Class description: Old-time Banjo

 

All levels welcome. Brad will examine the basics of clawhammer including a refresher of the bum-ditty and drop thumb while diving deeper into how to incorporate variations into your playing. A tune will be taught as a vehicle for learning.

​

About Brad:

 

While it wasn't until the age of 17 that Brad first picked up the banjo, he soaked up his father's music throughout childhood. He was introduced to clawhammer banjo when he spontaneously signed up for a banjo-from-scratch class taught by clawhammer legend Richie Stearns at the Meadowlark Music camp in Maine.

 

The following year, Brad started his first year as a student at Ithaca College in New York to pursue a degree in Television-Radio. It was in Ithaca, a hotbed for Old-Time music, where his interest in the music was cemented. Within a couple of years, he began performing regularly with his father throughout the East Coast and competing in regional banjo contests. Perhaps his first most notable performance came in 2009 when he performed at the Kennedy Center with his father.

 

Brad won the prestigious 2010 Old-Time Banjo Festival Contest in Takoma Park, MD, earning a performance slot later that evening at The Birchmere where he opened for Grammy-winning banjo legends Tony Trischka and Cathy Fink. That performance became a launching point for Kolodner's career as an Old-Time musician. He has since placed in the finals of the banjo contest in 2014, 2015 and 2016 at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, one of the most prestigious Old-Time banjo contests in the world.

 

Rooted in the traditions of Old-Time music, Baltimore-based clawhammer banjoist Brad Kolodner represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory. Regarded for his delicate touch, expressive style, and original compositions, Kolodner has rapidly gained national attention for his unique approach to the banjo.

​