About Us

Serendipity is a richly instrumented group of fine performers specializing in English Country Dance music. As members of this group sharpened their skills individually by serenading many fine dance groups throughout the Western New York region, it was surmised that whenever any two of them intersected at a dance venue that providence had interceded in conjuring musical euphoria thereby manufacturing a special serendipitous moment. Whether it is only two of them or the full complement of the band, the music is guaranteed to present the very best attributes of English Country Dance; from lively jigs to romantic waltzes, simple reels to stately pavanes.

Instrumentation of the group is anchored on piano with Barbara Seppeler and complemented with Laurie Williams on Flute, Laurel Sharp on whistles, recorders and oboe, and on violins; Lisa Bueno, Molly Jaynes or Boel Gidholm.

Barbara Seppeler is a graduate of the Crane School of Music, (SUNY Potsdam) with a Bachelor of Music, and a Master of Music Ed from SUNY Fredonia. She has taught vocal and general music to all grades in both public and private schools. She is currently a private piano instructor, a choral director, a composer, and an English Country Dance pianist. Barbara has taken classes and studied privately with Jacqueline Schwab. She toured the New England States and Canada with callers Val Medve and Dan Seppeler with the 2013 BVD tour as both an ECD solo pianist or with local musicians and twice had the opportunity to perform with Peter Barnes and Mary Lea. Her band, Serendipity, will be playing in the Dance Flurry this February and Barb will be playing both solo ECD and with the band NoteWorthy at NEFFA this year.

Laurie Giroux Williams comes from a family of musicians and teachers from western New York State. She received her B.M. in music education with a concentration on flute from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, her M.M. from Ithaca College and the Orff-Schulwerk Level I certification from the Eastman School of Music. Ms. Williams teaches elementary music and chorus full-time at the Geneva City School District. She is a private flute instructor, and plays in the English Country Dance band, Serendipity, every chance she gets. Laurie and her three daughters reside in Newark, NY - close to the beautiful Finger Lakes area.
Lisa Bueno is a NYC musician & high-school math teacher. She is classically trained, with both a B.A. and M.A. in music/musicology from Brandeis & Yale University. She has performed at dances in NYC, Westchester, Ridgewood, Chatham, Round Hill, New Haven, Syracuse, and Rochester, as well as at dance festivals such as NOMAD and SYNERGY. Lisa has taken intensive ECD musician's classes with both Jacqueline Schwab and Peter Barnes. Lisa makes her debut at Flurry with the ECD band Serendipity.
Laurel Sharp plays whistles, recorders, oboe, bombarde, ocarina, and the occasional didg, sometimes for English country dance and sometimes for squares and contras. She has played in various bands in and around Central New York including Nottingham Fair, Heart's Delight and Two Laurels, as well as Serendipity.
Molly Jaynes received her BA in violin from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2009. She has studied and performed traditional Scottish music for over a decade - both abroad and at home - and has been enjoying her new involvement with English Country Dance. Molly is currently a doctoral candidate in Translational Biomedical Science at the University of Rochester and studies the neurological basis of music performance.