Chuck is the newest member of the band, fiddling
his way on board in May of 2010. He
started out as a bluegrass banjo player back in the ‘70s, and even made a
living at it for a few years. He
eventually shifted over to Scottish style fiddling, learning the basics at John
Turner’s Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. Chuck has twice won first place in the
Scottish fiddle contests at the Ligonier Highland Games in western Pennsylvania. Chuck loves history as well, and is a serious
student of popular music of the 18th and 19th centuries. He has performed solo for many historical
societies, presented on historical music at several universities, and was the
music director for the award-winning French and Indian War
documentary film, Washington's First War: The Battles for Fort
Duquesne (Paladin Communications, 2003). Chuck was also the driving force behind the creation
of a circa-1830 period orchestra at Old
Economy Village,
a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission site in Ambridge, PA. Chuck is a busy guy these days, currently
performing with three Civil War bands (four, counting Folk & Friends with CF
colleagues the Folkemers), and two Celtic/Irish bands (counting the
too-new-to-be-named ensemble with CF colleague Dan Diviney). Chuck completed a two year luthier’s
apprenticeship at Bluett Brothers Violins in York, PA,
and often performs on a fiddle of his own making.
