Faculty Bios

Mary Vanhoozer

Multi-instrumentalist Mary Vanhoozer grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she learned to play the Scottish fiddle and developed an enduring love of folk music. Traditional noëls from southern France played an equally formative role as they introduced her to the hurdy gurdy. Since acquiring her first instrument in 2018, Mary has eagerly continued to research and perform a variety of repertoire, from medieval estampies to 18th century French baroque sonatas. As a member of the critically acclaimed Ciaramella Ensemble, she has performed on a live broadcast of renaissance dance music in Southern California (KUSC Los Angeles) and was featured on the San Francisco Early Music Society Artist Series. This past March, Mary made her debut with the Newberry Consort playing hurdy gurdy and vielle on a program featuring music from the 15th and 16th centuries. She is delighted and grateful to be returning to another season of Wheel Song and for the opportunity to share her passion for hurdy gurdy with other enthusiasts. Mary holds degrees in piano performance from Wheaton College Conservatory (B.M.), the Eastman School of Music (M.M.), and the Cleveland Institute of Music (D.M.A).

Taryn Spink

Taryn Spink is a Hurdy Gurdy and French Horn player in the Los Angeles area and a professional music teacher with over 11 years of experience from elementary through high school. She holds a B.M. in Music Performance, B.A. in English, and an M.A. in education from Azusa Pacific University.

Taryn’s Hurdy Gurdy Journey began as a curiosity, then a dream, but it quickly blossomed into a full fledged passion for all things Hurdy Gurdy. Her journey has taken her all over Europe multiple times and captivated her into several different instruments, playing styles, and musical adventures: from Balfolk to Galician to Balkan; medieval to modern; French baroque to rock; and from the dance festival stage to the recording studio. Taryn has studied privately with Alexis Vacher, Richard Taylor, and Steve Tyler, as well as in workshop settings with notable Hurdy Gurdy players such as Patrick Bouffard, Matthias Loibner, Gregory Jolivet, Tobie Miller, German Diaz, and Scott Marshall. Taryn is conducting ethno-musicological studies in the field of traditional music with RT Taylor which will result in an upcoming tunebook! She loves the Hurdy Gurdy and is inspired to share it with others.

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