Part 1: Voice with Susan Pepper After this mountain ballad workshop, you’ll have a deeper appreciation of old mountain styles of singing as well as the cultural history behind the music. Ballad singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Susan Pepper is described as “a seasoned singer” with a “celestial upper range” (Oxford American). Pepper is set to release a new album of traditional ballads from Appalachia, and she cherishes the opportunity to pass on these songs to singers of all ages, abilities and experience levels.