Hazel began her professional performing career at age 14 playing drums in bands throughout California and on the Las Vegas strip. She then went on the study classical guitar and received her Masters in Music from the Thorton School of Music at University of Southern California. She studied lute and voice with Donna Curry and played lute in the USC Early Music Ensemble under James Tyler. Since earning her degrees Hazel has enjoyed a lively performing and teaching career.
Currently Hazel performs solo, with The Hungry Monks and the lute duo, Rossignol. In the Hungry Monks she writes songs as well as plays a variety of styles on guitar, banjo and percussion. The Hungry Monks perform at festivals, contra dances, concert venues and clubs and have relesded two CDs: Organic Tangerines and All Through the Night. In the Rossignol Duo Hazel plays lute, baroque guitar, renaissance guitar and arch lute with Christopher Berg. Rossignol has performed for the Boston Guitar Society Festival, UNC Boone Guitar festival, University of Michigin at Ann Arbor, Echo Early Music Festival in Asheville, NC and has been featured on Vermont Public radio. As a solo artist Hazel performs music for young audiences from her children’s CD Big as the World. As a guitarist and singer Hazel has had several new works composed for her by David Leisner, Dusan Bogdanovic and Brian Head. She has performed with many groups including Sonus which has three CDs of Medieval music and publications with Mel Bay. Other groups include The Marsh Grass Mamas, Na Fidleiri, and the Dead Beat Jambooree.
Hazel Ketchum owns and operates Hungry Monk Music in Charleston, SC with her husband John Holenko. Hazel also teaches Music for Young Children and gives teacher seminars throughout the country.
Read more...