Sahffi Lynne is an international singer/songwriter, musician and private voice teacher who considers her musical offerings medicine to open and connect hearts around the world. She leads a pathway for healing with her original channeled music and guides those ready to release their authentic voice and their fears using her own “Vocal Ladder” teaching method.
Renowned for her beautiful tone and elegant playing, guitarist Candice Mowbray captivates audiences with her expressive artistry. From the lively acrobatics of Ida Presti’s Danse rythmique to the poignant depths of Fernando Sor’s Fantaisie élégiaque, her performances are a thoughtful journey through modern and classic works. A famous ballerina remarked that her music, “makes me want to dance!” while guitar virtuoso John Feeley praised her as "a beautiful player, so expressive and musical."
Baltimore based pianist and award-winning composer. He and his ensembles have performed at Blues Alley, the Kennedy Center, and many festivals and venues from San Francisco to New York. He was selected to be part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center as well as residencies at The Banff Centre, Millay Arts and the Avaloch Music Institute.
Performance:
Greg Latta is a mesmerizing singer, songwriter, and award winning performer on the hammered dulcimer, banjo, guitar, ukulele, Irish bouzouki, cittern, harmonica, recorder, Appalachian dulcimer, Northumbrian smallpipes, uilleann pipes,and keyboard.
Greg is a three time winner of the prestigious Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Solo Music Performance, having won in 2012, 2015, and 2018.
TWO-TIME GRAMMY® Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are an eclectic folk festival on their own terms. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and cello-banjo. The duo has released 48 recordings, won recognition as both songwriters and tradition bearers, and opened doors for countless other musicians. From social justice to the history of women in country music, Django style jazz to bluegrass, and old- time music, they are a rare eclectic duo that ties it all together-past, present, and future.
Bass clarinetist/composer Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet.
Though use of bass clarinet in jazz typically leans heavily towards avant-garde and free-jazz styles, Marcus’ straight-ahead playing has carved out a unique voice for the instrument in modern jazz. His music swings hard with both a fiery and introspective intensity but also maintains a strong lyrical sensibility.
Born and raised on the island of St. John, Virgin Islands, Victor Provost is internationally recognized as one of today's leading voices on the steelpan. Praised by The New York Times as a "serious jazz improviser" and lauded by Downbeat Magazine as "a rarity" in the jazz ecosystem, Victor blends Bebop roots, contemporary jazz sensibilities, and Caribbean traditions into a dynamic and original sound.
Brent Taylor
Brent Taylor (°1982, Baltimore, United States) makes paintings, photos, media art and mixed media artworks. With a conceptual approach, Taylor touches on various overlapping themes and strategies. Several reoccurring subject matters can be recognized, such as the relation with popular culture and media, working with repetition, provocation, and the investigation of the process of expectations.
Alif Laila is one of the few internationally performing female sitar players of the world. She was trained in Indian classical music through sitar in Dhaka, Bangladesh. By Mir Qasem Khan, nephew of legendary maestro, Allauddin Khan. During her final years of training, she attended the College of Fine Arts in Dhaka, where she graduated in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree and received several awards for her watercolor painting.
Mary Amato is the author of over 25 books for children and young adults. Her work for adults also includes poems, plays, essays, and short fiction. Amato's fiction has been translated into foreign languages, optioned for television, and produced onstage. She teaches workshops in creative writing, songwriting, and the creative process around the country and is a frequent presenter in Maryland schools. She is a former classroom teacher and also teaches a weekly online class for adults and teens who are serious about writing.