July 4-10, 2027
2027 Musicans
Elke Baker
U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Elke Baker's distinctive, dance-driven fiddle style has made her one of the most sought-after Scottish fiddlers of our time. Performing solo and with Robin Bullock, Ken Kolodner, bands Terpsichore, Sugar Beat, Trio con Brio, and others, Elke has both a range and depth of skill surpassed by very few. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Birchmere, Honolulu Academy of Arts, in most of the fifty States, and on four continents. She is world-renowned as a Scottish country dance musician, bandleader, and arranger. She recently headlined the RSCDS International Branch Event in Italy, and looks forward to playing in New Zealand and Canada in 2024. A scholar of Scottish music, Elke taught for many years at the Washington Conservatory of Music, as Artist-in-Residence at Montgomery College, and as a panelist at Harvard University. Elke directs the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club, a non-profit Scottish music educational organization now in its 30th year, and has taught at fiddle camps and schools across the country. She has recorded nine albums, including recent releases On a Cold Winter's Day with Ken Kolodner and Wait 'til You Hear This One! with Sugar Beat, and a world-premiere single, The Fingerlock, an ancient fiddle pibroch. Elke’s new release Better Days features waltzes, tangos, and other couple dances from around the world played with four of her ensembles. Playing Scottish music for dancers is one of Elke's very favorite things, although dancing runs a close second.
Luke Brady
Luke started playing music at the age of 6 and has never stopped! His band has performed extensively across the U.K. and Europe, with visits to North America, Australia and Japan. The band has recorded 5 albums under their own label and two more for the RSCDS.
Luke spent a decade as a professional musician for dance, working with Scottish Dance Theatre, Scottish Ballet, The Royal Ballet and the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance.
Throughout this time, Luke has been a stalwart of the St Andrews Summer School and is a past coordinator of Winter School and Spring Fling. In 2025 he come to the end of his term as the RSCDS Music Director where he promoted new musicians, fair pay and putting music at the forefront of Country Dance.
Andy Imbrie
Andy has had the good fortune to accompany some of today’s leading fiddle talent, including Caroline McCaskey (with whom he collaborated on “Salute to San Diego” released in 2023), Judi Nicolson, Elke Baker, David Knight, Tim Macdonald, Deby Benton Grosjean, and many others. Andy leads the “Reel of Seven” Scottish dance band, which released “The Magic of Summer School” (a compilation of dances recorded during their fabulous week at the New Zealand Summer School) in 2016 to wide acclaim. Their earlier CDs include “Dance for Joy” (2009), “Dance for Joy Encore!” (2012), and “Gotta Dance!” (2015), (www.reelofseven.com).
Andy began studying classical piano as a child and started playing for dances with the encouragement of Kim McGarrity and Barbara McOwen. He plays regularly for Scottish Country Dancing, ceilidh dancing, and contra dances throughout the US and Canada, and has been on music staff for many workshops, including one in Australia, one in Italy, three in France, three in New Zealand, and a tour of Scotland, Orkney, and the Shetland Islands. He has also been on staff at Asilomar and Pinewoods on multiple occasions and was honored to have been invited to teach piano accompaniment at the Boston Harbor Fiddle School and the Valley of the Moon Scottish fiddling school for several years. Andy was delighted to serve as music director for Spring Fling (2026), TAC Summer School (2019), and the New Zealand Summer School (2015).
Andy is married to Sherryl Fawx (also a dancer and musician); they live in Santa Clara, California. In 2021, he retired from his position as Engineering Fellow at a major aerospace company where he was a specialist in simulation, guidance, and control of flight vehicles.