Saint Anne (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah חַנָּה, meaning "favor" or "grace") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels or the Qur'an, and her name and that of her husband Joachim come only from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Protoevangelium of James, written perhaps around 150, seems to be the earliest that mentions them.

The story bears a similarity to that of the birth of Samuel, whose mother Hannah had also been childless. Although Hanna receives little attention in the Western church prior to the late 12th century, dedications to Hanna in the Eastern church occur as early as the 6th century. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, she is revered as Hanna. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Hanna, is ascribed the title Forbear of God, and both the Birth of Mary and the Dedication of Mary to the Temple are celebrated as two of the Twelve Great Feasts. The Dormition of Hanna is also a minor feast in the Eastern Church. In Protestant tradition it is held that Martin Luther chose to enter religious life as a monk after receiving heavenly aid from St. Anne.

Russ Barenberg (born October 8, 1950) is a Grammy-nominated American bluegrass musician.

Barenberg began playing guitar at age 13, taking lessons from Alan Miller, whose brother John Miller Barenberg he would later play with. His style was heavily influenced by the flatpicking technique of Clarence White. He attended Cornell University and met Pete Wernick there in 1968. Together they joined to form Country Cooking, who released two albums of bluegrass before breaking up in 1975.

In 1975 Barenberg briefly began playing electric guitar with a jazz rock group, Carried Away. Late in 1975 he quit playing music, but returned in 1977, moving to New York City to play in the group Heartlands. This group also played backup on Barenberg's debut solo effort, Cowboy Calypso, in 1980. He then moved to Boston, teaching at the Music Emporium in Cambridge. Here he played in the groups Fiddle Fever and Laughing Hands.

In 1986 Barenberg moved to Nashville, where he has played often with Jerry Douglas and Maura O'Connell, and done much work as a session musician with Béla Fleck, Hazel Dickens, Mel Tillis, and Randy Travis, among others. He has released several instructional videos.

Joseph 'Val' Valiante (June 25, 1926 - June 11, 1985) was a mandolinist and bluegrass music pioneer from New England.

Joe Val was born Joseph Valiante in Everett, Massachusetts. Although raised in the northeast, he took a very early interest in bluegrass music, prompted chiefly by hearing Bill Monroe on radio and records. The region in which Val was raised had a very strong bluegrass affinity. He also listened to local bands, and especially the work of fiddler Tex Logan. It was Logan who coined the name 'Val' (short for Valiante). Tex could not pronounce the Italian last name, thus introducing Joe onstage as Joe 'Val'.

For over 25 years, Joe Val was, in the words of Peter Rowan, "The voice of bluegrass in New England." It didn't matter that he was a short, skinny Italian from a blue-collar Boston suburb, nor did it matter that his renditions of Bill Monroe and Jimmie Rodgers standards were often tinted by a decidedly Yankee inflection. On-stage he was an unassuming, bespectacled, quietly smiling presence until he opened his mouth to sing. His smooth, high tenor voice made Joe no less an authority than a Bill Monroe or Del McCoury.