Winter Sparrow Instructors
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Aisha Ivey earned her doctorate in music education from Florida State University. A champion fiddler, she has won the southeast United States Scottish Fiddle Championship for 10 years in a row (2006-2015). She has also won awards for her Irish, Old-Time and Scandinavian fiddle playing. Aisha is the current president of The Florida State Fiddlers Association and she teaches several groups including AZIZA! (Middle Eastern Music and Dance) and the Old Time Ensemble at Florida State University. She has recorded several CD's with different musicians and she has written some instructional fiddle books as well. Aisha is an active teacher, performer, researcher and promoter of traditional fiddle styles.
Sharon Hartmann plays a variety of styles from Swing to Old-Time to Bluegrass to Irish and Scottish and she crosses genres with authenticity and finesse. She teaches privately and performs often for concerts, dances and festivals. She has been a member of orchestras, and served stints with numerous central Florida bluegrass bands. Sharon’s honors, too numerous to enumerate, include State champion in Rustic Fiddle, first place open at the Scottish Highland Games 2000, as well as 2nd place in both fiddle and mandolin at the Old-Time 2002 Music contest. Sharon can fiddle and hula-hoop at the same time!
Andy Martin earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Florida State University. He has been playing banjo for over 40 years and has shared the stage with artists such as David Grisman, Del McCoury, Tony Rice, Blue Highway, and The Steep Canyon Rangers. Andy was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Dappled Grays, an Atlanta-based, new acoustic/bluegrass band, as well as 16 Tons, a traditional bluegrass band in Athens, GA. He began playing fiddle in 2006, which led him to the Old Time community. His 3-finger banjo style has evolved into a melodically oriented and rhythmically solid approach to various forms of traditional American music. He is the current Vice President of the Florida Fiddlers Association and is the author of Banjo Kung Fu: The Art of Listening. Andy is very excited to be sharing his talents at Sparrow!
Drew Thomas grew up contra dancing while her parents played in dance bands in Central Florida. At festivals, she would idolize clogging groups before joining the Hot Pepper Steppers of Tallahassee in 2016. A welcoming force in the old time community, Drew will encourage any and every one to stand up and start tapping their feet. She is an active member of the Tallahassee Old Time community who can be found at jams playing banjo, guitar, a banjo ukulele, or clogging along.
Rachel Speer and Dean Jens have been singing together since they first met at a Sacred Harp convention in Pennsylvania in 2006. Rachel started shape-note singing in Western Massachusetts in 2001 and Dean started in Chicago in 2005. The polyphonic harmonies and the welcoming community drew them in immediately, and now they love introducing others to the 4-shape and 7-shape notation systems that make sight-reading easier, as well as to the fun of loud, communal singing from the Sacred Harp, Christian Harmony, Shenandoah Harmony, and other shape-note tunebooks. They have attended hundreds of all-day singings (from Florida to Quebec and Seattle to Warsaw), taught singing schools (most recently at the Florida Folk Festival), and now host a monthly singing in Orlando.
Scott Walker has lived in North Carolina all his life, and now resides in Fairview, N.C. near Asheville. He has taught string students of all ages and in many situations for a long time! He has been an orchestra conductor, a Suzuki teacher of cello and violin, and a fiddle teacher. He is the founder of the Walker Family Band Fiddle Camp, held in blowing Rock N.C., which celebrated its’ 20th anniversary in the summer of 2022. Scott has published several very popular Irish fiddle books, and you can find those along with lots more information about him, and his camp at www.thewalkerfamilyband.com.