Michael Ludgate

Michael Ludgate plays mandolin with O'Shanigans, also fiddle and Irish tenor banjo. Michael comes from a long local line of Ithaca NY musicians. His grandfather Morris "Moe" Harper was a local jazz clarinet and tenor saxophone player in the Ithaca area in the 1940's through the 1960's Moe's wife Ina, played violin in a more classical style. Mike's mother Roberta played flute and piano and was popular as a piano accompanist for a variety of musical tasks. Mike remembers vividly the multiple barbershop quartets training in the living room as a child with coaching from his mom. This was the beginning of Michael's musical education. He always tinkers with the keys of any keyboard he walks by, but never took a lesson - he says he wishes he did. He started on trombone in 4th grade at the public schools in Dryden NY .. taking some private lessons from some of his grandfather's jazz friends, Woody Peters and Ned Dunham along the way. When his sister took up flute, he just couldn't resist noodling with woodwinds and started playing scales and simple tunes on flute and saxophone and clarinet.

This instrumental distraction continues today; Michael picked up his grandmother's violin in 2002 and taught himself to read treble clef with help from a Suzuki book. Then his spouse took pity on him (or the rest of the family?) and offered to pay for lessons. He took lessons on violin from IC violinist Rebecca Geiger Hamlin for three years and at that same time started hosting the weekly Wednesday fiddle and contra tune jam from his home. He also plays rudimentary guitar; thanks to Phil Shapiro's guitar class! Mike has studied Irish tenor banjo, with thanks to Harry Lawless of Traonach. He learned the basics of playing fiddle tunes for contra dancers from Ted Crane and Pamela Goddard's many open band opportunities. Michael started the Upstate NY area's only waltz band a couple years ago - this is an open band that plays once per month at the Bethel Grove Contra dances. Most recently Michael has developed a passion for mandolin which he plays mostly melodically in a Celtic style with some New England, bluegrass and old-time influence with thanks to David Surette, Phil Banaszak, Tod Sukontarak and Tom Quigley. Michael loves and supports the open bands and open acoustic jams around the Ithaca area and attends many of them when time permits. Michael hosts a weekly contra tune jam (open jam) at his home in Brooktondale NY. Recently Michael performed with the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (CMEMME) for 3+ academic semesters where he studied Armenian, Turkish and other Middle Eastern fiddle styles under Harold Hagopian and Atakan Sari.