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Donal Leace made his first professional solo appearance at Carnegie Chapter Hall, in New York City, June 6, 1959. Since 1960 he has made Washington, DC. his home. His voice has been described as " ... an extraordinary musical instrument that resonates and vibrates like a hollow steel drum, then rings clear as a crystal bell." (Intermission Magazine, June, 1995, Washington, DC) Over the years, he has performed with many of the nations’ most outstanding jazz, folk, blues, pop, gospel, rock and country artists, from Nina Simone, John Denver, Joe Williams, Muddy Waters, the Staple Singers, Odetta, Manhattan Transfer, Judy Collins, Ramsey Lewis, Take Six, Emmylou Harris, Big Mama Thornton, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee to comedians Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryer, Mort Sahl and many more. He recorded for Atlantic Records, and toured extensively, both nationally and internationally with Roberta Flack. He also toured the United States with Nancy Wilson, and has appeared on The Today Show, Sunday Morning, and the David Frost shows. He was a featured performer at the 1993 New Year’s Eve Concert For Peace at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and has appeared in concert at London’s Odeon-Hammersmith, the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, the D. A. R. Constitution Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
A graduate of Howard, The George Washington and Georgetown Universities. He has served as a judge for the Washington Theater Awards Society’s Helen Hayes Awards. He was invited to Johannesburg, South Africa to assess a non- government supported arts program. For several years he taught a course on the Harlem Renaissance called The ‘20s: The Birth of the Urban African-American Culture at The Georgetown University’s School For Summer and Continuing Education. In 1998 he was named a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholar, and spent the month of October in Japan. He is Co-chair of the Theater Department of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. In the first half of April he will have directed their spring musical, The Fantasticks. He is working on the production of a new recording.
Marc Carraway brings together elements from acoustic music's many styles - ballads, blues, contemporary folk, bluegrass, even jazz - to create pictures and stories of both places and people.
Bluegrass Unlimited , in reviewing Carraway's first album, Slow Down The River, said that Carraway proved to have "A rich, powerful voice ...(and) a knack for writing." Of his most recent album, Time Over Distance, they wrote, "Carraway displays an...engaging voice, solidly supportive guitar work, and songs that suggest considerable work, skill, and variety."
He performs a variety of guitar styles as well as harmonica, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. His shows are easy-going and intimate as a result of his open and relaxed stage presence. His repertoire consists of contemporary and traditional acoustic songs centered around his own acclaimed songwriting.
Carraway has shared billings with acoustic performers such as The Kingston Trio, Christine Lavin, Tony Rice, David Mallett, Schooner Fare, Tom Paxton and many others. His albums have received airplay on both local and national folk shows. Mike Flynn, host of the nationally-syndicated Folk Sampler, wrote that Carraway's music was "particularly nice..." , and the Mary Washington Bullet described his performance as "stellar." Carraway's second album (and first CD), Time Over Distance, is now being played on acoustic radio shows across the country. Most recently, his song Shenandoah Suite has been included on the WMRA-sponsored album In the Shadow of the Blue Ridge, which includes such noted performers as John McCutcheon and Robin and Linda Williams.
Lifelong interests in music and the sea color the songs of Frank Gotwals. He lives in Stonington, a small fishing village on the coast of Maine where he has pursued both these interests as a commercial lobster fisherman and a professional musician for more than twenty years. Evenings spent around the piano with a musical family led to an early interest in folk and classical that quickly expanded, so it is perhaps not surprising to hear his music described as "bluesy, a subtle fusion of folk and jazz" . Traveling has added many influences his lyrics reflecting an "ability to wax lighthearted, tempered with healthy doses of reality". Recent performances include appearances at the Camden Opera House, the Left Bank Cafe, the Blue Hill Pops concert and the Shenandoah Coffeehouse series. Frank has released two independent recordings, Dry Ice in 1994, and Unfamiliar Sea in 1996, to popular and critical acclaim and a third is due to be recorded in 1998.
On stage he is "easy-going, confident, and relaxed". His resonant baritone vocals, strong guitar work, and "excellent dynamics and rhythm" have been winning over audiences up and down the east coast. A juried member of the Maine Touring Artists, Frank is available for workshops, children's shows, and concerts of all kinds. He brings with him a practical working knowledge of the sea, a concern for the world around him, and an ability to communicate with people of all ages through his music.
Bob GramannAlso take a look at Bob Gramann's Web page that contains information about performing at Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase
122 Laurel Avenue
Fredericksburg VA 22408
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to above mentioned Ackermann at ernie@mwc.edu
FROM the fortune list ...
I don't have anything against work I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it? - Dobie Gillis