Band Bios

FROM THE WELL American Celtic folk band derives its unique sound from four strong vocalists, blending with twin hammer dulcimers, multiple stringed instruments, a variety of whistles and frame drums - all tied together by well-balanced medleys and arrangements. These may contain material as traditional as Turlough O'Carolan, as fresh as Scottish-born Dougie MacLean, or more eclectic selections from major films and lesser-known writers. Bill Stine and Craig Zumbrun have played music together for 15 years. Their tenor and baritone voices are balanced by the close soprano harmonies of Erin Flynn and Sarah Stine. Our band invites you to a musical encounter, drawn from the well of human experience and emotion.

Erin Flynn, a former member of the Delaware-based band Mythica, performs in a professional string quartet as well as in From The Well, in which she sings and plays hammer dulcimer, violin, viola, Irish whistle, and bodhran. She is currently building on her Music Education degree (instruments: violin and piano, University of Delaware) by pursuing a Master's Degree in Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has enjoyed performing with Bill and Craig for more than nine years. The fast driving she is known for serves her well in getting to the Band’s concerts on time.

 

Craig Zumbrun began singing at church festivals and lodge events at 5, accompanied by relatives. By 13, he and a cousin were performing folk music at coffee houses, and by 15 he had formed The Sands of Thyme, his first rock band. Craig formed the Arcona Reel Band (named for the road on which he lived) in 1987. Since then, he has sung and played guitar and bodhran at “faires,” festivals, weddings, and concerts. His love of music with a Scottish heritage has rubbed off on the other members of the band.

Retired from more than 32 years of public school music and college-level teaching, Bill Stine arranges most of From The Well’s music, and performs on vocals, hammer dulcimer, and whistles. A Lancaster County resident, Bill spends much of his time with his wife and daughter, and in his recording studio. He also advises and encourages students of the hammer dulcimer and whistle, and takes pride in developing the fine points of herding the family’s many cats.

 

Sarah Stine is 16, and a junior at Hempfield High School, where she is involved in Symphony Strings, Hempfield Singers, and the annual high school musical. She takes private lessons in cello, piano, and voice. Sarah studies dance with Encore Dance Center. Her string quartet, Four of a Kind, and Lancaster Youth Symphony, are also part of her musical world. The band’s youngest member, Sarah is a strong presence, as she plays cello, whistle, and baritone ukulele, and sings both lead and background vocals.

 


Jared McDonald.  With Jeff Burkholder.

Jared McDonald, our sound engineer, spends his days building live performance electrical control systems for a world-class staging and touring company. His passion for audio, both studio and live, led him to major in Audio Engineering at Sheffield Institute for Recording Arts. Jared and Bill often collaborate on professional audio projects, and combine their two studios at will. If Jared is not spending time with his wife and three golden retrievers, he is almost certain to have a microphone in his hand.

 When Jared has to go the extra mile for his day job, and cannot attend From The Well concerts, our talented friend Jeff Burkholder ably fills the sound engineering position.