Rhianon

Rhianon is a Contemporary Celtic Band with a Blues and Jazz edge. Rhianon mixes different style influences with traditional and original songs and tunes to create their unique Celtic sound. Rhianon has gained quite a following and reputation for their musicianship, harmonies and songwriting expertise in the Washington DC area.  Rhianon’s current CD, Lost in Avalon is a combination of original songs written by founder, Rene Carawan and arrangements of traditional songs.  The most notable of which is, Deirdre’s Lament, a traditional poem written in the 12th century, which Rene adapted to original music.   They are now in the process of recording their 3rd CD, entitled “A Rake, A Wheel and a Raggedy Reel", due out early spring 2003.  Unlike previous CDs, A Rake will be entirely of Traditional songs and tunes. Shortly after the release of A Rake, Rhianon will go back into the studio and record the 4th CD, which will consist of songs written and co-written by Rene Farabaugh and Cathleen Gary. Scroll Down to Meet the Band: Rene Farabaugh: Vocals, Irish Whistle, Flute, Piano, Borhan and synthesizer. 11. While growing up she competed across Oklahoma in music contests and toured with a teen vocal group during the summers. Rene is also listed Who's Who in Music for 1980. She majored in Vocal Performance at Southern Nazarene University, where she had a voice scholarship. In 1994  she studied with Linda Muller-Switzer in Tampa Florida, where she also was in the Tampa Bay Opera Company. While in Tampa, Rene also studied under Marc Taslit, a highly respected New York Director, who developed the "Acting for Opera and Musicals" workshops. Rene started playing whistle after moving to Virginia in 1996. Since coming to Virginia, she has studied voice with Renata Babak at the Washington Conservatory of Music and Gene Gavin, from the Washington Metropolitan Opera. In 1998, she started songwriting. Her first attempt was a lullaby for the production of Peter Pan, which was quite a success. In 2001, "This Irish Land", written by Rene, from Rhianon's first CD, Bard Song was nominated as "Best Celtic Song" from the Just Plain Folks Music Awards. Amber Amidzich : Vocals, Flute, Irish Whistle. Amber is the newest member of Rhianon. Her strong vocals have been added to bring back the harmonies for which Rhianon has become known.  She studied classical music at Carroll College where she focused on voice and theory. At the age of 16, Amber was admitted into the Wisconsin Choral Union as the youngest member ever to be accepted. Amber has been singing for over 20 years in various groups thoughout Wisconsin and Virginia. At the age of 17, she sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City.                                                                                               Lost in Avalon can be heard on: WDVR-FM 89.7 Sergeantsville, NJ http://www.wdvrfm.org Folk Image Radio Fitchburg, MA http://www.wdvrfm.org