Meet the Board and Staff
Joanne Garton - Chair
board@summit-school.org
Joanne Garton loves fiddling, dancing, and everything that orbits around those activities. Raised in the Scottish arts community, Joanne diversified her interests in her 20s as she learned and lived in Quebecois and contra dance traditions. A resident of Montpelier since 2008, she teaches fiddle and dance to kids and adults while also working as a community forester for the State of Vermont Forestry Division. Find her outside with or without her fiddle, on the dance floor at the Montpelier Grange, or studiously keeping spreadsheets as the current chair of the Summit School Board of Directors. She joined the Board in 2022 after co-directing Summit’s Trad Camp and teaching for the school.
Yasi Zeichner - Secretary
Yasi Zeichner is a fiddler, singer, and Irish sean nós dancer based in the hills of central Vermont. After starting out on classical violin, she discovered traditional music through the Summit School in her early teens, and since then has been immersed in and mentored by the rich traditional music community of her state. Yasi teaches Irish fiddle and sean nós dance, teaches at the Vermont Farm and Forest School. When not teaching or playing tunes, she might be found reading, doing nature crafts, hiking through the woods, or getting cozy with a cup of tea.
Jen Higgins-Stowell
Jen Higgins-Stowell has been immersed in the traditional music community in Vermont since her two-year-old adamantly declared that she wanted to play the fiddle, and that journey continued a few years later when her next toddler matter-of-factly announced that he wanted to play the “rockstar banjo”. Since then, she has deepened her involvement in the folk scene by managing and booking for a band, volunteering with music organizations, and hosting house concerts that bring people together through shared tunes and traditions. By joining the Summit School Board, she hopes to give back to a community that has profoundly shaped her family and to help ensure that traditional music is passed on to the next generation.
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Tracey Loyson
info@summit-school.org
I am a recreational fiddler who enjoys playing mostly French Canadian and Irish tunes with friends in each other’s houses, and occasionally in more public places when people are focused on doing other things. I joined the Summit School board with a focus on creating opportunities for young people to play traditional music together. Later, I took on organizing the fall and spring classes because I had so much fun in the Summit classes I took for several years, and I wanted to make sure they kept happening.
Larry Becker
Laurence R. Becker is an Old-time Banjo player, Morris dancer, and Contra dance caller. He developed with the Midnight Capers a version of the Morris called Kingsbury Branch, teaching the group during its 1980s founding years. A long time enthusiast, Larry finds traditional music and dance integral to the Central VT community and greatly supports Summit’s efforts to bring great events and classes to all. He considers traditional music and culture as an earthy pursuit much like his professional career for nearly 20 years as the Vermont State Geologist.
Ana Hausmann-Antonelli
Ana is a composer, poet, musician and songwriter from Central Vermont. She began work as the Administrative Coordinator for the Summit School in October, 2024. She holds an M.F.A. in Music Composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. When not working or creating art, Ana enjoys connecting with nature and is often outdoors.