Aaron Albrecht, fiddle

Aaron is an accomplished old-time fiddler from Springfield, Illinois. He began playing the violin when he was five years old and later took up traditional fiddling as a freshman in college in Kirksville, Missouri. From there, Aaron began learning old time fiddling in earnest, participating in the monthly square dance in Hallsville, Missouri, attending the fiddle camp in Bethel, Missouri, and playing in old time fiddle contests and jam sessions across the Midwest region. Aaron has learned from some of the Midwest’s finest fiddlers, including Dr. Howard W. Marshall, John White, Vesta Johnson, Geoff Seitz, and Charlie Walden.

Aaron won first place in both of Illinois’ premier old time fiddling competitions, including the Illinois Old Time Fiddle Championship in 2023 and the Illinois State Fair Old Time Fiddle and Banjo Contest in 2019.  He has also placed in many other fiddle contests throughout the Midwest.

Aaron has taught traditional fiddling at the Folk School of St. Louis and teaches at the Old Time Music and Dance Camp in Mountain View, Arkansas.  He serves as a judge for the Illinois State Fair Old Time Fiddle and Banjo Contest.  He plays old time square dances and presents workshops on the topic of traditional fiddling throughout Illinois and the region.

Aaron is also an avid folklorist. He makes field recordings of the traditional artists he plays with both to advance his own knowledge and to preserve the music and lore for the next generation. Toward this end In 2021 he released his first album of fiddle tunes with his band The Down State Ramblers to much acclaim in the old-time fiddling world.

Blake Korte, guitar

Blake Korte is a multi-instrumentalist raised in Highland, Illinois. The mountain dulcimer was the first instrument he learned to play thanks to his maternal grandmother’s interest in old-time music. This interest was passed on and developed over time, although Blake spent his formative and collegiate years playing in classical music ensembles and various projects with friends. All the while, he maintained an appreciation of folk music and its global permutations.
Blake is a graduate of the music program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He
performed with the SIUE Wind Symphony led by Dr. John Bell and the World Music Ensemble
led by Dr. Darryl Coan. He currently plays Dobro for River Bend, The Silver Creek Bluegrass
Band, and with many other musicians around the Midwest. When he is not playing music,
teaching lessons, or working at Music Folk, Blake enjoys collecting records and spending time
with his wife Samantha and their puppy Hank.

Laura Sleade,fiddle

Laura is an old-time fiddler who particularly enjoys Illinois fiddle tunes. She has played for dances and historic sites. She has attended jams for more than 20 years and the weekly jam in Urbana since its inception 15 years ago. She finds community jams to be wonderful places for playing music with other people. These friendly jams are open to musicians of different ages and abilities, but all are old-time music lovers! Tunes, tempos, energy all vary based on who attends and no two jams are the same! Come hang-out and play some music!

 

Tom Faux, Clawhammer banjo, guitar

Tom is a year-round teacher and programming director at C4A. He has been accompanying fiddlers in contests since he was in his teens!  Here’s his bio.

 

 

Robin Kearton, fiddle

Robin is a year-round teacher and executive director at C4A. She loves violin/viola/fiddle in just about any style of music!  Here’s her bio.