Irish fiddle player Laurel Martin’s lyrical musical style reflects her fascination with the enigmatic sounds of the old fiddle masters of Clare, East Galway and Sligo. Playing since 1980, she studied the regional fiddle styles of Ireland with master fiddler Seamus Connolly, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. A regular performer throughout New England, she is also a devoted teacher of traditional Irish fiddle music, having taught at Boston College, Wellesley College, many traditional festivals, and the Groton Hill Music School in Massachusetts. Her recorded collections include the co-authored “Forget Me Not” (2002), the well-received “The Groves” (2006), and “Larks & Thrushes” (2018). She toured with the fiddle ensemble Childsplay for more than twenty years. She is a three-time grant award winner as a master teacher from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, most recently with her student Fern Tamagini-O’Donnell. Laurel and Fern are currently working on a duet recording for spring of 2026.

Fern Tamagini-O’Donnell, from Massachusetts, began playing fiddle at four years old and has not looked back for well over fifteen years. She has performed with various youth groups, including the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group and Youth Commission, has studied sean-nós (old style) Irish dancing with the preeminent Kieran Jordan, and has a Mass Cultural Council-funded apprenticeship with her long-time fiddle teacher, Laurel Martin. She performs throughout New England, presenting music informed by her many years on the road, the world, her friendships, and an incurable love for life.

Dan Faiella is a guitarist specializing in traditional Celtic music. Trained through years of New England contra dances and alongside Irish fiddlers, he has performed at venues and festivals around the country, as well as in a duo with his sister, fiddler and singer Liz Faiella.  Dan’s fingerstyle arrangements draw extensively from traditional idioms such as Celtic harp playing and sean-nós singing. He has taught at various camps and festivals, including Maine Fiddle Camp, Acadia School of Traditional Music and Arts, and Boston Celtic Music Festival.

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