 Barry Luft
Born and raised in Calgary, Barry attended Balmoral School for Grades 1-9, and Crescent Heights High School for Grades 10–12. Paralleling a 32-year teaching and counselling career with CBE was also a vocation of “active folk singer”.
At age four, Barry’s musical influences began to take hold. He was taught to play the harmonica by his dad at this time, and he listened for countless hours to Wilf Carter 78 rpm recordings that his parents had in the home. Can he yodel? Yes.
In the early 1960s during the folk music revival, he started playing the 5-string banjo and his intricate style on the instrument is now his trademark. For many years, Barry has been known around town as “The Banjo Madman”.
Barry has six recordings to date, including two solo CDs. Apart from performing and recording, he is involved with music as an educator, song leader and instrument instructor. However, to this day, Barry claims he has not able to read music enough to hurt his playing.
Barry says that one of the great pleasures in his music vocation is instructing classes for Chinook Learning Services. Passing on his passion for the 5-string banjo in the clawhammer/frailing style is very rewarding. He has the distinction of being the first instructor to receive a 40-year Service Award in 2011.
Barry Luft has insisted that there be a message to all his current clawhammer banjo students. “Listen up, banjo players! You must rest and push your thumb into the 5th string immediately on the brush stroke in order to get that proper sound. This is the first step to becoming a great player!”
Program Areas
|
