November 10, 2026 I Jordan Marshall, Operations Assistant
2026 Final Showcase Concert
The Allegheny Mountain String Project® (AMSP) is a unique program that provides critical early string education that is not currently available in the Alleghany Highlands school systems. The program lasts for thirty weeks beginning after Labor Day weekend and lasting until Memorial Day weekend. During this time, students grow through structured private lessons, participate in collaborative ensembles, give community performances, and give end of year recitals and a concert. Alongside the National Association for Music Education standards and excellence, our students learn music rooted in our community and surrounding areas such as Bluegrass, American and Appalachian folk songs, and fiddle tunes. Students not only learn how to read and play their music, they learn about the tunes and composers and their historical context. Students also learn to improvise and play by ear.
Another reason the AMSP is so unique and connected to Garth Newel is that it was created by Emerging Artist Fellowship alumni, Jaime Blees. After studying at Garth Newel, Jaime finished school and decided to move to the area and fill the gap of string education in the Alleghany Highlands. The Emerging Artist Fellowship program began when Luca and Arlene Di Cecco brought some of their students to Garth Newel for an educational retreat. This retreat became a regular event every year and helped establish Garth Newel’s values and mission. Through those values and practices the Emerging Artist Fellowship program grew and inspired many young musicians like Jaime who created the Alleghany Mountain String Project.
The AMSP is entering a new chapter this year under the administrative leadership of Steve Wogaman, GNMC CEO, and Jordan Marshall, Operations Assistant. Steve and Jordan are very excited to welcome a new teacher, Russell Fallstad who will teach the advanced students. Steve and Jordan also hope to continue to support Kelley Mikkelsen and Madison Barnett who have been instrumental in the program’s success. Thank you to everyone who supports the AMSP year after year. If you know a young string player who is eager to learn, send them our way!
Meet the People Behind AMSP
At the heart of the Allegheny Mountain String Project are the people who guide, encourage, and inspire its students. Get to know Jordan Marshall, who leads the program's administration, and the three instructors sharing their time, talent, and love of music with our young musicians.
Jordan Marshall is a Bath County native; growing up in Williamsville, he went through the Bath County school system where he was a part of the band program from fifth grade to twelfth grade. In high school, Jordan loved marching band and concert band where he held leadership positions for four years. Upon graduation in June of 2017, he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship Initiative from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which allowed him to study on a full scholarship. During his time at Virginia Tech, Jordan was a member of many ensembles such as the Marching Virginians, Virginia Tech Trumpet Ensemble, Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble, and the Virginia Tech Philharmonic. Under the instruction of Dr. Jason Crafton, Jordan had the opportunity to learn from many other trumpet masters such as Ashley Hall, Wiff Rudd, Allen Vizzutti, Ryan Gardner, and James Thompson. Upon graduating in May of 2021, Jordan took on many community performances and instructed the Bath County High School Marching Band during college. Jordan’s instruction helped lead the BCHS marching band to win grand champions in the “Blast in The Draft” competition in Stuarts Draft, Virginia in September of 2017. In the Summer of 2022, Jordan traveled to Montana and performed as principal trumpet for the Bigfork Summer Playhouse. There, he performed shows such as Guys and Dolls, Mamma Mia, Freaky Friday, and The Full Monty. In the Fall of 2022, Jordan returned home and started working at Garth Newel Music Center where he began taking over the livestream, becoming A/V technician. In his new role as Operations Assistant/AMSP Coordinator, Jordan looks forward to supporting both Garth Newel and AMSP in their respective missions, as well as help create new opportunities for young musicians in the community and surrounding area.
Named three times by the New Yorker Magazine's Best of...CD selections, South Dakota native and Grammy-nominated cellist Kelley Mikkelsen has been heard performing live on NPR's Performance Today, and on major radio stations such as New York's WQXR and WNYC, WGBH Boston, WVTF Roanoke and Charlottesville, SDPB, CBC Radio Canada, and Radio France. She can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and Sirius XM.
An avid chamber music devotee, Ms. Mikkelsen has been invited as Artist-in Residence to the Banff Centre (Canada; most recently in 2024), in both long and short-term residencies; and she has several times been Artist-in Residence at Yale, Princeton and Harvard Universities, Syracuse University, the University at Buffalo, Bucknell Unversity, East Carolina University, Cornell College, the University of Pennsylvania, Bard College, the University of Idaho, and UC Berkeley, among many others. She has repeatedly been invited to numerous prominent United States music festivals, including the Norfolk (CT), Tangelwood (MA), Aspen (CO), Music Academy of the West (CA), Bowdoin (ME), and Interlochen (MI) festivals, and several others across the globe.
As a very enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music in addition to the classics, Ms. Mikkelsen has worked with and recorded for some of the world's leading contemporary composers, including Pulitzer Prize winners John Corigliano, George Crumb, Caroline Shaw, Jennifer Higdon, Steven Stucky, Virgil Thompson, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. She was also named co- recipient of the prestigious Charles Ives Award of Excellence from the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City for her commission and subsequent performances of Edward Jacobs' Al Momento for cello and pre-recorded tape. She has performed throughout the US, Europe and Asia with numerous celebrated soloists, chamber musicians, and conductors including Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Joan Tower, Renee Fleming, and Ursula Oppens, as well as the Cleveland, Juilliard, Colorado, and Cavani Quartets.
As cellist of the internationally renowned and award-winning Cassatt Quartet, Ms. Mikkelsen made appearances at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall, the Tanglewood Music Theatre, Symphony Space, Bargemusic, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress, among many other venues. The Quartet was the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including several CMA/ASCAP awards for adventurous programming, as well as commissioning grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and The Mary Flagler Trust.
Currently, Ms. Mikkelsen serves as Principal Cellist of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Opera Roanoke and Opera on the James. She also performs regularly with the Williamsburg and Charlottesville Symphony Orchestras, in addition to many other varied free-lance opportunities throughout the region. She recently completed a full recital tour of the Midwest that included the cities of Chicago IL, Des Moines IA, Minneapolis MN, Omaha NE, Sioux Falls and Rapid City (SD). An integral part of her three week tour included several workshops, mini-recitals and numerous educational programs with a focus on underserved populations, in addition to her presentation of seven full-length formal recitals.
With a deep commitment to nurturing young musicians, Ms. Mikkelsen was recently named Lead Instructor of the Allegheny Mountain String Program (AMSP); there, she maintains a full studio of young, creative, and aspiring string players (Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass) in Highland County (Va). She also currently maintains a full studio of cellists in Roanoke and Lexington, Va (students from Southwest and Central Virginia). She is asked on a regular basis to present Master Classes for ambitious young instrumentalists throughout Va., in addition to several Summer Music Camps across the nation. She has been on the faculties of Augustana College (SD), Sioux Falls University (SD), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, East Carolina University (NC), and Hollins University in Virginia. Ms. Mikkelsen earned her B.M. degree from the Eastman School of Music, B.A. Degree from the University of Rochester, and her M.M. degree at the University of Akron.
Exciting recent news includes the imminent release of a new CD that will include her own transcriptions of several familiar and popular songs of Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms, as well as her arrangement of Debussy's classic Claire de Lune. She has previously recorded for the Sony, Koch, Naxos, New World, Point, CRI, Tzadik, Bandcamp, and Albany labels.
Also an award-winning graphite artist, Kelley enjoys maintaining her vast and varied collection of exotic plants, treasuring everything nature, and spending quality time with her family (and animals) in her spare time at home in Rockbridge County, Va.
Ms. Mikkelsen plays a Bartolomeo Bimbi cello from Florence, Italy, dated 1780
“...a passionate performance...energetic and lush...” NY Times
“...intensity and passion...with lyrical tenderness...” Los Angeles Times
“...plays...beautifully...performs with style and ease...” New Yorker Magazine
“...gorgeous solo...emotional high point of the evening..” Roanoke Times
Madison Barnett finds her home in Covington, VA, merely 15 minutes from her childhood home. Madison attended the Alleghany County school system and graduated from Covington High School in 2018. She attended Mountain Gateway Community College thereafter, receiving private violin lessons during this time from Jaime McArdle. Madison attended the Ohio State String Teacher Workshop of ‘23, receiving instruction on how to sharpen her teaching techniques. She has also traveled to Charleston, SC to receive more curated instruction from Pamela Wiley, who founded the Central PA Suzuki Institute.
Madison is a product of, and local instructor for, the Allegheny Mountain String Project (AMSP). She continues to serve her hometown & surrounding areas, offering services as a violinist and string instructor. Madison provides music for many weddings, church services, and other events across the WV and VA state areas. Among those include the 2018-19 performance of Handel’s Messiah at Old Stone Presbyterian in Lewisburg, WV, the 2022 Alleghany Highlands’ Arts Council’s Living Arts Award Ceremony, the 2023-24 Bath County Arts Association’s Annual Art Show, and the 2026 Stoney Creek Bluegrass Festival. Her favorite gig is playing alongside her grandmother on organ for the Edgemont Presbyterian Church. Barnett has been studying Bluegrass fiddle-style playing since May 2025 and currently performs in a small-time band based out of Buchanan, VA. They provide performances of Country, Bluegrass, and Gospel music, curated to each event. As of June 2026 she has just booked her first gig providing music for a television project. Her most recent orchestral performance was with the “Link Up” program at Carnegie Hall, WV, as a first violinist in April of 2026. Madison also puts on a violin recital each year for her hometown; It is always free to the public.
During the 2025-26 AMSP season, Madison provided private/group instruction to 40+ students, and orchestrated 8 separate performances for said students. Madison loves sharing her excitement for music with her students and encouraging them to be confident in themselves. She remains stead-fast in her goal to build back the youth orchestra for Bath County. Madison is excited to see what she can build off the new foundation that has been laid for the Allegheny Mountain String Project.
Liszt himself eschewed prescribing a descriptive or narrative title, intentionally proclaiming the work as a grand sonata instead of attaching it to any defined story. In this, he made the work more personal, allowing us all to let the music speak to our own journey, often undefined and hard to put into words.
That is the power of music. Expression at its essence, without the translation of words. I’ve always found it difficult to put into words how music can move and transfix, because it always seems a step removed from the immediacy of feeling. It’s the way we are moved by what we can’t explain.
Violinist Russell Fallstad founded Heartstrings.com and Heartstrings Academy in 2012, building on the Suzuki and O’Connor learning methods, as well as popular Americana, Rock and Pop traditions. The result is
“Heartstrings” a method which combines the best of Popular and Classical learning styles, creating something more accessible to modern American families.
Russell performed rock music covers on YouTube and in venues across the U.S. with The Dueling Fiddlers, and as electric violin soloist with several major U.S. symphony orchestras, including the Houston, Portland, Dallas, and St. Louis Symphonies.
Hailed for his “glorious strength” and “elegance” (New York Concert Review), he blazed an impressive and unique trail as an artist and teacher, after beginning Suzuki lessons in the Minnesota public school system.
He began with two classical performance degrees at Northwestern University.
Shortly after college, he founded the Fry Street String Quartet, mentoring with classical legends Isaac Stern, The Juilliard Quartet, and The Emerson Quartet. He subsequently toured and recorded with the Fry Street Quartet for 13 years, performing in 40 U.S. states and 20 countries.
Russell has taught young children the whole time, at Northwestern University, The Western Springs School of Talent Education/Naperville Suzuki School, The Music Institute of Chicago; he taught String Pedagogy at DePaul University; and he founded the Suzuki Pedagogy Program at Utah State University’s Caine School of the Arts, while a member of their string college-level performance faculty for 7 years. Russell has been a guest clinician at many youth programs and universities, and founded several youth chamber music programs which continue today.
The Allegheny Mountain String Project reflects what we value so deeply at Garth Newel: sharing the joy of music, creating opportunities for young musicians, and helping those opportunities take root in our community. We're proud to be part of this work and look forward to following the students' progress throughout the year. We hope you'll join us at an upcoming performance and cheer them on!
