JEROME (BUTCH) BALDASSARI | ALISON BROWN | MATT COMBS | SANDY CONATSER | CRYSTAL D. PLOHMAN

JEROME (BUTCH) BALDASSARI Adjunct Associate Professor of Mandolin E-mail

Nominee, Bluegrass Grammy Award, 1992. Nominee, Nashville Music Award, 1995. Featured on recordings with Alison Krauss, Elek Bacsik, Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, Lonesome Standard Time, Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Grass is Greener, and Weary Hearts. Host, Bluegrass Mandolin Workshops. Creator of mandolin instructional video and cassettes on Homespun Tapes. Member, Weary Hearts, 1986-90; Lonesome Standard Time, 1991-95; The Grass is Greener since 1995; Founder and Leader, Nashville Mandolin Ensemble since 1991. Vice President, Classical Mandolin Society of America, 1993-96. Blair School since 1996.

ALISON BROWN Adjunct Instructor of Banjo

MATT COMBS Adjunct Instructor in Fiddling
B.M. (Michigan) E-mail

Classical studies with Paul Kantor, David Perry, and Andrzej Grabiec. 1998 Rocky Mountain Fiddle Champion. Performances across the United States and Europe. Regular televised appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, PBS, CMT, and GAC. Performed and recorded with John Hartford, Marty Stuart, Jimmy Martin, Mike Snider, Kenny Baker and Josh Graves. Live appearances with Vassar Clements, Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Pride, Ralph Stanley, Curly Seckler, Mike Marshall, Earl Scruggs, and Dierks Bentley. Featured performer at Bellingham Festival of Music, Chamber Music at the Barn, Wichita State University, and The New England Conservatory. As an educator, workshops at Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp, Blair's International Fiddle School, Chamber Music at the Barn Acoustic Workshop, and Wichita State University. Recorded on Grammy Award winning soundtrack for PBS "Rachael and Andrew." Arrangements for Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Wichita State University's Percussion Ensemble, and David Grisman's Mandolin Symposium. Currently co-producing with Sub-ID on a multi-genre solo album. Blair School since 2004.

SANDY CONATSER Adjunct Teaching Artist
B.S. (Middle Tennessee State University); M.Ed. (Middle Tennessee State University) E-mail

Student of David Schaufer 1987-2006; Member of Nashville Dulcimer Quartet; Performs solo and with the Nashville Dulcimer Quartet at local and national festivals; Co-authored an article for the Tennessee Folklore Journal with David Schnaufer on the development of the dulcimer in Tennessee, 1998; Was featured in documentary, Stories and Songs of the Tennessee Music Box, 2006; Is a coordinator for Nashville's annual Grand Old Dulcimer Day. Blair School since 2006.

CRYSTAL D. PLOHMAN Adjunct Assistant Professor of Fiddle E-mail

Additional studies: Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). Violin with Alison Ryles, G. Garnader, Eduard Minevich. Fiddle with Carl Plohman; master classes with Mark O'Connor. Runner-up, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championships, 1992, and Canadian Open Fiddle Championships, 1994; three-time Central Canadian Champion; Manitoba and International Peace Gardens winner; Minnesota State Champion; and Canadian Junior Fiddle Champion. Guest performances across Canada and Northern United States. Burns Lake Bluegrass Festival (British Columbia), Folkfest (Saskatch-ewan), Trapper's Festival (Manitoba), Elora Mill Inn (Ontario), Herbsfest (Montana), and Norsk Hoestfest (North Dakota). Three solo recordings. Featured artist on recording with Graham and Eleanor Townsend. Assistant instructor, First Annual Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp, 1994. Blair School since 1994.