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The Ayreheart trio draws from a wide range of musical styles and the diverse talents of its members. A unique mix of instuments, both old and new, helps to showcase the unique sound and range of the lute, as well as its relevance as a contemporary musical instrument. 

  • MemberRonnMcFarlane

    Ronn McFarlane - Lute, Vocals

     

    GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane strives to bring the lute - the most popular instrument of the Renaissance - into today’s musical mainstream and make it accessible to a wider audience.  At thirteen, upon hearing “Wipeout” by the Surfaris, he fell wildly in love with music and taught himself to play on a "cranky sixteen-dollar steel-string guitar.”  Ronn kept at it, playing blues and rock music on the electric guitar while studying classical guitar.

    In 1978, Ronn turned his full energy to the lute.  Soon he began to perform solo recitals on the lute and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since then, he has toured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Baltimore Consort and as a soloist. He has over 30 recordings on the Dorian label, including solo albums, lute songs, recordings with the Baltimore Consort, the lute concertos of Vivaldi, and Blame Not My Lute, a collection of Elizabethan lute music and poetry, with spoken word by Robert Aubry Davis.

    Recently, Ronn has been engaged in composing new music for the lute, building on the tradition of the lutenist/composers of past centuries. His original compositions are the focus of his solo CD, Indigo Road, which received a GRAMMY Award Nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009.  

     

  • MemberWillardMorris

    Willard Morris - Fretless Bass, Violin

    By 2008, the bass was almost completely phased out of Willard's musical life. Yet in 2009, a mutual friend brought Willard together with Ronn, and it was immediately clear that he would be a bassist again.

    As a composer, Willard has a special fondness for involvement in original music.  Ronn’s compositions held special interest for him as they required a sense of well-established classical tradition infused with the modern styles of jazz, rock, bluegrass and free improvisation in which he has a depth of experience, as well.

  • MemberMattiasRucht

    Mattias Rucht - Percussion

    Mattias Rucht has been active in the local Washington DC music scene for over 20 years as a drummer, playing in various rock, jazz and folk groups. He has also played in theatrical productions and accompanied dancers and storytellers. In the last ten years he has discovered the joy of ethnic percussion and world music, bringing a wide range of influences to his playing style.

  • AudreyTornblom

    Audrey Tornblom - Vocals

    Special guest vocalist Audrey Tornblom graduated from Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music in 2009 with her B.M. in Voice. There, she studied with tenors Alan Bennett and Paul Elliott. Since graduating, she has been freelancing part-time as a soloist and choral ringer, singing with various groups including The City Choir of Washington, The Washington Chorus, and several church choirs. Notable among her recent performances was her presentation of the National Anthem at a Washington Nationals baseball game (on her birthday, no less) in 2010. Audrey continues to study voice with renowned teacher Elizabeth Daniels, and under her tutelage, Audrey won first prize at the Maryland district National Association of Teachers of Singing competition in 2011, and came in second in 2010. She is also the soprano soloist and section leader at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland. Audrey made her debut performance with Ayreheart at the Lakefront Summer Concert Series in Columbia, MD on July 27, 2011, and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with such talented and creative musicians. While singing will always be an integral part of her life, Audrey has decided to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology. To that end, she began graduate studies at The University of Maryland in September, and she hopes to work with singers, actors, and other professionals to rehabilitate and enhance their vocal capabilities.