Contranella

Father and daughter John Wobus and Megan Wobus Beller have been playing contradances together for more than a decade.

Megan

Megan first picked up fiddling from her father and continued developing her fiddling style while she earned her violin performance and string education degrees at Eastman School of Music. Meg is an avid contradancer and while she enjoys fiddling traditions and contemporary styles, she is very particular about producing music that fits and aids the dancing and the caller. Meg's style and improvisation bring an excitement to dances not to be missed, and her combination of fiddle style, violin technique, and a dancer's feel for the music make her an outstanding contradance fiddler. Meg teaches violin, fiddle, and Klezmer fiddle in the Baltimore, Maryland vicinity. Formerly in Rochester NY, she taught violin and fiddle at the Eastman School of Music Community Education Program and the Kanack School of music, including annual summer fiddle camps. Meg also plays medieval vielle with Istanpitta, and Klezmer fiddle with 12 Corners Klezmer Band, the CoalHouse Klezmer Band (Megan, Charley, Andrew Marcus, and Michael Ferguson), and is occasionally found jamming and dancing throughout the northeast.

John grew up studying classical piano, spent a part of his college career as a piano performance major, later doing graduate work in music theory. Also during college, John took up folk and "early" instruments, developing an avid interest in Old Time, Irish, and contradance music, playing in bands such as Tinker's Pig. Eventually John came to apply his piano skills to this music, bringing together his experience as a contradancer, a melody-instrument player, his musical knowledge, and his piano technique. He has developed his contradance style over nearly twenty years of playing for dances in the Central New York region. John also currently plays in Rosie's Ready Mix with Hope Grietzer and Curt Osgood, in Crooked Sixpence with Kathy Selby and Gordon Bonnet, and can be found jamming on fiddle in the Ithaca vicinity and looking for folks to play some Cape Breton music.

John
Charley

Charley Beller plays mandolin, banjo, feet, and other percussion, adding nicely to the band's variety of sound. Charley also plays with Meg in the CoalHouse Klezmer Band, and Turtle United.

Emily Caltvedt has joined Contranella for English Country Dances. Emily studied oboe performance at Eastman School of Music. Emily and Meg have developed a nice duet style for the music.

Meg and John have played contradances around New York State, including the Phylla Mae Fall Fest and the Rochester Thanksgiving Weekend Dance Festival, as well as NEFFA, Glen Echo, Toronto, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, and Indiana, playing both traditional and contemporary contradance styles. The band incorporates Irish, Québécois, New England, and Old Time music, always keeping a danceable beat. In addition to dances, Contranella also does concert performances, weddings, parties, and other events. The band plays John's and Meg's fiddle tunes as well as other contemporary and traditional tunes. Contranella also has an elegant English Country Dance music style, and is a frequent band for the Syracuse and Rochester English Country Dances.

John and Meg have enjoyed the company of many fine musicians sitting in with the band over the years including Ben Gallina on bass, Rebecca McCallum, Henry Jankiewicz, Greg Brown, David Smukler, and Katie Avery on fiddle, Zeke Smukler on mandolin, Laurel Sharp on whistles and recorder, and Mickey Carter on percussion.

Meg has played in contradance bands Turtle United, Cat and the Fiddle, Lemongrass, and Generation Gap. John has performed in bands Tinker's Pig, Crooked Stovepipe, and For Old Time's Sake.

 

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