Past Artists and Performers
More than a dozen artists or performers have graced the stage of Pingree Auditorium, shown their talents in St. Joseph's Chapel, or led workshops through the Kennedy-Herterich Art Studio.
2023-24
Beauty Slap: Pittsburgh-based band Beauty Slap has been making people move since 2017 with a sound it describes as “Future Brass Thunder Funk: A genre-defying musical experience that fuses thunderous brass, sultry keys, and infectious electronic grooves directly to audiences' brains. The band has performed in clubs across the country, the Indy 500, and alongside the Pittsburgh Orchestra. Beauty Slap played a Pingree Auditorium concert for the boys in February 2024.
Jackass Flats: Virginia bluegrass band Jackass Flats mixes acoustic roots and electric rock into their music, which consists of both original songs and covers. The band was part of Alumni Weekend in September 2023, playing the Beast and Barrels gathering.
Matt Miller: New Hampshire-based teacher, coach, and acclaimed poet Matt Miller visted campus in February 2024 as a Godwin-Hauser Visiting Poet. Mr. Miller did an all-school reading in Pingree Auditorium. He has also led smaller workshops with students and the English faculty. He has authored the books, “Tender the River,” “The Wounded for the Water,” “Club Icarus,” and “Cameo Diner: Poems,” in addition to work published in a number of journals. Mr. Miller has taught Creative Writing and Literature at Stanford University, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, New England College, Harvard Extension, and the Concord State Prison for Men. Currently, he teaches English and coaches football at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he also co-directs the boarding school’s Writing Workshop.
James Quantz, Jr.: James Quantz Jr. has photographed top-tier athletes such as future NFL hall of famer Rob Gronkowski and Hollywood celebrities, building a sizable following for his portraits through social media. Mr. Quantz came to campus in March 2024 to help photography students and student-athletes with taking profile shots for social media.
Tom Teasley: Tom Teasley wears many musical hats as a world percussionist, composer, educator, multi-instrumentalist, and sound designer who has collaborated with the U.S. Department of State for performances in Jerusalem, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, New Zealand, and Korea. He is a former DRUM! Magazine award winner for world percussionist of the year and has received five Fulbright-Hayes Awards for his work with indigenous master musicians. Mr. Teasley performed and taught on campus in April 2024.
2022-23
Andrew Finn Magill: Andrew Finn Magill alternates between the fiddle and the violin. He grew up studying traditional Irish music, old-time, bluegrass and swing every summer with the best fiddlers in the world at the Swannanoa (N.C.) Gathering. He is a Fulbright Fellow, South Arts Emerging Traditional Artist, North Carolina Arts Council Fellow, and All-Ireland fiddle finalist. Magill has been featured on MTV-U, TEDx, and multiple times on NPR. He has performed with artists including John Doyle, Rising Appalachia, Trio Brasileiro, and many others. His touring projects include a duo with Irish singer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Curley, a duo with Scottish guitarist/bouzouki-player Alan Murray, Merlefest songwriting-winner Anya Hinkle, and various other projects. Magill also tours the country as a guest lecturer at universities presenting his interactive performance/lecture “The Evolution of Irish and Scottish fiddle traditions in the Appalachian Mountains.” He played for students and held workshops in October 2022.
Chapel Street Quartet: The artists-in-residence group first performed in a September 2022 chapel service and was the musical accompaniment for that year's Lessons and Carols Candlelight Service.
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra: Spring Break's eve in March 2023 began with crowd-surfing for a concert in Pingree Auditorium by the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. The eclectic three-piece instrumental band blends a variety of different styles, and it has been said that the group must be felt, rather than heard, to be fully appreciated.
Toubab Krewe: Asheville-based instrumental band Toubab Krewe filled Pingree Auditorium with its unique sound in April 2023.
Tim Seibles: Tim Seibles, former Poet Laureate of Virginia and professor at Old Dominion University read from his poetry at an all-school event in February 2023.
Zander Stefani: Asheville artist Zander Stefani’s paintings have been exhibited throughout the eastern United States. His visit to the Kennedy-Herterich Art Studio in January 2023 helped inspire Greenies to start their mixed media abstract pieces with a single mark.