Walt Michael - As a student during the 1960's at Western Maryland College, Walt went to Appalachia with the Student Opportunities Service to do community action work and to parts of the Deep South to take part in voter registration campaigns. Whilst working with America's poor and disenfranchised, he encountered the power and beauty of traditional music.

For the past thirty years Walt has led a variety of musical ensembles, performing throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. While teaching a course in roots music during the January Term at WMC in 1993, Walt conceived the idea for Common Ground on the Hill. As its Executive and Artistic Director, he leads Common Ground on the Hill towards its stated goal of seeking racial and cultural harmony through the arts.

 

Pete Heywood - Pete Heywood's track record of working in the Traditional Arts, both locally in Ayrshire and nationally in Scotland has been one of consistent achievement. He has never been short of ideas or of vision for development.

Prior to 1993, all his work was done on a voluntary basis. In 1993 he decided to work with the traditional arts on a full-time basis. He was the founder of the Kilmarnock Folk Club and ran it for around fourteen years and was involved in the founding of The Girvan Folk Festival and was its principal organiser from year seven to year twenty-one. (In 1982 Pete invited Walt Michael to perform at Girvan - see leaflet on the left. This resulted in the friendships that have finally led to Common Ground Scotland.)

He has been an advocate for the Traditional Arts, helping to raising the profile of Scottish artists in the media and has had a long-term commitment to passing on the artform - education with a small 'e'. He has a track record of aiming high and sticking to the task. Both the club and the festival 'created' music. He was not passive in the booking policy and sought out the best, where necessary creating links with other organisations and organising national tours so as to be able to present musicians of the highest caliber to local audiences.

Many artists made their first visits to Scotland, or raised their profile because of this booking policy. These included Mary Black, De Dannan, Altan, Huw & Tony Williams, Walt Michael & Company and La Bottine Souriante. The 'World Premiere' of The Singing Kettle stage show was at The Girvan Festival!

Recently he founded The Living Tradition magazine, which has now joined the ranks of a select few traditional music magazines reaching an international audience and in 2000 started a project called The Tradition Bearers