Instrument/Department: Harmonica, Mandolin
Joined Hochstein Faculty in: 2017
Folk musician Allen Hopkins plays music in a variety of styles — American traditional, Celtic instrumental, a bit of Yiddish, blues, bluegrass, old-time, and contemporary. In addition to the harmonica, he plays guitar, banjo, mandolins of all sizes, autoharp, English concertina, bass (acoustic and electric), Dobro, Appalachian dulcimer, ukulele, and other odd instruments from tiple to kalimba.
Hopkins performs in a variety of groups, and coordinates performances by many musical friends at the Tunes by the Tracks concert series in Clifton Springs. He has participated in more than a dozen recordings, and played many concerts, coffeehouses, and regional festivals, including New England Folk Festival, Pinewoods Folk Music Club in New York City, and Golden Link’s Turtle Hill Folk Festival.
As a soloist, he puts together theme programs – historical and contemporary – and works frequently with special audiences such as kids, seniors, etc. He loves choruses, sing-arounds, swapping songs, backing up singers, and late-night jams. Allen is a founding member of the Golden Link Folk Singing Society and one of the things he loves about folk music is its intimacy — the lack of distance between performer and audience.