Mission/Board
About Our Organization
bridging genres in Cuba
Freyda’s Hands was formed in 2010 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to provide opportunities for traditional folk musicians and other performing artists to collaborate across genres, and to educate the public about traditional performing folk arts and the collaborative process.
Our goals include:
- Sponsoring workshops, residencies, public performances, and the creation of new works;
- Creating and distributing documentation through film, audio recordings, and other media outlets;
- Facilitating artist networking.
Our vision is to give young people first-hand knowledge that making music and creating art is an everyday part of life. We think it’s worth giving the time it takes to collaborate on making music/art by hand. In our vision, experienced artists enjoy opportunities to develop their collaborative skills and to pass on their knowledge: in depth to budding artists, and in breadth to the general public. We value tradition and innovation, intergenerational sharing, open participation and striving for excellence.
Organizing board members
Renée Brachfeld is a professional storyeller and juggler, who frequently performs together with musicians. She believes that collaboration and support across genres and traditions has a profound effect on artistic growth. She is thrilled to be working with Freyda’s Hands to help create these opportunities for both artists and audiences.
Andrea Hoag, a Seattle native and long-time DC area resident, has been a professional musician and teacher since 1984. A GRAMMY nominee for her Swedish fiddling, she studied with master elders in Sweden and graduated in Folk Violin Pedagogy from Malungs Folkhögskola. She is passionate about folk school philosophy and artistic collaborations of all kinds.
Doria Howe, a longtime denizen of the DC area folk music scene, has worked in the management of non-profit organizations as her career for the past 25 years. Doria became a fiddle student in her adult years. She was thrilled to discover that just trying to play an instrument made her suddenly hear all kinds of music in a different, richer way.
Charlie Pilzer. Musician. Producer. Sound engineer. Event organizer. Charlie Pilzer is a busy man, always devoting himself to creating award-winning Scandinavian, Celtic, folk, and acoustic music and sharing his love of the traditions with audiences, listeners, and other musicians around the world. As a performer, Charlie plays bass with several Scandinavian bands and piano with a contra-dance band. When not performing, Charlie is chief engineer at Airshow in Takoma Park, MD. Charlie has mastered hundreds of CDs and tracks and mixes acoustic music. In addition to mastering a dozen GRAMMY-nominated projects, Charlie received a GRAMMY for mastering and restoration on the Anthology of American Folk Music (1997). Charlie provides organizational and technical support and advice for Freyda’s Hands. He has recorded, edited and mixed musical selections for Old Doors/New Worlds and is currently completing the audio work for the upcoming CD & DVD release.
Anna Rain loves the intersection of dance and music and can often be found refining her movements in several dance forms. A musician since childhood, she now plays recorder with her English Country dance band, Hot Toddy. She feels lucky to work with Freyda’s Hands, supporting its emphasis on collaboration across musical genres and art forms. Anna is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher.