Sophie's Story

I grew up in a musical family of five kids (Francis, Russell, Millie, Sophie, and Neil), a musical mum (Jane), and a music-loving dad (Peter). My mum Jane passed on to all of us kids musical traditions from her childhood and early adulthood, including traditional Swedish music and dances that she first learned as a kid participating in the Swedish Folk Dance Club of Boston. Mum became a part of the New England contra dance scene in her teens, attending the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA) in Massachusetts and many contra dances throughout NH, MA, and beyond. Throughout her musical career, Mum has been a member of the contra dance band Old New England with National Heritage Fellow Bob McQuillen and flute player Deanna Stiles, playing throughout New England for over 30 years and releasing four albums together. From the late 1980s until his passing in 2022, Mum also played regularly with Matt Fichtenbaum, a Boston-based player of the Swedish nyckelharpa who was instrumental in bringing attention to Swedish music and the nyckelharpa in the US starting in the late 80s. I was hooked by the nyckelharpa because of Matt and I am honored to have been bequeathed Matt's nyckelharpa, built by Harry Hedbom, and bow, built by Jean-Claude Condi.

Some of my earliest musical memories involve joyous, rich Swedish music being played by Mum, Matt, and Toby Weinberg at NEFFA in Natick, MA. I also associate the brightness of many Swedish tunes with the bright yellow forsythia that were always blooming in Massachusetts at that time of year.

Through Mum's influence, I grew up learning Swedish, Irish, New England, French Canadian, Polish, and Scottish tunes from Mum and in 1997 we started a family band called the Sugar River Band when I was seven. We played regularly at contradances, nursing homes, concerts, weddings, and folk festivals including NEFFA, Indian Neck Folk Festival, Star Hampshire, and the Ralph Page Legacy Dance Weekend, among others. We recorded an album with National Heritage Fellow Dudley Laufman called Where'd You Get Them Great Chunes and often played for Dudley dances throughout New England. Although we are all grown up now, we continue to play together at NEFFA, Ralph Page, Peterborough contra dances, and private events including weddings and concerts. Mum was recognized for her longstanding contribution to the folk music scene with the 2019 New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Awards Folk Heritage Award.

I was a teenage apprentice with Bob McQuillen through the New Hampshire Council For the Arts, learning the traditional New England style 'boom chuck' piano accompaniment that Bob originally learned from Johnny Trombley. As a teenager, I also had the opportunity to participate in a Traditional Dance Exchange between teenage dancers of the Maple Leaf Morris Team in VT and Småjondølane, Telemark, Norway. The Norwegian teens, led by Karin Brennesvik, spent two weeks in the US and we then spent two weeks in Telemark, traveling to schools to perform Morris dancing during the day, while also being immersed in the traditional Norwegian dances and Hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) music in the evenings.

As pre-teen and teenager, I also began passing on my love of fiddle and folk music to music students in private one-on-one music lessons. Right before I left for college, I was teaching upwards of 15 students with an age range of 5 to 70.

I was hooked by the nyckelharpa and hardingfele, and as an undergraduate at Cornell in Ithaca, NY was fortunate to meet Laurie Hart at a Swedish Lucia Fest in 2012. Laurie is a great tradition bearer for Scandinavian music of all types and I studied both nyckelharpa and hardingfele with her for several years; we still continue to connect and play together when the opportunity arises.

After I graduated from Cornell, I spent several years in the Ithaca, NY music scene playing with Tim Ball, Mike Ludgate, Phil Robinson, Nadine Dyskant-Miller, Laurie Hart, Stefhan Ohlström, and others for dances, concerts, and weddings. Tim Ball and I released an album in 2014 called Life of Their Own, which exemplifies the many musical traditions that we carry forward.

Meeting my spouse, Dev, in 2014, was a wonderful explosion of musical inspiration for both of us. Through Dev, I began exploring Americana music, and Dev, in turn, was inspired by the Scandinavian music and instruments that I play.

Fast forward a few years, and Dev is now regularly building both nyckelharpas and fiddle d'Amores, which are inspired by the Hardanger fiddle.

I love being able to try out Dev's new instruments, and I am particularly inspired by the fiddle d'Amore because it lends itself to many different musical styles and traditions, including Scandinavian, Old Time, Irish, and beyond.