Joe Cleary Fiddle, Mandolin & Vocals

About Joe:

Joseph Campanella Cleary grew up in the piedmont region of Virginia,
in rural Chesterfield county. His mother was a violinist and began him
on the instrument when him was seven. He has played violin and fiddle
music since then and picked up the mandolin as an alternative to the
orchestra in high school. Bluegrass festivals, fiddle contests and
excursions into improvisational music soon eclipsed his Classical
background and became the next musical layer.

He attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA
and in 1996 received a BA in Anthropology with a Music minor. During
this time he also received several grants for research in
ethnomusicology and also played violin in the William and Mary Middle
Eastern Music Ensemble. In the fall of 1996 he moved to western Idaho
to work with A. Lawrence Smart, an experienced mandolin builder, for a
three and a half year apprenticeship.

He moved to Vermont in 2000 to form the Cleary Bros. Band with his
younger brother, John. In 2001 he began working with John Paul Moroz,
a master violinmaker, and continued until 2005, when he opened his own
workshop, making violins and mandolins. In 2005 his work was
recognized by the Vermont Council on the Arts in the form of a Creation
Project Grant.

Joe continues to live and work in Burlington with his wife Tree and
their daughter, Juniper.
www.campanellastrings.com

Email joe@bobdegree.com