HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The Wayward Companions transports their audiences back in time to the taverns and parlors of the 18th century. With members from diverse musical backgrounds, they perform in period attire and play instrumental and vocal selections in a style familiar to Washington, Jefferson, and their contemporaries.
The band was founded in the Pittsburgh area in 2004 by classically trained musician William Lockard and Laura Lockard. Shortly thereafter, Thomas Crytzer entered with his own skillful guitar playing and vocals.
The trio performed at a variety of venues and living history festivals, garnering positive responses from audiences. In 2016, classically trained lyric soprano Tiffany Apan joined the ensemble. As a welcome addition, she not only brought her own unique rock-opera style to vocal selections, but took to playing percussion in the instrumentals.
Throughout the summer of 2017, the quartet had a successful season entertaining audiences at multiple festivals. Recently, the sound of the ensemble was enhanced with the addition of cellist, Mia Fantozzi. Mia enriches the music of The Wayward Companions with a strong bass while complimenting the other members beautifully.
Audiences have raved about the band, calling The Wayward Companions a time portal to the days of old and their performances delightful. The band continues to perform in a variety of historically inspired settings, while also putting on their own events with the Pittsburgh Historical Music Society, an 18th century period style orchestra conducted by William Lockard.
MEMBERS OF WAYWARD COMPANIONS
William Lockard (violin/strings, mandolin)
William Lockard has been a conductor, performer, and string instrument teacher for over 30 years. He started the string program in the Fox Chapel Area School district where he taught for 33 years. He now devotes himself to private teaching. William has a degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Performance, both from Duquesne University. William is the conductor and director of the Pittsburgh Historical Music Society, an 18th century orchestra presenting music performed during the early history of Pittsburgh, PA. He also sells reproductions of historical stringed instruments via his company, Old World Violins
http://www.oldeworldviolins.com/.
Laura Mason Lockard (flute, harp, flageolets, whistle, vocals)
Laura Mason Lockard has a diverse musical background both as a singer and instrumentalist. She has extensive experience performing in many musical styles. As a member of Wayward Companions, she plays a late 18th century antique wooden flute, Alto wooden flute, Flageolets, Pennywhistles, Ocarinas, Harp, and vocals. Laura plays Baroque Flute with the Pittsburgh Historical Music Society, an 18th century orchestra presenting music performed during the early history of Pittsburgh, PA. Laura is a historical garment designer with over 20 years of experience, and a founder of the Pittsburgh Historical Costume Society. Her costuming blog and website can bet found at www.ageofantiquity.com.
Tiffany Apan (vocals, percussion)
Tiffany is an award-winning Symphonic Celtic Folk Rock artist and author of Dark Romantic Fantasy Fiction inspired by history, mythology, ancient texts, and lore. She started honing her musical and artistic abilities when she began dance lessons at age 3 (ballet, and then later tap, jazz, and hip hop). Her musician grandparents taught her various instruments such as guitar, violin, and accordion before she took up classical piano at age 9. Her interest in history and mythology also started when she was quite young, as she was the only one in her fifth grade writing class obsessed with Vikings and Norwegian sea legends to the point of writing poems about them. She continued performing into young adulthood, being cast in various acting, singing, and dancing roles. In her later college years, she started adding independent film to her resume. Then in 2008, she released her full length debut album, Poet, a blend of Gothic, Rock, Metal, Folk, Classical, and World Music elements. The album enjoyed much success, receiving an enthusiastic response from music fans and critics alike. Since then, she released EPs and singles, acted in film and theatrical productions (favorite roles include Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Sally in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Rizzo in Grease, and Maria in The Sound of Music) while planning her next musical project titled, Antiquity, which will involve gothic and Celtic symphonic folk metal songs inspired by her Dark Romance Fantasy series, The Birthrite. Through music and writing, she enjoys merging the past with the present and is looking forward to releasing new music as an individual artist and with Wayward Companions. Find out more about Tiffany’s work at her website, http://tiffanyapan.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Tom Crytzer (vocals, guitar)
Music has been a large part of Tom Crytzer’s life since childhood. Tom played a variety of instruments – piano, trumpet and baritone horn, beginning in elementary school. At the age of twelve, he discovered the guitar and put all the other instruments away. Tom’s father directed the Alle-Kiski Barbershop Chorus and Tom grew up listening to the sounds of Barbershop Harmony joining the chorus at the age of fifteen eventually singing baritone in a barbershop quartet called “The A-K Connection.” During high school and his first two years of college, Tom spent weekends performing with “The Escorts,” a dance band, at weddings, banquets and night clubs in Western Pennsylvania. After taking twenty years off from music to raise a family, Tom’s interest in music and history brought him into contact with musician/historian Chuck Krepley. The two started a band called “Home Front” specializing in Civil War era music and performed together for approximately 20 years. Tom has expanded his historical musical repertoire to include 18th and 19th century music with “The Wayward Companions” as well as performing a variety of music from the 1940s to the present as a solo artist.