Who We Are
Walter learned violin from his grandfather, and spent many years playing church ensembles before he discovered Bluegrass music festivals and jam sessions. He also enjoys travelling and is not averse to playing Carmen’s Habanera in a medieval monastery or fiddling in a haunted Irish castle.
Lesley has taught herself to play many things string over the years, starting at age 12 - guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, folk harp, and ukulele. She has not learned to play the fiddle yet, but enjoys supplementing the rhythms and harmonies of the group with her acoustic bass guitar.
Robert was born in South Africa and is a self-taught guitarist whose listening tastes include blues, gypsy jazz, rock, and classical.
The first time LaJean heard live fiddle music was at the Terrace Mill Fiddle Contest in the late 1970s. From that time, she dreamed of playing beautiful waltzes and hymns on the violin. After raising and homeschooling five children, that dream began to become a reality. In 2007, she signed up for violin lessons through her local community education. In 2012, she met a contestant at the Terrace Mill Fiddle Contest who introduced LaJean to fiddle jams, new tunes, and bluegrass festivals.
This Terrace Mill Fiddle Contest photo was taken around 1990 by a Minnesota Explorer photographer. That photo was featured in the Minnesota Explorer calendar, a soda pop machine at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, and is currently on display in the Terrace Mill. LaJean and her family are in the foreground.
Lynn plays two different types of banjo and he also plays the mandolin.