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Folk

After returning to West Virginia following his tour with Fred Waring, Ralph took a break from playing music and worked as a carpenter. By happenstance, one of his co-workers played clawhammer banjo. Ralph began to play guitar in accompaniment. From there he experimented with banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. He began to play bass again with old-time and bluegrass musicians. Soon thereafter he added western swing to his musical repertoire. He took a hammered dulcimer buliding class in 1977 at Augusta Heritage Workshop, making a dulcimer and a banjo. Sam Rizzetta and Paul Reisler co-taught the class and this led to joining a group called Trapezoid. This widely acclaimed "chamber folk" ensemble evolved into a perfect vehicle in which to incorporate nuances of classical, bluegrass, old-time, and jazz. This fusion of influences became the trademark of the band.

During and following his time with Trapezoid Ralph has had the opportunity to perform and/or record with many notable folk musicians. Some of them are:

John McCutcheon
Mary Lea
Lorraine Duisit
Tom Espinola
Freyda Epstein
Madeline MacNeil
Seth Austen
Magpie

Nicholas Blanton
Leo Kretzner
Sam Rizzetta
Tabby Finch
Robin and Linda Williams
Grace Griffith
Al Pettaway
Jonathan Edwards
Zan McLeod
Maggie Sansone
Cathy Fink
Elise Witt
Tom Mitchell
Jim Stephanson
Kevin Wimmer
Matt Glazier

Swing/Jazz

more to come soon