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Sean Williams (1959-), from Berkeley, California, is an ethnomusicologist who teaches at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Her primary areas of teaching include Irish studies and Asian studies. Williams also leads the Sundanese music ensembles Gamelan Degung Girijaya (Enduring Mountain Gamelan) and Angklung Buncis Sukahejo. She received a BA in classical guitar performance from UC Berkeley in 1981, and an MA (1985) and Ph.D. (1990) in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington.

Joe Heaney (AKA Joe Éinniú; Irish: Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) (1919 - 1984) was an Irish traditional (sean nós) singer from County Galway, Ireland. He spent most of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scotland and New York City, in the course of which he recorded hundreds of songs. A magnificent singer in both Gaelic and English, Heaney sings in sean-nos, the highly ornamented style of traditional Irish song.