Old-time musician Emily Schaad plays a strong, rhythmic fiddle, clawhammer banjo, and a solid back-up guitar. She came to Southern Appalachian music as a classical violist, having studied at the Curtis Institute and Juilliard. At Appalachian State University in Boone she gained knowledge of the Appalachian culture and music. She is sought after as an instructor for old- time music camps and workshops, where she blends Appalachian tradition with instrumental pedagogy. Since the 1970’s, Cecil Gurganus has been an active member of Watauga County’s old-time music and dance community. He plays music, teaches, mentors, and gives presentations on traditional music. He has been an instructor at the Swannanoa Gathering Old-Time Music Week at Warren Wilson College and teaches in the Junior Appalachian Musicians program in Watauga and Ashe counties.