text copyright 1996 Felicia Eberling,
HTML copyright D. Glenn Arthur Jr.

The Beltway Early Music Band

The Beltway Early Music Band (BEMB) is a pickup band of usually 4 to 8 instrumentalists, playing their own interpretation of whatever sheet music is in their hands at the time -- Renaissance, Medieval, Playford, Shapenote, Pan- Celtic, American Indian, Folkloric -- on whatever acoustic instruments a given permutation of the group has available. Instruments often include guitar(s), bouzouki, aoud, lute, cittern, chitarino, shawm(s), sackbut, viola(s) da gamba, violin(s), flute(s), recorders, cornamuses, krummhorns, frame drum(s), bodhran(s), doumbek(s).

Managed by Felicia Eberling, BEMB has been active for about 11 years. Their purpose is to have fun playing the music and to share that fun with the audience. The Beltway Early Music Band and its Medieval/Renaissance cousin, Sylvan Ayres, can be reached at 301-587-3711.

BEMB plays for weddings, receptions, concerts, cocktails, dinners, and cultural and educational programs, dressed as the setting warrants -- in assorted period costumes, concert black-and-whites, or standard everyday wear.

BEMB performance settings include:


  • D. GLENN ARTHUR, JR. plays electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, mandolin, aoud, recorder, cornamuse, and percussion. He manages/plays with the Three Left Feet musicians and plays with The Homespun Ceidlidh Band, Greentree, and in pit orchestras job-by-job (including shows for the Goddard drama group). Glenn is a computer system designer, analyst, programmer, and teacher.
  • STEVE BILANOW plays kortholte, recorder, guitar, and percussion, and sings baritone; he also performs with Washington Revels and Maryland Renaissance Festival Steve is an aeronautical software engineer.
  • RON BOUCHER plays shawm, dulcian, krummhorn, cornamuse, recorder, and viola da gamba, and sings tenor/countertenor. Other music groups include Musica Antiqua (Alexandria, VA), Convivium Musicum (Boston, MA), and I Piffari (Longey School of Music, Cambridge, MA). Ron is a signal/image processing software engineer.
  • BRIAN CARDELL plays tuba, tenor trombone, bass sackbut, recorder, 6-holed & 8-keyed flutes, cornamuse, and krummhorn, and sings baritone. Other music groups include the Medieval Music Group at Catholic University, the Three Left Feet musicians, the Collegium Musicum (U. of Arizona), and the Avalon Players. Brian is finishing up an M.S. degree in Library Science at Catholic University of America, and is a librarian at the Capucin College in Washington, DC.
  • MEGAN DUFFY plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, and recorder, and percussion, and sings alto; other music groups include GW Early Music Collegium and Sylvan Ayres. Megan is a social worker.
  • FELICIA EBERLING plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, bass viola da gamba, and percussion, and sings alto. She plays with/manages Sylvan Ayres, and plays with Three Left Feet musicians, Homespun Ceilidh Band, GW Early Music Collegium, Maryland Renaissance Festival (street musician), and Washington Recorder Society. Formerly a foreign language teacher, Felicia now tests software, trains computer users, and writes technical manuals.
  • BOB LOMAX plays Celtic bodhran, stick drums, doumbek, and anything else he can get hold of to make rhythms. Raised by professional Bluegrass musicians, he is somehow fascinated with Medieval and Renaissance music. Bob is a computer system analyst/programmer.
  • ARTHUR LOUIS plays cello and sings bass, working with various ensembles and orchestras on a job-by-job basis. Arthur is a computer system analyst /programmer and operations manager.
  • MADELEINE MOORE plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, viola da gamba, and vielle; other groups include Sylvan Ayres, GW Early Music Collegium, and Washington Recorder Society. Madeleine manages a medical practice.
  • PAUL SIEGEL plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, and dulcian, and sings bass; other music groups include Sylvan Ayres, GW Early Music Collegium, and Washington Recorder Society. Paul is a statistician at the Census Bureau.
  • JIM STIMSON plays lute, archlute, cittern, guitar, shawm, bombard, krummhorn, and recorder; other music groups include Musica Antiqua, Sylvan Ayres, Three Left Feet, Homespun Ceilidh Band, and Maryland Renaissance Festival (street musician). Jim is a journalist.
  • MICHAEL STODDARD plays wooden flute, recorder, guitar, and bouzouki. He plays with the Three Left Feet musicians, the Homespun Ceilidh Band, and various folk, blues, and bluegrass groups ad hoc. Mike is a computer system/software engineer.
  • JANET TRAUTVETTER plays percussion, guitar, and recorder, playing various gigs on a job-by-job basis; she occasionally plays with Sylvan Ayres. Janet is a legal secretary and free-lance scriptwriter, writer, and illustrator.
  • JOHN WARD plays violin; he has a degree from the Eastman School of Music and is currently concentrating on traditional Scottish fiddling. He manages and plays with the Homespun Ceilidh Band and Skye Gathering, and plays with the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club, the Three Left Feet musicians, and various folk and chamber groups ad hoc. John is a public defense lawyer.
  • BRENT WARNER plays violin and viola, and sings bass. He plays with the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club, Peascods Gathering, the Three Left Feet Musicians, the Goddard Theater Group pit orchestra, and various chamber groups ad hoc. Brent is a cryogenicist.

    For bookings or for more information, send email to Felicia Eberling.

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