Faculty
Chris Walz — Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin
In 2026, Chris celebrates 30 years of teaching at The Old Town School of Folk Music!
Chris first got interested in the guitar as a teenager through the music of the early country blues players, like Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Willie McTell. He plays and teaches this style to this day. Always interested in bluegrass as well, he developed his flatpicking skill and wound up spending three and a half years touring the world with the bluegrass band The Special Consensus. Chris divides his time between performing and teaching.
“I've been teaching both guitar and five-string banjo for more than 20 years. Since 1996 I've been a teacher at The Old Town School of Folk Music. I teach all levels from beginners to advanced experienced. The real satisfaction I get is when I'm able to get a student to execute something they didn't think they could do. I work with both tablature and by ear, but mostly what I try to do is get my students to think for themselves.”
Sue Demel — Songwriting, Harmony Singing
Sue Demel, known for her “out-the-box” harmony singing and songwriting, has developed some amazing workshops. Her hands-on approach takes students through an instant call & response experience so that each tip is examined and quickly expressed through live interaction. Though schooled in jazz and sought after as a back up singer, it's Sue's 30-plus years as a singer and recording artist in the iconic folk trio Sons of the Never Wrong that have shaped her holistic philosophy that all music is accessible when approached with authenticity. Her students range from veteran recording artists to beginning singer-songwriters. Sue is not a musical theorist, her specialty “feel and ear” training is based on strong guidance to help students reveal their true voices as singers and writers. Sue’s unique classes help expand repertoires by building on improvisation, dynamics, and wild writing prompts. Fifteen-plus years of teaching at Old Town School of Folk Music, and many national workshops later, Sue is excited to be part of the Celebrating Traditions Retreat.
Maura Lally Glover — Ensemble, Guitar
Maura began taking guitar classes in the summer of 1996 and was immediately hooked — taken by the thrill of playing and singing, and doing so with new pals. Ten years later, she was proud to be hired as a teacher at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Since that time she team taught an ensemble class, “Celebrating Tradition” where she and Peggy Browning emphasized learning by ear, working out arrangements with the students, passing on stories and songs, and stressing the joy that making music brings.
Maura is one of the founding members of the acoustic trio, “The Pickin' Bubs” whose sound is rooted in traditional music, from country, to blues, to gospel, old time and folk ballads, and carried on in their originals.
Maura places an emphasis on listening, participation, good sound, laughter and enjoyment in making music with one another.
Jonas Friddle — Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar
Jonas Friddle is a singer, songwriter and old-time banjo player whose songs have received The John Lennon Songwriting Award, First Place in the Great American Song Contest and a nomination for Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards. His tunes bear the marks of a musician who has done his time in pub sessions and square dance halls, and his writing is full of imagery, honesty and humor.
Friddle was raised in the mountains of North Carolina and learned to play guitar on a yard sale Harmony six string. He was already writing songs by the time he got to Kentucky at age 18. There, the bluegrass pickin’ and old-time dances turned him on to the power and joy of traditional folk music. He added a mandolin, fiddle and banjo to his arsenal and got a job slapping bass with the college bluegrass band. After serving his time in higher education, he spent a year traveling around the world playing music in pubs and living rooms. In 2007 Jonas landed in Chicago, started the Barehand Jugband, the Sleepy Lou Old-Time duo and began teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Since then he has released multiple studio albums under his own name and with the folk supergroup “The Majority.”
Amanda Healan — Bass
Amanda Healan is known for her powerful presence and warmth, which she readily shares through her upright bass. Also an accomplished singer, Amanda’s voice cuts through a crowd with unvarnished honesty. She has been playing and teaching the bass for over 30 years. Her roots lie in the symphony and have grown to include folk, blues, honky-tonk country, and bluegrass. She emphasizes ensemble playing, and as one conductor wrote, “She misses nothing in terms of the group dynamic.”
In 2014, Amanda entered the doors of the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, where her love of community music blossomed. She eagerly adopted songwriting, the baritone ukulele, and a penchant for oral tradition. Now in Nashville, she makes play a priority and “is a surefire scheme for fun and unexpected brilliance,” according to her bandmates. She plays with several bands in Music City and enjoys leading community events where music and nature unite. Amanda brings a limitless supply of good cheer to her students and welcomes all musical expressions.
Mark Mitchell — Fiddle, Mandolin, Guitar
Mark began playing music in 1992, first taking a guitar class at the Armitage Avenue Old Town School. Through years of playing and learning, Mark continued to hone his skills as a musician, turning his focus to mandolin and fiddle. His eclectic taste ranges from old time, traditional folk, rock, even some punk and a variety of fiddle styles, most recently Irish fiddle.
He is a founding member of the acoustic trio, “The Pickin' Bubs” whose sound is rooted in traditional music, from country to, blues, gospel, old-time and folk ballads. His skills as a multi-instrumentalist make him a sought-after player, lending his talents to other musical groups, including “The Alberts Folk Revival”.
Ellen Shepard — Singing, Ukulele, Banjo, Guitar
Ellen has been a folkie since age four, when she first strummed “Cecilia” on ukulele and tuned in to the legendary Midnight Special on WFMT radio. Ever since, she’s been hooked on the magic of voices weaving together. Her musical path has taken her across the Midwest with the Mark Dvorak Trio and other close-harmony trios including The Twilight Stealers and Sweet Fern (opening for Barack Obama!). Her genres range from folk and early country to choral music and jazz.
Ellen has taught vocal harmony at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Folky Fish Fest, Woodstock Folk Festival, and the Celebrating Tradition retreat. Her sessions are lively and delightfully demystifying. Ellen weaves in music theory in easy-to-grasp ways, giving singers the tools and language to understand what they’re hearing and communicate more confidently with other musicians. Come ready to sing, experiment, and listen in a whole new way.
Peggy Browning — Ensemble, Guitar, Banjo
Peggy Browning began as a student at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the mid ’90s. There she found a place combining music with friends and history that would come to be an integral part of her life. Ten years later she was hired to teach and has proudly carried on in the traditions and vision of the school. She models her teaching styles after her mentors, Mark Dvorak, Frank Hamilton, and Bess Lomax Hawes. Peggy focuses on ensemble playing. She emphasizes learning by ear and creating arrangements together with all levels of players. While keeping fresh the history of the Old Town School of Folk Music and America’s aural traditions, she also remembers to keep an ear to the greats of today. She creates a safe space for her students to learn and grow. Peggy plays guitar and the 5-string banjo.
Peggy is one of the founding members of “The Pickin’ Bubs,” an acoustic trio whose sound is rooted in traditional music, from country to, blues, gospel, old-time, and folk ballads. She is the main songwriter for the group and her original compositions echo those traditions. Her music and teaching reflect her eagerness to learn and to welcome others. “As long as there are voices to sing and hearts to listen, your work, your songs, and your labor will spread to bless and fertilize the land.” — Woody Guthrie.
Lukas Simpson — Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar
Lukas Simpson is a folk singer, teacher and performer. His original compositions have been used in television and radio commercials worldwide, adapted for stage productions and performed by a philharmonic orchestra. Lukas has played music across the US and Ireland with Goldmine Pickers and various other bands and performers. He and his wife, Angela, organized and produced a festival in Northern Indiana called FolkyFishFest, an event designed to bring people together to share talents and passions that inspire one another and celebrate friendship through folk music, fishing, crafts, and fellowship. He is currently living in St. Louis, Missouri where he teaches clawhammer banjo, guitar, mandolin and ukulele at The Folk School of St. Louis and The Music Room. He also walks dogs, performs and chases his 4-year-old daughter around.
Mitzi Lebensorger — Singing, Fiddle, Guitar
Making music together can be pure magic! Mitzi loves the joy, connection, and transcendence of group music-making and likes nothing better than sharing that with others—whether singing sweet a cappella harmonies in small groups, facilitating a spirited singing jam at a senior center, or rocking the rafters in a gospel choir. She is grateful to the supportive teachers and musical communities that have influenced her over the past 25 years, especially the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia, and Music for People improvisation workshops. She has performed at venues small and large with the harmony-centric bands Sweet Fern and Sweeter Gift Trio and the bluegrass band Wood Street Bloodhounds. Most memorable was sharing the stage with then-Senator Barack Obama at Chicago’s Daley Center Plaza for a peace rally with 30,000 people in attendance. In addition to singing, Mitzi enjoys playing guitar and fiddle, especially with Fiddle Club of the World Orchestra and Organic Tune Sprouters.
Theo Kyrkostas — Yoga
Theo has been working in private practice for over 40 years, the majority of which revolves around massage and teaching Iyengar Yoga.
Theo incorporates modalities which he has found to be of the greatest help to his clients. Breathing is as important as the correct alignment. He aims to have the breath initiate each movement. Finding a rhythm that encourages moving with ease is one area that Theo emphasizes when teaching, not only to be in the moment but to prevent injury. The main value Theo brings to the table when sharing the beauty of Iyengar Yoga is to cultivate self-compassion—to be kind to yourself and avoid self-deprecating thoughts—and to accept where you are in your practice and to be patient.
Catering
MM mmmmm... Family Catering (pronounced NKdoubleM mmmm...) with Special guest Jim. Back by popular demand are our wonderful caterers, Niki, Kathy, Mary and Moira. They have been amazing in keeping everyone nutritiously fed while keeping a sense of humor. We are so lucky to have them with us again this year!