One of the first things to learn about Ann Arbor-based acoustic trio Cairn to Cairn is how to correctly pronounce its name.

It sounds like C-ar-n, not C-air-n, said co-founder Terry Farmer, gently correcting a novice’s mistake. “I looked it up, it's an upside-down <É™> schwa sound, pronounced like ‘America.’”

Cairn to Cairn — which blends Celtic, folk, world and original music — is the trio of vocalist-guitarist Farmer, vocalist-flutist Kelly McDermott and bassist Rob Crozier. The members of Cairn to Cairn play a mix of original songs as well as more traditional tunes that they’ve rearranged.

“A cairn is like a trail marker on a path; you can go back to it if you want, but for the most part we keep going forward. That’s the symbolism of the name,” Farmer added.

The band has been busy touring in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, has enjoyed several appearances in Chicago and has also branched out into Canada. They play a holiday concert at The Ark Sunday night.

Farmer said Cairn to Cairn’s sound is influenced by artists such as English folk singer Maddy Prior and the Irish group Solas, as well as Cairn to Cairn’s own wide range of musical backgrounds.

“I grew up on rock and roll,” Farmer said. “We all have kind of a classical music background. Rob has a pretty wide jazz background — his father is a big-band player. Kelly is completely immersed and knowledgeable about classical — and I am too, but I have more rock roots.”

All three members of Cairn to Cairn, formed in late 2008, are Michiganians. Farmer grew up in Livonia, lived in Los Angeles for number of years and went to school at the University of Denver. He is also executive director of the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Performing Artists Associates, has been involved with the Ann Arbor’s Radio Free Bacon program, played two years as lead guitarist with surf legends Jan & Dean and led a group called The Bead Band.

McDermott, originally from Bay City, attended Michigan State, earned post-graduate degrees from Temple University in Philadelphia, and worked and studied with members of the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra for 14 years. Crozier, who hails from Midland and is now at the University of Michigan School of Music, was a member of the local band Crowbar Hotel and has played with Tito Sompa as well as many other Ann Arbor mainstay musicians.

The traditional music the threesome plays comes from a variety of sources. Once they’ve chosen something, then group members see how best to make it their own.

“We try to find music that we can make sound really beautiful to us,” said Farmer. “Initially, Kelly really spent a lot of time looking through libraries for songs — (she’d) play the melody and see what they were about.”

The process, he said, allowed them to examine each song and decide how it could fit in their repertoire. “We’d look at it and decide what we could do, starting with rhythm, harmonically, vocally, texture … or let’s not even have a guitar, let’s not have a bass — the sky’s the limit.”

Although a show this time last year at The Ark included several musical guests, Cairn to Cairn will play solo on Sunday.

“This year will just be us,” Farmer said. “I was a drummer, Rob is a really good guitar player. Kelly’s singing and doing some percussion. We all can do a number of different things, that’s what we are focusing on now. (We’re working on) what kind of textural changes we can make to make our tone really beautiful collectively and individually, especially vocally.”

The band is working on another CD (their most recent disc was released in 2009) for a possible summer 2011 release, one that will continue its growth as a group. “We’ve come a long way since that one,” Farmer observed. “It’s fun to think about, all the things we’ve learned and all the things we can do on the next one.”

Cairn to Cairn performs "She's Like a Swallow":

"What WIll I Teach You":

Roger LeLievre is a freelance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com.