THE FINE HAND

We challenge the idea that folk music cannot be a refined artform, as the practice of this music throughout our history was played by virtuosic musicians using their own highly-skilled musical languages developed outside of institutional centrality. The mission of THE FINE HAND is to present a traditionally folk-centric artform in a refined and virtuosic way, using existing published source material and oral traditions juxtaposed with original compositions, in the spirit of our imagined history. The use of early instruments is not a function of actual historicity, but are used as material signifiers of "the past";  a historical soundscape in which to place and sculpt new material from our memories.

The ensemble was founded in 2022 by Anne-Kathryn Olsen and Mara Winter.