Bio
Tony performed with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys both at the Grand Ole Opry and on tour over two years, recording some 25 songs with them. In 1962 Tony received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall when playing with the famous Mac Wiseman. Tony has performed and lectured at numerous colleges, universities, folk and music festivals throughout the country, including the 1986 Statue of Liberty Celebration in New York City. Tony has toured both Japan (Ohio Arts Council and Honda Corp.) and Latin America (USIA) as a musical ambassador. In 1994 Tony opened the Folk Master Series at Wolf Trap, played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and performed for President Clinton’s Campaign tour. He played in Australia (1999), toured New Zealand (1999 and 2000), and toured England, Scotland, and Wales (1999 and 2000) and Ireland (1999).
Tony has been interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered, by Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Terkel, and by the BBC of England. His music has been included on Ken Burns’ Baseball series on PBS, on England’s film documentary Echoes of America on BBC, on the popular TV series Party of Five, as well as other theater and film productions. All of Tony’s recordings, Dixie Banner, Farewell My Home, Quaker Girl and Sounds Like Bluegrass To Me have received critical acclaim. Tony has composed eighty some tunes and received eleven awards from ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers). He played for the Ohio Arts Council’s 1993 Governor’s Award Ceremony and was the recipient of the prestigious 1996 Ohioana Music Citation. Tony was nominated for the National Heritage Fellowship Award, the highest honor America pays to her traditional artists.
Appearances include:
| Grand Ole Opry 1960, 1961, 1962 | Central American Tour, 1995, USIA |
| Carnegie Hall 1962 | Japan Tours, 1990 & 1994 |
| Old Dominion Barn Dance, Richmond, Va. | Gambier Folk Festival |
| National Folk Festivals (5 times) | Columbus Folk Festival |
| University of Chicago Folk Festival | Chillicothe Heritage Festival |
| Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, Mass | Worthington Festival |
| Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival | Cuyahoga Valley Folk Festival |
| Kent State University Folk Festival | Cincinnati Appalachian Festival |
| The Border Festival (El Paso, Texas) | Columbus Music Hall |
| 1986 Statue of Liberty Celebration, NYC | Akron Art Museum |
| Tennessee Banjo Institute, Faculty, 1990 & 1992 | Cuyahoga Lyceum |
| Maryland Banjo Academy, Faculty, 1998 | The Wagnalls Memorial |
| Ohio Arts Council’s 1993 Governor’s Award | Folkway, Peterborough, NH |
| Ohio Arts Council’s 1995 Folk Art Program | Boston College |
| Folk Masters 1994, Wolftrap, Va. | 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Ga. |
| North Carolina Museum of History, 1994 | 1996 Clinton Campaign Tour |
| Western Carolina University | 1997 Australia and New Zealand Tour |
| Pepperdine University, Ca. | 1999 British Isles Tour |
| CalTech, Ca. | 2000 New Zealand Tour |
| CITYFOLK Festival, Dayton, Oh., 2000 | 2000 British Isles Tour |
A Lie of the Mind, Franklin-Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa., 1997
John Brown’s Body,The People’s Light & Theater Co., Malvern, Pa., 1993
Masters of the Banjo, A National Tour of Traditional Banjo Styles, 1993 & 1994, produced by the NCTA
Music recorded by other artists:
The Gift, Jerry O’Sullivan
Rambler, Red Clay Ramblers
Highland Soul, Zan McLeod
Were You At The Rock, Aine Minoque
Friends, Fiddles & Favorites, Joe Dobbs
Songs Of A Pioneer Woman, Susie Rudolph
New Frontier, Dan Levenson & Kim Murley
‘Til The Clouds Roll By, Tom, Betty & Nathan Druckenmiller
In Good Company, Palmer & Greg Loux
Music for films & videos:
Baseball, PBS Series by Ken Burns
Echoes of America, BBC’S banjo documentary
Wild California, Sea Studios, Monterey, Ca.
The Cuyahoga: Portrait of a Crooked River
Roads To Freedom In The Ohio Country, SVAC
Party Of Five