NEWLANDERS
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Experience the songs of Pennsylvania’s past... in a brand new way... |
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CDs bios
WWW.NEWLANDERS.COM 412.871.5325
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Paula Purnell (vocal, guitar, bones and Appalachian dulcimer) is a folk musician and educator. For the past twelve years she has been writing and performing curriculum-based music programs for schools, libraries and community events throughout western Pennsylvania. Paula conducts residencies and workshops on historic folk music and songwriting for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Artists in Education program. She is a Commonwealth Speaker through the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, and she is also an outreach artist, and professional development instructor, for The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Paula is a certified trainer and conducts arts integration training sessions for child caregivers through the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare’s, Pennsylvania Pathways program. She has released six albums of original music, including two Parent’s Choice Award winning children’s albums. Her band, the NewLanders, celebrates regional history and heritage, performing historic songs by and about the people of western Pennsylvania Paula holds a Masters degree in elementary education from Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Gerard Rohlf (vocal, jaw harp and guitar) is a writer of music and poetry. He has been performing professionally since he was seven years old. In his teens he appeared with his family on radio television and college campuses across Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia. Gerard’s poetry has received awards and been published in periodicals, anthologies and e-zines on the world wide web. He is also a songwriter and publisher affiliated with BMI. Gerard has performed in a number of rock-and-roll, blues and folk groups from Philadelphia to San Francisco. He appears sometimes as a solo singer-songwriter and poet in coffee houses and at festivals, or as a session musician for other singer-songwriters. He also loves a good church choir, and feels at home with sacred or classical music, as well as cabaret and delta blues. A source of satisfaction has been his award-winning collaborations with artist and blues harpist Dan Kaplan, as well as Paula Purnell’s “Family Arts Theatre”. Gerard is also a proud member of “The New Landers”, a dedicated group of musicians from Western Pennsylvania, whose passion is to sing its songs and tell its tales. You may find Gerard in a classroom where he’s been invited to teach Poetry Appreciation to middle school children, perhaps at a café or fund-raising event performing his own or others’ poetical and musical works, or playing accompaniment for a cantor at Saint Bede’s Church. He enjoys providing music or poetry for just about anyone who asks. His daughters, both talented musicians and writers, often join him. Gerard considers each performance to be a gift shared equally between the audience and the performer, an opportunity to create an experience that can illuminate, embellish and enrich life. Art Gazdik (violin, octave violin, mandolin and vocal) – Half Irish and half Eastern European, raised in Highland Park, a graduate of Peabody and Pitt, a Pittsburgher through and through. Encouraged to play the violin as a kid by his mom Gert, he stuck it out from 3rd grade until his early teen years when he gave it up. During those formative years he took lessons from Samuel Elkins a fine person who was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Art stumbled into playing fiddle in college and discovered that music, not on the page, but from ones own imagination was exciting and fun to play. In his twenties Art moved to Austin Texas and played in bands that worked many Austin Clubs including the Cactus Cafe, The Hole in the Wall and the Soap Creek Saloon, since then he has played in clubs and recording studios in Austin, Texas and here at home in Pittsburgh, PA. He has been able to work with great songwriters and musicians whom he enjoys. Art is a civil engineer and is currently the appointed Township Engineer for Ross Township. He is also very active with local watershed groups and has been a member of Pennsylvania's State Water Resource Advisory Committee since 2002. Doug Wilkin (vocal, guitar, bass and harmonica) owns and operates Wilkin Audio, a recording studio in Pittsburgh, PA. As engineer, producer and musician he's appeared on numerous projects from jazz to folk, rock to country. Doug is a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists [AFTRA] and has local and national voice-over credits. He enjoys performing and collaborating with fellow artists and is grateful for the opportunity.
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