Lake School 2025

Ewen Baker

Beginner & Advanced Mandolin and Adult Fiddle

Ewen Baker is a fiddle and mandolin tutor. Ewen has a relaxed and down-to-earth teaching style that gets the basics of Celtic style across to his students.

Ewen Baker is a multi-instrumentalist teacher and recording artist living in Melbourne. As a fiddler and mandolin player he has toured with Shane Howard, and many other folkie combos. In recent years he has produced a CD of Paddy Fitzgerald’s accordion music, and has devoted himself his teaching and making violins and guitars.

Ruth Boylan

Beginner and Advanced Convertina. Lunchtime Session.

Ruth Boylan is a concertina and fiddle player from Ireland. She learned to play the concertina from the renowned concertina player Micheal O’ Raghallaigh and the fiddle from the Roscommon fiddle player Mary Greevy.

Ruth has won many All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and was a leading fiddle player for the Beartla O’Flatharta Ceili Band for over ten years. Ruth enjoys performing and teaching both young and old at music festivals locally and internationally. 

Polly Christie

Big Sing and Choral Singing

For over 20 years Polly Christie has opened people’s hearts by teaching them to sing. Polly established Pollyphonics Choir in 2008 in the Macedon Ranges, creating vibrant, soulful, choral performances ever since.

In 2025 Polly will lead a new course “Choral Singing with Polly” for intermediate singers. Learn a song in 4-part harmony, develop vocal tone, dynamics and choral blending. She will also host the Big Welcome Sing in the Botanical Gardens on the first morning (weather permitting) to help us get our voices warmed up for the week ahead! 

Cathy Blake      

Adult Fiddle and Kids Fiddle

Cathy is an instrumental violin & viola teacher at Christian College, Geelong and has a private teaching studio at her home in Geelong. She performs regularly with the Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers, her family and enjoys sharing tunes, especially at music camps.

Cathy is passionate about encouraging fiddler players of all ages and stages on their musical journey. Fiddle class participants will be taught tunes by ear with sheet music handouts available to take away.

www.cathyblakeviolin.weebly.com

Allan Evans

Beginner Kids Fiddle & Flute

Allan hails from Taradale in Central Victoria. His love for Irish music began as a teenager, teaching himself the tin whistle and soon after taking up Irish flute and harp.

He now performs with award-winning bands Tolka and Trioc and has travelled around Australia and internationally with his music.

Patrick Evans

Guitar

Patrick Evans is a Melbourne based musician and guitar maker. He is an accomplished guitarist, fiddle player, singer and songwriter whose musical roots are strongly based in the Australian and Celtic folk 

traditions. Patrick has played with many of Australia’s folk luminaries over many years and brings a wealth of experience to the Lake School. He is really looking forward to sharing some of his experience and skills with this year’s group of aspiring guitar players.

Kevin McCarthy

Pub Singers

Long-time Lake School participant and Life Member, Kevin McCarthy steps up to lead the Pub Singers this year as well as leading the Songwriters Session this year. Previously from Geelong, but in recent years residing in Darwin, Kevin ‘found’ the Lake School one night at Crossley Hall on a Sunday drive.

He has been coming along ever since. Kevin’s contributions to the Songwriters Class from a number of years ago are still a talking point at Lake School, Join Kevin and the Songwriters at Mickey Bourke’s Hotel on Jan 3 from 8.30pm 

Mark and Lisa McDonnell

Slow Session

Mark and Lisa McDonnell lead the Slow Session at Dukes Commercial Hotel each morning and lead House Parties there most nights of the Lake School except Jan 4th when they host at the Kirkstall Hotel. Mark and Lisa’s sessions are great for intermediate players and beginners who are finding their way in sessions.

The House Parties are also great entertainment – all are encouraged, everyone gets a go and lots of players, singers and dancers turn up to add to the variety

John Corby

Adult Whistle and Advanced Kids Fiddle

John Corby better known as ‘Corbs’ was inspired to take up the flute by the playing of Ian Anderson in the 80s. As time progressed Corbs came to hear, love and learn to play the folk style of Matt Malloy and Willie Clancy.

His passion for this style of music continues and each week of the school year he shares this love with a dedicated tunes group made up of students from Nagle College in Bairnsdale. 

Jody Moran

Banjo & Irish Music 

Jody is accomplished on a variety of instruments and, whilst well known for his tenor banjo playing, is also an All-Ireland winner on tin whistle. He has also twice won the gold medal in the newly composed tune category at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Based predominantly in northern England in his youth, he performed at international level with the Leeds Ceili Band and was a regular tutor at music festivals including Willie Clancy Summer School and Tocane (France).

Since emigrating to Wodonga, Australia with his family over a decade ago he has been nurturing the scene in the North East of Victoria with a twice annual traditional music festival from where he helped direct and produce a Ceili House broadcast in late 2012. He is also a mainstay in the newly formed Facebook group, ‘Banjoheads’.  

Jack Brennan

Whistle Program &  Pipes

Jack Brennan is a veteran of the Irish traditional music scene in Australia, and is one of the finest Uilleann pipers and Low whistle players in the country. He has performed at many of the best-known festivals in South Australia and Interstate over the years including Womad, Port Fairy, Woodford and the Portarlington National Celtic Festival.

He has worked on film scores, and has a number of CDs to his credit. Jack is also a talented reed and pipe maker and is now making Concert D Uilleann Pipes. In 2013 Jack was inducted as a ‘Legend of The Lake’ to recognise his contribution as a tutor with the Koroit Lake School over many years.  

Eamon Naughton

Irish Language

Eamon is active in the Irish Language School in 

Melbourne, and is just your man for those wanting a general introduction to the language and a basic and beginners vocabulary. Eamon was born in Co Meath, and brought up in the Gaeltacht there by his Connemara parents. He came to Australia in 1965, and has taught at a Summer School in the Snowy Mountains. Eamon was inducted as a Legend of The Lake in 2016. 

Merran Moir   

Youth Ensemble and Stars On The Lake

Merran grew up in a musical family. ‘There was always music of some kind in the house; bringing happy memories of frequent travels for music, performances, and céilidhes’.

She is active in numerous community music groups, sessions and bands including The Southern Ocean Sea Band. A music teacher by profession, this year Merran takes over Youth Ensemble, and will present The Stars on The Lake in a new format as The Stars Ceilidh Band.

Declan Simpson

DADGAD

Declan is a seasoned fiddler and guitarist deeply ingrained in the Irish music scene since 2005. With 

countless trips to Ireland including a year spent in Dublin, he’s honed his skills and now performs with The Simpson Three, and many other Irish bands and musicians around Australia. With a Bachelor of Music, Declan is a professional musician with a wealth of experience, both in performing shows and playing in sessions. 

Peter Somerville

5 String Banjo

Peter returns to teach 5 string banjo, including both clawhammer and 3 finger styles. He has performed and worked as a session musician for many years, recorded with Paul Kelly, toured the USA with The Rank Strangers, and played 6 months of gigs in Japan and many national music festivals. He has also played in bush bands and Irish bands, and has mastered jigs, reels and polkas on the 5 string and is keen to share his knowledge. He will be teaching some easy tunes by ear, for which tablature will also be available. 

Peter will also host the Bluegrass Pick, an informal, fun session where participants will learn and play along with some classic American songs and tunes. 

Andy Rigby

Harp & Parade

Andy is our Harp tutor and parade master. Andy is a regular tutor and performer at the annual Turramurra Music Camp (Otways, January) and programmer for the Rosewood Music Camp (Strathbogies, September). The parade musicians will lead the Parade to the School photo from Mickey Bourke’s at 1.15pm on January 6. Andy was inducted as a Lake School Legend of the Lake in 2019. 

Helen Begley

Ukulele

Helen Begley is a Melbourne based musician. She has appeared in many festivals as a solo artist, with her former band, “Milk”, and in her musical in the Good Girl Song Project, ‘Voyage’. She has won several awards for song writing including the inaugural Melbourne Ukulele Festival Songwriting Award. She plays her songs on guitar, ukulele, banjo and has been described as a ‘rough angel who writes a mean song.’

Helen runs her own music making business, “Chicks with Picks Melbourne” where she teaches and encourages folk, especially women, to play ukulele, guitar, write songs and participate more broadly in music and song making.

Peter Moir    

Adult Bodhran     

Peter is an experienced Drum Line leader and long time Lake School member and bodhran supporter. This year he brings his gentle and accessible style to the Kids Program to start the children off in good rhythm. 

Marie Brouder      

Set Dancing

Marie joined the Lake School as dance tutor in 2010 and returns again this year. Marie will be teaching Irish set dances and sean nos dance at the Senior Citizens Hall.

The dancers will present some of the dances they have learnt as Marie calls the dances at the Op Shop Family Céilidhe, Marie arrived in Melbourne from Ireland in 1988 and brings a wealth of experience and good humour to her teaching. Marie is also our 2014 Legend of the Lake. 

Cora Browne          

Lake Singers

Cora (she/her) is a regular performer in many musical line ups around Melbourne, including with fellow Lake School tutor Pat Evans as Play It Martha. She can also be found treading the boards in several plays written by our own Felix Meagher, including The Man They Call The Banjo, Barry Versus Kelly, and his newest work Adventure Before Dementia.

Cora welcomes everyone to come along and experience the joy of community singing and developing their Celtic repertoire. No previous experience is necessary, just a willingness to make sounds with your mouth! 

Colin Driscoll   

Poetry Workshop

Colin is an Ararat based bush poet who has performed at many festivals and events around Australia. He is a seasoned actor, now performing in Meagher and O’Keeffe’s The Man They Call The Banjo and Barry Versus Kelly.

Colin, who has been leading the Spud Poets night since 2014 became the Lake School Poetry Workshop tutor in 2016 and his poetry sessions go from strength to strength.