Biography
Award-winning, critically acclaimed, passionate & playful.
Al Petteway & Amy White are an acoustic performing arts team committed to creating an intensely personal yet universal sound. They draw inspiration from musical traditions across the globe and distill these myriad styles into a rich and unique voice – a timeless recipe for healing, heartfelt music. During their live shows, Al & Amy capture the hearts of their audiences with the love they have for one another and the colorful stories about the places, history and events that inspire their music. They invite their listeners to celebrate beauty and joy in all aspects of life.
Al & Amy are heard often on NPR, in independent films, and on radio shows across the globe. Their music will be used by Ken Burns of Florentine Films for his new 6-part documentary on the National Parks, scheduled for release next fall. Al & Amy's many accolades include a coveted INDIE Award in the acoustic instrumental category for their album Gratitude, and in 2005, Al received a Grammy award for his solo fingerstyle guitar contribution to the pop instrumental compilation, Pink Guitar. The rich cultural and natural history of Al & Amy's home in the Blue Ridge Mountains has been a large influence on their recent recordings Winter Tidings, Golden Wing, Acoustic Journey and Land of the Sky.
Al & Amy first began performing and recording together as a duo in early 1995. Their sound is an exciting blend of original, traditional, contemporary Celtic- and Appalachian-influenced music. Their repertoire offers extensive instrumental work as well as a fine touch of vocals and features acoustic guitars, mandolin, Celtic harp, banjo, Irish bouzouki, piano and world percussion. They are among the most respected and well-loved acts in the acoustic music scene. They have been Artists in Residence at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and perform at some of the finest concert venues in the country. While living in the Washington, D.C. area, Al & Amy won a grand total of 50 WAMMIES from the Washington Area Music Association in the Folk, Celtic and New Age categories as well as 5 separate grants from the Maryland State Arts Council for both composition and instrumental performance.
Al & Amy completed a two-year residency at Warren Wilson College, funded by a grant from the Susanne Marcus-Collins Foundation of Asheville, NC. This grant also supported their the creation of their “Land of the Sky" multimedia presentation, which combines live music with projections of Al & Amy's nature photography of the Southern Appalachians. Al worked at the National Geographic Society for eighteen years, and both his and Amy’s photographs are part of the archives of the National Geographic (their work is represented world-wide by the National Geographic Image Collection). “Land of the Sky” debuted at the National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in the spring of 2005 and continues to be a very popular presentation.
About Al
A Grammy Award-winning recording artist and performer, Al Petteway has played nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music. Though his primary instrument has always been the guitar, he has also studied lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. His compositions for acoustic fingerstyle guitar are strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues. His recordings, music books, and instructional videos have helped to win him international acclaim and appearances on National Radio and Television Programs. Al has been awarded FORTY FIVE"Wammies" by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors of "ARTIST OF THE YEAR" and "MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR". He was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and has performed at the Vice President's House and The White House. His playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the World's best known Folk and Celtic musicians. In 2005, he was voted one of the top fifty acoustic guitarists of all time by the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine. He performs exclusively with his wife, Amy White. In addition to his concerts and workshops, Al records and teaches private lessons in their home studio in Fairview, NC and is the Guitar Week coordinator for the world famous "Swannanoa Gathering" music camp at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.
About Amy
Amy White was born to professional classical musicians and is the youngest of three children. As a result, she was nurtured and surrounded by several genres and generations of music. Despite this semi-classical upbringing, Amy never mastered sight reading and composes and plays music solely by ear. She has a unique approach to composition and her work reflects this serendipitous combination of classical, jazz, folk, world and environmental influences. Amy won her first award for music composition at the age of eleven. Her debut release, PIANO DIARIES, garnered the 1996 Washington Area Music Award for Best New Age Recording and two separate Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) grants for solo instrumental performance on piano (1996) and mandolin (1998.) Amy's last solo piano recording, BITTERSWEET, AN AMERICAN ROMANCE was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered with Noah Adams. Amy received a third MSAC grant in Music Composition (2001) for her work on this 2nd piano CD, as well as for her compositions on guitar. Amy now performs and records exclusively with her husband, Al Petteway. Over the years, Amy’s instrumentation has broadened to include not only piano, mandolin and guitar, but now features vocals, percussion and Celtic Harp. Together, Al & Amy have recorded over 14 CDs, received an Indie Award as well as 50 awards from the Washington Area Music Association prior to their move to the mountains of Western North Carolina. When she's not playing music, Amy is passionately devoted to other creative endeavors. When the mice are kind enough to share the garage studio, Amy continues to enjoy stone carving, stained glass, silver casting, block printing, mosaics and 3-D multi-media collage. The rest of the time, which is most of the time, Amy concentrates on graphic arts, digital photography and the art of digital photo-montage.
Instrumentation
Al Petteway - Guitar, Banjo, Irish Bouzouki, Percussion, Vocals
Amy White - Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals, Celtic Harp, Piano, Mountain Dulcimer & Percussion
Discography
Winter Tidings - September, 2006 (Maggie's Music)
Land of the Sky - 2005 (Maggie's Music)
Acoustic Journey - 2004 (Maggie's Music)
Gratitude - 2001 (Solid Air Records)
Racing Hearts - 1999 (Fairewood)
Golden Wing - 2004 (Maggie's Music)
Bittersweet - An American Romance - 1998 (Fairewood)
Piano Diaries & Other Entries - 1995 (Fairewood)
Shades of Blue - 2003 (Solid Air Records)
Whispering Stones - 1994 (Maggie's Music)
The Waters and the Wild - 1993 (Maggie's Music)
Midsummer Moon - 1995 (Maggie's Music)
A Scottish Christmas - 1996 (Maggie's Music)
Caledon Wood - 1997 (Maggie's Music)
VIDEOS
Al Petteway Instructional Videos (DVD on Homespun Tapes
Celtic Instrumentals For Fingerstyle Guitar Vol. I (DADGAD)
Celtic Instrumentals For Fingerstyle Guitar Vol. II (Alternate Tunings)
Al Petteway Instructional DVD on Solid Air Records/Warner Bros.
Celtic, Blues & Beyond
Al Petteway Music Folio and Instructional CD from Solid Air Records/Warner Bros.
Celtic, Blues & Beyond
BOOKS
Al Petteway Music Books from Mel Bay Publications
The Waters and The Wild
Whispering Stones
Midsummer Moon
Caledon Wood
A Scottish Christmas for Guitar
A Holiday Sampler w/ Robin Bullock - 2002 (Fairewood)
A Midnight Clear w/ Robin Bullock - 2003 (Dorian)
Links
| http://www.alandamy.com |
| Al and Amy Website |
| Myspace |
| Class Acts on Tour |