Terpsichore, Guest Band
Music Staff
Terpsichore, Guest Band
Elke Baker (fiddle) - Ellicott City, MD
Liz Donaldson (piano) - Bethesda, MD
Ralph Gordon (bass and cello) - Charlestown, WV
Elke Baker, fiddle.
ELKE BAKER (Ellicott City, MD), winner of the 1995 U.S. Scottish Fiddle Championship, has performed all over North
America and in places as far-flung as Japan, West Africa, and Scotland. Elke is a faculty member at the Washington
Conservatory of Music, where she teaches history and performance of Celtic music and Scottish fiddle performance, and is
an Artist-in-Residence at Montgomery College. She brings a scholar's depth of knowledge and an extremely engaging manner
to her performances, as well as an intimate knowledge of just what makes people want to dance.
In addition to Caledonian Muse and the Terpsichore CD, Elke has released two concert recordings to
enthusiastic reception. The Washington Post praised recent release Glenelg for "the rhythmic energy and
deep emotions that Baker generates with her bow. Baker's fiddle nearly throws off sparks," while Celtic Beat
called Over the Border, "a CD of rare delight, precise technical skill, and fullness of soul," and it was featured
in the soundtrack of The Boyhood of John Muir, nationally broadcast on PBS television. Elke's website is
www.elkebaker.com.
Liz Donaldson, piano and accordion.
Guest Music Teacher
LIZ DONALDSON (Bethesda, MD) plays piano and accordion and has been playing for dancing for many years. She is known for
her innovative back-up style incorporating exciting rhythms, textures, and harmony lines in her music. In addition to
playing for Scottish, English and American contra dances, Liz teaches all these styles, and dances, too!
She is a member of Terpsichore, Waverley Station, and The New Hip Trio. Her Scottish
Country Dance recordings include: Caledonian Muse, Terpsichore, Scottish Dance Music, Waverley
Station: First Stop! Memories of Scottish Weekend ('98) and More Memories of Scottish Weekend
('02), as well as her new CD English Echoes: English Country Dance Favorites. Liz has two books of
Scottish tune medleys and Rain in the Desert, a collection of her own compositions.
Liz has taught and played at numerous dance weekends and music workshops including Scottish Weekend (MD/PA/WV),
Pinewoods (MA), and Asilomar (CA). Her travels have taken her to Great Britain, Canada, France and Japan. She has performed
with Terpsichore at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage.
Liz enjoys teaching BandAids, ensemble-playing workshops, and enjoys composing tunes, especially waltzes.
For more information access Liz's website at lizdonaldson.com.
Ralph Gordon, cello and bass.
RALPH GORDON (Charlestown, WV) is a classically trained bassist and cellist educated at West Virginia University and
the Manhattan School of Music. He played for many years with innovative folk band Trapezoid, and his skills span
a wide range of musical styles from chamber music to big band swing. The Charleston Post Courier remarked, "His
playing is more sophisticated and technically accomplished than the next ten string players of any sort and he uses his
instruments to subtly ground, stabilize, and inspire the rest of the ensemble as they pursue their experimentations."
He is in great demand in the Washington, DC area as a freelance artist and a session musician. He can be heard on more
than sixty recordings, including Scottish, English country, contradance, hoedown, folk, bluegrass, klezmer, blues, swing,
jazz combos, and big band styles. Ralph has played for over ten years with Terpsichore, and has worked
extensively on revitalizing Scottish folk cello style.
Music Staff
Dan Emery, piper.
DAN EMERY (Fort Washington, PA). Dan has been the designated piper at Scottish Weekend since the first session at
Buffalo Gap in 1989, and has been the piper at Pinewoods many times. As well as the highland pipes, Dan plays the small
pipes. In addition he enjoys playing the flute, fiddle and cittern (like a big mandolin!) just for fun.
When not piping, Dan is a fine Scottish country dancer and is an architect in real life.
Earl Gaddis, fiddle and viola.
EARL GADDIS (Plainwell, MI) is a full-time dance musician, having played fiddle and viola for a mixture of English,
Scottish, American, and international dancing for well over 40 years. He plays for dance camps, workshops, balls and other
dance events throughout the United States and abroad. Earl is a member of Bare Necessities, which has released
about a dozen recordings of English Country Dance music so far, and of Woodlark (with Karen Axelrod and Chris
Rua), and he has recorded with a number of other musicians as well. He lives in great contentment on ten acres of woods in
Plainwell, Michigan with his wife Sherry Brodock.
David Knight, fiddle.
DAVID KNIGHT (Washington, DC) has been instigating dance up and down the East Coast and beyond since 1991, primarily in
the Scottish, American, English, and Irish dance traditions. He also veers regularly into composition, performance, and
recording. He has been featured on three recordings - Waverley Station: First Stop!, More Memories of Scottish
Weekend, and most recently Ellen Gozion: Awake, Awake. His most recent tunes are collected in The Art
Of..., his second collection. He plays most frequently with Thistle House, Waverley Station, and the
Evil Twins. Visit David's website at music.davidknight.us.
Melissa Running, piano.
MELISSA RUNNING (Silver Spring, MD) started playing piano for dancing in 1999, when she was recruited to play for the
Swarthmore College folk dance class. She's been playing for English and Scottish Country dancing ever since, with some
forays into contra here and there. She dances all of those styles and Scandinavian, couple dancing, international,
longsword, garland, English clog, whatever else is on... and works to support her dance habit. She has recently taken up
the nyckelharpa.
Marty Taylor, whistle, recorders, and concertina.
MARTY TAYLOR (Baltimore, MD) has been a staple in the Baltimore-DC dance community for over twenty years. She plays for
Scottish Country Dance, English Country Dance, American contra dance, and vintage and couples dances. Her breathtaking
whistle and recorder playing lifts the dancers off the floor -- her concertina playing adds soul and drive. You can hear
Marty on the first Scottish Weekend CD, Memories of Scottish Weekend, and also on the Gadsby's Tavern Museum
English Country Dance CD, Stepping Out in the 18th Century.
Dave Wiesler, piano and guitar.
DAVE WIESLER (Newark, DE). Dave is pleased to return to Scottish Weekend for the eleventh consecutive year. Dave is a
skilled pianist and avid Scottish Country dancer and enjoys the chance to participate in both at Scottish Weekend. In
addition to his Scottish Dance music, he plays regularly for contra dance, English Country Dance, couple dancing, concerts,
and has substantial studio experience.
He has been on staff at Pinewoods, Augusta, Ashokan, Buffalo Gap, and Sierra Swing
and has performed at the Kennedy Center and at the Smithsonian. His music has taken him to Hawaii, Canada, England,
Scotland and the Galapagos Islands. Check out his CDs, including Cracks and Shadows and Many Happy
Returns with Hanneke Cassel, and Dave Tunes, his book of original tunes. You can also find out more about
Dave on his website at
www.azaleacityrecordings.com/davewiesler.
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