Our Instructors
Ruth Wyand | Laura Martier | Leslie Erickson | Audra Goldsmith | Chris Creighton | Joe Mapp | Cathy Pescevich Kreplin | Gordon Kreplin
Ruth Wyand
Phone: (252) 441-4612
Email: sandbilly@earthlink.net
Website: www.ruthwyand.com
Ruth Wyand has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and New Zealand performing her brand of Americana on guitars in her extensive collection, some of which were built exclusively for her. She especially enjoys her 1932 Dobro, her 1947 Gibson LG2, the National Steel, and her Morning Star crafted by the world-renowned Richard Mermer. Victorious in competition, Ruth Wyand became the first woman ever to win the Gamble Rodgers Music Festival’s Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in St. Augustine, Florida and most recently placed first among soloists at the Appalachian Blues Festival in Charleston, West Virginia.
She has been invited to play at such high profile events as the Chet Atkins Guitar Festival in Nashville, the Newport Guitar Festival in Rhode Island, and the Hank Williams Songwriting Competition. Ruth was also recognized at the South Florida Folk Festival for the Best Upbeat Song and received the Philadelphia Folk Factory’s People’s Choice Award. She competes annually in the “World Series” of fingerstyle competitions during the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas.
Wyand spent 15 years leading her own band performing in clubs and concert halls throughout the northeastern United States and Europe. Along the way she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition and worked under Frank Dibussolo with the Philadelphia Jazz Ensemble. Martin Guitar also sponsored Ruth for a master class at D’usquesne University. A resident of Dare County for the past two years, she loves to teach guitar, songwriting and voice in between tours.
“She’s such a great guitarist in a world where accomplished women guitarists are still few and far between. Her interesting use of open tunings, claw hammer, Piedmont and Travis picking, along with harmonics and drumbeats on the guitar, kept the audience totally absorbed and enchanted,” the Devonport Folk Club wrote from Auckland, New Zealand.
From a Scott Joplin rag on acoustic guitar to a smoking Dwayne Allman lead on electric, Ruth embraces history. Her style of guitar playing and songwriting is heavily influenced by swing, ragtime, country, folk, and blues genres.
“Ruth’s knowledge of traditional song and various styles of music is what takes her beyond the realm of most singer songwriters. Her vocal range is nearly limitless.” Angelina Scioll wrote of her in the Philadelphia Music Forum.
Ruth’s newest CD, Greetings From Your Faraway Girl, was released in February 2008 at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, but the real celebration will be held locally on April 3rd at 9:30 p.m. at Chilli Peppers Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills, NC.
Laura Martier
Email: obdiva@aol.com
The reigning jazz vocalist on the Outer Banks, Laura Martier, was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and is well-known as a local performer, but she also tours and has performed at the Blue Note in Washington D.C. and at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. She is also an educator. Ms. Martier commuted to Williamsburg, Virginia where she was adjunct professor of voice at the College of William and Mary two years ago and last year she worked with a choral group in Chapel Hill to be near her daughter who was studying at the Waldorf School. She has been highly active locally in the arts community and has recently accepted the position of Executive Director for the Dare County Arts Council whose mission is not only to promote the arts, but to educate as well.
Of her formative years, she expresses gratitude to those few high school teachers that could see the gift she carried inside. To Laura Martier, singing in a choir was like entering another world where the problems of real life just did not exist. She still sings some of the pieces from those days.
“Some of our concerts Godspell, Bohemian Rhapsody, Shadrak are highlights of my early musical experiences. I always felt at home in choir. Even after graduating I’d go back and sing a few songs for the choir. It’s always affirming.”
But she says her favorite performing moment came last summer when she and Dan shared the stage with their son and daughter to perform their children’s original compositions.
“I was a back up singer, essentially adding harmonies to my children’s songs as they played their guitars with Dad on percussion. Awesome.”
She attributes much to her formative years, especially her high school experience, because of the quality of the teachers.
“It was a place in time with everything to look forward to and by having that one thing about myself nurtured and cared about by those teachers and fellow classmates, it gave me a glimpse of my potential, permission if you will to go out and sing!”
She enjoys raising money for the First Flight Middle and High School jazz bands by donating a portion of her CD sales to help fund band trips to Europe last summer and she recently gave a benefit concert at the high school to help send the middle school group, All That Jazz, to Sacramento, California.
Laura sees the teenagers in the school jazz bands in the same “nurturing” incubator that so influenced her. She hopes their travels and experiences will give these young musicians the confidence to pursue a career in music.
Leslie Erickson
Phone: (252) 261-5826
Email: leslie@clubviolin.com
Website: www.clubviolin.com
Leslie Erickson earned a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from East Carolina University and Master of Music in Violin Performance from Ithaca College in New York. She has been playing the violin for 20 years in orchestras, chamber music groups, solo recitals, weddings and fiddling events.
Leslie has traveled to Brisbane, Australia as part of International Music Workshops, performed in The Mid America Chamber Music Institute in Delaware, Ohio and Brevard Music Center’s Summer Orchestra Program. Leslie also attended Mark O’Connor’s fiddle camp in Nashville in 2003 and a violin workshop with well-known master teacher, Roberta Guaspari in Harlem, New York in 2004.
She has taught privately for the past ten years in North Carolina, New York, and Virginia. Leslie also taught orchestra at Crestwood Middle School in Chesapeake, Virginia where her students have received superior ratings at all of their festivals and competitions. Leslie currently maintains a full private violin studio here on the Outer Banks.
In addition to performing numerous weddings on the Outer Banks, Leslie has played fiddle with the Outer Banks Music Showcase and The Sandy Bottom Bluegrass Band. She also performs with Trio La Mer, a local classical ensemble.
Audra Goldsmith
Phone: (252) 256-0851
Email: audralgoldsmith@aol.com
Pianist Audra Goldsmith is a native of the Outer Banks. Excluding the few years studying in New York where she went to college, the Outer Banks has been her emergent point for music, friends, and family. After attending the College of the Albemarle she went on to study in Manhattan at the City University where she majored in business, marketing and advertising, and minored in musical studies and liberal arts. She took good advantage of the many opportunities to see operas and symphonies, Broadway shows, and aspiring artists in smaller venues. Back on the beach, she feels blessed to have met and become acquainted with many artists some of which now are a part of The Carolinian Studio.
She feels fortunate to have studied under Debbie-Lyn Calvino of Kitty Hawk for close to 15 years, which led to instruction by Mrs. Calvino’s instructor, Gwen Stevens, a now retired Julliard professor of New York. Both teachers have remarkable credentials, and Miss Goldsmith is influenced by their musicianship and teaching technique. In addition to Mrs. Calvino and Mrs. Stevens, other instructors include Dr. Rachel Gragson of the Elizabeth City State University music faculty and Mrs. Joan Freemantle of Southern Shores.
Her musical career began in church where she sang in the choir and later played the piano for the services. To expand her musical capacity, she played in many recitals, school bands, drama and musical productions, art openings, restaurants, and private events. With the encouragement of Mrs. Calvino, she was a participant in competitions at Elizabeth City University, Chowan College, East Carolina University, and the Outer Bank piano competition. She also performed as a guest “Rising Star” for the East Carolina Concert Society. Eventually, Audra Goldsmith became a frequently requested pianist for weddings and parties. “I found it really marvelous that I could make a living doing what I loved,” she said. “And I felt this was even more true when I began teaching in 2004.”
Although she continues to play for special events on the Outer Banks, her heart is in the classroom, and she cannot think of a more rewarding job than to guide children as she has been guided throughout life.
“More than teaching notes on a page, I am truly passionate about steering my student’s musical education by acquainting them with master artists for inspiration and to understand their life lessons. By encouraging my students to take an active approach to learning music and piano accurately, I hope to prepare them for the influence they will ultimately have on others through their minds and music by sharing with others the talents that they have been given and earned. I teach the value of commitment and self-discipline, organization, and prioritization, and I work to instill confidence and poise. With these skills, my students will be on their way to becoming not only skillful musicians, but community minded and giving ones as well.”
Chris Creighton
Phone: (252) 255-8127
Email: beachroadguitars@earthlink.net
A true jack-of-all-trades, Chris Creighton has worked as a photographer and photo editor, a food and beverage inventory control supervisor, and even an OSHA certified bucket truck operator. Chris is a graduate of Seton Hall University and holds a BA in Anthropology and a BA in Art History.
Music has always been his focus however. As a stage hand member of the local union in Atlantic City, NJ, Chris has worked at all the major casinos that present national talent including Caesars, Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina, Bally’s Entertainment, Tropicana, Showboat, and The Atlantic City Convention Hall. He has worked as a stage carpenter, rigger, follow spot operator and soldier for four Miss America pagents. In his capacity as a theater and stage rigger, he is a climber with his own gear and is quite comfortable ascending to the highest points of stadium ceilings, hanging thousands of pounds of equipment over people’s heads, so he’s also big on safety.
Chris has mixed audio for rock, blues and country bands, and he has co-produced four CD’s with his wife, Ruth Wyand, in a self-contained studio they built together.
As a boy, he learned a great deal from his father who refinished and repaired antique furniture for a living after he retired from the military. This experience, combined with his love of music, eventually led him to fulfill his aspirations of building and repairing stringed instruments of all sorts. He built the “Creighton Baricaster” (baritone guitar) for Ruth and recently restored her old Guild 12-String. He keeps her many guitars in top condition for her concert performances. Chris is also engaged in used and vintage instrument sales.
At the Carolinian Studio, Chris Creighton teaches the care and repair of stringed instruments and give basic instruction on recording and mixing music. He is available to work a variety of positions related to major concert and theater production and has the equipment to provide recording services and sound and light for smaller venues and events.
Joe Mapp
Email: mappjoe@yahoo.com
A long time member of the OBX music scene, Joe Mapp’s music is a listening experience to be savored, and why he is consistently sought after for instruction. A true journeyman, his warm, phat sounding Fender guitars have delighted crowds for 30 years in a vast array of music genres and venues. He a has a smooth and calculated style that he culled by blending his natural talent, consistent practice (”in the shed”), applying his years of experience and academic studies, and the raw expression of his emotion. The guitarist at large is best known for expressing his music equally with a blend of heart and mind.
Joe’s music resume is as impressive as his sound. He began his career as house guitarist in R&B clubs in Washington, D.C. when he was too young to enter otherwise. On a mission to develop his knowledge and love of jazz, he migrated north to New York City where he studied with some of the best players in the world including Mike Stern of the Miles Davis Group and Jack Wilkins of Manhattan Transfer. To add to his experience from the road, Joe rounded out his technical abilities at the renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston.
A musician’s musician, Joe enjoys the talented artists he has worked with locally and respects them whole-heartedly. Always willing to try new musical adventures, he has always chosen to perform with groups that challenged his ability to create a new sound over those with star power or name recognition.
Joe Mapp gives private lessons on the guitar and conducts seminars in harmony and theory, and as his list of great students has grown over the past 20 years, he has branched into other instruments. He is calm and patient, and with his soft-spoken approach, he teaches introductory, novice and advanced lessons. Perhaps most notably, students request him for the solid technical skill Joe’s training provides in any style of music his students wish to pursue. Joe believes that is way he can keep his students enjoying their music for a lifetime.
Cathy Pescevich Kreplin
Phone: (252) 955-0706
Email: cpkreplin@mchsi.com
Website: www.ascencionrecordings.com
Cathy Pescevich Kreplin, born and raised in northern New Jersey by an intensely musical family, began performing and studying music at an early age. In fact, she learned how to read music before she learned how to read! Cathy began tutoring music while still a senior in high school and has continuously run a private teaching studio since that time. Individual and/or group lessons and coaching in voice, flute, and integrated introductory piano (or keyboard) with music theory can be arranged by calling 252-955-0706.
Pescevich Kreplin holds a double concentration, cum laude Bachelor of Science Degree in Music (voice/flute) and Technology (audio engineering) from New York University. Undergraduate studies also leading to her degree included music and drama at Yale University and studio technique at The Institute of Audio Research (NYC). She has studied Italian, French and classical Greek, with diction studies in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Latin. While at Yale, Cathy was a founding member of “Something Extra”, the first all-female glee club in that University’s long history.
In addition to university education, Pescevich Kreplin benefitted from 15 years of private instruction and coaching. Among her voice teachers have been Marianna Busching (Peabody Conservatory) and John Kuhn (Metropolitan Opera Chorus). Professional performance highlights include off-Broadway and regional musical theater, Masterworks Chorus (DC), Troubadours Nouveaux soprano/guitar duo, and the Virginia Symphony Chorus (Norfolk, VA).
On the business side of music, Ms. Kreplin has served as Executive Producer for Ascencion Recordings, Development Director for public radio station WRVS-FM, founder and producer of the Can-It Waterfront Benefit Concert Series, Coordinator of Volunteers for the Masterworks Chorus in Washington DC, Staff Engineer/Editor for Vanguard Records in New York, Apprentice Editor for Digital Recording Systems in New York, and production assistant for NBC and RAI (Italian) television in New York.
Ms. Kreplin has lived in northeastern North Carolina for 17 years with her family, gratefully raising her three daughters in that beautiful environment. Pescevich Kreplin has served the local community for the past ten years as a mentor and judge for high school senior projects and as a volunteer tutor for elementary and high school students.
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Gordon Kreplin
Email: emailus@ascencionrecordings.com
Website: www.ascencionrecordings.com
From Washington DC to Rio de Janeiro, from Lima to Madrid, critics have hailed Gordon Kreplin’s performances as ” … transcendent …”. ” … making magic …”, and ” … exploiting the guitar’s expressive possibilities.” His performances have been broadcast by National Public Radio, Around New York, The Voice of America, The Voice of Spain, PM Magazine, U.S. public and commercial television, and national television in Peru and Chile. The National Endowment for the Arts and the United States Information Agency awarded him a “Highly Recommended” status for US government sponsorships abroad.
Mr. Kreplin is a graduate of the American University where he studied with John Marlow. He furthered his studies with Jose Tomas at the Oscar Espla conservatory in Alicante, Spain. While studying with Tomas, Mr. Kreplin was awarded a scholarship by the Spanish government to perform in Andres Segovia’s famed month-long master class, “Musica en Compostela” in Santiago de Compostela. Gordon Kreplin has taught at George Washington University, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Conservatorio da Horta in Faial, Portugal.
When not performing, teaching or recording, Kreplin spends time in his photography studio. Visit our Ascencion Photography to learn more.
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