Michael Kornfeld (right) is shown with David Amram, a widely acclaimed composer and must-instrumentalist.

Michael Kornfeld (right) is shown with David Amram, a widely acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist.

Michael Kornfeld, editor & publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com, was elected as president of the board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) during its annual conference at the Crowne Plaza in Stamford, CT, Nov. 10-13. Kornfeld had previously served as the nonprofit organization’s vice president. NERFA is the largest regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a Kansas City-based organization (on whose board he also serves) that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

NERFA fosters and promotes member initiatives primarily in the following U.S. states and Canadian Provinces: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Greenland, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as three counties in northern Virginia.

Kornfeld also is president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, a presenting organization on suburban Long Island, New York, and forged a locally heralded partnership between FMSH and LI’s Cinema Arts Centre. He also coordinates the annual Huntington Folk Festival that the Society presents each summer in partnership with the Huntington Arts Council. An award-winning strategic communications and public relations professional, Kornfeld launched AcousticMusicScene.com, an online publication for the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities, in January 2007, and arranges and hosts artist showcases and song swaps under its banner during various music conferences and festivals.

For the 10th consecutive year at the NERFA Conference that drew nearly 800 people, Kornfeld hosted a popular AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot featuring several singing folk DJs and 40 independent recording artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as late-night music showcases. He also moderated a panel discussion on The Folk Revival of the 1960s that featured acclaimed artists David Amram and Tom Paxton, participated in one on strengthening artist bios and news releases, and promoted a few singer-songwriters and groups.

Michael Kornfeld leads a community meeting with the during the recent NERFA Conference in this artistically enhanced image by Neale Eckstein.

Michael Kornfeld leads a community meeting with the board during the recent NERFA Conference in this artistically enhanced image by Neale Eckstein.

Kornfeld, a nine-year member of the NERFA board, succeeds Cheryl Prashker, a member of the Celtic group RUNA and percussionist to the folkies, as its board president. He had served as vice president during most of her seven-year presidency. The board’s new vice president is Kathy Sands-Boehmer of the Me & Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA, who also serves as, president of the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association (BACHA), while its new treasurer is Terry Mutchler, owner of Pennsylvania-based Mountain Top Productions. Re-elected by her board colleagues as secretary is Jessica Wrubel of Rhode Island-based Razzi Entertainment. Rounding out the board are Ethan S. Baird (of the band Pesky J. Nixon), Ramona LaBarre (from Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA), singer-songwriters Jory Nash (Toronto, Ontario) and Karyn Oliver (New York, NY), and Prashker. NERFA’s longtime conference director is Dianne Tankle.