George Wilson, Frank Orsini and Josh Ward

$15 general admission. Tickets are available at the Strand Box Office; cash or check only. Doors to the lobby, coffee shop, and box office open at 1:30 pm.

Drawing on their long history of playing together and wide-ranging musical experience, Wilson, Ward, and Orsini will play tunes from New England, Celtic, Quebecois, and Cape Breton traditions, along with a bit of bluegrass, Uncle Dave Macon, and other surprises.

George Wilson’s high-energy but nuanced fiddle playing has enlivened dances across the country, and his comic songs to banjo have brought smiles to audiences for the past half century. Frank Orsini’s sweet fiddle and mandolin harmonies and bluegrass riffs have made him a sought-after band member for just as long. Josh Ward adds delicate guitar chords when he’s not inventing high-precision machining techniques.

Wilson has performed and recorded with Fennig’s All-Star String Band, featuring Bill Spence on hammered dulcimer, since 1975, and with the Whippersnappers (Wilson, Peter Davis, and Frank Orsini) since 1976. He plays contradances, festivals, and dance camps across the country with Selma Kaplan, Groovemama, the Beaudoin Legacy, Bruce and Sue Rosen, and others. He also performs with Peter, Paul & George, presenting dance and music programs through Homespun Community Dancing in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Glens Falls native Josh Ward was known by his high school friends as the source for Bob Dylan lyrics and chords. He, George Wilson, and Frank Orsini began playing music together then and have never stopped. Music has always filled Ward’s life alongside his work as an inventor and machinist. He is also a builder and woodworker, and recently completed his first handmade guitar.

Frank Orsini is a prominent acoustic musician in Upstate New York. He plays violin, viola, and mandolin, and has recently taken up Celtic harp. A versatile fiddler, singer, and seasoned ensemble player, he has appeared on numerous recordings and been a member of established groups including the Whipper-Snappers, the Upstate Bluegrass Band, and the High Flyers. His repertoire spans Elizabethan and early music, Celtic, bluegrass, country, blues, and dance tunes from old England, New England, Canada, Appalachia, American swing, and Cajun traditions.