Our Instructors

Alan Munde first made an impact on the traditional bluegrass scene in the late 60s. He worked
for a while in a band led by guitarist Jimmy Martin and was also in demand for record sessions.
His technical skills, allied to his deep knowledge of the form, drew the attention of the Los
Angeles-based bluegrass band Country Gazette. When they lost Herb Pedersen, Munde replaced
him and remained an important member of the band until its eventual dissolution in 1988. Along
the way he appeared on their 1972 debut, Traitor In Our Midst. Munde also worked concurrently
with another Los Angeles band, the Flying Burrito Brothers, visiting Europe with them in 1972.
Munde had meanwhile taken an interest in contemporary bluegrass, a form for which his
exceptional technique was ideally suited. His own-name albums, three of which appeared on
Ridge Runner Records, display these skills to their full and the results are exciting and at times
breathtaking in their instrumental audacity. Munde continued to perform and record through the
90s, with artists such as Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Roland White, bringing the bluegrass
tradition to a new generation of audiences and demonstrating that in its new clothes the form
continues to have much to offer..

Mandolin player for CFB,  Potters Wheel,  Emalee Flatness and Stringed Union is Matthew
Maydew (affectionately known as Gunther to the band and many others). He makes his home in
Republic, Missouri. Part of the winning band in the SPGMA International Band Contest of 2001,
this mandolin player is no stranger to success in his talent.  Matt started playing at age nine and
by thirteen stood alongside the Shepherd of the Hills Weekend Bluegrass band. Matt’s favorite
musical influence is Dempsey Young.  His favorite style being jazz mandolin, Maydew always
keeps spectators engaged with his performance.

I guess you could say that music is in Gary's DNA. He has been singing since he could talk. His first stage appearance was at the age of 3 at a local hootenanny. As a young kid he showed interest in the bass but since he didn't have one, he would pretend by playing the door facings. At the age of 9 he started on the bass, having to use a step stool to play since the instrument was bigger than he was. From that point he took off and hasn't looked back. 
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Gary first played for several years in his grandfather's band Downhome Bluegrass. They played shows all across the Midwest. During this time Gary was nominated three times for SPBGMA Midwest Bass Player of the Year. The group also won the Instrumental Group of the Year title in 2001. During these years, he had the privilege to learn from his grandfather and the other members of the band. Following the passing of his grandfather, in 2011 he helped establish his own group, Spur of the Moment Bluegrass, which played for several years across the region. 
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Gary is a founding member of the band Spillwater Drive, which began in early 2019, and is loving every minute of it. He enjoys the fact that he is surrounded by a group of talented musicians (much more talented than he is) who push him to be better, all while having fun. He claims there's never a dull moment around these guys!
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When not playing bluegrass, Gary has worked for the past thirteen years as a high school social studies and speech/debate teacher, where he has coached numerous state champions and national finalists. He is transitioning to teaching at the community college level this fall. He is active in his church, spends way too much time on social media, and also spends time following his nephews' sports teams. He is looking forward to working with Ozark Mountain Music Association this summer to provide those attending the camp his unique take on the music and the bass. 

David Maravilla has been involved with Bluegrass since the late 1970s, playing guitar with various Missouri-based bands. He started with Dub Crouch (uncle of Tim and Dennis Crouch), and then joined Frank Ray and the Cedar Hill Grass. In the 1980s he helped start the band, Second Wind, whose personnel included Rhonda Vincent and later, Alison Krauss. Afterward, David was invited to join Alison in her band, an early edition of Union Station, to enter the 1988 SPBGMA International Band Contest in Nashville, which they won. In 1997, David became a founding member of Lonesome Road, who also won the SPBGMA contest in 1999. After many years, he remains with Lonesome Road and also serves the Greater Ozarks Bluegrass Society as president.

Raised in Southwest Missouri, John took up his father’s guitar around age 10 and later a banjo found by his mother at a yard sale.
John performed in the Youth in Bluegrass Contest in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and has toured extensively with various Bluegrass and Country Music artists. John enjoys songwriting, leading music at his church, traditional muzzleloading and woodworking. John lives near Seymour, Missouri with his wife Kourtney and their two children, Lilly and Zane.

Crystal McCool has been playing since she was a small child traveling with her family band, Springhill Bluegrass.  She plays bass for many bands in her area and has been a contracted musician for 20 years at the Ozark Folk Center. She teaches bass and enjoys sharing her love of bluegrass and old time music with beginning musicians.  She is passionate about coaching young bands.  Crystal has coached bands that have won such awards as The Rising Legend Award, State Fair Talent, The Ozark Folk Center Youth Band of the Year, Arkansas Country Music Award Bluegrass Band of the Year nominations, the KSMU/Silver Dollar City Youth In Bluegrass Band Competition, and many others.  

Isaac McCutchens studied mandolin under the legendary Ozark musician, Sam Coffee and Bill Monroe at his camp in Nashville. He has played with several bands including the Mountain Bloomers, Greenland Station, Dogwood Canyon, and Southern Strings who has placed in the top 5 in the Youth in Bluegrass Competition at Silver Dollar City. He teaches mandolin lessons in and around Harrison, Arkansas.

Jeff is a long time native of the Ozarks.  He serves as President of the Board of the Mountain Grove School House Jam.  His expertise in Old Time fiddle music has been passed down from the previous generation of Ozark fiddle players. His is known to be an expert in Taney County history and also serves on the Board for the Society of Ozarkian Hillcrofters.  He is the owner and operator of Michel Electric. He is married to Heather Michel and they have 3 daughters.  

Mary Parker is from Mountain View Arkansas. She has been playing the fiddle and performing
over half of her life, performing within the genres of Bluegrass, Old Time, and Texas style. She
currently holds nine state fiddle championship titles and was nominated for Young Artist of Year
in the ACMA awards in 2019. She performs with several bands in the Ozarks area and is an
accomplished musician, proficient in 6 instruments in addition to the fiddle.

Justus Ross has been playing the guitar since he was 6 years old.  His mentors and instructors included O.D. Mitchell, Jake Workman, Rodley and Bobby Lewis who taught him the fundamentals of bluegrass music.  He grew up traveling and playing with his family in the Ross Family Bluegrass Band. He is currently a member of Po”Anna which is a band made up of his closest friends.  He has dedicated the bigger part of his life to bluegrass and is excited to pass on his knowledge to others.

Charity Harman makes her home in Florissant, MO. She is currently a preschool teacher at North County Christian School. Charity has been singing since she was a little girl and began playing instruments around the age of 10. She began on banjo, guitar, piano and then picked up the fiddle around the age of 12. She grew up playing in “The Ross Family '' and then played upright bass with "Po Anna" for a little while. She is currently playing fiddle and singing in “Harman & Ruble Band”. Charity enjoys sharing her passion for singing and music as well as watching others grow a passion for music and succeed. 

Matt’s first memories are of Bluegrass music and listening to his dad play the banjo with a never-ending stream of musicians through his home.  He got his first guitar when he was ten years old and never looked back.  He has had the pleasure of playing several different genres of music professionally but always found his way back to bluegrass.  “The music, the people who make it and the people who enjoy it are unmatched! It’s a family”, he says “he is honored to be a part of”.   Matt has played with many bands including Taylor Bluegrass, Strawberry Hill Express, John Phil & Matt, Slightly Bluegrass, Brenna and the Red Hot and Greeenland Station Bluegrass.

Sophia Wright grew up in the Ozarks, jamming at the Mountain Grove schoolhouse from the
age of 8, where she learned how to play the guitar and fiddle. She formed a band called Southern Strings when she was 15 years old to compete in the KSMU Youth in Bluegrass Contest at Silver Dollar City. That band played together for 5 years around the Ozarks and Silver Dollar City. She went on to attend Bethel University in Tennessee on a Bluegrass Scholarship, where she played with the Bethel Bluegrass Band and received a Bachelor of Science in Music Business and a Master’s degree in Business. She is currently the Director of Student Engagement at Bethel University. She is a band coach and instructor at Ozark Mountain Music Bluegrass Camp and a fiddle teacher at Old Time Music & Dance Camp in Mountain View, AR. She also serves as Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Ozark Mountain Music Association.

Joel Hinds began playing guitar and banjo when he was eight years old. In 2015, Joel was an
apprentice in the Missouri Folk Arts Program, learning old-time fiddle under Howell County
fiddler, Cliff Bryan.  A sixth-generation native of Howell County, Joel lives on the family farm
with his wife Casey and their six children. Joel works as headmaster of a Christian school in
Willow Springs.

Aaron is an accomplished old-time fiddler from Springfield, Illinois. He began playing the fiddle
when he was five years old and learned the traditional art from some of Missouri’s finest
fiddlers, including Dr. Howard W. Marshall, John White, Vesta Johnson, Charlie Walden, and
Geoff Seitz. Aaron apprenticed under master fiddler Charlie Walden through the Illinois Arts
Council’s Folk Arts Program.

Aaron won first place in both of Illinois’ premier old time fiddling competitions, including the
Annual Illinois Old Time Fiddle Championship (2023) and the Illinois State Fair Old Time Fiddle
and Banjo Contest (2019).  He has also placed in many other fiddle contests throughout
Missouri and the Midwest.

Aaron has taught traditional fiddling at the Folk School in St. Louis, and he serves as a judge for
the Illinois State Fair Old Time Fiddle and Banjo Contest.  He plays old time dances and
presents on the topic of traditional fiddling in multiple venues throughout Illinois and the region. 
Aaron is also a passionate amateur folklorist, who makes field recordings of the traditional
artists he plays with, so that the art may be preserved and passed on to the next generation.

Samantha Williamson is a 23-year-old fiddle player, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Ever since she can remember, her life has been filled with the joy of making music! At 9 years of age she began rigorous classical studies on the violin, and it wasn’t long before she began to have a deep love for roots music – especially bluegrass. Her first Bluegrass mentor, and greatest influence is world-class fiddle player Byron Berline. Growing up she spent many years sitting in his fiddle shop in Guthrie, OK learning from him, and hearing his many stories of the years he worked with Bill Monroe and countless other world-class musicians. Watching the way he generously took time to invest in young fiddle players made a big impression on her, and after his sad passing in 2020, she hopes to continue his legacy and to be the kind of mentor he was for her, and so many young fiddlers. Other influences on her sound and style include Stuart Duncan, Alison Krauss, Tim Crouch, Aubrey Haynie, and Michael Cleveland. She enjoys many diverse styles of roots music, including: Cape Breton Canadian fiddling, Irish, Scottish, Old-time, Texas Swing, and Contest fiddling. Samantha is also an Oklahoma State Junior fiddle champion, and an Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival fiddle champion. She is a member of her family band, Pearlgrace & Co. and loves traveling and spreading the joy of the Lord through music. Her passion and hope is to instill in others a love for Christ, and a love for beautiful music. 

Jeff Kamps has been playing and singing traditional music in the Hardy area since
their move in 1978. Jeff is well-known for his old-time clawhammer banjo playing. In fact, he is a two-time Arkansas State Senior Clawhammer Banjo Champion.

Today, he is a retired luthier and businessman, who owned and operated the Flat Creek Dulcimer Shop in Hardy from 1988-2016, building and selling a variety of traditional instruments. Jeff even built one of the banjos he regularly plays.



Wyatt Harman makes his home in Florissant, MO. He is currently a history teacher at North County Christian School, where he teaches 7th-12th grade. " I have literally grown up in bluegrass music, though I didn't actually start playing until I was fifteen". Since then Wyatt has played with "Bull Harman and Bull's Eye," "The Pickin' Chicks" and "Kentucky Drive".   For 5 consecutive years, from 2016 to 2020,  he was named SPBGMA Midwest Bass Player of the Year. In 2013 he formed a side youth band named "Mashtag" and they won the SPBGMA International Bluegrass Championship in Nashville, TN in 2017.  He was a member of “That Dalton Gang” from 2017 to  2023. In the beginning of 2023 he and and his best friend and bandmate, formed the band “Harman & Ruble”.  My friend is no longer with us but I have continued to go on with the band in his memory.  A huge honor for me was in December of 2023 I had the opportunity to make my Grand Ole Opry debut with “Rhonda Vincent & The Rage”.  "I love working with the kids at music camp!"

Sam was raised in the Ozarks and learned music at a young age from his father Lynn. He started playing at Dogpatch USA, Silver Dollar City, and music shows in Branson. Later he and his brother Kent started The Coffey Brothers Bluegrass Band where they played at festivals and the morning show with Mac Wiseman in Branson. 
Currently, Sam plays with Greenland Station Bluegrass Band, The Smooth Jaspers, The Tennessee Gentleman, The Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band, and family band with his wife Tammy, son Dalton, sister-in-law Kay Oldfather, and brother-in-law Steven Barnhart in Sioux Falls, SD. 
Sam plays several stringed instruments, but the 5 string banjo is his favorite. He currently lives in Boone Co. Arkansas with his wife Tammy and attends The Stone Church in Omaha. Sam is a member of the South Dakota Legends of Country Music Hall of Fame.

Emily Garoutte has been fiddling for eight years. She spent two years training classically before
she discovered the world of old-time and bluegrass music. In 2017, she attended her first Ozark
Mountain Music Association camp where she learned to play by ear for the first time. During
that week, she fell in love with the style and creativity of the music as well as the community
that formed around it. Since then, she helped form the bluegrass group, Missouri 65, and fiddles
for another traditional bluegrass group, the Ozark Mountain Five. She also has a passion for
preserving local old-time tunes. Beginning in 2022, she participated as an apprentice in the
Missouri Folk Arts Program studying Ozarks square dance fiddling. She passionately hopes to
pass the music  on to peers and to the next generation.

Sharry Lovan is from Willow Springs MO. She has been in the music business for many years She is the Vice President of HOBA (Heart of the Ozarks Bluegrass Association) in West Plains, MO.  She has operated a bluegrass show in Willow Springs, MO called "Bluegrass at its Finest” at the Star Theatre since 2014 and it is still going strong!  She is the bass player and band leader for Stringed Union and they played at Bluegrass & Barbeque in 2019.  She has been married to Jack Lovan  for 33 years and she loves playing music and singing.  She gives God all the glory for what talent He has given her! 

Wayne Massengale was the Arkansas State Fiddle Champion at age 17, as well as a founding charter member of the Arkansas Fiddlers Convention and host to many fiddle contests. He has been a legendary fiddle player in the Branson show industry for 37 years including the Roy Clark, Country Tonite and has been with Grand Country since 2005.

Nathan McAlister has spent the last 25 years studying traditional fiddle and banjo styles and is on the leading edge of old-time square dance music in the Ozarks. He blends a repertory of traditional Ozark fiddle tunes with an energetic raw approach to southern American fiddle and banjo music. He currently teaches fiddle and banjo at the Acoustic Shoppe in Springfield, MO.

Lillyanne McCool is a 20-year-old banjo player from Mountain View, AR, who has one foot planted in the old-time world and the other in bluegrass. She is remarkably proficient and accomplished on the clawhammer style, winning 4 state championships and the coveted National Old Time Banjo in 2018 at the tender age of 15.  She is best known in the old-time world for her work with the award-winning Twang All Girl String Band but can also be found playing with her family string band, The UpJumpers.  She shares an equal passion for bluegrass and three finger banjo.  She released her first solo cd, Back To The Ozarks, in December of 2020 which features both bluegrass and old time as well as her songwriting abilities. Lillyanne enjoys teaching banjo and watching her students fall in love with the banjo and music of the mountains that she calls home.

Emalee Flatness has been playing in bluegrass bands since she was fourteen years of age-- the
first being & Po Anna which she played the fiddle and sang in for eight years. She now sings and plays with various groups in the Ozarks, including the Honkytonk Renovators, the & Emalee Flatness Band, & and & High Sierra.  In December of 2023 Emalee graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor' degree in History and a minor in Ozarks Studies. Currently she is employed by Missouri State University Libraries, interviewing Ozarks musicians for a YouTube program entitled & Songs of the Ozarks. During the summer months, you can find her acting and singing in the & Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama & and performing at Silver Dollar City.

Most musicians wear many hats, and Stephen “Mojo” Mougin is no exception. Mojo is best known as a member of the Sam Bush Band and a sought-after instructor. But he is also an award-winning producer and engineer, a label head, mentor, songwriter, band coach, and more. Mojos’ commitment to high standards and dedication to everything he works on have made him an in-demand partner and collaborator for any creative endeavor in the world of acoustic music. He is that rare musician that can help grow a band or artist from developing talent to professional quality performer; and shepherd artistic visions from one end of the creative process to the other. If a new bluegrass band has caught your ear in recent years, or a new song given you goose-bumps, it’s very likely that Mojo had something to do with it. 

Dennis is a traditional old time fiddler who started playing at the age of 13.  He was inspired when he learned his maternal grandfather Foster Barnes played the fiddle.  He had already passed by the time I was born.

Learning to play by ear, he would listen to records and attend local jams. He has performed with:
Table Rock Opry, Apple Town Barleen Family Country Music Show, Spring Creek Boys, Missouri Boatride and at Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama as Fiddlin Jake. He is also proud to say that he has shared the stage with these great musicians: Dean Webb, Carl and Pearl Butler, Red Sovine, Vernon Oxford and Billy Grammer.
He says he was truly blessed that his parents, Efton and Gertie Pritchard were supportive of his endeavor along with great mentors like: Eddie Asher, J.R. McNeil and Louis Holt.
As a traditional old time fiddler Dennis has played many hours at round and square dances which he has truly enjoyed.
 

David Scrivner is one of the Ozarks’ premiere fiddle players with more than 30 years of experience. His repertoire includes more than 400 fiddle tunes, focusing mainly on Missouri and Ozarks fiddling. The Missouri Folk Arts Program recognizes him as a Master Fiddler for its Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.

Shelly Smith grew up in a musical family and has been performing since she was very young. As a teenager, she spent 8 years as a vocalist and instrumentalist on the Denny Hilton Show at Lake of the Ozarks. After college, she became more involved in bluegrass when she and her husband helped start the band Swift Kick. Later, in 1997, she became a founding member of Lonesome Road, with whom she still performs as bassist and vocalist. Shelly lives in Ponce de Leon with her husband, Don, and their son, Ison.

Bob Zuellig is our lead caller and old-time community dance instructor at The Old Time Music & Dance Camp in Mountain View, AR. Bob is a stream biologist by day and fiddler, dance
caller, and sound engineer by night. Originally from Missouri, he carries a love for the natural
world fostered among the streams, rivers, and forests of the Ozarks. He has studied Ozarks and
Missouri Valley fiddling over the last dozen years as well as various square dance traditions of
Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virginia. His fiddling, calling, and teaching are lively, straightforward, and to the point. By the end of the week, Bob will have you dancing with confidence to basic figures and regional gems. For those interested, he will have you calling your own dances from within the square, empowering you to carry this part of the tradition to the future. Bob currently resides with his family in Fort Collins, Colorado where he co-founded the Central Rockies Old-time Music Association, organizes and supports monthly dances, and directs the Rocky Mountain Old-time Music Festival (www.thecroma.org).

Kailee Spickes-Jestice is the current Arkansas Old Time Fiddle Grand Champion. She has been playing fiddle for 13 years, and also plays numerous other instruments. Kailee loves old-time music, and teaching/preserving the old-time traditions.

Lindley Creek’s Katie Greer began her bluegrass career at an early age. Katie was 8 years old,
the first time she picked up a mandolin, but her love of singing predated that by 4 years when
her family began to jam together in the living room. The young Katie learned and grew and at
the age of 11 became the band’s full-time mandolin player. “I always wanted to sing, and when you’re in a bluegrass band, you HAVE to learn to play an instrument, laughs Katie. The band
went full time in 2010 and continues to travel to this day. 

Now, 26, Katie Greer is an amazing vocalist, as well as an accomplished mandolin player.
Nominated for the prestigious, “Momentum Vocalist of the Year” award by the International
Bluegrass Music Association in 2021, she has gone on to lead her band, Lindley Creek in two
charting albums and numerous tours across the U.S. and Canada. She heads up the band’s
social media campaigns and posts across platforms, as well as pitching to streaming playlists.

She is also on the creative team for the ban’s concept videos including a #1 Bluegrass Video,
“Too Bad You’re No Good”. Katie is passionate about passing music on to the next generation, and has now joined the Ozark Mountain Music Association to help promote the organization on social media platforms.

Duane Porterfield is a musician with a passion for old time, folk instruments and music. He is a former Kansas/Arkansas state old time banjo campion, a former state, regional and national mountain dulcimer champion as well as several other awards and acknowledgements.

Duane retired from a 32 year career with the Kansas City, KS Police Department in 2013.  He and his wife, Cindi then moved to Mountain View, AR.  He stays busy, involved in the area’s rich music heritage. When not performing, or instructing workshops, you may find him at the Dulcimer Shoppe among the luthiers creating the McSpadden Mountain Dulcimer.

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Ashley Dawn is a seasoned vocalist with country, bluegrass and southern gospel roots.
Winning Branson's Terry Music Awards 2022 Female vocalist of the year, she is based out of Missouri's beautiful Ozarks. She has now been a main vocalist on the Branson’s Famous Baldknobbers show for 5 years.

Ashley landed a Nashville record deal at the age of 17 and toured with her brother and sister in the southern gospel trio, The Praters, charting on the top 100.

She was later contracted as the lead vocalist for the 135th Army Band, Aftershock.

In Fall of 2023 she joined Nashville recording artist, Shane Vancamp,  to form the duo, Outer Limits.

Debbie Kamps plays old-time back-up rhythm guitar, banjo, and sings many of the “old songs” of the local area and the Ozarks. After seeing Jean Ritchie in a live performance, Debbie developed a love for ballad singing and the mountain dulcimer. Jeff built his first mountain dulcimer for her, and she was soon on the road to many years of singing and performing. Debbie retired from teaching English and history in 2015. Jeff, Debbie, and family were also performers at the Arkansas Traveler Dinner Theater in Hardy for many years.

Cathy is a multi-instrumentalist from Connecticut with family roots in Western North Carolina. She began performing throughout the Northeast US as a child with her family band in 1980s. As a teen, she arranged and taught the harmonies to her band, taught fiddle, bass, and dobro, and produced a solo cassette playing 6 instruments and singing all the vocal parts. During college, she played with the acclaimed, all-girl bluegrass band, Sassy Grass.

Cathy is a long-time instructor at Bluegrass Kids Academies around New England and leads workshops for Tony Watt's Bluegrass University and JamVal. She is a point person for the Connecticut Bluegrass Association and organizes jams and shows around the state.

Cathy has a special heart for kids and holds Kid Jams in her home. She is currently in a Western Swing Band called Keegan Day & The String Busters with both of her sons, and in the 1950s-style Bluegrass band, The Hosmer Mountain Boys, with her oldest son.