2025 Teachers' Conference Weekend Staff
Andrew Nolan - Edinburgh, Scotland
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Lisa Doyle - Sebastapol, California
Lisa Doyle is a violinist and fiddler with years of experience in music performance and education. She grew up in England and was a student in the Royal College of Music’s pre-college program. After attending the University of Bristol, she made California her home. She has performed with many local orchestras and ensembles, including the Berkeley Symphony, Amaryllis Piano Trio, and RosArts string quartet. She also plays regularly in the pit for community theater musicals, most recently as the fiddle in the house band for Love Always, Patsy Cline. She maintains a busy violin studio in her home in Sonoma County. As a fiddle player, Lisa studied with Alasdair Fraser and other world-renowned musicians in California, Wisconsin, Boston, Scotland, and Norway. She has played for weekly RSCDS classes for the past 10 years and for many dances on the West Coast, including Asilomar, as a member of the Scottish dance band Flindrikin. In 2019, she traveled to Europe with the band, performing at dance festivals and Highland Games and playing for classes in Prague. While she enjoys exploring a range of musical genres, Lisa is most comfortable in the Scottish tradition. She is passionate about encouraging others to participate – as musicians, dancers, or listeners; in any way that brings them joy! |
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Gary Thomas, Music Director - Santa Rosa, California
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My, how the years roll by! It has been almost 35 years since I started playing for Scottish dancing. The journey has taken me to many places around the world, as close as Southern California and as far as Czechia. It is wonderful to be back with TAC TCW/Summer School, and it is an honor to serve as Music Director. I have been a member of several bands, Wild Rose, Hood, Wink & Swagger, and our newest, Flindrikin, which includes Lisa Doyle, Ron Wallace, and Carol Vines. Over the years, I have composed numerous tunes, which can be found in our dance publications From the Redwood Forest, The San Andreas Collection (Scottish), and The Bishop’s Ranch Collection (English), as well as in Dunsmuir Dances. Our newest publication, The Thomas/Wallace Collection, includes waltzes, airs, and more, and our new publication of dances with music, Give It a Whirl. For step dancing or just listening, we have our two CD sets of Dancers Dream and Mother’s Garden. And our newest CD, The Color of Autumn, includes 15 of our waltzes. More recordings are on the horizon. All publications and CDs can be ordered through our website, a-scot-in-time.org |