Jerry Ernst is an avid Civil War re-enactor who has a passion for collecting period banjo tunes and songs. He plays an 1859 model fretless banjo in the knock down style. A series of jigs and other tunes will be demonstrated and instructional materials will be provided. Mr. Ernst has recorded five CDs and published several period style songsters.

David Raphaelson has performed on the Parlor guitar at many historic sites and museums throughout the Northeast. He has recorded a CD called Moonlight Reverie on an 1840 Martin Guitar for the Farmer's Museum, Cooperstown, NY which received favorable reviews in Acoustic Guitar Magazine. David will discuss the basics of parlor guitar style and technique. He'll share an arrangement of Stephen Foster's Old Dog Tray and several waltzes.

Harmony Grits a quartet based in Albany, New York will share the history, melodies and lyrics of the songs that would have been present in minstrel shows and Civil War camps. The members of the group include Tom and Ray Smith, Don Prockup and Steve Roth. The program will include several music arrangements with commentary about composers and demonstrations of a variety of instruments typical of string bands during the mid-nineteenth century.

John Perreault is a multi-instrumentalist and member of the 77th NY Regimental Balladeers. John is working on a Bachelor's in Music. His love of the mandolin sparked his research about the history of the instrument in America during the 1800s. During the workshop some of the tunes and techniques that would have been employed by mandolinists will be performed.

Jim Broden, fiddler with the 77th NY Regimental Balladeers, Jim and Sue Mead and John Gallagher, reenactor with the 15th NY Volunteers Engineers, will conduct a session on the music repertoire and dance styles of the Antebellum and Civil Era. Mr. Broden and the Meads are regular instrumentalists on the traditional dance circuit throughout the capital district region. John Gallagher calls dances at reenactments and Blue-Gray Balls. He is a member of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration dance troupe on Long Island.

These workshops will explore German and Irish contributions to the music of the period. The workshop about the German influence on the music Civil War era will be presented by Joseph Prusch of the 77th NY Regimental Balladeers. Mark DeAngelis members of the 28th Massachusetts, Company K minstrels will cover the Irish music as part of Civil War history. The Company K minstrels include Caitlin DeAngelis, Todd Bryda, Bill Meehan and David DeAngelis. Caitlin is considered to be the group's scholar. Her tin whistle playing adds zest to every song. Mark sings and plays parlor guitar. Their interest in Irish music and the Irish influence on Civil War music coincided with the research they've done for their living history portrayals as members of the 28th Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry. Mark is working on his doctorate in political science at the University of Connecticut. David DeAngelis is considered to be the true musician of the group. Dave performs traditional songs and sea shantys. He's also a wonderful storyteller and can spin some great yarns about the sea. He is a regular on the coffee house circuit in New Haven. Dave is a school library media specialist in Shelton, Connecticut.

This session will be led by John Kennedy a reenactor and musician from Ohio. John has played the guitar for many years as well as the plectrum banjo. He specializes in the popular music of the mid-nineteenth century. John will be joined at the jam by the other gathering artists and workshop participants for a recreation of a Civil War "singing soldiers" encampment.

A presentation and workshop about the songs and tunes that would have graced the parlor/concert halls and entertained the folks at the home front. Gisella Montanez-Case, Susan and Ed Coughtry will guide the audience through the heartfelt songs of Stephen Foster and a variety of Celtic tunes. Gisella, a member of the 77th NY Regimental Balladeers, is a talented and well-respected vocal artist. Her former operatic experience with the Metropolitan Opera and knowledge of the songs of the period will be enjoyed by all. Susan Coughtry has been playing the Celtic Harp since 1987. She also plays piano, guitar, recorder and string bass. Susan is the founding member and present president of the Hudson Valley Harp Circle. She has been a frequent guest performer with the balladeers. Ed Coughtry is a music teacher at Greenville Central School District. He has a Masters Degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music in Potsdam. Ed is a woodwind specialist who enjoys playing in the pit orchestras of Broadway Musicals. He is active in both the Greene County Music Educators Association and Colonial Council Music Educators Association. His wonderful flute playing will be heard on the balladeers new CD.

The concert will engage the audience with demonstrations of the various types of musical instruments that would have been played in a Civil War camp. The program will discuss the role of music and the children will sing-a-long with their own period songster. The children's program will be led by Jeannette Painter, Fifth Corps Music group. The band hails from Ohio. Jeannette has produced a CD titled When Duty Called. Ms. Painter has appeared at the Gettysburg Music Muster and 2001 Windham Civil War Music Gathering & Encampment Grand Concert. She is a teacher at St. Mary-Delaware and Trinity School-Grandview in central Ohio. Jeannette is a vocalist and plays piano and flute. She also coaches baseball.

This session will be conducted by Ms. Carolyn Evans. Ms. Evans portrays anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman. Evans' first person account of the life of Harriet Tubman "Her Spirit Sings Throughout the Country: Can You Hear It?" has been highly acclaimed as a recreation of "A Voice of Courage". Carolyn has appeared at the legendary Apollo Theatre in New York City. She is a motivational speaker, poet and author. The workshop will discuss what a spiritual is, the significance of the spiritual to daily life, musical patterns of spirituals, importance and meaning of code words in the songs. The audience will be encouraged to join in a demonstration of common spirituals.

Civil War Heritage Foundation members will discuss the research, physical demands, period dress and character study required when developing an accurate portrayal of a famous personality, civilian or soldier who lived during the Antebellum/Civil War era. A panel of Foundation members will discuss how they approach and develop their first person portrayals. Audience members will participate in a question and answer session during the presentation.

Meg and Caitlin DeAngelis will provide an overview of how images of women are a central theme of Civil War music. Portrayals of women in period songs and ballads will be examined, revealing a much broader celebration of patriotic women of both the North and South. Meg Galante-DeAngelis claims to have been born a century too late. She has been fascinated by the Civil war since early childhood. She has made the study of women and children of the Civil War and how to teach children history her life's work. Caitlin DeAngelis is an avid musician and life-long Civil War scholar. She has performed period music all along the East coast. As an undergraduate student at Brown University, she is looking forward to continuing her involvement in the Civil War living history community and pursuing a career as an archivist.