one final tune
MC’s
Dennis Witcher, Saarika
Sharma & Ben Chapman
Please note that times are estimates and may
fluctuate by as much as 15 minutes.
Please sign in at least 30 minutes prior to your
scheduled time and be in the staging area 15
minutes prior to your scheduled time.
If you miss your scheduled time it cannot be
made up.
Dedicated to the preservation & perpetuation of old time fiddle music.