Biography

With mastery of guitar and bouzouki, Stanley Greenthal performs a compelling mix of original songs and fresh arrangements of instrumental music from Brittany, Scotland, Ireland and the Balkans. Self-taught on guitar since the age of 14, and later on the bouzouki, he has explored world folk music cultures, traveling widely through England, Scotland and Ireland, where the traditional players and singers in the rich Celtic musical heritage profoundly influenced him. His work attracted the interest of Micheal O Domhnaill, who produced and played on Stanley's first recording, Songs for the Journey (1987), along with Kevin Burke and other seminal players of contemporary Celtic music. Stanley produced and recorded his second album, All Roads (1991), which brought him increasing national recognition. "Greenthal works in a complex acoustic form, done so well as to appear simple...the result is the illumination of quiet inward choices that haunt all of us." — CD Review

Stanley produced, engineered and recorded his third album, Turning Towards You in 1998. “A gifted instrumentalist and writer with a sharp eye for detail and poetic flair, Stanley Greenthal stands among the finest neo Celtic talents. Turning Towards You is a musical feast.” — John O’ Regan, Rock ‘N’ Reel, U.K. Stanley also recorded and engineered the solo harp album The Ancient Harp of Scotland (Mill Records, 1998) in his home studio for William Jackson, renowned founding member of top Scottish band Ossian.

Travels to Brittany and Greece sparked Stanley’s passion for Breton and Balkan music, which culminated in the production of his fourth album, Mélodie - Brittany to the Balkans (2002), an instrumental collection that stretches musical borders from Scotland, Ireland and Brittany to Greece and the Balkans. A keen interest in the laouto and lavta (Greek and Turkish lutes) took Stanley to Crete in 2006, where he studied with composer/multi-instrumentalist Ross Daly and other renowned performers from modal music traditions at the Labyrinth Musical Workshop. 

Stanley has done extensive tours of the U.S. East and West coasts, the Southwest, and British Columbia in Canada, sharing the stage with performers such as Joan Baez, Martin Hayes, Andy Irvine, Ossian, The House Band, Ad Vielle Que Pourra, Robin Williamson, and Luke Plumb (of Shooglenifty). In 1999, Stanley joined Jerry O’Sullivan (of Altan), John Skelton (The House Band), and Pat O’Gorman (Rare Air) for a Westcoast tour of The Windbags. Stanley has been one of a select group of world-class teachers invited to teach and perform at ZoukFest. Founded by Roger Landes in 1998, ZoukFest was the first international gathering of bouzouki players, and has grown into an innovative World Music Camp held most recently in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2010).

Stanley's current projects include the Seattle-based Breton dance band Sonerion, and a trio with his wife Kip Greenthal and Greek multi-instrumentalist/singer Christos Govetas, performing Stanley's original songs and a range of music from Greece and the Balkans.  

Stanley and Kip divide their time between Lopez Island and Seattle. Besides teaching guitar and bouzouki and giving workshops, Stanley runs a business, Uncommon Wedding Music, playing Celtic and original music for weddings.

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