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Al & Amy Bio - The Duo GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING GUITARIST - INDIE AWARD-WINNING DUO As heard on Ken Burns documentaries including: Mark Twain The National Parks: America’s Best Idea Baseball: The Tenth Inning The Dust Bowl The Roosevelts Award-winning, critically acclaimed, passionate and playful, Al & Amy offer an intoxicating blend of musical styles. Their repertoire includes original, traditional, contemporary Celtic- and Appalachian-influenced music with occasional nods to rock and jazz. Their performances feature acoustic guitar, mandolin, Celtic harp, piano, banjo, lap dulcimer, world percussion, and a touch of vocals. Before moving from the Washington, DC area to the mountains of Western North Carolina, Al & Amy won 50 WAMMIE Awards from the Washington Area Music Association. In addition, they were awarded 5 separate grants from the Maryland State Arts Council for both music composition and instrumental performance. They won an INDIE from The Association for Independent Music, and Al won a GRAMMY from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Al was voted one of the Top 50 Guitarists of all time by the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine and in 2008 he won Silver and Bronze medals in the magazine’s “Players’ Choice Awards.” Al & Amy’s music was featured throughout the soundtrack of the 2009 Ken Burns EMMY-winning documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. And in 2010, their album, Caledon Wood, (which includes the main theme of the National Parks documentary) was counted among the essential albums of the past 20 years in the Acoustic Guitar Magazine 20th anniversary issue. Al & Amy enjoy living in their mountain aerie at 4300 feet elevation, with stunning long-range views and wildlife as constant inspiration. This mountain-top setting has greatly influenced their recent musical works, and has also spurred their return to photography. Both Al & Amy’s photographs are represented by The National Geographic Society’s Image Collection, where Al worked as an image editor for 18 years. In addition to concerts and workshops, Al & Amy now also offer winter-themed and 4-season multi-media shows which feature live music performed against a backdrop of nature photography. Among many other pursuits, Al continues to teach private lessons and record video lessons for Homespun Videos. He also coordinates “Guitar Week” for the world famous music camp, The Swannanoa Gathering. And in early 2010, Amy launched Cat Angel Press which released its first full-color gift-book, Cat Angels: The Secret Lives of Cats. There are more angels and books to come. "High in the Blue Ridge," Al & Amy’s recording of Appalachian- and Celtic-inspired melodies, was released in early 2011. And they each released solo CDs in 2012. Al's is a solo acoustic project featuring Fingerstyle Blues titled "It's Only the Blues" and Amy's features her original songs and is titled "Home, Sweet Home." Due to high demand, the duo is planning a DVD of nature photography and original music as a companion to their popular multi-media shows. In the meantime, you are welcome to follow Al & Amy on Facebook and YouTube. You can also sign up on their mailing list to be alerted to their new releases, upcoming concert dates, and more. Available for Concerts, Multi-Media Performances, Workshops & Master Classes in Fingerstyle Guitar & Altered Tunings www.facebook.com/AlandAmy  Live at National Geographic - photo by Steve St. John
"Besides having one of the most beautiful voices around, Amy White writes some of the most enchanting songs you'll ever hear. And teamed up with her Grammy award winning husband, guitarist and singer/songwriter Al Petteway, you've got one of the most captivating contemporary folk duos anywhere." Photo by Al Petteway  Photo by Al Petteway  Photo by Tina Jones  Photo by Irene Young About Al A
Grammy Award winning recording artist and performer, Al Petteway has
played
nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music. Though his
primary instrument has always been the guitar, he has also studied
lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. His compositions
for acoustic fingerstyle guitar are strongly influenced by his love of
Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues. His recordings,
music books, and instructional videos have helped to win him
international acclaim and appearances on National Radio and Television
Programs. Al's
music has also been used in soundtracks for independent films including Ken Burns' documentaries on "Mark Twain" and most recently, the Emmy Award winning "The National Parks - America's Greatest Idea" , "Baseball - The Tenth Inning," "The Dust Bowl," and "The Roosevelts." Al has been awarded FORTY FIVE"Wammies" by the Washington
Area Music Association including the top honors of "ARTIST OF THE YEAR"
and "MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR". He was the recipient of two Maryland State
Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and has
performed at the Vice President's House and The White House. His
playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the
World's best known Folk and Celtic musicians. In 2005, he was voted one
of the Top Fifty Acoustic Guitarists of all Time by the readers of
Acoustic Guitar Magazine and in 2008 he won Silver and Bronze medals in the magazine's Player's Choice Awards. He performs
exclusively with his wife, Amy White. In addition to his concerts and
workshops, Al records and teaches private
lessons in their home studio in Fairview, NC and is the Guitar Week
coordinator for the world famous "Swannanoa Gathering" music camp at
Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.
"Al Petteway is quickly building a catalogue of some of the most beautiful instrumental guitar work ever recorded." FOR
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AL CLICK HERE Amy White
was born to professional classical musicians and is the youngest of
three children. As a result, she was nurtured and surrounded by several
genres and generations of music. Despite this semi-classical
upbringing, Amy never mastered sight reading and composes and plays
music solely by ear. She has a unique approach to composition and her
work reflects this serendipitous combination of classical, jazz, folk,
world and environmental influences. Amy won her first award for music
composition at the age of eleven. Her debut release, PIANO DIARIES,
garnered the 1996 Washington Area Music Award for Best New Age Recording and two separate Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) grants for solo instrumental performance on piano (1996) and mandolin (1998.) Amy's last solo piano recording, BITTERSWEET, AN AMERICAN ROMANCE was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered with Noah Adams. Amy received a third MSAC grant in Music Composition (2001)
for her work on this 2nd piano CD, as well as for her compositions on
guitar. Amy now performs and records exclusively with her husband, Al
Petteway. Over the years, Amy’s instrumentation has broadened to
include not only piano, mandolin and guitar, but now features vocals,
percussion, Celtic Harp, and Mountain Dulcimer. Together, Al & Amy have recorded over
14 CDs, received an Indie Award as well as 50 awards from the
Washington Area Music Association prior to their move to the mountains
of Western North Carolina. When she's not playing music, Amy is
passionately devoted to other creative endeavors. When the mice
are kind enough to share the garage studio, Amy continues to enjoy stone carving, stained glass, silver casting, block printing, mosaics and 3-D multi-media collage. The rest of the time, which is most of the time, Amy concentrates on graphic arts, digital photography and the art of digital photomontage. Amy’s first full-color book of photomontages, CAT ANGELS: the Secret Lives of Cats will be released in early 2010. Life is too short to specialize!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AMY CLICK HERE
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