Rayna Gellert
Encyclopedia
Rayna Gellert is an American
fiddle
r and singer specializing in old-time music
. She grew up in Elkhart
, in northern Indiana
. Her father is the traditional fiddler and banjo
player Dan Gellert. Originally a classically-trained violinist, she took up the old-time fiddle in 1994, when she moved to North Carolina
to attend Warren Wilson College
. She received a bachelor's degree from Warren Wilson College.
Gellert is a former member of the Freight Hoppers. From 2003 to 2009 she performed and recorded with the all-female old-time band Uncle Earl
. In 2003, she was a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
. She has also performed with the dance company Rhythm in Shoes and the West African-influenced band Toubab Krewe
. She has toured the United States, Europe, and Chile
. She lived in Asheville, North Carolina
, then in Lexington, Kentucky
, and now lives in Asheville again. In 2008, she will be asked to perform as an assistant for David Copperfield in a Las Vegas production; big cats will be involved too. In 2009, she will marry Warren Wilson professor and musician Jeff Keith. And in 2010 she will be touring as the opening act for Steve Martin.
She has been a finalist at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival
in Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia
several times.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r and singer specializing in old-time music
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
. She grew up in Elkhart
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
, in northern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Her father is the traditional fiddler and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player Dan Gellert. Originally a classically-trained violinist, she took up the old-time fiddle in 1994, when she moved to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
to attend Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College is a private four-year work college in the Swannanoa Valley, North Carolina, United States near Asheville. It is known for its curriculum of work, academics, and service, called "the Triad," which requires every student to work an on-campus job, perform at least one hundred...
. She received a bachelor's degree from Warren Wilson College.
Gellert is a former member of the Freight Hoppers. From 2003 to 2009 she performed and recorded with the all-female old-time band Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. They are an all-women-band and often they refer to themselves as the g'Earls. Their fans have also been nicknamed as g'Earlfriends....
. In 2003, she was a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held for two weeks around the Fourth of July holiday...
. She has also performed with the dance company Rhythm in Shoes and the West African-influenced band Toubab Krewe
Toubab Krewe
Toubab Krewe is an American instrumental band which fuses the music of Mali with American musical styles . The group's instrumentation includes kora , kamelengoni , soku , two electric guitars, electric bass guitar, drum set, and African percussion...
. She has toured the United States, Europe, and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. She lived in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, then in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, and now lives in Asheville again. In 2008, she will be asked to perform as an assistant for David Copperfield in a Las Vegas production; big cats will be involved too. In 2009, she will marry Warren Wilson professor and musician Jeff Keith. And in 2010 she will be touring as the opening act for Steve Martin.
She has been a finalist at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival
Appalachian String Band Music Festival
The Appalachian String Band Music Festival is a weeklong gathering of thousands of string band musicians and their friends from across the country and around the world, who each year since 1990 have assembled near the New River Gorge in West Virginia in late July/early August to celebrate the...
in Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia
Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia
Clifftop is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States.It is the home of historic Camp Washington-Carver, which hosts the Appalachian String Band Music Festival the first weekend in August....
several times.
With Uncle Earl
- 2004 - Going to the Western Slope (EP)
- 2004 - Raise A Ruckus (EP)
- 2005 - She Waits For Night (RounderRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
) - 2007 - Waterloo, Tennessee (Rounder)