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Duck for the Oyster specializes in traditional music and 
dance, from 18th and 19th century America as well as a variety of dances from around the world. Since 1988 the band has been hosting and playing a regular dance series in Northwestern Wisconsin featuring squares, contras, reels, quadrilles, international, circle and round dances. Their called dances are sprinkled with waltzes, polkas, schottisches, swing dances and music for clogging. In the time they have been together Duck for the Oyster has become one of the Midwest's best traditional dance bands.
In addition to their regular dance series, Duck for the Oyster has appeared throughout the upper Midwest at festivals, schools, museums and town halls, where their unique brand of entertainment has served as a focus for family and community gatherings. They also host a weekend dance camp each June at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary in Sarona, Wisconsin.
Working with people of all ages has always been important to Duck for the Oyster. Most "Duck" evenings include special dances for the young and the young at heart. The wide variety of songs, dances, rhythm games, stories and fun offered by Duck for the Oyster endear them to virtually every age group. All dances are taught beforehand. Everyone is welcome. Quipped one third grader: "This is more fun than Disney World!"
 "This is really fabulous! The band is great, the calls are in there just the right amount... fabulous musicianship and the booklet is excellent!"
Paul Rosenberg
Founder and Organizor of
The Dance Flurry Festival
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KAREN KAUFMAN teaches and calls traditional American folk and international dances, specializing in helping novice dancers of all ages enjoy themselves on the dance floor. Karen has studied calling at the Augusta Heritage Arts Center in West Virginia as well as at dances from Seattle to Baltimore. She is co-founder of Joining the Circle Dance Weekend at Hunt Hill. Her dance background includes classical, modern, jazz and international folk dancing as well as clogging and square dancing. Karen holds a masters degree in marriage and family therapy and is a certified a personal coach, helping people have as much fun in their lives as they have on the dance floor!
kaufmancoaching.com |
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KATHY BRIHNlearned to call with Duck for the Oyster and has studied calling at the Pinewoods Camp in Massachusetts. Since 1992, along with regular Duck dances, she has called at festivals, schools, and community education programs. In addition to calling, Kathy sometimes lends her voice to the band's vocal numbers. In her day life, Kathy serves as County Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in Washburn County. |
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KEVIN MCMULLIN has been playing for old time dances since he began learning the fiddle with the Chicago Barn Dance Company in 1978. He has played for dancers across the United States, in Canada and in Europe as a part of a band for a performing folk dance troupe. A professional musician, he is a selected artist on several artist's rosters and is a popular solo artist throughout the upper Midwest. He has performed on stage with artists such as Peter Ostroushko and Randy Sabien, with whom he released a recording He learned his American fiddle lore from some of this country's finest old time fiddlers: Chirps Smith and Mark Gunther prominent among them. Besides playing fiddle, Kevin clogs and can often be found assisting Karen Kaufman as she teaches dances. Along with Karen he is a co-founder of
Duck for the Oyster, and Joining the Circle Dance Camp. |
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LARRY STELTER picked up the mandolin and started playing old time fiddle tunes in 1979, and has been playing with local bands and at festivals ever since. An experienced sound technician, he has done recording and sound work for radio stations, festivals, contests, schools, churches, local cable companies and arts councils through out Northwestern Wisconsin and Minnesota. His experience playing with and listening to so many bands has given him a splendid sensitivity to a wide variety of playing styles. Larry has been lending his talent to Duck for the Oyster as a mandolin player since the band started in 1988. His unique backup style has been a critical part of the Duck for the Oyster sound. |
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BRUCE QUALEY studied string bass with the assistant principal bass player in the Minnesota Orchestra and went on to spend five summers at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. A native of Rochester, Minnesota, Bruce has played in civic orchestras in Elkhart, Indiana and St. Paul, Minnesota, and performed for 19 seasons with the Rochester (MN) Symphony Orchestra. In addition to orchestral performance, Bruce enjoys playing many kinds of music. For three years, he was a member of "The Prophets", a folk group, and he spent 14 years as the bass player for "The Bluegrass Tradition". Bruce and his wife, Sara, now live near Drummond, Wisconsin.
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BOB CLARK first fell in love with the sound of the guitar one Sunday evening in 1964 when The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. While at the University of Dayton he was a regular solo performer at coffee houses in southern Ohio. Bob spent 18 years in the radio industry, and while music director of WTUE, the station was honored with Billboard Magazine's "Station of the Year" award in two consecutive years. During that time Bob was a foundling member of a locally popular rock-a-billy band known as The Jitters. The newest member of the flock, Bob started sitting in with Duck for the Oyster in early 2002 and has rediscovered his latent "folk tendencies" with passion. Bob, and son, Mike, live in Spooner, Wisconsin.
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