ABOUT BETT

To learn more about her recordings check out Ceilidhe’s Music. Bett was born and raised in Durham, NC and has studied and been involved with music all of her life. Her father, Sam Andrews, was a well-known jazz saxophone player whose music is still heard all over the nation through recordings. Bett was classically trained in piano, and majored in voice performance at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC where she met her husband, Bill. When in high school during the folk music heyday of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, Bett learned to play the guitar and has been playing and singing traditional music of America and Scotland, Ireland and England ever since. After a break to raise her son Will, she is once again singing on stages in North Carolina. She began writing her own music in 1989, mostly of stories, places, and personal experiences. Her music weaves pictures and emotions together through a combination of lyrics and imaginative melodies. Her song Hatteras: If a Lighthouse Could Speak took her to Manteo to speak at a public hearing. Her song ended up being used in several  television documentaries (including ABC Niteline News) and music from the CD of the same title was used in a CD Rom produced by WRAL TV. Her song Trefalen can be heard all through Pembrokeshire in Wales, as can Beddgelert, the song she wrote based on an 13th century legend. Her love of traditional music of the United States and that of the United Kingdom prompts her to arrange them in a way which may attract an ear which otherwise would not be likely to listen. She strives to instill interest in songs of the past which are quickly being forgotten. John Bucher of Oberlin University said of her celtic arrangement of Steven Foster’s Oh Susanna!: "I can’t remember the last time I sang ‘O Susanna’, and smiled as I sang along!" (Additional reviews and information about her four CDs and music can be found on CEILIDHE'S MUSIC link) Bett attended the Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, NC for four summers. She has had the exciting experience of studying songwriting with David Wilcox, Bob Franke, Cosy Sheridan and Tom Paxton. She studied performance with Maura O’Connell, Briget Ball, and Greg Greenway, Kim & Reggie Harris and Billy Jonas.

She  taught guitar at North Carolina State University in Raleigh from 1979 until spring 2007. There she had four classes of group lessons at several levels. She also has a private studio at home where she conducts private lessons and group classes. She also teaches mandolin and a few keyboard students. She enjoys helping her students in their own compositions, and vocal and performance coaching. Learn more about lessons on the 'Guitar Lessons' link.

She received a grant from the United Arts Council of NC in 1996 to help fund her first CD, MORE THAN TIME. She considers it an honor to be recognized by this organization. She did all the instrumentation, vocals, percussion and arranging, make her first CD quite a challenge! Her CDs TREFALEN ,  HATTERAS: if a LIGHTHOUSE COULD SPEAK and her most recent release, CONVERSATIONS (Surprises and Other Stories) are different in many ways. She draws upon the talent of many fine North Carolina musicians. She is currently working on three CDs! Read more on her music label link, Ceilidhe's Music.

She was an active member of the Triangle Folk Music Society  where for five yers she was the booking contact for the exciting shows they promote. She also was the radio contact, and volunteer coordinator. This is an all volunteer, non profit organization which has put on some very exciting shows in the Research Triangle Area. Check them out!

For two years she wrote the press releases for the NC Songwriters’ Co-op. This  organization (also volunteer, not for profit) which showcases local songwriters each month, and helps promote CD release concerts for its members. It has a yearly songwriters’ contest with fabulous prizes. 

Working with both of these organizations helped form skills which has helped her enormously in booking and providing information for her own HOUSE CONCERT series: The Little Lake Hill House Concerts.

She is President of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society and also is chair of their Special Events. This organization was formed in 1994 to enlighten and educate people of North Carolina's lighthouses. They are dedicated to preserving this part of North Carolina's history and culture. Learn more by visiting the "NC Lighthouses" link!

Bett is dedicated to preserving traditional songs through new arrangements and to keeping alive the concept of ongoing folk music. She hopes that her music reaches the hearts and minds of people who listen to contemporary folk music, and that perhaps new followers of this music may be attracted by her creative arrangements of traditional tunes.   

Bett enjoys playing at open-air festivals. Usually people gather there for a purpose. She is a strong believer in supporting good causes. Also, she enjoys playing for attentive crowds in a few listening rooms in the Triangle area. She did a program early in 1998 for Quail Ridge Books on traditional music, blending her own new songs with those dating back many centuries from all over the world. While vacationing in the UK in June of 1998, she found herself playing for crowds of people in Scotland, Wales and England. She intertwines storytelling in between songs as well as in the songs themselves. She has performed many times for the National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore for ceremonies involving the lighthouse. The relighting ceremony after its successful relocation drew thousands of people from across the nation. The keeper's descendants reunion in 2001 was one of the largest in the US. And the celebration of 200 YEARS OF LIGHT in October, 03. Read more on the NC Lighthouses link. Also, she has written songs for specific historical events and performed at special ceremonies.

She has performed several times for the NC Museum of History as many of her tunes are about our state's rich history, lighthouses and methods of transportation.

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Copyright 1998 Ceilidhe's Music
Last revised: January 10, 2010

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For questions or comments regarding Bett Padgett's CD's, music or performances, send email to bett@bettpadgett.com.  For comments or problems with this site, please email bett@bettpadgett.com.