Biographies

Leela & Ellie Grace
   Biographies
      Leela
      Ellie

Win studied piano as a child and sang at every possible chance. Her extended family on her mother's side was--and are!--great lovers of music. At all family gatherings, they were--and are!--likely to spontaneously burst into song. Win was also very much inspired by her father's two brothers, one of whom was a composer and pianist, and the other who played anything by ear. Win continued to play piano from written music, to sing in plays and choral groups and to be a lover of all types of music while obtaining a degree in theatre from Denison University in Granville, OH.

In 1973, she saw the autoharp being played in concert for the first time, and knew she had found her instrument! She drove to the nearest music store after the concert and slept in her car, waiting for the store to open, whereupon she rushed in and bought her first autoharp. Shortly after this, she left for a 4-month backpacking tour of Europe. She carried the autoharp on this trip--not an easy task!--and at one point found herself playing (from her beginning autoharp book!) in front of Le Louvre in Paris along with the other street "buskers." On returning from Europe, she began to play with Paul, and with his patient help, learned to play by ear. She initially taught herself to play in the standard pinch style, and subsequently went on to develop the thumb-lead or cross-picking style. She redesigned the tuning of her autoharp, calling her design the "chromatonic" autoharp. Win now has three autoharps that she uses in performance--each of them "double-tuned" in different keys.

When Paul began to learn to play the fiddle, Win began to look for an instrument that she could play faster, and in a wider variety of keys. She decided that the piano accordion would fit the bill, and began to teach herself to play the accordion in 1978 while she was pregnant with Ellie (poor Ellie!). She uses the button (or bass) side of the accordion to provide bass runs and a rhythmic accompaniment, while the piano side makes a fiddle or cello-like melody or harmony sound. And she can sing at the same time (but she can't walk and chew gum!). She continues to explore the many possibilities that the accordion offers.

Win has always loved to sing, and especially enjoys harmonizing with Paul, as her range and vocal quality naturally complement his. One fan wrote that Win's voice and its down-to-earth quality represented, to him, the "voice of the Midwestern woman." Her aim with her music has always been to let her voice and instrument complement the song, and, especially, to bring joy to the listener.

Win is the business manager, booking agent, and accountant for the band--and maybe someday the webmaster!