The Man from Vermont

In 1895, East Topsham's Charles Ross Taggart set his sights on becoming a traveling musical humorist. His uproarious ventriloquist and musical performances brought rave reviews in his Vermont community. He was soon thrust into the world of the lyceum

Adam R. Boyce, whose family has called Vermont home since the 1760's, has been a life-long student of history. He grew up on a farm in Williamstown which his great-grandfather purchased in 1896, and was the same place where his father and grandfather were also raised. 
 
Much like Charles Ross Taggart, Adam has had a myriad of vocations and interests, including farm worker and school janitor. He held a number of elected positions in his former hometown of Williamstown, including town moderator.
 
Beginning in 1991, he took fiddle lessons from nationally-recognized Yankee fiddler Harold Luce of Chelsea, and got immersed in learning about the local traditional dance and music history of central Vermont, including fiddling and calling simultaneously for square and contra dances. Adam was the 2000 Vermont division winner of the former Northeast Fiddlers' contest at Barre, and has competed in nearly every New England state. He has become a recognized authority on all these traditions, and has been a partner on special projects with the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.
 
In 2001, he started doing lectures for local non-profit groups through the Vermont Humanities Council, and in 2005, he was also added to the New Hampshire Humanities To Go! Adam's research about Charles Ross Taggart led him to venture into presenting living history portrayals, starting in 2010.
 
A composer of more than 100 fiddle tunes, he is a Juried artist with the Vermont Arts Council, and has appeared in several central Vermont stage productions, including Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier and George Woodard's Ground Hog Opry out of Waterbury.
 
Adam and his wife, Mary-Anne, live in West Windsor, Vermont.