White Water and the Premo Family

Dean and Bette Premo have made music together for over  25 years now. In their "day jobs" Drs. Dean and Bette Premo operate the nationally-known environmental laboratory and consulting firm known as White Water Associates.

Dean is the fifth generation of his family to live in the U.P. In 1832, his great great grandfather Jean-Baptiste Primeau, a trapper and voyageur, came to Menominee from Quebec via canoe and a Great Lakes route. Dean provides lead singing and guitar for White Water.

Bette still plays the cherished fiddle that her grandfather played in a string band in the early 1900s. Bette provides lead on several other instruments including hammer dulcimer, mandolin, and tenor banjo. Her rich alto voice adds to White Water's vocal blend.

Evan Premo (age 18) has played bass since he was eight years old. He built his chops as a member of the family stringband, White Water, by performing 70 concerts each year and completing seven CD albums of folk and traditional music. Bass became Evan’s passion and wonderful bass teachers at the Richard Davis Conference for Young Bassists have fostered his interests for the past decade. In 2002, Evan performed as a soloist on From the Top, the radio program (Public Radio International) that features young classical musicians. For the past two summers, he studied with celebrated bassist Gary Karr in British Columbia. In 2003, Evan performed concertos with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and was a winner of the Michigan State Band & Orchestra Association Concerto Competition. He has recently been invited to compete in Dallas, Texas as a finalist in the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition. Evan is a freshman the University of Michigan School of Music where he studies under Professor Diana Gannett and is a member of the University Symphony Orchestra. You can visit Evan’s website at the following link: www.evanpremo.com.

With White Water, Evan frequently steals the show with his performance on bass and live ad-libbing. Evan's strong bass-lines and solos comes through on their two latest recordings. He lends vocals to the group's music as well.

Laurel Premo (age 16) started playing with White Water at age six and is happy to play any instrument that fits the arrangement. Laurel is a member of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra (playing viola) and has also performed with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, Laurel was awarded a Youth Scholarship for "The Swannanoa Gathering" at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. For six music-packed days, Laurel worked with Grammy-winning dobro player Sally Van Meter, Celtic multi-instrumentalist Robin Bullock and master guitar player, Gerry O'Beirne from Ennis, County Clare. For one week during summer 2003, Laurel studied intensively with renowned multi-instrumentalist Joel Mabus. Laurel is a 10th grader and loves reading, writing, art, and snowboarding.

Laurel adds her personality to the band with percussion, fiddle, mandolin, fingerstyle & flatpick guitar, resonator guitar, clawhammer banjo, and vocals. Because of her abilities on several instruments, she has been dubbed White Water's "Swiss Army Knife." More and more White Water features Laurel's solo voice. She sometimes teams with Evan for a lively dance demonstration or instrumental duet.

The Premos' combination of musical talents, science training, and northwoods roots means they have a natural talent for introducing audiences of all ages to the ecology, history, music, and cultural significance of the north country.

A White Water concert is an intimate sharing of music and stories. The family stringband plays a variety of traditional and folk music with instruments and voices. They move easily from tender ballads to driving fiddle tunes. They describe their instruments and playing styles to the audience. White Water is also a seasoned dance band with polkas, schottisches, waltzes, and much more in their repertoire. After a performance, the Premos are delighted to visit with audience members. The Premos are popular participants at music festival workshops as a group and as individual musicians.

See White Water's Schedule page for upcoming occasions to see the Premos in concert.