Erika Ludwig - Director, violin and viola
"Ms. Erika", founder of Berkshire Strings, is a teacher, director and patron of musicians. At her studio in Egremont, and at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, she teaches private lessons for youth and adults, leads classes including the Fiddling Femmes: Group Lessons for Women, and hosts the Berkshire Strings Jam Sessions. The Studio mission of "Instruction and Inspiration" supports musical artists in the area for workshops and concerts. Erika plays violin, viola, recorder, piano, mandolin and guitar, composes songs and performs at local Farmers Markets and venues. Berkshire Summer Strings is in it's 9th year, celebrating a growing community of youth musicians, devoted adult student groups and a dedicated, talented staff.
Aldo Lavaggi - fiddle and mandolin
Based in the Hudson Valley, Aldo is a full-time music teacher, composer and performer. He runs the Hawthorne Valley School children's fiddle group, two other adult fiddle groups in the region, and plays for contra and square-dances. Together with his group “The Russet Trio”, he started a thriving local dance in Chatham NY, now in its 11th year. In 2004, Aldo toured Europe as a solo street performer for 12 months immersing himself in the rich musical traditions of Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia. In 2012 and 2013, he taught fiddle at both Pinewoods and Northern Week music & dance camps. For the past 4 years he has collaborated with the Free Columbia Puppetry Troupe, composing and compiling music for puppet theatre. As a boy growing up in Woodstock NY, Aldo was fortunate to study fiddle for seven years with local great Jay Ungar, who remains a great influence in his life.
Maggie McRae - fiddle and ukulele
Maggie McRae is a musician, dance caller, and event organizer based in Egremont, MA. She grew up on a small farm near Sanford, NC and attended Brevard College, where she got her BA in Music. After college she lived in Trondheim, Norway, working as an au pair and learning Norwegian fiddle tunes and traditional dances. Upon her return to the US, she became an Alexander Technique Teacher then moved to the Berkshires where she is a member of the Lenox Contra Committee, Sheffield Contra Committee, and Sunday Afternoon Dance and Dessert Committee (Housatonic), is the manager of Dewey Hall in Sheffield, MA., and volunteers at Blue Rider Stables.
Mike Pagnani - fiddle, banjo, performance
Mike Pagnani is performer, instructor, and scholar of traditional music. Apart from leading Pub Sings and playing with the bluegrass fusion band Beer Stained Fiddle, he performs solo as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Mike has been teaching traditional and other music to kids and adults in New York’s Hudson valley for over a decade through individual lessons, group classes, and educational performances. He also researches and writes about traditional and other music as well as recording and producing through his own small production company
Clara Stickney - fiddle
Clara Stickney is a musician and music teacher based in Great Barrington, MA. She offers typical and adaptive music lessons on the piano, fiddle, and lever harp. She grew up in the woods near Portland, Maine in a family of classical musicians and fell madly in love with fiddle music when she was 19 while attending Maine Fiddle Camp for the first time. She performs as a harpist and fiddler for contra dances, yoga classes, markets, weddings, holiday parties,and other events around New England and beyond. She also has a masters degree in occupational therapy and makes art with flowers.
Patty Melville - cultural and artistic projects
Patty Melville is a teacher, artist, librarian, and banjo player. She grew up on Long Island where she studied banjo and traditional folk music with Kent Sidon, Jeff Davis, Jeff Warner, and Jean Ritchie at The Guitar Workshop. On to The New School for Social Research for art studies, Empire State College for teaching, and CWPost for an MLS in Library services to children. She moved to the Berkshires in 1993 and has worked in numerous south county schools, retiring in 2020 from Berkshire Hills where she designed and created its first full professionally run library program. After a chance meeting with Erika, Patty picked her banjo up out the closet and has spent the last 5 years relishing playing again, growing her skills, and meeting other music lovers.