Paul Koors Memorial Foundation

Peyton Tochterman’s story begins in Aldie, Virginia, a small rural town where as he describes "the mill doesn’t run, we had a small country store, a church that no one went to, Buzzy’s gas station that hasn’t had pumps since before I was born, and a post office." The town’s still there, Peyton is not. But his songwriting delves deep into this kind of American rural upbringing. As Ellis Paul puts it, “"Peyton Tochterman has an old soul’s gift for writing the ageless, earthy songs that define what is best about American Music. His songs carry the weighty truths that make life less of a burden for those who hear them." Peyton’s songs reach deep into the rural landscape of America and don’t just talk about the beauty and light of our country, or our relationships with others, but also about the often disenfranchised, darker culture of the American reality- both spiritually and economically.

"Peyton and I have been performing as a duo for the past couple of years, and it was at a gig in 2018 where Peyton and Paul met for the only time. When I asked Peyton if he would take on this project, his enthusiasm bowled me over. I can't think of anyone I'd rather perform these songs with." says Greg Howard. He has released several albums, solo, and with his band "The Personals", toured around the US and Afghanistan for the US State Department with harmonica player Gary Greene.

A graduate of Boston University, Justin studied with Boston Symphony violinist Lucie Lin. Upon leaving BU, Justin and few college friends founded the rock band, noted for being "hybrid rock geniuses", Trees on Fire, and gained much acclaim touring the east coast, recording two albums, and gracing radio stations across the country. Justin has collaborated with countless musicians on projects and albums ranging from classical to folk to rock. Most recently some of Justin's original film scores were featured in Netflix features "The Dawn Wall" and "The Rebound". Justin serves as the Music Director at the Charlottesville Waldorf School, where he taught Paul's kids music, he and maintains a private studio as well.

James was born into a large Irish family outside Boston, Mass. After graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2000, and completing a successful internship in a London recording studio, he moved to Charlottesville in 2001 to pursue his passion of drumming and studio production. James's drums were recorded at his home studio in Charlottesville, aided by his expert engineering skills, and he and Paul had a great connection. He has performed with both Peyton Tochterman and Greg Howard extensively over the years, and looks forward to bringing Paul's music to a wider audience through the upcoming performances.

Greg is Paul’s producer and the musical director of the Paul Koors Band. A musician based in Charlottesville, Greg is one of the best known players of the Chapman Stick, a unique American instrument that is played by tapping on the strings instead of plucking or strumming. He has released 15 albums on his own Espresso Record label, and has produced albums and demos by artists like Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds and John D’earth, as well as Paul’s two albums, Winter’s Come and Gone (2016), and Make a Man, the Unfinished Life of Paul Koors (2019). Greg has performed all over North America, Western Europe, Canada and Japan, including twwice at the Montreal Jazz Festival and for Lincoln Center's Summer Festival in 2000 as part of an all-star electronic music ensemble.  Greg is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A. English 1986), and is on the University’s Adjunct Performance Faculty. He also plays keyboards and the alto saxophone.