july 7 - August 10, 2013 at warren wilson college, ASHEVILLE, nc The Swannanoa Gathering Warren Wilson College, PO Box 9000, Asheville, NC 28815-9000 phone/fax: (828) 298-3434 email: gathering@warren-wilson.edu • website: www.swangathering.com shipping address: The Swannanoa Gathering, 701 Warren Wilson Rd., Swannanoa, NC 28778 For college admission information contact: admit@warren-wilson.edu or 1-800-934-3536
Warren Wilson College President Dr. Steven L. Solnick Vice President and Dean of the College Dr. Paula Garrett Vice President for Administration and Finance Jonathan D. Ehrlich Vice President for Advancement & Dean of Admissions Richard Blomgren Dean of Student Life Paul Perrine Dean of Service Learning Cathy Kramer Dean of Work Ian Robertson
the swannanoa gathering Founder and President Emeritus Dr. Douglas M. Orr, Jr. Director Jim Magill Office Manager & Registrar Nicole Veilleux Logistics Coordinator Julia Weatherford Housing Coordinator Stephanie Wallace Dorm Host Amy McCuin Coordinator, Traditional Song Week Julee Glaub Coordinator, Celtic Week Jim Magill Coordinator, Old-Time Music & Dance Week Phil Jamison Coordinator, Guitar Week Al Petteway Coordinator, Contemporary Folk Week David Roth Coordinator, Fiddle Week Julia Weatherford Coordinator, Mando & Banjo Week Jim Magill Coordinator, Children’s Programs Denisa Rullmoss Sound Technician Weogo Reed
ADVISORY BOARD David Holt, artist Fiona Ritchie, The Thistle & Shamrock Art Menius, Common Ground on the Hill David Wilcox, artist John McCutcheon, artist Barry Poss, Sugar Hill Records Jennifer Pickering, LEAF Festival Director
Tom Paxton, artist Dougie MacLean, artist Tommy Sands, artist Si Kahn, artist Billy Edd Wheeler, artist Mick Moloney, artist
MASTER MUSIC MAKER AWARDS Ralph Blizard — 1996 Tom Paxton — 1996 Margaret Bennett — 1998 Fiona Ritchie — 2000 David Holt — 2001 Jean Ritchie — 2001 John McCutcheon — 2001 Cover design: Jim Magill
Séamus Connolly — 2002 Mike Seeger — 2003 Billy Jackson — 2004 Stranger Malone — 2005 Phil Jamison — 2008 Alice Gerrard — 2010
CLASS INFORMATION The workshops take place at various sites around the Warren Wilson campus and environs, (contact: admit@warren-wilson.edu or 1-800-934-3536 for college admission information) including classrooms, Kittredge Theatre, our Bryson Gym dancehall and campus Pavilion, the campus gardens and patios, and our own jam session tents. Each year we offer over 150 classes. Students are free to create their own curriculum from any of the classes in any programs offered for each week. Students may list a class choice and an alternate for each of our scheduled class periods, but concentration on a few classes is strongly recommended, and class selections are required for registration. We ask that you be thoughtful in making your selections, since we will consider them to be binding choices for which we will reserve you space. After the first class meeting, students have until 6pm on Monday of that week to switch into another open class if they find they have made an inappropriate choice, and are then expected to remain in those classes. We discourage dropping in and out of classes during the week. Unless indicated in the class descriptions, classes have a maximum of 15 students, and when those limits are reached, classes will be closed and additional students waitlisted. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Look for updates and any corrections to this catalog at our website. Each week commences with supper, an orientation session, and jam sessions and socializing on the Sunday before classes begin. Most classes will meet for morning or afternoon sessions, Monday through Friday. Friday evening’s activities will conclude the week. Some classes may also meet in the evenings for performance critiques, rehearsals, or jam sessions. In addition to the scheduled classes and instructor staff, we will have various ‘potluck sessions’, guest instructors, and adjunct staff to call dances and lead picking sessions and ‘slow jams’, or tune-learning sessions. Check the program descriptions for details. Several of our programs also feature staff members in concerts open to the public. See the ‘Concerts’ page at our website for details. We will also have several vendors on hand, including Michael Ginsburg (865-984-3803 or ginseng45@hotmail.com), offering recordings and other staff items, and Acoustic Corner (828-669-5162 or www.acoustic-corner.com), offering instruments, rentals, accessories, books, and musical supplies. Those wishing to rent instruments or special order items should contact Acoustic Corner in advance. The Gathering has grown steadily since its inception, and we expect growth to continue this year. Please note that although there is no deadline for registrations, both class size and total enrollment are limited for each calendar week, so early registration is encouraged. Our mountain campus is beautiful but hilly, and those with physical problems may find it challenging. Before registering, students should give reasonable consideration to their ability to get around without assistance. Although we help where we can, we don’t have the resources to provide mobility assistance to all who require it.
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HOUSING & MEALS Our program’s ‘open’ format, which encourages students to take several courses a day, allows a breadth of understanding of our folk traditions seldom found in workshops of this type. For example, a fiddler may take a class in her instrument in the morning, then, after lunch, a dance class that uses tunes from her fiddle class, and a folklore class in the afternoon describing the cultural context in which both tunes and dances developed. This may then contribute to a more complete grasp of the nuances of the style during her practice time, and a more authentic fiddle sound. We encourage all students to come to Swannanoa with an open mind and a willingness to try something new. Students enrolled for instrumental instruction should provide their own instruments, and most of our instructors encourage the use of small recording devices like tape- or digital recorders as a classroom memory aid. Students wishing to record video of their classes will be required to obtain the permission of the instructor prior to the first class meeting, and must sign a release form stating that no commercial use will be made of any recorded materials, nor will they be posted to any internet website. The Swannanoa Gathering reserves the right to cancel, add, and/or substitute classes and personnel where necessary. Call our office or visit our website for the latest program updates or corrections.
SKILL LEVELS Our students come from all backgrounds and skill levels, from complete beginners to serious hobbyists to professional musicians, and from countries as varied as France, Colombia, Japan and Australia, as well as Canada and all 50 states. Some class descriptions define required skills in detail, but when the following terms appear, Beginner refers to those with no experience at all, or those who play some but are not yet comfortable with the basics. Intermediate students should have mastered basic skills, and be able to tune their instruments, keep time, play the principal chords and scales cleanly, and know how to play a few tunes with confidence (dancers should know basic steps and figures, and how to lead and/or follow). Advanced students should be very comfortable with their instruments and able to focus on style, arrangement and ornamentation. Roman numerals after a class title indicate a difference in focus or skill level of the same subject, while capital letters denote different sections of the same class. Many classes may include musical notation, tablature or other handouts, though in general, we emphasize learning by ear. Our classes have no age restrictions, but we require that all students, especially minors, be sincerely interested in the subject and not a distraction to others.
TUITION Tuition is $485 per week, which includes a deposit of $100 required for registration. Full payment is required by June 7 to guarantee your class choices. After that date, your class reservations will be unconfirmed until we receive your balance. If we are holding a space for you in a class that is full, and your balance is unpaid after June 7, we may release that space to another student. If possible, full payment with your registration is helpful and appreciated. Registrations after June 7 for any remaining spaces must be accompanied by full payment. Some classes may require materials- or other fees as specified in the course descriptions and should be paid directly to the instructor upon arrival. Tuition for the Children’s Program during Traditional Song, Celtic, and Old-Time Weeks is $175 per child per week (includes evening childcare for ages 3-12), with a $25 deposit required. The Children’s Program also has an additional materials fee of $30 payable to the coordinator on arrival.
If you’re considering joining us and are wondering what kind of environment you can expect, just remember that the Swannanoa Gathering is not a conference center or resort, but a music camp held on a college campus. Remember camp? Remember college? Housing is available for students and staff of the Swannanoa Gathering in the college dormitories. Rooms are doubleoccupancy with communal bath facilities. Small deposits for dorm keys and meal cards will be required on arrival. Linens are provided, but students may wish to bring extra items that will be listed in the Welcome Letter mailed to registrants in May. Smoking is not permitted in or near any campus buildings. No pets, please. Motor homes are not permitted on campus. The housing fee of $385 includes a double occupancy room for six nights, supper on Sunday, three buffet-style meals a day at the college cafeteria in Gladfelter Student Center, and breakfast on Saturday at the end of the week. A limited number of single rooms are available at an additional fee of $150 for a total of $535. The College is catered by Sodexo (828-298-1041), and low-sodium and vegetarian meals are available. Those wishing to stay over on the Saturday night at week’s end may do so if space is available for a fee of $75 per person. This does not include the cost of meals. No Saturday stayover on August 10. We cannot house those wishing to arrive a day early. Adults staying off-campus may purchase a meal ticket for $123, and meal tickets for children under 12 may be purchased for $79. Meals may also be purchased individually.
CONTENTS Program Information .......................................................... Inside front cover Traditional Song Week ................................................................................... 3 Celtic Week ................................................................................................... 10 Old-Time Music & Dance Week .................................................................. 20 Guitar Week .................................................................................................. 28 Contemporary Folk Week ............................................................................ 36 Fiddle Week ................................................................................................... 42 Mando & Banjo Week ................................................................................... 49 Registration form ................................................................. Inside back cover
As long as space permits, we will continue to allow non-students living outside the Asheville area to accompany enrolled students and be housed with them in student dorms for payment of the $385 housing fee and an activity fee of $130, which allows admission to all events except classes. There is a $50 deposit required to register as a non-student. Since many of the social activities that foster the sense of community we are striving for take place outside of class – at mealtimes, in the evenings, at jam sessions and dances, all participants are encouraged to be in residence on campus during the week if at all possible. Those with special needs should include a detailed, written description of those needs with their registration materials.
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS The deposits required for registration are processing fees credited toward tuition and not student funds held in escrow, and are thus nonrefundable and non-transferrable. Should an enrolled student need to cancel, we can refund all monies collected other than the deposits, if notified four weeks before his/her program begins. No refunds other than the cost of meals ($123 for adults, $79 for children) can be made within four weeks of the event.
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YOUTH SCHOLARSHIPS & endowments Each year, we award Youth Scholarships for the cost of tuition and housing in any of our programs to a number of promising young musicians and dancers. These scholarships are funded entirely by donations from our participants. Several of these scholarships are memorial scholarships awarded during Celtic Week in memory of Tony Cuffe and Regis Malady, during Old-Time Week in memory of Ralph Blizard, and during Contemporary Folk, Fiddle or Traditional Song Weeks in memory of Freyda Epstein, our dear friends and long-time staff members. Several additional scholarships are sponsored by the Charlotte Folk Society, Tosco Music Parties, Austin Friends of Traditional Music, Wilkes Acoustic Folk Society, Dream Guitars and the Kerrville Folk Festival. Other individuals and organizations are also welcome to sponsor Youth Scholars. Contact our office for details. Applicants should be under the age of 22 during the week they are applying for, and should submit by April 1 a completed application (available from the Youth Scholarship page at our website), a self-written letter of request for the specific week desired, giving background and contact information, including the applicant’s age, prior musical experience and stating why (s)he should receive a scholarship, plus a letter of recommendation from a mentor or other individual knowledgeable in the applicant’s area of folk music or dance. Please do not send recordings. Priority will be given to those who have not received a scholarship before. An application fee is not required. Scholarships are merit-based, limited and competitive. The Doug & Darcy Orr Music Fund is an endowment fund established to provide long-term financial support for the work of the Swannanoa Gathering now, and for decades to come. Originally established with a generous gift from one of our workshop participants, interest from the fund provides financial support for the program where it is most needed. Interest from our Youth Scholarship Endowment directly funds youth scholars. Our Greatest Needs Fund is the restricted account that receives the interest from the endowments. Tax-free contributions to the Doug & Darcy Orr Music Fund, the Youth Scholarship Endowment, and/or the Greatest Needs Fund are welcomed and may be included on the registration form.
SERFA The Swannanoa Gathering is a member of Folk Alliance International, www.folk.org, and its regional affiliate, the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA), whose mission is to “preserve, promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts of the southeastern U.S.” By special arrangement with SERFA, one of our attendees in each week of the Gathering will win a free registration for two to the annual SERFA conference in May of 2014. Visit SERFA’s website to learn more about this great organization: www.serfa.org.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS We encourage those bringing children aged 6-12 during our Traditional Song, Celtic, and Old-Time Weeks to take advantage of the Children’s Programs described in the catalog, but remember, space is limited. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions, please. Program activities are scheduled during class periods, and parents are responsible for their children at all other times. Evening childcare will be provided for ages 3-12 at no additional cost. Those bringing children should indicate so on their registration
form. Children under 12 may stay in a room with two adults, at least one of whom is a registered student, at no charge, other than the cost of meals. Our rooms contain no more than two beds, so the accompanying adult must provide each child’s bedding (cot, air mattress, etc.), and both adults must request the arrangement. In the case of a single adult with child(ren), they will be housed together and charged an additional single-room fee of $150 for the week as long as space permits.
SOCIAL EVENTS In addition to scheduled classes, each week’s activities may include concerts by staff instructors, evening dances, song swaps, ‘slow jam’ sessions, open mikes and informal pickin’ parties. Some concerts and dances will be open to the public. The College’s facilities include a gymnasium, weight room, aquatic center and tennis courts, as well as a pond, nature trails, and a working farm. There are also a number of nearby scenic attractions, including historic Asheville and Black Mountain, the Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Folk Art Center, Pisgah National Forest, Great Smokies National Park and Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak in the eastern U.S.
COURSE CREDIT The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has allowed three hours of Teaching Certificate Renewal Credit for each week of the Swannanoa Gathering. Interested teachers should contact their local school board for prior approval.
AIRPORT SHUTTLE For those travelling by air, we can offer free airport shuttle service only at the following times: SUN. shuttle departs the Asheville airport for the College at noon, 3 pm and 5 pm. SAT. shuttle departs the College for the Asheville airport at 9 am and noon. Shuttle space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Other commercial transport to and from the College is available at the Asheville Regional Airport. Drive time between the College and the Asheville Airport is approximately 30 minutes. Please make your travel plans accordingly, and note your flight info and desired shuttle times on your registration form, or contact us so we know who to expect on each shuttle run. Those staying over on Saturday may make arrangements to ride out to the airport on the Sunday shuttles.
HOW TO GET HERE The Asheville-Swannanoa area is easily reached by car from the east and west by I- 40, and from the north and south by I- 26. From I- 40, take exit 55, and go north a quarter mile to Hwy 70. Go east approximately 1.6 miles to the next stoplight. Turn left onto Warren Wilson Rd. and go 1.4 miles to the College. US Airways, Continental, Delta, AirTran and United provide daily service to the Asheville Regional Airport, located just south of Asheville. For those wishing to find or share a ride to the Swannanoa Gathering, please visit the ‘Rideshare’ page at our website. It’s a great way to meet new friends.
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TraditionalSong 7-13
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raditional Song Week realizes a dream of a comprehensive program completely devoted to traditional styles of singing. Unlike programs where singing takes a back seat to the instrumentalists, it is the entire focus of this week, which aims to help restore the power of songs within the larger traditional music scene. Here, finally, is a place where you can develop and grow in confidence about your singing, and have lots of fun with other folks devoted to their own song journeys. Come gather with us to explore various traditional song genres under the guidance of experienced, top-notch instructors. When singers gather together, magical moments are bound to happen! For our sixth year, Traditional Song Week is proud to present a gathering of highly influential singers and musicians who have remained devoted over the years to preserving and promoting traditional song. This year’s program has several new features. The week’s first night will feature the Gathering’s own Grand Ole Opry, with folks who have performed regularly on the Nashville stage. “Too Slim” from Riders in the Sky will emcee the evening with his hilarious Opry humor and his upright bass. Bring your boots and hats! We will also introduce our first Traditional Comic Song Contest in which students will have an opportunity to share their funniest versions of traditional songs. Our Community Gathering time each day affords us the opportunity to experience together as a group diverse topics on our shared love of traditional song. Several days will be hosted by NPR’s legendary broadcaster, Fiona Ritchie of the Thistle and Shamrock. She will conduct interviews to be aired on radio with Brian McNeill from Scotland, Cathie Ryan from Ireland, and a panel of our staff discussing the future of traditional song. One day we will highlight Swannanoa’s own Beth Magill, who has influenced many by her life of music and one day we’ll welcome special guest Freddy LaBour (“Too Slim”) and his one-man show. This year we will also feature classes in singing with instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin) and song accompaniment as we welcome back Dáithí Sproule (guitarist for Irish super-group Altan) and new staff member Brian Christianson from Nashville (who performs weekly on the Grand Ole Opry with the Mike Snider Band). We’ll also feature classes in bluegrass (taught by seven-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Dale Ann Bradley), blues (taught by Ben Wiley Payton from Mississippi, where the blues originated), gospel, songs of Ireland, Scotland and England, cowboy songs and songs of the frontier (taught by the finest yodeler on the Grand Ole Opry, Ranger Doug), North Carolina mountain ballads, songwriting in the tradition, finding your voice and choosing your songs, shape-note singing, duet harmony, community singing, camp meeting songs and more! The week will also feature nightly concerts and singing sessions, the Old Farmers Ball dance, a children’s program, ample opportunities to mix with other singers, and mid-day Community Gathering times.
RANGER DOUG
Guitarist Ranger Doug, “Governor of the Great State of Rhythm” and “Idol of American Youth” is best known as the lead singer with Riders in the Sky, the multiple Grammy-winning cowboy quartet and members of the Grand Ole Opry, the Western Music Association’s Hall of Fame, the Country Music Foundation’s Walkway of Stars, and the Walk of Western Stars. While remaining true to the integrity of Western music, they have themselves become modern-day icons by branding the genre with their own legendary wacky humor and way-out Western wit, and all along encouraging buckaroos and buckarettes to live life “The Cowboy Way!” A yodeler of breathtaking technique, Ranger Doug is also an award-winning Western music songwriter in his own right – and a distinguished music historian whose 2002 Vanderbilt University Press book, Singing in the Saddle, was the first comprehensive look at the singing cowboy phenomenon that swept the country in the 1930s. In 2006, Ranger Doug’s Classic Cowboy Corral debuted on XM Satellite Radio, still heard weekly on SiriusXM Channel 56. During more than thirty years with the Riders, he has chalked up over 6100 concert appearances in all 50 states and 10 countries, appearing in venues everywhere from the Nashville National Guard Armory to Carnegie Hall, and from the White House and county fairs to the Hollywood Bowl. www.ridersinthesky.com
BEN WILEY PAYTON
Ben Wiley Payton of Jackson, Mississippi is an acoustic artist with a passion for blues history and teaching others about acoustic country blues and its connections to broader themes in African American history. Born in tiny Coila, in the hill country just east of the Delta, his debut CD, Diggin’ Up Old Country Blues, features all originals that build upon early Mississippi blues traditions. The CD received heavy play on XM/Sirius’ station, Bluesville. In addition to working with various programs in Mississippi, he’s served as a guest instructor at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Centrum music
camp in Port Townsend, Washington, and recently, Payton was honored by being chosen to represent the state of Mississippi for the American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Concert Series at the Library of Congress, which included an additional concert at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Payton is currently working on his second album of acoustic blues using his guitar of choice that he named Willie Mae, inspired by a song by Big Bill Broonzy. In Willie Mae, he says, he’s found a sound that he’s been seeking for many years.
DALE ANN BRADLEY
Dale Ann Bradley is a seven-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year award, and has been hailed by Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs as one of the greatest vocalists in country and bluegrass music. “Loretta Lynn had it easy compared to how I grew up,” reflects Dale Ann on her rustic origins in the hills of east Kentucky as the daughter of a coal miner and Primitive Baptist preacher who allowed no musical instruments in his services. She grew up in a self-described “backwoods holler” down a rural road where electricity and running water weren’t available until she was in high school – something she has more in common with the first generation of bluegrass than her contemporaries in today’s scene. A former New Coon Creek Girl and mainstay at Kentucky’s Renfro Valley Barn Dance, she is known for her distinctive, gentle vocal phrasing and roots-music style covers of popular songs by artists such as U2, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, and Stealer’s Wheel, as well as classic bluegrass songs. Her solo debut, East Kentucky Morning, was chosen as an “Editor’s Pick” at Billboard, and her mountain soprano has been called “shimmering” (The Washington Post), “angelic” (Billboard), and “exceptional” (Bluegrass Unlimited). www.daleann.com
BRIAN McNEILL
(See bio in Celtic Week page 10)
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FIONA RITCHIE
Broadcasting each week for two and a half decades, Fiona Ritchie’s radio program, The Thistle & Shamrock has become one of NPR’s most widely heard and best-loved music programs, with millions of listeners across the US. Born in Greenock, Scotland, in 1960, Fiona spent her childhood in Gourock, a coastal town on the banks of the busy River Clyde on Scotland’s west coast. In a household where the strains of the BBC’s Home Service soundtracked her early memories, she developed an appreciation for music and a love of radio. In 1977, she entered the University of Stirling and later, a six-month position in the U.S. as a teaching assistant in the psychology department of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte introduced her to the university’s new NPR member station, WFAE-FM. The earliest version of The Thistle & Shamrock aired on WFAE in 1981, and in 1983, The Thistle & Shamrock began national distribution. Ritchie became full-time producer and host of the show in 1986. Four years later, Ritchie moved program production back to her native Scotland. Fiona has presented numerous programs for BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 2, and has produced and presented many live concert performances and broadcasts, including a musical event for HRH Prince Charles at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. She has acted in an advisory capacity for arts organizations in the U.S. and U.K., including the Scottish Advisory Committee for the British Council, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Her awards include four World Medals from the New York Festivals’ International Competition for Radio Programming, a Flora Macdonald Award and honorary doctorate from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College and the Gathering’s own Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement. www.thistleradio.com.
BRIAN CHRIsTIANSON
Brian started fiddling at age eight in a family band and won many fiddle contests across his native Minnesota. In 2000, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work as a luthier and musician, and has had the opportunity to work with many great artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, Russ Barenberg, Tim O’Brien, Roland White, Cathy Chiavola, and Mike Snider. Brian has also played on many recordings including his own self-titled album, Brian Christianson and Friends. In 2011, Brian and his wife Nicole opened a string shop in Nashville called The Fiddle House. The shop provides all the services of a violin shop and also hosts weekly jam sessions, house concerts and workshops. These days you can see Brian playing the fiddle with The Mike Snider String Band on the Grand Ole Opry, The Roland White Band, The Russ Barenberg Trio as well as many other great fiddlers and acoustic musicians that frequent The Fiddle House.
julee glaub Weems
Julee Glaub, the Coordinator of Traditional Song Week, is a North Carolina native who studied literature and music at Wake Forest University before following her longstanding interest in Irish culture to work with the poor in Dublin. For nearly seven years, she continued her work in Dublin while sitting at the feet of master players and singers, absorbing all she could. She credits the combination of material from older singers and from the Traditional Music Archive, and her experiences in working with poor and working people in Dublin as the major inspirations for her ballad singing. Upon returning home, she became involved in the Irish music scene here in the states and has become recognized as a leading interpreter of Irish songs in America. She lived in the Northeast for seven years in order to be closer to the heartbeat of Irish music in America in the major Irish-American enclaves in Boston and New York, and performed with the band Séad (Brian Conway, Brendan
Dolan, and Jerry O’Sullivan) with whom she still performs from time to time, as well as with Pete Sutherland, Dáithí Sproule, and Tony Ellis. Her latest solo release, Blue Waltz, explores her interest in the connections between Irish and Appalachian song and has been featured on NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock. Now based in Durham, NC, she and her husband, Mark Weems, tour as a duo called Little Windows, which blends Irish, Appalachian, and old-time gospel with a focus on tight harmonies in unaccompanied singing. Julee has been on staff at the Irish Arts Week in N.Y., Alaska Fiddle Camp, Schloss Mittersill Arts Conference in Austria, the Swannanoa Gathering’s Celtic Week, Camp Little Windows and various camps and festivals throughout the US. Julee’s approach to music goes beyond its entertainment aspect to focus on the spiritual and emotional wealth that traditional music has to offer to the world. For her, Traditional Song Week is a long-awaited dream come true. www.juleeglaub.com
DÁITHÍ SPROULE
Dáithí Sproule is a native of Derry in the north of Ireland, a renowned traditional singer in both Irish and English, and one of the world’s premier guitarists in the Irish tradition. He’s widely credited with pioneering the use of DADGAD tuning in the accompaniment of Irish music, a style now used around the world. He’s worked with many of the greats in Irish music, and is a member of the famed Donegal group, Altan, as well as the U.S.-based trios, Fingal and Trian. He also also performs with Liz Carroll, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, James Kelly, and several Minnesota-based musicians including Laura MacKenzie, Paddy O’Brien, Peter Ostroushko, Jode and Kate Dowling, and Dean Magraw. The Rough Guide to Irish Music called him “a seminal figure in Irish music.” Dáithí has also taught Old Irish, Celtic mythology and Irish music at several universities and is the author of a volume of short stories in Irish and several academic articles on early Irish poetry and legend. www.daithisproule.com
Nicole CHRIsTIANSON
Nicole started singing in her church’s adult choir when she was twelve years old, which is where her love for singing began. She sang in choirs throughout high school and college and discovered a passion for the world of roots music. Nicole and her future husband, Brian, were members of a bluegrass band, The Minnesota Vikings, that toured the southeast, and since moving to Nashville, Nicole has sung on many projects, backed up artists and has sung on many demos. She has taught singing at the Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee, and recently she and her husband opened The Fiddle House, that promotes their love for acoustic music. Currently, she is in an Appalachian\Irish band, Grandpa’s Hat, where she sings and plays fiddle.
mark weems
Mark Weems hails from North Carolina and plays guitar, old-time banjo, fiddle, and piano, but is best known as a singer and composer. A well-known figure on the North Carolina traditional country and old-time scene for nearly ten years, he has been singing and studying the nuances of all types of country music for over twenty years as a veteran of the Stillhouse Bottom Band, the Weems-Gerrard Band and his own honky-tonk band, the Cave Dwellers. Sing Out! magazine recently called him “an exceptionally talented interpreter of old-time vocal and instrumental tunes” and “a gifted composer of timeless music.” He now tours internationally with his wife, Julee Glaub, as the duo Little Windows, which performs a mix of Irish, Appalachian, old-time Country and Gospel, and traditionally based originals. Mark’s music has been highlighted on NPR’s The Thistle & Shamrock, and The State of Things, and he has recorded and/or performed with Joe Adams (Johnny Paycheck), Tony Ellis (Bill Monroe), Carl Jones (Norman Blake), Daithi Sproule (Al-
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tan), Pete Sutherland (Metamora), and Alice Gerrard (Hazel and Alice). In 2009, he and Julee created the North Carolina School of Traditional Music. Located in Durham, the school facilitates the local dissemination of the Celtic and Appalachian musical traditions of our state by means of private and group lessons, camps, workshops, and a House Concert Series. Mark has taught master classes at the Irish Arts week in New York, at the Alaska Traditional Music Camp, and at his and Julee’s own camp – Camp Little Windows. www.littlewindows.net
MATT WATROBA
There are few that can boast a first-name-basis relationship with almost all of the major folk musicians in the North American continent, as well as a comprehensive grasp of the folk music genre both past and present. One who can is teacher, writer and performer, Matt Watroba. His love of folk, roots and traditional music led him to his position as the host of the Folks Like Us program on Detroit Public Radio, a position he has held for over 22 years. In 2007, he partnered with Sing Out! magazine to create the Sing Out! Radio Magazine, an hour long syndicated radio show heard across the country and on XM Satellite Radio. He was awarded “Best Overall Folk Performer” by the Detroit Music Awards for the year 2000, and his long list of credits include the prestigious Ann Arbor Folk Festival, The Old Songs Festival, the New Jersey Folk Weekend, Louisville’s Kentucky Music Weekend, The Fox Valley Festival and hundreds of school and community presentations throughout the Great Lakes Region. He has interviewed and performed with hundreds of performers including Pete Seeger, Odetta, Charlie Louvin, and Jean Ritchie. In addition, Matt’s musical partnership with the Rev. Robert Jones has created one of the most sought-after and unique educational experiences available in the country today. Matt is currently a full-time producer and host at folkalley.com www.folkslikeus.org
FREDDY LaBOUR
Alter-ego of “Too Slim,” (bass player, face player, and all-around nutcase for Grammy Awardwinning comedy & western stars Riders In The Sky,) “Say No More, It’s Freddy LaBour” is a oneman, guitar-playing, wise-cracking, wacky original song-singing folk superstar best known for his hit “Who Offed Hoffa?” which topped the charts of the University of Michigan’s student cafeteria in 1971. He delights unsuspecting audiences with songs ranging from the trucker’s lament “My Load Shifted,” to his feel-good sing-along “The Prozac Polka (La-La Song).” He specializes in impressions of people you probably don’t recognize, plus zany late-night commercials, hilarious turns of poetry, and whatever else his fevered imagination can come up with. “Say No More” is the author of the award-winning The Sidekick Handbook: How To Unleash Your Inner Second Banana and Find True Happiness, and the only living person known to have his compositions recorded by the songwriters’ “Mythical Trifecta”…Tammy Wynette, William Shatner, and Don Rickles. www.ridersinthesky.com
SHIRLEY SMITH MONTGOMERY
Shirley Smith’s love for music was quite evident at an early age, and she was only three years old when her parents invested in her love for the piano. Basic piano lessons evolved into an elaborate study of music and theory, and eventually, she could skillfully sing, and play the piano, organ, violin, and even the harp. Shirley was the original music director for T.J. Hemphill’s gospel stage play, Perilous Times, and has played extensively for Pastor William H. Murphy, III and The Dream Center Church, Atlanta, Georgia. She has taught at the Augusta Blues Festival in Elkins, WV, the Country Blues Festival for Centrum in Port Townsend, WA, and
in 2008 performed at the Blues to Bop Music Festival in Lugano, Switzerland. Her debut CD, entitled In Hymn We Trust, received favorable reviews abroad as well as in the premier jazz magazine, Downbeat. She served as the Assistant Vocal Liaison on the planning board of the 2011 Gospel Heritage Praise & Worship Conference, and serves as the Minister of Music at The Potter’s House Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, FL, where she also gives private instruction in vocal coaching and keyboard lessons at her own music school. Now based in Detroit, she offers vocal coaching when she is in town, and travels the world training worship teams.
SHEILA KAY ADAMS
Ballad singer, banjo player, writer and storyteller, Sheila comes from a small mountain community in Madison County, North Carolina. For seven generations, her family has maintained the tradition of passing down the English, Scottish and Irish ballads that came over with her ancestors in the late 1700s. She learned the ballads from her relatives, primarily from her great-aunt Dellie Chandler Norton. A perennial favorite at Asheville’s Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, Sheila has performed and taught at many major festivals and workshops throughout the country, the UK, and in 2011, performed at the Celtic Colors International Festival in Nova Scotia. She has been a featured performer in the Southern Arts Federation’s Sisters of the South tour, the National Folk Festival, the North Carolina Folklife Festival, the Kent State Folk Festival, the San Diego Folk Heritage Festival, and the Folkmasters series on National Public Radio. She served as the ballad-singing coach for the feature film, Songcatcher, and her novel, My Old True Love, published in 2004 by Algonquin Books was a finalist for the Southeastern Booksellers Association’s Book of the Year Award. It was released in paperback by Ballantine Books in 2005. www.myspace.com/sheilakayadams
BETH MAGILL
Beth is a professional flute and tinwhistle player specializing in mostly Celtic and contradance music with various musicians and bands. She is also a recording session musician and tinwhistle instructor to students in a variety of settings: privately, in group lessons for children and adults, afterschool programs and even on a farm, inside a yurt, at one of the coolest Waldorf Homeschools on the planet. She and her husband, Jim Magill, offer community sings as part of The Diana Wortham Theatre’s new program, Intersections: Sing Together. Believing everyone is musical, she has recently begun offering workshops that cover a variety of musical topics, with the central message that we are musical beings and it is our responsibility, and our right, to honor this gift, and who we are, for ourselves, for our children and for our communities. www.magills.net
JOSH GOFORTH Josh learned to play fiddle from legendary fiddlers Gordon and Arvil Freeman in his native Madison County, NC. A highly accomplished oldtime, bluegrass, and swing musician, he attended East Tennessee State University to study music education, and to be a part of ETSU’s famous Bluegrass and Country Music Program. His fiddling was featured in the movie Songcatcher, both onscreen and on the soundtrack, and he has toured extensively with a variety of ensembles, including the ETSU bluegrass band, with David Holt and Laura Boosinger, and with several bluegrass bands including Appalachian Trail, the Josh Goforth Trio, and Josh Goforth and the New Direction. He has shared stages with Ricky Skaggs, Bryan Sutton, The Yonder Mountain String Band, Open Road, and The Steep Canyon Rangers, performed throughout the US, Europe, and in Japan. In 2000, 2003, and 2005, he was named Fiddler of the Festival at
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Fiddler’s Grove and, after winning his third title, was designated “Master Fiddler” and retired from that competition. He was nominated for a Grammy for his 2009 release with David Holt, entitled Cutting Loose.
DENISA RULLMOSS “Laugh Often” is Denisa’s motto and one she is quite happy to follow herself. “Queen D” will bring her high-spirited, creative energies to the Swannanoa Gathering for another summer. She is a multi-talented and innovative organizer who has managed to retain a child’s viewpoint on the world. Just ask any kid Denisa’s real age and you will be told “she’s 8 years old of course... because of the magic spell cast upon her!”
Denisa is the Director (and creator) of the LEAFlet Kids Village at the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) and the Owner/Director of Owls Nest - After School Care. Puppet theatres, costume tents, instrument petting zoos, and booking kid/family bands are all in a day’s work, along with pie fights, leading parades, parachutes, bubbles, squirt guns and a humongous collection of silly and traditional camp songs! She provides wild & wacky games and activities for families and kids everywhere. As a children’s arts & games specialist, Denisa is thrilled to bring her zany songs, awesome crafts and good times to the Gathering for the 20th year, as she teaches and coordinates the Children’s Program during Traditional Song, Celtic and Old-Time Weeks.
CATHIE RYAN
(see bio in Celtic Week page 12).
SHAPE-NOTE singing (Josh Goforth)
Western North Carolina has a long history of shape-note singing. From the haunting melodies of William Walker’s Christian Harmony to the complex, moving parts of Stamps-Baxter Conventional Hymn Books, this class will be an exploration of the evolution of Shape-Note. You will be able to hear the differences through group singing. We will discuss a variety of singing styles that are most effective for each hymn and above all, have fun! Gospel harmony has always been an important part of traditional singing and you’ll get the chance to hear where Josh, along with many others, got their start in music. We will begin by learning the shapes, so no prior experience is required. Get ready to have lots of fun hearing some amazing harmony and experiencing it with a full group in four parts. (No class limit)
SONGWRITING & CREATIVE BRAINSTORMING (Josh Goforth)
Songwriting can be a challenge if you try too hard. This class will focus on ways to develop a song from the seed of an idea to completion without forcing the process. Traditional music will be the basis for our brainstorming exercises, BUT you never know where an idea might lead! All forms of word crafting will be explored as well as how to pair lyrics with music. Let’s write something together!
COMMUNITY SINGING: FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG (Matt Watroba)
This class will be all about the singing and the song. This will be an opportunity for you to learn what you need to know to unleash the power of song in your community. Matt will share his experience as a song leader and community performer by teaching and leading a wide variety of songs in a wide variety of styles. After learning song leading and Community Sing organizational techniques, participants will be encouraged to bring in songs and try out their song-leading talents on the class. You will sing everyday and leave on Friday inspired to take what you’ve learned back into your community. (No class limit)
CHOICES: HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE SONGS YOU SING (Matt Watroba)
Bringing traditional songs alive is all about choices. In this interactive class, Matt Watroba will show you the choices great singers make to get the most out of a song. Participants will then be encouraged to apply what they’ve learned to the songs they choose to sing. This workshop promises to be a safe, friendly place where beginners and professionals alike will benefit from the wisdom of the instructor and the group. Phrasing, style and performance techniques are just a few of the areas this class will explore on the way to wowing any audience with the power of traditional music.
A HISTORY OF THE BLUES (Ben Wiley Payton)
This class will show a step-by-step evolution of how the blues began from the moans of the slaves and how they turned those moans into songs of comfort, songs of joy and even songs of history. Slaves sang at barn dances and house parties and began to develop their songs. After they were free they began to compose songs of joy and incorporated their moan songs into them. In the 1890’s, black folks began to appear in the minstrel shows of the era and some of them became professional musicians and singers. The 1920’s saw black artists’ talents in recording through the work of Ma Rainey, Betty Smith, Jim Jackson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc. Students will learn blues songs from the times of slavery to the 1940’s. (No class limit)
THE ART OF SINGING (Ben Wiley Payton)
The Art of Singing will show how to develop oneself as a singer. It doesn’t matter if you sing at home, in a church choir, a small chorus, or a college group. Step by step, we will find where you fit in singing, what voice you sing and what type of songs you like to sing (to be comfortable in singing you need to find out what you like). We will sing various types of songs, some in parts, some in harmony, and talk about how to present yourself to an audience, dealing with fear and nerves, pronouncing words, clear, singing from the heart, being prepared for what songs you will sing, and enjoy seeing this develop together. (No class limit)
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BLUEGRASS HARMONY SINGING (Dale Ann Bradley)
As described in the lead Bluegrass singing class, we will begin with two songs as a group. We will then work with female trios, male trios, duets, mixed duets and quartets. Everyone will be able to explore each harmony part and rehearse. After initial concentrated classes, song selections will be considered to execute the harmony combinations we have learned.
BLUEGRASS LEAD SINGING (Dale Ann Bradley)
Lead singing is an important element in any bluegrass group setting. Without confident, in-tune and expressive lead singing, there is not a strong foundation for other elements that follow. In Dale Ann’s class, students will start the week working on lead vocals of two songs. The students will learn the songs as a group then work on individual performances. Pitch, phrasing, tone and expression will be explored. Toward the end of the week the students will select a song of their choice to perform in class to demonstrate what they have learned.
SONGS OF THE FRONTIER (Ranger Doug)
An overview of the history of the music of and about the west from the 1830s to the dawn of the singing cowboy era. There will be plenty of aural material to be heard, and there will be a classic song learned each day. (No class limit)
SONGS OF THE SINGING COWBOY (Ranger Doug)
An overview of the history of the music of the singing cowboy era in film and on record, from the 1930s through the 1950s. There will be audio and video illustrations, and there will be a classic singing cowboy song learned each day. (No class limit)
SCOTTISH SONG (Brian McNeill)
This class will deal with Scots language song of all types, including ballads, love songs, work songs, story songs, political songs, humorous songs, childrens’ songs and songs of the Scottish music hall era. Scottish song’s relation to other traditions - the Gaelic, English, Irish and American in particular, will be discussed, with practical examples. The aim of the class will be for students to learn at least four Scots traditional songs through the week, with access to many more - the goal being to produce two of these songs as singable group entities by the week’s end. The class will be taught on a master/ apprentice basis, orally, but printed versions of words will be available. Modern interpretations of traditional song will be covered, including the use of harmony, and regional variations will be discussed. Pronunciation will be covered. The lowland Scots historical context of the songs will be explored, in particular its social aspects, and Scottish song’s relation to the country’s instrumental traditions, and also to myth and story, will also be covered. The social and musical wellsprings of such important Scottish traditional singers as Jock Duncan will be discussed in depth, and also, the influence of songwriters whose work has now become to all intents and purposes traditional, such as Mary Brooksbank, Lady Nairne and Hamish Henderson. Students should bring a small audio (not video) recorder and a big heart, and should remember that the ethos of the class will be that no student shall be left behind. (Class limit: 30)
SONGWRITING IN THE TRADITION (Brian McNeill)
This class will explore all aspects of writing songs based on the models the various English language-based traditions have already established, using examples from the best of modern songwriting. It will explore form, metre and rhyme. It will deal with the reasons for writing, the mechanics of writing, the conjunction of lyrics and melody and the voice the writer uses. It will deal with characterisation, the use of personal experience, the summarisation of historical events and processes, and the expression of political views and
controversial standpoints in song. It will also deal with the practical issues of method, of starting up from an idea or a phrase, of collaborative effort between melody writer and lyricist, and of the tensions between creating one’s own work and performing it. Above all, this class will deal with the subject of honesty in songwriting. The aim will be for putative songwriters to complete already begun projects, to better their existing skills and to create new ones, and the goal will be for each student to bring to fruition one complete new song by the end of the week, as well as to further existing projects. As exemplar, the Brian will also complete one new song completely from scratch. Students will be expected and encouraged to criticise each others’ work and participate as both listeners and advisors. They will take part in individual one-on-one seminars with Brian as well as group classes. Students should bring a small audio (not video) recorder, a big heart and no prejudices, and should remember that the ethos of the class will be that no student shall be left behind. (Class limit: 30)
TRADITIONAL COUNTRY & HONKY TONK SINGING (Mark Weems)
This class will study various country vocal styles that emerged in the South after 1945. We will discuss the styles and techniques of several influential country music voices and learn a batch of classic songs by the likes of Hank Williams, Lefty Frizell, Wanda Jackson, Buck Owens, Leona Williams and George Jones. Special attention will be paid to phrasing, pitching your voice, ornamentation, and feeling and communicating a song. We will also spend some time creating an actual honky-tonk band with which to put all this knowledge into practice. Maybe even put on some harmony! Sounds fun to me! I am bringing an upright bass and drum kit. Guitars and basic knowledge of chords are encouraged. Let’s go honky-tonkin’!
DUET HARMONY SINGING (Mark & Julee Glaub Weems)
Learn some of the specific techniques and nuances of duet singing. We will work towards choosing keys, finding parts, exploring different types of harmony, building harmony mathematically, blending voices, feeling and phrasing, learning to sing with different partners and developing listening skills. We will learn how to adapt harmonies to different songs and various genres such as Appalachian, Irish, gospel, and country. The initial classes will focus on singing with instruments, to hear the chord structures of the harmonies, consider how they affect the overall harmonic sound, and discuss the creation of tasteful arrangements. As the week progresses, we will work towards freedom from chordal structure in order to encourage experimentation with more diverse kinds of harmony. It is not necessary to read music, as we will be learning by ear. Bring a partner or find one in the class! Note: students should come to this class with some experience in singing melody. (Class limit: 14)
SoNGCATCHING: SINGING TRADITIONAL APPALACHIAN BALLADS (Sheila Kay Adams)
I started learning what my family called ‘them old love songs’ as a five-yearold. No one said I had to learn them, or pressured me to listen to and sing back, one at a time, twenty-seven verses. First, as a child I loved the stories of knights and ladies riding on snow-white steeds, or what all could take place in “her father’s great hall,” or why a bird perched in a willow tree would speak to a woman who had “just murdered your own true love.” I could go on and on but the stories were fantastic, mysterious, believable and I heard them every day. The people I learned from were born in the 1890s and early 1900s and had learned them from their parents and grandparents – generation after generation after generation had learned them and passed them on. The words aren’t a problem. They’re written down in more collections
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Traditional Song Week, July 7-13, 2013 7:30-8:30
Breakfast
8:30- 8:50
Vocal warm-ups (Nicole Christianson)
9:00-10:15
Songwriting & Creative Brainstorming
A History of the Blues
(Goforth)
(Payton)
Songs of the Frontier
(Ranger Doug)
Old Meeting- Community Singing: For Fiddle & Song House Songs the Sake of the Song (Christiansons) (Adams)
(Watroba)
(Sproule)
Coffee/Tea Break
10:15-10:45
10:45-12:00
Irish Traditional Songs - And Their Relatives!
ShapeNote Singing
(Goforth)
The Art of Singing (Payton)
Songwriting in the Tradition (McNeill)
Bluegrass Lead Duet Harmony Mandolin Songs of the Singing Traditional Gospel Singing Accompaniment Singing Singing Cowboy (Bradley)
(Weems)
(Montgomery)
(Christiansons)
(Ranger Doug)
Lunch
12:00-1:00
Community Gathering & Special Events 1:15-2:30
2:45-4:00
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Say No More, It’s Freddy LaBour!
Validating Our Musical Selves
A Visit with Brian McNeill
Traditional Song – Why Do We Still Care?
A Visit with Cathie Ryan
(LaBour)
(Magill)
(McNeill & Ritchie)
Bluegrass Choices: How to Get Finding Your Scottish Traditional Country & Harmony the Most Out of the Voice: Soprano, Song Honky-Tonk Singing Singing Songs You Sing Alto or Tenor? (McNeill) (Weems) (Bradley)
(Watroba)
(Montgomery)
4:00-5:00
Free Time
5:00-6:30
Supper
(Ritchie & staff)
(Ryan & Ritchie)
Songcatching: Singing Traditional Appalachian Ballads
Arranging Traditional Songs For Guitarists and Groups
(Adams)
(Sproule)
TRAD. GOSPEL SINGING (Shirley Smith Montgomery)
than you can shake a stick at. But, if the story was the initial reason my mind chose to learn, it was the way they sang that took my heart over fifty years ago: the odd phrasing, the choice of words and the way they put those words together. This is what I hope to share with you in this class. I promise you, the songs are wonderful, but what will keep you singing is the way I’m going to teach you to do it. I’ll provide you with the words; the rest I’ll help you with, and those that really “get it” by the end of the week will help me carry this beautiful, ancient tradition a bit further down the road.
Gospel is closely related to the sound of the blues. We will learn and sing songs that bring exuberance and joy, and songs that will provoke serious thoughts of how awesome God is. During our time together we will develop a gospel choir from the class. The gospel choir will perform some of the songs we’ll learn this week. If you love to sing and want to be a part of an awesome time of camaraderie and singing, this class is for you. (No class limit)
OLD MEETING-HOUSE SONGS (Sheila Kay Adams)
This class is for the person who has had trouble in the past knowing for sure what part they sing. In this class we will use different types of gospel music to help you choose which range fits you best. You will love the light-hearted approach, disarming you of your inhibitions, to be the best singer you can be. We will also spend time learning to breathe correctly to maximize our capacity to hold air to sing beautifully.
This class is all about singing the many “meeting-house” gospel songs – mostly by ear and full-voiced, “off-the-porch-strong” as Aunt Inez would say – that I grew up hearing in the churches in and around Sodom, NC. You might be familiar with most of ‘em, ones like “I’ll Fly Away,” “Where the Soul Never Dies,” and “Build Me A Cabin,” to name a few. We’ll also work together on some shape-note songs, but the majority can be found in The Baptist Hymnal. Please bring a copy if you have your own, but handouts will be provided as needed. And don’t go worrying about harmonies; trust me, you’ll find the one that works for you. These old hymns really do rock right along, and there’s a power to them that’ll grab your heart and spirit from the get-go ... no collection plate needed. But don’t expect to sit or even stand in one place as these old hymns will, quite literally, move you. (No class limit)
FINDING YOUR VOICE: SOPRANO, ALTO, OR TENOR? (Shirley Smith Montgomery)
ARRANGING TRADITIONAL SONGS FOR GUITARISTS AND GROUPS (Dáithí Sproule)
This class is for guitarists and other instrumentalists who would like some guidance on arranging songs from all the traditions, not just Irish. Dáithí will share his life-long experience as a song and tune arranger in the solo setting and in groups such as Altan, Skara Brae, Bowhand, and Trian. Dáithí’s hints
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and insights will help you to notch up the quality of your performance, also give you a wide variety of options. You are welcome to bring in songs and tunes you would like to arrange, and Dáithí will guide you through the process and steps to producing an arrangement that is just that little bit better and more effective. For guitarists Dáithí will show how to explore options – picking, strumming – the use of various tunings, particularly DADGAD, G and standard tunings. Experience working with students has confirmed Dáithí in the belief that often a little change of focus in the right-hand guitar work or in the view of chord options can transform a person’s playing, making it much more enjoyable both for player and listener! You will find a relaxed, encouraging atmosphere, but some hard info!
IRISH TRADITIONAL SONGS – AND THEIR RELATIVES! (Dáithí Sproule)
Explore the lyricism and melodic beauty of Irish traditional song with an eye to versions from other regions such as England, Scotland and North America. Dáithí will share songs of love, history, local lore, and the ‘Otherworld’ from his wide repertoire, provide simple helpful guidelines to their performance, and play rare recordings of some of the great source singers. Dáithí’s background in Celtic lore and language, as well as his lifetime of stories and travels with musicians and singers, will fill in the fascinating background of the songs. Dáithí believes that everyone can and should sing, and if you’re going to sing, why not sing the most beautiful songs you can find? (Bring a recording device.) This class will feature both unaccompanied and accompanied song, and some songs in the Irish Gaelic language.
FIDDLE & SONG (Brian & Nicole Christianson)
Most think of the fiddle as a solo instrument, but have you ever thought of accompanying a singer with just a fiddle? Or have you ever thought of harmonizing a singer with a fiddle? This class will explore the power of the fiddle backing up a singer. Different bowing techniques, rhythms and double-stops will be covered as well as discussing how to tastefully improvise behind a singer. The main focus of the class will be centered around the fiddle however, you need not play the fiddle to join this class. Strong vocal techniques will also be taught throughout a wide variety of styles including bluegrass, old-time, Irish, country, swing and gospel. There will be plenty of songs covered and we’ll have a great time of just singing with a fiddle! Most songs will be taught by ear, but sheet music will be provided for those that are more comfortable learning by note. We are excited to explore the simple, beautiful voicing of a fiddle and a song.
MANDOLIN ACCOMPANIMENT (Brian & Nicole Christianson)
This class will explore the different ways of backing up a singer with a mandolin. Different rythyms, chord structures, and improvising will be discussed throughout a wide variety of styles including bluegrass, country, Irish, swing and gospel. This class will be primarily focused on the role of a mandolin accompaning a singer, however, strong vocal technique will be taught as we pick our way through it. Most songs will be taught by ear, but sheet music will be provided for those that are more comfortable learning by note.
Community Gathering Time Note: A highlight of the day’s schedule is when we gather together each day after lunch for these special events. No advance registration necessary.
SAY NO MORE, IT”S FREDDY LABOUR!
How does this veteran of over 6300 Riders In The Sky shows, creator/writer of hundreds of public radio shows and TV specials, and a darn good yard man, see himself? “I’m the pickle,” he says. “You know, you go into a fine
deli and order a sandwich, and you didn’t go there for the pickle. You didn’t ask for the pickle. You never even think about the pickle. And yet, when your sandwich comes, there it is, the pickle. And you like it, and it adds something to the meal. That’s me. I give the audience the pickle.”
VALIDATING OUR MUSICAL SELVES
Beth Magill will help us affirm that we are musical beings, born to embrace and express that music within us. While some of us were encouraged mightily when we were children, some of us were not. Many of us need to heal those musical places in us so we can move forward, finally making the music we were meant to make, have and be for ourselves, for our children, for our communities.
A VISIT WITH BRIAN MCNEILL
In this interview to be recorded for radio, Brian chats with Fiona Ritchie about his globetrotting years with Battlefield Band, his song- and novelwriting, and his projects uncovering Scottish connections in North America and Europe, all of which have inspired new music. As a consummate multiinstrumentalist, expect Brian to share a few songs and tunes.
TRADITIONAL SONG – WHY DO WE STILL CARE?
In this panel discussion to be recorded for radio, Ben Wiley Payton, Matt Watroba, Shirley Smith Montgomery, and Mark Weems join radio broadcaster Fiona Ritchie to explore the timeless appeal and consider the future prospects of traditional song.
A VISIT WITH CATHIE RYAN
In this interview to be recorded for radio, Cathie chats with Fiona Ritchie about her recording career, her early days with Cherish the Ladies, her love of the Irish language, her songwriting and her many musical collaborations. Cathie will share songs that help tell her story.
We offer a full-day program, taught by Denisa Rullmoss, for children ages 6-12. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions please. Evening childcare for ages 3-12 will be provided at no additional cost. Beneath the wind and waves lies the melody and magic of the OCEAN. This summer in the Children’s Program we will visit the watery, wondrous world of the SEA and all of her inhabitants. We are likely to find sea horses, crabs, dolphins, fish, whales, mermaids, giant squid, sea serpents and much more. If King Neptune allows, we may take a ride in a Yellow Submarine to visit an Octopus’ Garden! Colorful coral reefs, mysterious deep sea creatures, smelly seaweed snacks and a scary shark or two.... who knows what may show up at the Gathering? LOTS of arts & crafts (with many shells), LOTS of water (and dry land) games and LOTS of fun will be our goal. Can you find the pearl in the oyster shell, the lost city of Atlantis or the homes of Sponge Bob, Patrick and Squidward? Let’s not forget the sounds of the sea.... as we sing silly sea songs AND create a band led by Sue Ford (singer, songwriter, percussionist). As a special treat, we will be visited by wandering musicians and artists (Gathering staff) who will perform just for our kids. We will, of course, continue our long-loved traditions of shaving cream hairdos day, movie night, pie-eating contests and the Gathering Scavenger Hunt. Each busy day will close with free swim time in the college pool. Non-swimmers must be accompanied by a parent to swim. So get your snorkels on and practice your fish faces as we dive into some nautical nonsense!! There will be a $30 art/craft materials fee for this class, payable to Denisa, the Children’s Program coordinator, on arrival.
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14-20
T
he musical traditions of Scotland and Ireland, possessing separate, distinctive personalities, nonetheless share a common heritage. Many of western North Carolina’s early white settlers were either Highlanders or ‘Ulster Scots’ – the Scots-Irish. Our Celtic Week acknowledges that varied heritage with a program that features some of the best from those traditions. This year’s lineup features present or former members of the supergroups Lúnasa, Danú, Ossian, Solas, Battlefield Band, The House Band, and Cherish the Ladies, several other exciting new faces, and the return of some old friends. New this year are more song and flute classes, and sean-nós and set dancing. The week will feature classes, potluck sessions, concerts, jams, dances and a ‘Food Songs Night,’ with delicious fare provided by the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts <www.schoolofculinaryarts.org>. For those taking any of the style classes for fiddle, it is recommended that students should play at an Intermediate level: students should have mastered beginning skills, be able to tune their instruments, keep time, play the principal scales cleanly, and know how to play a few tunes with confidence. Fiddle classes are double-length, and students may take either intermediate or advanced classes, but not both. The uilleann pipes class is also double-length. Fiddlers who plan on taking both Irish and Scottish fiddle should consider their stamina and the available practice time before registering for two daily 2 ½ hour classes. For novices, “Fiddle for Complete Beginners” will cover the basics, two sections of “Fiddle Technique” will address technical problems for players of all levels, and “Intro to Celtic Fiddling” will provide beginners with a repertoire of simple tunes, while “Tinwhistle for Complete Beginners” will provide whistle players with a similar repertoire. For those students bringing their families, we also offer a program for kids, but space is limited. Our Children’s Program for ages 6-12 features kids’ activities scheduled during all daytime class sessions, and evening childcare for ages 3-12 is provided at no additional cost.
martin hayes
Martin Hayes, from East County Clare, began playing the fiddle at the age of seven and went on to win six All-Ireland fiddle championships before the age of nineteen. He is the recipient of numerous awards including “Folk Instrumentalist of the Year” from BBC Radio, “Man of the Year” from the American Irish Historical Society and “Musician of the Year” from TG4, the Irish language television station. Martin has contributed music, both original and traditional, to modern dance performance, theatre, film and television. He is the artistic director of Masters of Tradition, an annual festival in Bantry, County Cork and functions in the same capacity for the touring production of the festival featuring other Irish music masters, including the guitarist Dennis Cahill, with whom Martin has toured the world for the last eighteen years. Their adventurous, soulful interpretations of traditional tunes are recognized the world over for their exquisite musicality and irresistible rhythm. Martin also plays in the trio Triur, with Peadar O Riada and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh, the trio The Teetotallers, with Kevin Crawford and John Doyle, and the band The Gloaming. www.martinhayes.com
LIZ CARROLL
So far, Liz Carroll has had a remarkable century. Her two solo albums, Lake Effect and Lost in the Loop used Liz’s hometown of Chicago as the influence for an extraordinary outpouring of new compositions. The latter recording led the Irish Echo to proclaim her their “Traditional Musician of the Year.” Her first duet album with John Doyle, In Play, caused Sing Out! magazine’s Rob Weir to exclaim, “Liz Carroll recordings induce joy and admiration that exhaust this reviewer’s feeble descriptors,” and her 2009 recording with Doyle, Double Play, was nominated for a Grammy, making her the first American-born artist nominated for playing Irish music – ever! On St. Patrick’s Day of that year, Liz travelled to Washington, D.C., to play for fellow Chicagoan, President Obama, at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon. In 2005, she became a member of String Sisters, a sextet of fiddlers from America, Ireland, the Shetland Islands and Norway, and their 2009 Live album was shortlisted for a Grammy. Prior to these 21st century accolades, Liz won the 1975 All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Champion-
ship, was honored when Mayor Daley proclaimed September 18, 1999 as “Liz Carroll Day” in Chicago, and received a National Heritage Award Fellowship in 1994, which honored her as a “Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to preserving the cultural diversity of the United States.” 2010 saw the publication of Liz’s first book of compositions, Collected, and in 2011 she was awarded Ireland’s most revered traditional music prize, the Cumadóir TG4 (Composer of the Year). www.lizcarroll.com
Brian McNeill
Our Scottish fiddle instructor from our very first Gathering twenty-one years ago, Brian McNeill celebrates the 42nd year of a career that has established him as one of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Described as “Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter” by The Scotsman, his work and influence as performer, composer, producer, teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of Scotland’s past, present and future describe a man who has never stood still. He has been a member of several of Scotland’s most influential bands, including Clan Alba and Battlefield Band, which he founded in 1969, and with whom he has performed around the globe. Brian plays fiddle, octave fiddle, guitar, mandocello, bouzouki, viola, mandolin, cittern, concertina, bass and hurdy gurdy, and his many songs about Scotland’s past and future, such as “The Yew Tree,” “The Lads O’ The Fair,” “The Snows of France and Holland,” to name a few, have established him as one of Scotland’s leading songwriters. His first novel, The Busker, was published in 1989, and a year later he left Battlefield Band to concentrate more on writing and solo projects. Another novel, To Answer The Peacock, followed, but he has by no means slackened off on his musical career, touring with Dick Gaughan, Clan Alba, Kavana, McNeill, Lynch and Lupari, Martin Hayes, Natalie MacMaster and Feast of Fiddles. His audio-visual shows, The Back O’ The North Wind, about Scottish emigration to America, and the sequel, with accompanying CD, The Baltic Tae Byzantium, which explores the influence of the Scots in Europe, have won wide critical acclaim. For six years he was Head of Scottish Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His latest novel is In The Grass. www.brianmcneill.co.uk
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Nuala Kennedy
Nuala Kennedy hails from Co. Louth in the northeast of Ireland. She sings traditional songs in English and Gaelic, plays the flute and low whistle, and is a songwriter and tunesmith. Kennedy’s roots are first and foremost in Irish traditional music, and last year, she released Noble Stranger, her third solo recording. In addition to her own music, Nuala currently performs in Oirialla, with Gerry (fiddle) O’Connor, Breton guitarist Gilles Le Bigot and accordionist Martin Quinn. The band play music from the ancient kingdom of Oriel (Southeast Ulster): older musical gems researched, rediscovered and brought back to life. Oirialla recently recorded an eponymously titled album of this material. A few years ago Nuala also recorded Enthralled, an album of original duets for fiddle and flute with the late great Canadian composer Oliver Schroer, which was released on Borealis Records in 2012. Whatever she is doing, Kennedy always comes back to her traditional Irish roots. Her 2007 debut solo album, The New Shoes, was voted album of the week in the Irish Times, was featured in Hotpress’ Top Ten Folk Albums of the year, and named BBC Radio Scotland’s “Traditional Album of the Year” in 2008. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including several international invited residencies and collaborations, and holds a Master Degree in Music from Newcastle University, a BA (Hons) in Design from Edinburgh College of Art, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education with distinction, the Curse Comais in Gaidhlig. www.nualakennedy.com
kevin crawford
Born in Birmingham, England, Kevin Crawford’s early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, to where he eventually moved while in his 20’s. He was a founding member of Moving Cloud, the Clare-based band who recorded such critically-acclaimed albums as Moving Cloud and Foxglove, and he has also recorded with Grianin, Raise the Rafters, Joe Derrane, Natalie Merchant, Susan McKeown and Sean Tyrrell. Kevin appears on the 1992 recording, The Maiden Voyage, recorded live at Peppers Bar, Feakle, Co. Clare, and appears on the 1994 recording, The Sanctuary Sessions, recorded live in Cruise’s Bar, Ennis, Co. Clare. Kevin now tours the world with Ireland’s cutting-edge traditional band, Lúnasa, called by some the “Bothy Band of the 21st Century,”with eight ground-breaking albums to their credit: Lúnasa, Otherworld, The Merry Sisters of Fate, Redwood, The Kinnity Sessions, Sé, The Story So Far and La Nua. His latest project is the Teetotallers, a supergroup trio that also features Martin Hayes and John Doyle. A virtuoso flute player, Kevin has also recorded several solo albums including The ‘D’ Flute Album, In Good Company, On Common Ground, a duo recording with Lúnasa’s piper, Cillian Vallely, and his most recent, Carrying the Tune. www.lunasa.ie
BRIAN CONWAY
New York-born fiddler Brian Conway is a leading exponent of the highly ornamented Sligo fiddling style made famous by the late Michael Coleman. The winner of two All-Ireland junior titles in 1973 and 1974, and the All-Ireland senior championship in 1986, Brian first studied fiddle with his father, Jim, of Plumbridge, Co. Tyrone, and with Limerick-born teacher/ fiddler Martin Mulvihill. However, it was the legendary fiddler and composer Martin Wynne who taught him the nuances of the County Sligo style. Later, Brian met and befriended the great Andy McGann of New York, a direct student of Michael Coleman, who further shaped his precision and skill on the instrument, and he remains faithful to the rich tradition handed down to him. In 1979, Brian recorded a duet album, The Apple in Winter, with fellow New York fiddler Tony DeMarco. In July of 2002, Brian released his debut solo CD, First through the Gate, on the Smithsonian-Folkways label, which was subsequently chosen
as Album of the Year by The Irish Echo. He is also featured on the CD, My Love is in America, recorded at the Boston College Irish Fiddle Festival, and on the documentary, Shore to Shore, which highlights traditional Irish music in New York. With the release in 2008 of his second solo CD, Consider the Source, The Irish Echo selected Brian as their Traditional Irish Artist of the Year. One of the musical ‘rocks’ of the New York area, Brian has also performed all over North America, Ireland and the rest of Europe, and is a noted instructor who has mentored many fine fiddle players, including several All-Ireland champions. www.brianconway.com
John Doyle
John Doyle is one of Ireland’s most talented and innovative musicians. Originally from Dublin, and now a resident of Asheville, John is an accomplished singer and songwriter, and an extraordinary master of the Irish guitar whose harddriving style has influenced a generation of players. A founding member of the acclaimed group Solas, his powerful guitar playing provided the signature rhythmic backbone for the band, and his delicate and emotional finger-style playing and creative vocal harmonies can be heard on all four of Solas’ recordings for Shanachie Records. John regularly performs solo, and has toured the world with the likes of Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers, Tim O’Brien, Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker, Alison Brown, Joan Baez, Linda Thompson, Mick Moloney, Kate Rusby and a host of other world class performers. John has been featured on over 100 recordings of traditional and contemporary Irish, folk and Americana music, including his most recent, Shadow and Light, a solo recording of all original compositions, and Helping Hands, a collaboration with the late Cape Breton fiddle great and former Gathering staffer, Jerry Holland. He is a great lover of traditional song, an encouraging and enthusiastic teacher, and his nearly non-stop touring, producing and recording schedule attests to his high standing in the world of traditional Irish music. We’re pleased to welcome John back for his seventh Gathering. www.johndoylemusic.com
LIZ KNOWLES
Liz Knowles is one of the few classical violinists to become adept at playing in an authentic Irish fiddling style. Her career as a fiddler has included a solo spot on the soundtrack of Neil Jordan’s film, Michael Collins, a two-year run as the soloist with the international touring company of Riverdance, performing as a member of the String Sisters, as a guest soloist with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and in the Broadway show, The Pirate Queen. She has performed and/or recorded with Tim O’Brien, Don Henley, Rachel Barton Pine, Marcus Roberts, and Paula Cole. For the last three years, she has been the musical director and fiddler for the Irish music and dance show, Celtic Legends, which has toured extensively in Europe, South America and China. www.lizknowles.com
LAURA RISK Laura Risk grew up in the thriving San Francisco Scottish fiddle scene of the 1980s and 90s, learning her craft from acclaimed fiddler Alasdair Fraser. Now living in Montreal, Laura tours internationally as a soloist and with her band Triptych. She has over ten albums to her credit, including her latest solo CD, 2000 Miles, on which she teams up with some of Quebec’s hottest traditional and jazz musicians for a new take on tunes from the great Scottish collections of the 18th and 19th centuries. Says Living Tradition, “Laura plays in a powerful, percussive style,
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with tight control and beautiful tone but bursting with energy and passion, turning reels into romps and slow airs into soul-searches.” Known as a inspirational teacher, Laura has taught fiddling at numerous summer camps and was an Instructor of Fiddling for five years at Wellesley College. She is also a co-author of The Glengarry Collection: The Highland Fiddle Music of Aonghas Grant, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Musicology at McGill University. Laura is thrilled to be returning to Celtic Week again this year! www.laurarisk.com
LEN GRAHAM
County Antrim’s Len Graham has been a full-time professional traditional singer since 1982. After he won the All-Ireland Traditional Singing competion in 1971, his passion for the songs of his native Ulster began to grow with his reputation. Len sought out and recorded older singers, and published a book, Here I Am Amongst You, on the songs, dance music and traditions of Joe Holmes. He was a founding member of the group Skylark, with whom he toured extensively for ten years and recorded four albums. In 1993, he released his book and field recording collection, It’s Of My Rambles. Over the years, Len has collaborated and worked with numerous musicians, poets and storytellers. His association with the late John Campbell brought storytelling and song to a world audience, and their work together over twenty years made a significant contribution toward creating a deeper cross-community understanding of shared cultural traditions during many years of conflict in the north of Ireland. Len has recorded numerous albums, performed at many Irish and international folk, literary and storytelling festivals, and appeared on many radio and television programs. In 1992, he received the Seán O’Boyle Cultural Traditions Award in recognition of his work in Ireland as a song collector and singer. In 2002, he was honoured as the first recipient of the Irish television TG4 National Music Award for “Traditional Singer Of the Year.” In 2008, he was awarded “Keeper of the Tradition” from the Tommy Makem Festival of Traditional Song and the US Irish Music Award in the “Sean-Nós Singing” category, and in 2011 he was awarded the Gradam na mBard CCÉ (CCÉ Bardic Award) at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. www.storyandsong.com
CILLIAN VALLELY
At age seven, Cillian Vallely began learning the whistle and pipes from his parents, Brian and Eithne at the Armagh Pipers Club, a group that has fostered the revival of traditional music in the north of Ireland for over three decades. Since leaving college, he has played professionally and toured all over North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. He has also performed and toured with Riverdance, Tim O’Brien’s The Crossing, New Yorkbased Whirligig, and the Celtic Jazz Collective. He has recorded on over forty albums including Callanbridge, with his brother Niall, and various guest spots with Natalie Merchant, Alan Simon’s Excalibur project with Fairport Convention and the Moody Blues, GAIA with the Prague Philharmonic and Karan Casey. He has recently recorded on two movie soundtracks, Irish Jam, and Chatham, and played pipes on the BBC’s Flight of the Earls soundtrack. Since 1999, he has been a member of the band, Lúnasa, one of the world’s premier Irish bands, with whom he has recorded five albums and played at many major festivals and venues including WOMAD, the Edmonton Folk Festival and The Hollywood Bowl. www.cillianvallely.com
ALAN REID
Born in Glasgow, Alan Reid has been taking Scottish folk music all over the world since 1975. Invited to join the fledgling Battlefield Band in 1969 by Brian McNeill, he recorded almost 30 albums with this hard-working and enduring band, garnering a respected reputation for his original keyboard work and his singing. With encouragement from band mates, he began writing in the 1980s, and from 1990 was the band’s principal
songwriter, writing songs often noted for their storytelling element while being grounded in Scots history. His first songbook, Martyrs, Rogues and Worthies, was published in 2001, and in 2009 he was nominated as Composer of the Year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards. Alan also contributed to Linn Records’ mammoth CD series recording the complete songs of Robert Burns. After 40 years or so with the ‘Batties,’ he left in 2010 to concentrate on his duo with guitarist/singer Rob van Sante. Their most recent album is a portrait of the colourful life of Scots-born sailor and American Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones, a project for which Alan composed all the songs and music. The album was premiered at the 2011 Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival (near Jones’ birth place) in performances that incorporated drama also scripted by Alan.
CATHIE RYAN
Cathie Ryan has been in the vanguard of Irish music for over 25 years. She is one of Irish music’s most emulated singers, and is also a respected educator who has taught workshops on Irish traditional singing, myth and folklore throughout North America and Ireland, including several years at the Gathering. Born in Detroit to Irish parents from Kerry and Tipperary, she grew up in a home steeped in singing and storytelling and continues to research, excavate, and sing the old songs. She is critically-acclaimed for her crystalline voice, a singing style that incorporates the ‘sean nós’ music she grew up with, an unerring taste in songs, solid songwriting, and excellence in recording and performance. Her career in Irish music is the result of a deep and abiding love of Irish traditions. Cathie tours internationally with her band, headlining at performing arts centers, festivals, and guest starring with symphony orchestras. She has released five CDs and is featured on over 50 compilations of Irish music. www.cathieryan.com
GRÁINNE HAMBLY
Gráinne Hambly comes from County Mayo in the west of Ireland. She started to play Irish music on the tin whistle at an early age, before moving on to the concertina and later the harp. She lived in Belfast for six years, where she completed a Master’s Degree in Musicology at Queen’s University. Her main research topic concerned folk music collections and the harp in 18th-century Ireland. In 1994, she was awarded first prize in the senior All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil competitions for harp and concertina. As well as being an established performer touring extensively throughout Europe and North America, she is also a qualified teacher of traditional Irish music and is in great demand at summer schools and festivals both in Ireland and abroad. Gráinne was awarded the T.T.C.T. (a certificate for teaching traditional Irish music at advanced level, credited by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and the Irish Department of Education), and has also received her Graduate Diploma in Education (Music) from the University of Limerick. She has released three widely-acclaimed solo harp CDs and a collaborative CD with William Jackson, as well as appearing on a number of other recordings. www.grainne.harp.net
MARGARET BENNETT
Scottish singer, folklorist and writer Margaret Bennett was brought up in a family of tradition bearers, Gaelic on her mother’s side (from the Isle of Skye) and Lowland Scots on her father’s. With an MA in Folklore and a PhD in Ethnology, this former lecturer at the University of Edinburgh School of Scottish Studies wears her scholarship lightly while widely regarded as “Scotland’s foremost folklorist”. She currently teaches part-time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, sings, tells stories and lectures on both sides of
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the Atlantic. A recent Scottish Arts Council festival reviewer noted, “(it’s) rare to witness such a charismatic and fascinating raconteur.” A prize-winning author, she has nine books to her credit and contributions to over thirty others. One of our most popular guests at the Swanannoa Gathering, she was the 1998 recipient of the Master Music Maker Award “in celebration of a lifetime of musicianship and teaching”. In 2011 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music in Glasgow and in 2012 Honorary Professor of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. She is also known for collaborations with her son, the late Martyn Bennett, featuring in theatre and film, including the worldacclaimed play, The Black Watch. She is also featured in a new film, Ruadhan the Bard, due to be released in 2013. Hamish Henderson wrote, “Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland.” www.margaretbennett.co.uk
Kimberley Fraser
Kimberley Fraser was born on Cape Breton Island and nurtured within its rich musical heritage. She first impressed audiences at the age of three with her step-dancing talents, and soon thereafter took up both the fiddle and the piano. She has performed around the world, from touring Sweden with Cherish the Ladies, to performing at the Celtic Connections festival in Scotland and entertaining NATO troops in Afghanistan. Kimberley holds an honours degree in Celtic Studies and a minor in Jazz from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, and is also a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. An advocate for the importance of traditional music education, she has been a long-time instructor at Cape Breton’s Gaelic College and Ceilidh Trail Music School as well as teaching at the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp, the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes, and the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Aberdeen, Scotland. Following the success of her award-winning recording, Falling on New Ground, Kimberley is currently working on her third album. www.kimberleyfraser.com
DÓNAL CLANCY
Dónal was born in 1975 and spent most of his early childhood in Canada and the U.S. before his family settled back in An Rinn, Co. Waterford, Ireland, in 1983. He grew up in a household and community rich in music and started to play the guitar at the age of eight. In 1995, he co-founded the group Danú, but departed soon after to tour with his father, the famed Liam Clancy, and his cousin, Robbie O’Connell. Since then, Dónal has performed with many other top names in Irish music, including Solas, The Eileen Ivers Band and The Chieftains, and appears on dozens of recordings. In 2003, Dónal rejoined his friends in Danú, and the band was awarded the prize for “Best Group” at the 2004 BBC 2 Folk Awards. 2006 saw the release of Dónal’s critically-acclaimed solo debut, Close To Home, which The Boston Globe declared to be “a sweet masterpiece of melodic grace and riveting groove.” www.donalclancy.com
BILLY JACKSON
Billy Jackson has been a major figure in traditional Scottish music for over thirty-five years, and was a founding member of the influential folk group, Ossian, whose outstanding recordings remain a benchmark for Scottish music. Acclaimed for his musicality on the Celtic harp, he is also a renowned composer whose work is inspired by the history and landscape of Scotland. In 1999, his song, “Land of Light” was selected as the winner of The Glasgow Herald’s year-long Song For Scotland competition, co-
inciding with the restoration of the Scottish Parliament, to select a “new anthem for a new era in Scotland.” As a solo performer, he has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, and has taught harp at many festivals, including the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Ohio Scottish Arts School (Oberlin) and the Rio International Harp Festival. Billy is also a trained music therapist, and in 2004, he received our Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement. As part of his work combining traditional and classical music, Billy has performed with, and composed for, a variety of orchestras including The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Asheville Symphony and Cape Cod Symphony. Billy headed the music therapy program at Mission Hospital in Asheville for 10 years, and he now works part-time in music therapy in Sligo, Ireland. www.wjharp.com
Andrew FINN Magill
Andrew is a two-time finalist at the All-Ireland Championships and has performed with many Irish luminaries, including John Doyle, Liz Carroll, Altan, Aidan O’Rourke, Flook, Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Liz Knowles, Kieran O’Hare and Daithi Sproule. At age 17, he released his first CD of Irish fiddle music, Drive & Lift, featuring fellow SG staffers John Doyle and John Skelton, that Sing Out! magazine called “a stunning debut... the perfect balance of precision and intensity.” Cuts from that CD have been featured several times on NPR’s Thistle & Shamrock. In 2009, he was awarded a Fulbright-MtvU fellowship to develop a concept album about the human story of AIDS in Malawi, southern Africa. Working with Malawian musical icon Peter Mawanga, their recording, Mau a Malawi: Stories of AIDS, was released in October 2011 in the United States and Africa. Sales from the CD are invested in programs to keep vulnerable Malawian children in school and empower them through the arts. Andrew has served as an instructor in Irish fiddle at the Swannanoa Gathering for four years. He performs in Europe with the Celtic Legends music and dance revue, the Paul McKenna Band, 2009 Scots Trad Music winners of “Best Up & Coming Band,” and many artists around the New York City area where he resides. www.andrewfinnmagill.com
KATHLEEN CONNEELY
Born in Bedford, England to a father from Errislannan, Co. Galway, and a mother from Newtown Forbes, Co. Longford, Kathleen first took lessons in her hometown at an early age from from Clare musician Brendan Mulkere, a well-regarded teacher in and around London. She was also heavily influenced by her father, Michael, a well-known fiddle, accordion and tinwhistle player. The Conneely home was often filled with music from records, tapes and live sessions with many visiting musicians. In 1991, she appeared with her father, Mick Sr., brother, Mick Jr., fiddle and banjo player John Carty and flutist Roger Sherlock on RTE’s The Pure Drop. Kathleen has lived, played and taught music in several cities, such as Birmingham, London, Dublin, Chicago and Boston. She has been privileged to have played with many great musicians over the years and has taught for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (parent organization of the All-Ireland Championships) in Dublin and Boston, at the Boston College Irish Studies Program, the Irish Arts Week in the Catskills. and eight years at the Gathering.
ROBIN BULLOCK (See bio in Guitar Week, page 30)
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JOHN SKELTON
London-born flute and whistle player John Skelton is probably best known to American audiences from his work with The House Band, with whom he recorded eight albums on the Green Linnet label. He has also released a solo album, One At a Time, and Double Barrelled, a highly regarded album of flute duets with Kieran O’Hare, as well as a series of tune collection books, A Few Tunes, A Few More Tunes, Yet More Tunes and Some Breton Tunes. John has performed at most of the major folk festivals in North America Europe and Australia. He is an experienced teacher, and has taught at summer schools in the United States, Europe and Africa, and fifteen previous years at the Gathering. In addition to his background in Irish music, John is also well-schooled in the music of Brittany. He visits there regularly, and is a highly-regarded player of the Breton bombarde, a double-reed folk shawm. NPR’s Thistle & Shamrock described him as “the finest bombarde player outside of Brittany.” He also plays the ‘Piston’ (Low Bombarde), the ‘Veuze’ (the bagpipe of eastern Brittany) and the ‘Gaita Gallega’ (Galician pipes). John serves as the ‘Host’ of Celtic Week.
Eamon O’leary
While growing up in Dublin, Eamon developed an interest in Irish music through his friendship with the Mayock family, noted traditional musicians originally from County Mayo. When he moved to New York City in 1992, he met guitarist John Doyle and fiddle player Patrick Ourceau, among others, and has since become a fixture in the city’s thriving Irish music scene. Eamon has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, performing with many of Irish music’s great players, including Paddy Keenan, Mick Moloney, Tommy Peoples, and James Keane, and has recorded with singer Susan McKeown and flute player Emer Mayock. In addition to his performance schedule, Eamon has taught at numerous music programs including the Augusta Heritage Center, the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Alaska Irish Music Camp and several years at the Gathering. In 2012, Eamon released a recording of traditional songs, The Murphy Beds, with Jefferson Hamer.
MATTHEW OLWELL
Matthew has been performing and teaching as a percussionist and dancer since 1996. He began attending festivals and music events at an early age with his father’s flute business, and in 2005, released an album with his brother Aaron Olwell and their band, Hell on the Nine Mile. Partly self-taught, Matthew studied percussion with Myron Bretholtz, Benoit Bourque and Steve Bloom, and with some of the finest teachers in percussive dance, including Donny Golden, Eileen Carson, and The Fiddle Puppets. He danced for nine years with the Maryland-based Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, traveling across North America and Europe, and appearing in Riverdance, and in 2006 he co-founded Good Foot Dance Company. Matthew has performed with James Leva, John Skelton, Lúnasa, Eileen Ivers, Matapat, Uncle Earl, Liz Carroll, Tim O’Brien, and Bassekou Kouyate. He has taught at many camps and festivals including the Augusta Heritage workshops, Pinewoods, Timber Ridge, Boxwood and Ogontz, and he is very happy to be returning to Swannanoa in 2013!
MARLA FIBISH
(See bio in Mando & Banjo Week, page 51)
ROSE FLANAGAN
Rose Flanagan is a traditional Irish fiddle teacher from Rockland County in New York who originally began music lessons as a child with Martin Mulvilhill while growing up in the Bronx. She further developed her Sligo-style of playing with the help of Martin Wynne and her older brother, Brian. She currently has a large fiddle school in her hometown of Pearl River, NY, where she is hard at work preparing the next generation of great fiddle players, which already includes several All-Ireland champions and medalists. Rose has been an instructor at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, Alaska Fiddle Camp, Irish Dance Camp in Harrison Hot Springs, BC, the O’Flaherty Retreat in Texas, Banjo Burke Festival, MAD week in Maryland and the Fiddle and Pick camp in Tennessee. She has taught weekend workshops in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. She also runs various seisuns and plays with her group, the Green Gates Ceili band in the tri-state area. We’re pleased to welcome her back for her second Gathering.
JIM MAGILL
The Coordinator of Celtic Week is an award-winning songwriter and instrumentalist and a three-time finalist for College Entertainer of the Year. He is the founding Director of the Swannanoa Gathering Folk Arts Workshops at Warren Wilson College, directs the Celtic Series of Mainstage Concerts at Asheville’s Diana Wortham Theatre, and in 1994, was awarded the first Fellowship in Songwriting and Composition from the North Carolina Arts Council. He performs solo on guitar, cittern, bodhran and vocals, and with his wife Beth (flute) and son Andrew (fiddle) as the Celtic trio, The Magills. With numerous album and performance credits, including appearances with Emmy Lou Harris and Tom Paxton, Jim’s original songs have been covered by such artists as Mike Cross, The Smith Sisters, Cucanandy and the Shaw Brothers, and have been featured on NPR’s Thistle & Shamrock. In the world of graphic arts, his cover designs for the Gathering’s catalogs have won nine design awards, he’s twice been a finalist for Photoshop World’s Guru Awards, and he has served as a consultant on website design for several luthiers. www.magills.net
Maldon Meehan
Maldon Meehan is a performer and teacher of Irish sean-nós and set dance. She holds a BA in Irish Studies from The Evergreen State College and a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Ireland. She has been teaching since 1994, and in 2008 received a Regional Arts and Cultures grant. In 2005, she released an instructional DVD of sean-nós dance with Ronan Regan. Maldon has performed and/or taught at the Milwaukee Irish Festival, the Boffin (Ireland) Arts Festival, the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp in Washington, Sean-nós Milwaukee, and, in Massachusetts, the Irish Connections Festival, and Brian O’Donovan’s Christmas Celtic Sojourn. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon where she holds regular classes at her own Maldon Meehan Dance Studio. www.maldonmeehan.com
dENISA RULLMOSS
(see bio in Traditional Song Week, page 6)
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Fiddle INTERMEDIATE IRISH FIDDLE A (Liz Knowles)
In this course for intermediate players we will cover basic violin/fiddle technique for tone, agility in the left hand, and intonation, as well as the basics of Irish fiddle technique: bowings, ornamentation and style. We’ll discuss a “how-to-practice” method, how to approach session playing, and how to learn tunes from recorded media. We will learn a few tunes, but the emphasis will be on establishing foundations for you to take home and apply throughout your own learning as well as answering any questions you may have. Sheet music will be provided for those who need it but mostly at the end of the class. Please bring a recording device. Once you have registered for the class, contact me at lizknowlesmusic@gmail.com (indicate which week you are participating in) and I will send you a tune or two via email at least two weeks before the class. Even if you already know the tune or have heard it before, LISTEN to it as much as you can. DO NOT TRY AND LEARN IT. Just listen! (Class limit: 30)
INTERMEDIATE IRISH FIDDLE B (Liz Carroll)
Our intermediate class will work on good bowing, ornamentation, and ear training. We’ll learn some new tunes and brush up on some old ones, and we’ll even tackle a Liz tune or two. A relaxed pace will be the order of the day as we tackle all the elements of Irish fiddling at an intermediate level. (Class limit: 30)
ADVANCED IRISH FIDDLE A (Martin Hayes)
This class for advanced players will explore Irish tunes from the ‘inside-out,’ and focus on the possibilities for variation and improvisation that exist within the tradition, as a means to our own personal expression and interpretation. There will be particular emphasis on bowing, rhythm and the creation of variations. Students are encouraged to record the classes. (Class limit: 30)
ADVANCED IRISH FIDDLE B (Brian Conway)
In this course for advanced players we will cover the use of phrasing, ornamentation and bowing in traditional Irish music. We’ll discuss a “how-topractice” method, how to approach session playing, and how to learn tunes from recorded media. We will learn a few tunes, but the emphasis will be on advanced technique and the use of variations as well as answering any questions you may have. Sheet music will be provided for those who need it. Please bring an audio recorder. (Class limit: 30)
INTERMEDIATE SCOTTISH FIDDLE (Laura Risk)
This course explores the stylistic nuances of Scottish fiddling. We’ll work on ornamentation and bowing, phrasing and expression, playing ‘in the groove’, improvising melodic variations, and using accents to create rhythmic excitement. We’ll also discuss Scotland’s regional fiddle styles and listen to recordings of players from each style. Technique and theory topics – tone, practice methods, simple chord theory, playing with speed and precision – will be included as appropriate. All tunes, including strathspeys, reels, jigs, marches, and slow airs, will be taught by ear. Students are encouraged to bring a small audio recorder to record musical examples and repertoire. (Class limit: 30)
ADVANCED SCOTTISH FIDDLE (Brian McNeill)
This class will deal with bowing, phrasing and ornamentation of tunes ranging across the full spectrum of difficulty of Scottish music, and will be taught on a master/apprentice basis, which means that the tunes will be learned orally, and where possible by the students learning to sing the tunes
as an aid to memory. Printed versions will be given at the end of the class if students want them. As composition is an ongoing feature of the Scottish fiddle tradition, the class will cover both traditional tunes and Brian’s own compositions. Composition by students during the week will be encouraged, as will student input on arrangement – the goal being to produce at least one complex and varied set of performable tunes by week’s end, plus one or more single tunes that can be put into any other sets the students might want to create. Regional variations in style will be considered, as will the use of harmonies and chords. Modern use of the fiddle as a backing instrument will be discussed, as will playing with other instruments, particularly bagpipes and accordion. All types of tunes: marches, strathspeys, jigs, reels and airs, will be considered. The history of Scottish music, both in its totality and with special emphasis on the fiddle, will be referred to throughout, as will the context of Scottish music in Scotland’s social history. Students should bring a small audio (not video) recorder and a big heart, and should remember that the ethos of the class will be that no student shall be left behind. (Class limit: 30)
INTRO TO CELTIC FIDDLE (Andrew Finn Magill)
“What’s the difference between a jig and a reel?” “What makes it sound Irish vs. Scottish?” “How do you do a roll?” If you find yourself asking these questions, this might be the class for you. We will learn the basics of the musical styles which constitute “Celtic” fiddle (Irish, Scottish, Breton, etc). This class for intermediate fiddlers new to the style will prioritize listening as well as playing. After all, the only way to play better is to listen better. The pace will be determined by the class, but I’ll give you plenty of sheet music, recording recommendations, and materials to take home and work on. The goal of this class (besides having fun) is to make you more confident playing Celtic music and to teach you how to sound authentic. An audio recorder is recommended.
CAPE BRETON FIDDLE A & B (Kimberley Fraser)
This class for intermediate to advanced fiddlers is offered once in the morning and repeated in the afternoon. We’ll look at what makes Cape Breton music different from other music. We’ll talk a lot about bowing and how this gives the fiddle style its ‘accent,’ as well as common fingered embellishments that you’ll hear in the style. Listening to recordings will also be a part of the class. We’ll use this as part of our ear training to identify common stylistic features and apply them in our own music. The class will be taught mostly by ear and we’ll talk about ways to improve your ear training. Sheet music will be provided as reference. We’ll learn jigs and reels and march, strathspey and reel sets, as the class desires. (Class limit: 25)
FIDDLE FOR COMPLETE BEGINNERS (Rose Flanagan)
Learn the fiddle from scratch in a week! This class offers an introduction to playing Irish traditional music on the fiddle for complete beginners. You will learn how to hold the fiddle, good bow-hold, left-hand position, notation and the basic scales. We will learn some simple tunes by ABC format, or by ear if you are up for the challenge! Please bring along a recording device.
FIDDLE TECHNIQUE A (Andrew Finn Magill)
This class is focused more on the nuts and bolts of Irish music: What’s that bowing? What finger do you use? When do you ornament? Each student is encouraged to bring a tune they’d like to explore from an ornamentation standpoint and we will discuss appropriate ornamentation and stylistic interpretation. Good technique is important for playing any genre and
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Celtic Week, July 14-20, 2013 Breakfast
7:30-8:30
9:00-10:15
Intro to Scottish Songs Int. Adv. Irish Session Celtic Folklore of from the Scottish Scottish Myth & Guitar Harp Old & New Ulster Accomp. I Fiddle Fiddle Folklore (Jackson, Worlds Tradition (Risk) (McNeill) (Ryan) (Clancy) Hambly) (Bennett) (Graham)
Fiddle for Bodhran Complete I Beginners (Olwell) (Flanagan)
Coffee/Tea Break
10:15-10:45 Irish Int. Adv. Set Scottish Scottish 10:45-12:00 Dancing Fiddle Fiddle (Meehan) (cont’d) (cont’d)
Cape Soc. Tinwhistle Irish Celtic Fiddle Int./Adv. Fiddle Breton Study Int./Adv. Mandolin DADGAD for Trad. Bouzouki Whistle Technique Technique Fiddle of Scots Complete Whistle B II Guitar Song A A (Bullock) B (Skelton) (O’Leary) A Songs Beginners (Fibish) (Ryan) (Conneely) (Magill) (Flanagan) (Fraser) (Reid) (Jackson)
Lunch
12:00-1:00
1:15-2:30
Int./Adv. Celtic Harp (Jackson, Hambly)
2:45-4:00
Irish Scots Sean Nós Gaelic Dance Song (Meehan) (Bennett)
Intro to Celtic Fiddle (Magill)
Int. Int. Irish Irish Fiddle Fiddle A B (Knowles) (Carroll)
Adv. Irish Fiddle A (Hayes)
Adv. Evolution Session Irish of Scots Guitar Fiddle SongAccomp. II B writing (Doyle) (Conway) (Reid)
Cape Breton Fiddle B (Fraser)
Flatpicking Celtic Guitar (Clancy)
Intro to Irish Flute (Crawford)
Trad. Songs Uilleann in English Pipes & Irish (Vallely) (Kennedy)
Adv. Int. Celtic Favourite Int. Adv. I’ll Sing Irish Bodhran Irish Anglo Tenor FingerInt./Adv. Ballads of Uilleann Irish Irish You a Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle II Concertina Banjo style Flute A Ireland & Pipes Story (Olwell) (Hambly) (O’Leary) Guitar (Crawford) England (cont’d) A B A B (Graham) (Bullock) (Doyle) (cont’d) (cont’d) (cont’d) (cont’d)
4:15-5:15
Potluck Sessions & free time
5:00-6:00
Supper
6:00-7:00
Slow Jams/Song Swaps
7:30-?
Intro Intro to Irish to Irish Int./Adv. Mandolin Whistle Whistle Flute B I A B (Kennedy) (Fibish) (Conneely) (Skelton)
Evening Events (concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.)
we will discuss the most comfortable and least physically harmful ways to play the fiddle in the context of Irish music. We will discuss how to practice traditional Irish music and how to maximize one’s practice time. This class is best suited for fiddlers who have facility with the instrument and who are willing to be challenged, rather than for beginners. Classes will be taught by ear. (Class limit: 20)
lishing foundations for you to take home and apply throughout your own learning as well as answering any questions you may have. Students will learn how to ornament tunes with rolls, cuts and tongueing. Tunes will be taught by ear so bring a D flute and a recording device. ABC notation will be provided for those who need it.
FIDDLE TECHNIQUE B (Rose Flanagan)
This class is for students who are skilled enough to play tunes in a variety of rhythms (jigs, reels, etc.), with good technique and at a reasonable tempo. This course will expand on the skills and topics introduced in the beginners class, with more attention given to ornamentation, breathing, style and repertoire, while continuing to emphasize rhythm and phrasing in the music. Tunes will be taught by ear so bring a D flute and a recording device. ABC notation will be provided for those who need it.
This class is for those who already play the fiddle but wish to improve their technique. We will concentrate on ornamentation, bowing and phrasing. We will learn a few tunes throughout the week. Classes will be taught by ear but ABC notation will be available to all students on request at end of the workshop. Please bring a recording device and feel free to ask as many questions as you wish! (Class limit: 20)
Flute & Tinwhistle INTRO TO IRISH FLUTE (Kevin Crawford)
This class offers an introduction to playing traditional Irish music on the flute for students who already have some experience with the basics of the instrument and can play some tunes at a slow pace with little or no ornamentation. We’ll discuss a ‘how-to-practice’ method and how to approach session playing. We’ll learn a few tunes but the emphasis will be on estab-
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED FLUTE A (Kevin Crawford)
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED FLUTE B (Nuala Kennedy)
Nuala grew up playing traditional Irish music in Dundalk, Co.Louth and has also spent many years living and playing music in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is also strongly influenced by the music of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. In this class, she will explore some of the repertoire from these three places, looking at a variety of tune types including marches and strathspeys. We will also play in a range of keys. This class is for students who are skilled enough to play tunes in a variety of rhythms, and is suitable for those who wish to learn by ear. Music notation can also be provided afterwards for students who would like it.
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INTRO TO Irish TINWHISTLE A & B (Kathleen Conneely, John Skelton)
SESSION GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT I (Donal Clancy)
This class is for students who already have some experience with the basics of the instrument, and can play some tunes at a slow pace with little or no ornamentation. Beginners will learn how to ornament tunes with rolls, cuts and tongueing. Emphasis will be placed on rhythm and phrasing. Tunes will be taught aurally, so bring a D whistle and a recording device. Sheet music will be provided for those who need it.
The student will learn chord shapes for dropped-D tuning, chord inversions and progressions for effective accompaniment as well as essential rhythm techniques. We’ll look at several different approaches for accompanying each tune, so the student will have the tools necessary to be creative in a session.
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED irish TINWHISTLE A & B (Kathleen Conneely, John Skelton)
In this class for intermediates and above, students will learn different strumming techniques to a variety of types of tunes, add dynamics to their playing through syncopation and emphasis, chord substitution, fingerpicking techniques, tips and tricks for playing in sessions, how to work out the right chords for tunes and alternate tunings for the guitar. Students should be comfortable with basic chords, strumming, and have some knowledge of Irish music and of music theory. Chord sheets in dropped-D tuning will be provided. Students should bring a capo.
TINWHISTLE for complete beginners (Billy Jackson)
This class will explore the world of possibilities presented by traditional Irish, Scottish and Breton repertoire arranged for solo fingerstyle guitar. Some tablature will be offered, but students will also create their own individual settings of airs, jigs, reels and the 18th-century harp music of Turlough O’Carolan, sharing arrangement ideas in an informal, hands-on environment. Alternate tunings such DADGAD, CGCGCD and “Werewolf” tuning (CGDGAD) will be used extensively to open up the instrument’s full sonic potential. A good time will be had by all. An audio recorder is recommended.
This class is for students who are skilled enough to play tunes in a variety of rhythms (jigs, reels, etc), with good technique and at a reasonable tempo. This course will expand on the skills and topics introduced in the beginners class, with more attention given to ornamentation, breathing, style and repertoire, while continuing to emphasize rhythm and phrasing in the music. Tunes will be taught aurally, so bring a D whistle and recording device. Sheet music will be provided for those who need it.
This class is for students with no prior experience of the tinwhistle. Instruction will start with the most fundamental techniques and a few very simple tunes. By the end of the week, you’ll be well on your way to playing. Please bring along a recording device and a tinwhistle in the key of D.
Harp INTRO TO CELTIC HARP (Billy Jackson & Gráinne Hambly)
The beginning student will be introduced to the fundamentals of this grand and ancient instrument, including basic harp technique (e.g. hand position, posture, exercises). Arrangements of simple Scottish and Irish melodies will be taught by ear, with written music provided as back-up. Billy and Gráinne will each lead the class at various times during the week. In order for classes to commence on time, students are kindly requested to be tuned and prepared well in advance, and to ensure their instruments are in good working order. Students are also encouraged to bring a recording device, music stand, and spare strings.
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED CELTIC HARP (Billy Jackson & Gráinne Hambly)
Class topics will include arranging, ornamentation, and accompanying voice and other instruments. A selection of Scottish and Irish material will be taught at a more advanced level and individual interests of participants will be taken into account. Billy and Gráinne will each lead the class at various times during the week. In order for classes to commence on time, students are kindly requested to be tuned and prepared well in advance, and to ensure their instruments are in good working order. Students are also encouraged to bring a recording device, music stand, and spare strings.
Fretted Instruments DADGAD GUITAR (Eamon O’Leary)
This class will explore approaches to the accompaniment of Irish music – both instrumental and vocal – with the unique DADGAD tuning. Focus will be placed on rhythm, chord selection, phrasing, and right- and left-hand techniques. No experience with this tuning is necessary. Chord charts will be provided.
SESSION GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT II (John Doyle)
CELTIC FINGERSTYLE GUITAR (Robin Bullock)
flatpicking celtic GUITAR (Donal Clancy)
This intermediate-level class will focus on making traditional Celtic tunes come to life, flatpicked on steel-string guitar. We’ll discuss technique, lift, ornamentation, and other facets of making the tunes sound authentic. Sheet music and tab will be available if required. An audio recorder is recommended.
CELTIC BOUZOUKI (Robin Bullock)
The Irish bouzouki, or cittern, has gained a prominent role in Celtic music over the last thirty years. The world of this instrument is made rich and strange by the fact that there is no standard tuning, only a number of distinctive alternate tunings on four, five or even six pairs of strings. This class will cover techniques of both melody and accompaniment, as well as how to choose a bouzouki, instrument setup, string types, pick types and amplification methods. Players of both 8- and 10-string instruments are welcome. An audio recorder is recommended.
TENOR BANJO (Eamon O’Leary)
In this course for banjoists of all levels, Eamon will cover right- and left-hand technique, ornamentation, tune settings, and different banjo styles. Tunes that are particularly well-suited to the banjo will also be incorporated into the class. Students are advised to bring a recording device.
MANDOLIN I (Marla Fibish)
This class will focus on getting the feel, pulse and flow of Irish music on the mandolin. We’ll work on maximizing sustain and tone production on your instrument to get a flowing melodic sound, looking at both right-hand and left-hand technique, pick selection and grip. Then we’ll cover getting the rhythm and pulse of Irish music into your playing. This is about understanding the music and focusing on the right hand: learning and practicing picking patterns for various tune types (jigs, reels, polkas, etc.) as well as using the wrist (and the rest of your body) to create a full and rhythmic sound, creating a rhythmic framework on which the tune will sit, better yet, dance! We’ll learn tunes together (by ear) and use those tunes to demonstrate, drill and practice what we learn. Bring a recording device!
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MANDOLIN II (Marla Fibish)
This class will review and build on the basics (see Intermediate class description above), focusing on both technique and musicality. We’ll look at phrasing and ornamentation, as well as using dynamics and variation to best apply the unique qualities of the mandolin (yes, it’s different from the banjo!) to Irish music, respecting the core of the tradition on this ‘newcomer’ of an instrument. We’ll learn tunes together (by ear) and explore different ways to give those tunes life and lift, applying the concepts and techniques that we learn in class. Bring a recording device!
Reeds UILLEANN PIPES (Cillian Vallely)
This class will focus on tunes from the standard piping repertoire and their associated piping techniques. Through the teaching of new tunes, we will examine standard piping elements such as rolls, crans and triplets, and also look at how to get the best sound from the instrument in terms of tone and tuning. We will spend some time looking at the various styles of playing and how to develop the music from the basic melody through the use of ornamentation and melodic and rhythmic variation. We will also look at regulator accompaniment for those with full sets and we will try to cover the various tune types associated with traditional music. A device to record the classes will be essential as the class will be taught by ear and it is expected that a lot of what you learn at the class will be of use between classes. For those who require it, musical notation can be made available at the end to take home. Intermediate and advanced players will benefit the most from this class.
anglo concertina (Gráinne Hambly)
This class is intended for students playing Anglo C/G concertinas, and is open to all levels, from beginners with some basic playing experience upwards. It is not suitable for complete beginners, however, and all participants should be familiar with their instrument (location of the notes, etc). Basics of technique and style (e.g. bellows control, phrasing, alternative fingerings) will be covered, as well as ornamentation in the context of Irish traditional dance tunes. Participants are encouraged to bring an audio recorder. Written music will also be provided.
Song & Folklore Irish TRADITIONAL SONG (Cathie Ryan)
Last year’s workshop featuring occasional songs was so popular that we have decided to offer it again – with a whole new collection of songs! This course will feature songs Cathie has collected through the years and new ones she has recently discovered, including holiday songs, newly-composed songs written in the old style, children’s songs, humorous songs, love songs, and more. We will focus on the oral tradition of sean nós (old style) singing and utilize those rudiments to deepen and develop our own individual singing styles. Please bring audio recorders with you to class. (No class limit)
irish MYTH AND FOLKLORE (Cathie Ryan)
The stories and characters in Irish myth and folklore are endlessly fascinating, and Cathie adds a further dimension to them by using a modern psychological perspective. In past courses at the Gathering, Cathie has led workshops on the Celtic Year, tales from The Táin Bó Cuailnge, Lady Gregory’s Gods and Fighting Men, as well as Irish folklore and fairylore. This year her subject is the importance of the mythic journey in the literature. The focal point will be the tale of Diarmuid and Grainne along with other tales from myth, folklore, poetry, and Ireland’s monastic tradition. Diarmuid and Grainne’s journey was governed at every turn by strong desire and determination. C.G. Jung stated that desire can be “instinctual, compulsive, uninhibited,
uncontrolled, greedy, irrational, sensual … or, alternatively, rational, considered, controlled, coordinated, reflective …” This workshop will look at how we make the decision to embark on our own journeys (is it journey or escape?), what the spiritual reward can be, and the personal aspect of coming home to ourselves through journey. (No class limit)
FAVOURITE BALLADS OF IRELAND & ENGLAND (John Doyle)
In this class, John will share a collection of favourite songs learned from a lifetime of playing with the best in folk music. Having studied and learned songs for almost 20 years, he has amassed a great repertoire of Irish and English ballads learned from many sources, including his father, Sean Doyle, a lovely singer from Co. Sligo. Students will listen to examples of the best of Irish and English styles of singing, listen to how certain songs have changed in their moves back and forth between these countries, and, of course, learn songs in the process. Students will learn by repetition and ear and would benefit by bringing along a recording device. (No class limit)
SCOTS GAELIC SONG (Margaret Bennett)
This is a singing class, which also gives an overview of the world of Gaelic song, not only in Scotland but also in communities overseas. Texts and translations are provided, and with each song we learn the historical, social and domestic context of a range of songs that comprise the tradition of the Gaels. Also (by request), there will be short sessions about the Gaelic language for those who wish. (No class limit)
SCOTTISH FOLKLORE OF THE OLD & NEW WORLDS (Margaret Bennett)
This session explores themes in Scottish folklore that turn up on both sides of the Atlantic, including customs, medical lore, food-lore and plant-lore. Through storytelling and discussions we’ll discover the cross-over between the lives of crofters, cattle-drovers and cowboys, as well as peat-cutters and lumberjacks and trappers. (No class limit)
SONGS FROM THE ULSTER TRADITION (Len Graham)
Len’s large repertoire of songs cover the whole gamut of themes and human experience as portrayed in early classic ballads, broadside ballads, local songs, come-all-ye’s, lyric folk songs, music hall pieces; songs on love, politics, murder, emigration and much more. Each song will be put in context, giving historical and social background. As an oral tradition these songs will be taught by repetition and ear with song lyrics provided. Participants are encouraged to bring an audio recording device (No class limit)
I’LL SING YOU A STORY (Len Graham)
Len has worked with primary school children for over twenty years teaching songs on various themes - a symphony of jingles, tongue-twisters, nonsense verses, songs of ceremony, of innocence and change. Many of these songs and rhymes were passed on from child to child - many are from Len’s own childhood. While technically childrens’ songs, this class is suitable for ALL ages - 7 - 107. Most of the songs have rythym and thus will lend themselves to instrumental arrangement. However, this class will be unaccompanied and will be taught by repetition and ear with song lyrics provided. Participants are encouraged to bring an audio recording device (No class limit)
TRADITIONAL SONGS IN ENGLISH & IRISH (Nuala Kennedy)
Much of Nuala’s repertoire consists of Irish songs in the English language she learned from her mentor and friend, Cathal McConnell of the Boys of the Lough. In this class we will learn a variety of songs from that repertoire as well as other songs which Nuala has picked up over several years performing and singing. We will try to learn some songs by ear, (old-style!) as well
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as from songsheets. Some basic phrases in Irish will be taught as well as a couple of simple Irish language songs. No previous knowledge of Irish is required. A relaxed and informal class, this is a good way to broaden your repertoire as well as share some of your own songs and singing experience with the group. Please come ready to share at least one song that you enjoy, and bring a recording device. (No class limit)
A SOCIAL STUDY OF SCOTS SONGs (Alan Reid)
A kaleidoscope of Scots song seen through geography and history. This class will look at the culture and diversity of different areas of Lowland Scotland by discussing, studying and singing Scots song from the various regions. Looking at the songs of the people, we’ll examine their lives, loves and attitudes and at the same time pinpoint the subtle differences that characterise each area, not least through place, time and, of course, language. We’ll aim to demystify the more obscure vocabulary of the Scots tongue and discuss the influences of the Highland and Irish immigrants on the culture of Scotland. Along the way we’ll sing songs of work, war, love and other things that have touched the lives of ordinary people . Lyric sheets will be available as well as some recordings. Just bring your voices. (No class limit)
IRISH SET DANCING (Maldon Meehan)
Irish sets are danced all over Ireland and America at céilí dances. Sets are danced in square formation, and are comprised of various sections called figures. These figures can range in number anywhere from two to nine. A particular tune type, generally a reel, jig, slide, polka or hornpipe accompanies each figure. This class is for all levels and will cover regional sets and battering footwork. Bring smooth-leather hard-soled shoes, comfortable clothes, a water bottle, a notebook and a recording device. (No class limit)
Other Events POTLUCK SESSIONS
In addition to the regular class sessions, in the afternoons we offer Potluck Sessions serving up a different menu of one-hour workshops each day.
FOOD SONGS NIGHT
On one of the evenings during the week, the Seasonal Scool of Culinary Arts www.schoolofculinaryarts.org will offer up some of their delicious fare to the accompaniment of songs about food provided by our staff and students.
EVOLUTION OF SCOTS SONGWRITING (Alan Reid)
From the great early ballads to the crafted songwriting of the modern era, we’ll look at how Scots folksong composition has developed. We’ll see how Robert Burns raised the bar in the 18th century, the songwriters who succeeded him and the 19th. century phenomenon of songs that romanticised the failed Jacobite movement of decades before. From the 20th century we’ll look at the rise of the political song and contrast it with the ‘commercial’ often ‘kitsch’ song that has coloured the Brigadoon image of Scotland. Finally we’ll examine how folk song sits in a modern Scotland confident in its cultural identity and at ease with its sense of being. Lyric sheets and some recording provided. (No class limit)
Percussion & Dance BODHRAN I (Matthew Olwell)
This class will address the fundamentals of playing the bodhran, including basic care and feeding of the instrument, good hand and body position, and techniques for reels and jigs. The class will emphasize playing by ear, musical sensitivity, and finding the rhythms hidden within the tunes. We will examine the similarities and differences between percussion in Irish music and other styles, with a focus on intuitive listening and “ear development.” Beginners are welcome, as are players who want to brush up on the basics or re-evaluate their technique. Audio recording devices are encouraged. (Class limit: 25)
BODHRAN II (Matthew Olwell)
This class is designed for players with a solid foundation of technique, who are ready to sharpen their skills. Class time will be devoted to playing as a group, as well as individually. We will talk about how to accentuate rhythmic elements in different types of tunes, how to make smooth and interesting transitions within sets, and how to work with other rhythm players. Students should be comfortable with both jigs and reels and be able to play with consistent timing. Audio recording devices are encouraged. (Class limit: 25)
IRISH SEAN NÓS DANCE (Maldon Meehan)
Sean-nós dance, not to be confused with sean-nós singing, comes primarily from Connemara and is generally danced to reels and jigs. Sean-nós, literally meaning ‘old-style’ is a highly improvisational, low to the ground, rhythmic dance form. In sean-nós dance, the dancer is tied closely with the musician and the music. The dancer interprets the music. This class is for all levels. Bring smooth-leather hard-soled shoes, comfortable clothes, a water bottle, a notebook and a recording device. (No class limit)
We offer a full-day program, taught by Denisa Rullmoss, for children ages 6-12. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions please. Evening childcare for ages 3-12 will be provided at no additional cost. Beneath the wind and waves lies the melody and magic of the OCEAN. This summer in the Children’s Program we will visit the watery, wondrous world of the SEA and all of her inhabitants. We are likely to find sea horses, crabs, dolphins, fish, whales, mermaids, giant squid, sea serpents and much more. If King Neptune allows, we may take a ride in a Yellow Submarine to visit an Octopus’ Garden! Colorful coral reefs, mysterious deep sea creatures, smelly seaweed snacks and a scary shark or two.... who knows what may show up at the Gathering? LOTS of arts & crafts (with many shells), LOTS of water (and dry land) games and LOTS of fun will be our goal. Can you find the pearl in the oyster shell, the lost city of Atlantis or the homes of Sponge Bob, Patrick and Squidward? Let’s not forget the sounds of the sea.... as we sing silly sea songs AND create a band led by Sue Ford (singer, songwriter, percussionist). As a special treat, we will be visited by wandering musicians and artists (Gathering staff) who will perform just for our kids. We will, of course, continue our long-loved traditions of shaving cream hairdos day, movie night, pie-eating contests and the Gathering Scavenger Hunt. Each busy day will close with free swim time in the college pool. Non-swimmers must be accompanied by a parent to swim. So get your snorkels on and practice your fish faces as we dive into some nautical nonsense!! There will be a $30 art/craft materials fee for this class, payable to Denisa, the Children’s Program coordinator, on arrival.
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ld-Time Music & Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering explores the rich music, dance, and singing traditions of the southern Appalachian region through a wide variety of classes taught by an experienced and supportive staff. The many diverse offerings enable students to explore new areas; fiddlers sing, singers dance, and dancers learn to play instruments. New this year, the Teen Gathering is a class specifically for teenagers. Students enroll in as many as three regular classes during the week, and each afternoon a variety of short workshop topics are offered during the Potluck Sessions. The daily Communal Gathering features master musicians, singers, and dancers from across the Appalachian region. Evening activities include jam sessions, singing, square dances, clogging, concerts, and the popular Late-Night Honky-Tonk Dance! For those students bringing their families, we also offer a program for kids, but space is limited. Our Children’s Program for ages 6-12 features kids’ activities scheduled during all the daytime class sessions, and evening childcare for ages 3-12 is provided at no additional cost.
BRAD LEFTWICH
Brad Leftwich’s music is a direct link to the traditions of the southern Appalachian and Ozark regions. He grew up hearing the old-time music of his father, grandfather, and great-uncle, and learned first-hand from many of the last great traditional musicians from the turn of the 20th century. A noted fiddler, banjo player, and singer, Brad has been performing for thirtyseven years, both solo and in bands including Plank Road, Leftwich & Higginbotham, the Humdingers, Tom, Brad and Alice, and the Hogwire Stringband. Recordings of his music appear on the County, Copper Creek, and Rounder labels, and he has published instructional materials with Homespun Tapes and Mel Bay Publications — in fact, he counts the late country music star Buck Owens among the enthusiastic students of his instructional videos. Brad has won the fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia, and his fiddling has been acclaimed by critics in magazines from Billboard to Bluegrass Unlimited. He tours internationally, and has performed at venues from the White House to the Philadelphia Folk Festival. www.bradleftwich.net
PHIL JAMISON
Founding coordinator of Old-Time Music & Dance Week, Phil is nationally-known as a dance caller, musician, and flatfoot dancer. Since the early 1970s he has been calling dances and performing and teaching at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas, including thirty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. His flatfoot dancing was featured in the film, Songcatcher, for which he also served as Traditional Dance consultant. From 1982 through 2004, he toured and played guitar with Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers, but he also plays fiddle and banjo. He has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and has published many articles on traditional dance in The Old-Time Herald. Phil teaches mathematics and Appalachian music at Warren Wilson College, where he founded Dare To Be Square!, a weekend workshop for square dance callers. In 2008, Phil became the twelfth recipient of the Gathering’s Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement. www.myspace.com/newsouthernramblers
JOHN HERRMANN
John has been traveling the world playing old-time music for over forty years. He plays fiddle with the New Southern Ramblers, but he has performed with many bands including the Henrie Brothers (1st place Galax, 1976), Critton Hollow, the Wandering Ramblers, One-Eyed Dog and the Rockinghams. Equally adept on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and bass, he is known as the “Father of Old-Time Music” in Japan(!), and the originator of the ‘slow jam.’ John has been on staff at numerous music camps from coast to coast. He lives in Madison Co., NC. www.myspace.com/newsouthernramblers
JIMMY TRIPLETT
Jimmy Triplett plays traditional Appalachian fiddle tunes learned from rare field recordings and visits with older musicians throughout West Virginia. Now a botanist in Alabama, Jimmy worked for several years at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins. In 2001 he co-produced a two-CD compilation of the fiddling of Ernie Carpenter, and in 2004, he co-produced the CD/DVD One More Time: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine. He has become an in-demand fiddle teacher, and in his workshops, in addition to sharing tunes and their stories, he emphasizes bowings and ornamentation that capture the simple beauty and graceful rhythm of old-style Appalachian fiddling.
ALICE GERRARD
Singer/songwriter/musician Alice Gerrard has performed on more than twenty recordings. She has produced or written liner notes for a dozen more, and she has co-produced and appeared in two documentary films about Appalachian music. Her numerous honors include a Virginia Arts Commission Award, the North Carolina Folklore Society’s Tommy Jarrell Award, and an Indie Award. In 1987, Alice founded the Old-Time Music Group, a non-profit organization which oversees publication of the Old-Time Herald magazine. Known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens during the 1960s and 70s, this duo produced four classic LPs and was a major influence and inspiration for scores of young women singers. Her solo CDs, Calling Me Home and Pieces of My Heart received critical acclaim, and she recently released a CD, Road to Agate Hill, in connection with Lee Smith’s book, On Agate Hill. In 2010, Alice was awarded the Gathering’s Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement. www.alicegerrard.com
LIGHTNIN’ WELLS
Lightnin’ Wells breathes new life into the vintage tunes of the 1920s and depression-era America employing a dynamic style which he has developed over thirty years of performing experience. He learned to play harmonica as a young child and later taught himself the guitar as he developed an interest in traditional blues and folk music. He has presented his brand of acoustic blues throughout North Carolina, the United States, and Europe. Lightnin’ has traveled and performed extensively with North Carolina blues legends Big Boy Henry, Algia Mae Hinton and George Higgs, and he is a life-long student and devotee of the pioneering performers in the Carolina Piedmont blues tradition, including artists such as Blind Boy Fuller, Rev. Gary Davis and Elizabeth Cotton. He’s taught blues guitar at blues weeks around the country, and also plays the harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, and banjo. He is included in the latest North Carolina Arts Council’s Touring Artist Roster as well as the American Traditions National Roster through the Southern Arts Federation. www.lightninwells.com
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JAMES LEVA
James Leva has been active in the old-time music scene since the 1970s, and he has learned traditional music first-hand through visits with many of the masters of the older generation, including Fred Cockerham, Paul Sutphin, Burl and Sherman Hammons, Melvin Wine, and Art Stamper, but especially fiddler Tommy Jarrell and ballad singer Doug Wallin. Over the years he has won acclaim for his fiddling, singing, and songwriting. He has won scores of fiddle contests throughout the Southern Appalachian region, and he has performed at major festivals throughout North America and Europe. James has recorded with Irish guitarist John Doyle, Cajun musicians Sam Broussard and David Greely, old-time master Bruce Molsky, bluegrass bassist Mark Schatz, and guitarist David Grier. His Rounder recordings with Carol Elizabeth Jones, featuring all-original material, have been widely praised in the national press. Sing Out! calls James “one of the over-looked treasures of traditional music.” www.jamesleva.com
JOSEPH DECOSIMO
Joseph Decosimo grew up in Chattanooga and has been interested in the fiddle and banjo traditions of his local area since first encountering the banjo in seventh grade. He has spent much of his energy exploring the music of the Cumberland Plateau, southeast Tennessee, and western North Carolina, and for several years during high school and college, he performed with Charlie Acuff. He has won a number of blue ribbons for his fiddling, including First Place at Clifftop in 2010, and the National Old-Time Banjo Championship, and his band, the Bucking Mules took first place in the stringband competition at Clifftop in 2012. Joseph recently completed an MA in Folklore at the University of North Carolina, studying fiddling traditions in Tennessee and north Georgia, and he has taught and performed at a number of music camps throughout the country. He serves on the faculty at East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music program where he teaches old-time fiddle and banjo.
TOM SAUBER
For nearly fifty years, Tom has devoted much of his life to playing traditional music and is widely recognized as one of the master musicians of his generation. Equally at ease on banjo, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin, he has performed and recorded old-time music with older generation musicians such as Earl Collins, Ed Lowe, Bob Rodgers and Mel Durham, as well as contemporaries such as Blanton Owen, Tom Carter and Dirk Powell. Tom has also played and recorded his share of both bluegrass and cajun music with artists such as Byron Berline, John Hickman, Alan Munde, Joe Simien, and Wilfred Latour. An experienced teacher, Tom has taught numerous classes at music camps and workshops throughout the country and abroad. These days Tom performs primarily with Loafers’ Glory, an old-time and bluegrass band featuring his son Patrick, Herb Pedersen and Bill Bryson; and with the the Brainstormers, including Patrick and harmonica virtuoso, Mark Graham. After several orthopedic adventures, Tom is happily reuniting at Swannanoa with Brad Leftwich and Alice Gerrard as Tom, Brad, and Alice.
ANNA ROBERTS-GEVALT
Anna Roberts-Gevalt is a New Englander who moved south to immerse herself in Appalachian music. She has studied with master Kentucky fiddlers Burce Greene, John Harrod, and Paul David Smith, as well as banjo players Lee Sexton and Earl Thomas. Anna did research through Berea College into the lives of female fiddlers in Kentucky, and she works closely with ballad singer Elizabeth LaPrelle, performing songs and ballads with ‘crankies,’ locally and nationally, and producing a monthly radio variety hour in Floyd, Virginia. She recently produced a compilation album of young traditional musicians, The New Young Fogies, with Joseph DeJarnete, composed music for three theater productions at Virginia Tech, and is in the process of filming a documentary about the Kentucky Clodhoppers, a stringband from central Kentucky. www.annaandelizabeth.com
KARI SICKENBERGER
Kari Sickenberger is a singer and songwriter from Asheville, North Carolina, who has been teaching singing classes and workshops for more than a decade. With her longtime singing partner, Laurelyn Dossett, she founded the band, Polecat Creek, and they have made three recordings together with banjo player Riley Baugus. She teams up with Vollie McKenzie in the Asheville band, The Western Wildcats, a classic country and honky-tonk dance quintet, and has also toured and recorded with Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz, and worked on projects with Alice Gerrard. She recently recorded her first solo CD, Settle Down, which includes western North Carolina musicians Natalya Weinstein, John Cloyd Miller, John Herrmann, Meredith McIntosh, and Trevor Stuart. Kari draws on her experience as a Spanish and English teacher and her lifelong love affair with music to create a safe and encouraging environment for new and experienced singers alike. www.karisickenberger.com
ELIZABETH LAPRELLE
Elizabeth LaPrelle is a young ballad singer and banjo player from Rural Retreat, Virginia, whose heartfelt and powerful singing has won her prizes at regional fiddlers’ conventions since the age of eleven. She has sung for audiences across the country and has taught Appalachian ballads and unaccompanied singing at music camps and workshops, where she shares her knowledge of songs and singers past. Her work on The New Young Fogies CD brought her to the attention of Noah Adams, who featured her in a recent airing of NPR’s Weekend Edition. www.elizabethlaprelle.com
JOHN HOLLANDSWORTH
A native of Christiansburg in southwest Virginia, John grew up listening to friends and relatives play stringed instruments, and he developed his own autoharp style incorporating both chromatic and diatonic techniques. John has performed and led workshops at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering, the Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering, Sore Fingers Summer School, Augusta, the John C. Campbell Folk School, and elsewhere. He has served as editor of the “Interaction Lesson” feature in Autoharp Quarterly magazine, and in 1991, he became the first champion of the prestigious Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering Competition. He has been named the “Best All-Around Performer” of the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention three times, the only autoharp player ever to win this recognition. In 2010, John was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame. www.blueridgeautoharps.com
RODNEY SUTTON
This year marks forty years since Rodney first danced with the Green Grass Cloggers and forty-one years since he was told he would “never make a clogger”! Over the years, he has shared his love of clogging by teaching workshops for beginners at camps around the country, so that no one else will be told, or led to believe, that they cannot “make a clogger.” He is a traditional dancer, caller, musician, storyteller, a veteran of the early days of both the Green Grass Cloggers and the Fiddle Puppets (now known as Footworks) which he co-founded. Over the years, he has traveled all across the US and in the British Isles, performing and teaching clogging, and calling square and contra dances. As a member of North Carolina’s Visiting Artist Program, he taught traditional dance in schools throughout western NC. Rodney has been instrumental in helping the Regional Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program become a certified non-profit group that oversees JAM programs throughout mountain communities, and along with his daughter Kelsey, he teaches clogging for the Madison County JAM.
KEVIN KEHRBERG (see bio in Fiddle Week, page 44)
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RON PEN
Ron is a performer and scholar of the music of the Appalachian region. A founding member of the Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers, with whom he performed on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, Ron is also Professor of Music and Director of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of I Wonder As I Wander, a biography of folk icon John Jacob Niles. Ron started fiddling thirty years ago in Rockbridge County, Virginia and has since participated in various workshops and festivals across the region including Hindman Settlement School’s Folk Week, Augusta’s Old-Time and Singing weeks, Berea’s Christmas Dance School, and many times at Swannanoa. He has recently performed music in China, Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador with the Red State Ramblers.
PAUL KOVAC
Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and scholar of American country music, Paul Kovac has been playing old-time and bluegrass music on guitar, mandolin, and banjo since he was a teen. Over the years, he has performed with a long list of musicians, including old-time with Dirk Powell and Rick Good, and bluegrass with Bill Monroe and Hazel Dickens. He has accompanied fiddlers Chubby Wise, Art Stamper, and Vassar Clements, and played dance music with Critton Hollow String Band and the Fiddle Puppets. In 1993, Paul wrote and produced the instructional DVD, Learn to Play Guitar with Roy Clark and Paul Kovac. He has been on staff at numerous music and dance camps, and he coordinated the Bluegrass Week at the Augusta Heritage Center from 1996 to 2007. www.paulkovac.com
ELLIE GRACE
Ellie Grace was strapping on her first tiny clogging shoes at the ripe old age of five. From her early start in percussive dance, Ellie went on to spend her childhood traveling as a singer, multiinstrumentalist, and dancer in her family band. Ellie is also an experienced and dynamic teacher, having taught at camps, schools, studios, and festivals across the country for well over twenty years. Since her arrival in the southern mountains in 2006, Ellie has taught percussive dance at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, led Twistycuffs (a Cape Breton step dance troupe), and continued to tour and teach nationally and internationally with multiple bands (Leela and Ellie Grace, Dirk Powell Band, Blue Eyed Girl) and dance companies. Whether she is performing for an audience of thousands or teaching one on one, it is apparent the joy she takes in sharing her love of music and dance with people of all ages! www.leelaandelliegrace.com
Wayne Erbsen Wayne has been teaching people to play stringed instruments for over forty-five years. Since his first book, Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus!, Wayne has written thirtyone instruction and songbooks on Southern Appalachian music, folklore, and humor, and since 1988 he has recorded eighteen solo CDs. In addition to teaching Appalachian music at Warren Wilson College and at the Log Cabin Cooking & Music Center, Wayne runs a publishing company and old-time record label, Native Ground Books & Music. www.nativeground.com
ERYNN MARSHALL
Erynn Marshall has played fiddle for over thirty years. She conducted fieldwork in West Virginia and Kentucky, visiting older fiddlers and singers, and has written a book, Music in the Air Somewhere: The Shifting Borders of West Virginia’s Fiddle and Song Traditions (WVU Press). She has recorded four CDs including her new old-time release, Tune Tramp, which features
45 traditional musicians from across North America. A native of Canada, Erynn was the first person from outside of the US and the first female to win the Appalachian Stringband Festival at Clifftop. She continues to teach at many festivals and camps across North America including the Alabama Folk School, Blue Ridge Music Week, Sore Fingers (UK), Augusta’s Old-time Week, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and others. Erynn currently performs with her fiance, Carl Jones, and is glad to be returning to Swannanoa in 2013. www.hickoryjack.com
CARL JONES
Carl Jones played mandolin in a bluegrass band while in college and developed an interest in old-time music after attending the Old-Time Fiddlers’ Convention in Athens, Alabama. A growing appreciation for fiddlers and fiddle tunes inspired him to take up the fiddle and clawhammer banjo. He later toured with Norman and Nancy Blake and James Bryan as a member of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. He still plays with James Bryan on occasion and tours with Erynn Marshall when opportunity avails. Carl is a fine songwriter with songs having been recorded by several well-known artists including the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Rickie Simpkins, Kate Campbell, and others. Known for his easy-going disposition, Carl teaches students to play with quickly acquired confidence and creativity. www.dittyville.com
GORDY HINNERS
A veteran of the old-time music and dance scene, Gordy is known for his distinctive clawhammer style on the fretless banjo and his masterful rhythmic footwork as a clogger and buckdancer. He plays banjo with the New Southern Ramblers and for many years was a mainstay of the Green Grass Cloggers. Gordy has taught at workshops throughout the country, and has been a part of the Gathering since its inception. He currently lives in Weaverville, NC, and teaches Spanish at Mars Hill College. www.myspace.com/newsouthernramblers
DON PEDI
A spectacular mountain dulcimer player who can match the fiddle note-for-note on tunes, Don has been collecting, preserving and performing Appalachian music for more than four decades. He has spent most of his life working, playing music and living alongside old-time musicians in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, and he has developed a playing style that translates the older style fiddle and banjo tunes, ballads, and songs to the dulcimer, while maintaining traditional rhythms and stylistic sensibilities. He’s performed at many festivals across the country, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC, and he played music and appeared in the film, Songcatcher. www.donpedi.com
MEREDITH McINTOSH
With a degree in music education and a great love for old-time music, Meredith is known as a patient and enthusiastic teacher. She plays fiddle, guitar, bass, flute and piano. Over the years she has performed with Ida Red, the Heartbeats, Balfa Toujours, the New Southern Ramblers, and most recently Chicken Train and Bigfoot. She lives in Asheville, NC where she is a certified massage therapist and teacher of the Alexander Technique. www.myspace.com/newsouthernramblers
dENISA RULLMOSS
(see bio in Traditional Song Week, page 6)
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EDDIE BOND & JOSH ELLIS
CLYDE DAVENPORT
A native of Grayson County, VA, Eddie Bond has been performing old-time music since he was a child. Growing up with music on both sides of his family, he was steeped in the musical traditions of the Blue Ridge at an early age. All four of his great grandfathers were old-time banjo players, and he was raised by his grandmother, who was a singer and guitar player. Eddie is now one of the region’s most respected old-time fiddlers and a frequent winner at the many fiddlers’ conventions that are held each summer. He is the fiddler and lead singer for the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters, one of Virginia’s most well known old-time string bands. Josh Ellis, also a member of the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters, is an award winning old-time banjo player, who lives in Galax, VA.
BRUCE GREENE
Bruce Greene is best known for preserving and playing the fiddle music of Kentucky. As a young man, he traveled throughout the state collecting and learning from the last generation of traditional fiddlers there, some born as far back as the 1880s. Bruce apprenticed with a number of older fiddlers including Hiram Stamper, the family of John Salyer, Manon Campbell, Gusty Wallace, and Jim Bowles, learning their archaic repertoires and bowing techniques. Since the late 1970s, Bruce has lived in western North Carolina with his family, where he has continued to learn from local traditional musicians. He has taught at Swannanoa, Augusta, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and Mars Hill, and he has been invited as a master fiddler to numerous other events. In addition to fiddling, Bruce has studied banjo with the Helton family of eastern Kentucky, and he sings with his partner, Loy McWhirter.
Old-time fiddler and banjo player Clyde Davenport, was born in 1921 and grew up on the Cumberland Plateau, in south-central Kentucky, not far from the Tennessee line. A fiddler since the age of nine, Clyde knows more than 200 fiddle tunes, many of which are rare, that he learned from his father, grandfather, and older neighbors. In 1992, he received the National Heritage Fellowship Award, the nation’s highest award for folk and traditional artists, and in 2007, he received the Tennessee Governor’s Folklife Heritage Award. Clyde will be accompanied by Tennessee fiddler Michael DeFosche and folklorist and banjo player Bob Fulcher.
Thomas Maupin, DANIEL ROCKWELL & JAY BLAND
Thomas Maupin describes himself as a “self-taught buckdancer with a flatfoot style.” Growing up in central Tennessee, he was exposed to dance at an early age at Saturday night hoedowns and barn dances. He has won First Place in the senior flatfooting competition at the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop, West Virginia, as well as the Silver Stars talent contest at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and he was featured in a recent documentary film, Let Your Feet Do the Talkin’. Joining Thomas is his grandson, Daniel Rothwell, who plays banjo, sings, and tells stories, and dancer Jay Bland, the 2008 National Champion buckdancer. Thomas, Daniel, and Jay have performed at the Museum of Appalachia’s Fall Homecoming, Uncle Dave Macon Days, and the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention.
SHEILA KAY ADAMS (See bio in Traditional Song Week, pg. 5)
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n keeping with the tradition and nature of Appalachian music, learning by ear is encouraged. Classes will not generally be taught using tablature or written music, though some instructors may provide tablature and other handouts as memory aids. Hand-held audio (not video) recorders are highly recommended for all instrumental and singing classes. Fiddle classes during Old-Time Week are offered at four different levels: 0 – Beginner; I – AdvancedBeginner; II – Intermediate; III – Advanced (see definitions on pg. 1). Please consider your level of skill carefully when registering for classes.
Fiddle OLD-TIME FIDDLE 0 (John Herrmann)
This class for complete beginners will start with the basics of tuning, bowing, and finding the notes on the fingerboard. By the end of the week students will have learned cross-tuning, a few simple bowing patterns, how to learn tunes by ear, and be able to play a few standard old-time tunes. Please bring a working fiddle and bow. No prior experience necessary.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE I A (Erynn Marshall)
This is a class for advanced-beginner fiddlers who already know a few tunes and would like to learn how to spice them up, play with greater ease, jump into jams, and get that ‘old-time sound.’ Secrets of bowing and other characteristics of old-time fiddling will be explored. Bring a recorder and your adventurous fiddling spirit. Tunes will be taught by ear in class at normal and reduced speeds.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE I B (Anna Roberts-Gevalt)
This class is for advanced-beginner fiddlers who can play a couple of tunes. We will work on building a strong foundation with technique: developing a comfortable bow hold for a strong sound, and good bow arm and left-hand technique. We’ll work on a few standard tunes to boost your repertoire for jams, as well as a few unusual and beautiful ones Anna learned in Kentucky from Lee Sexton, Paul David Smith, and others.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE II A (James Leva)
This class for intermediate players will explore stylistic differences in traditional fiddling from North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, thereby expanding our understanding of old-time fiddle styles and developing the techniques employed in them. We will expand our repertoire with tunes that are representative of each style and focus on fundamental rhythm and melody, bowing and ornamentation in a variety of tunings.
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Guitar & Mandolin OLD-TIME FIDDLE II B (Jimmy Triplett)
In this class for intermediate fiddlers, we’ll focus on some of the essential elements of old-style Appalachian fiddling, including bowing and phrasing to achieve a traditional sound, and we’ll explore a number of different tunings. The tunes will come from the repertoires of Central West Virginia fiddlers, including Melvin Wine, Ernie Carpenter, and the Hammons family. The class is especially designed for intermediate fiddlers, but advanced beginners should also feel comfortable following along.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE II C (Joseph Decosimo)
This class for intermediate players will explore some fun tunes and tunings common to old-time music, focusing on the ways we can use the bow in order to create the right kind of rhythm and feel for old-time music. Learning some breakdowns (and maybe a waltz or slower piece) in G, D, A, and maybe C, we’ll work on becoming better listeners capable of fleshing out the tunes. We will also discuss approaches to learning new tunes. Much of our time will be devoted to figuring out how to get our bows to make the sounds and rhythms that we want to hear. The tunes will include those from western North Carolina, Tennessee, and Cumberland Plateau repertoires.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE II D (Brad Leftwich)
The strong, danceable rhythm of most southern fiddling comes from a rich vocabulary of bowing rhythms that you can learn to recognize and use. We’ll look at some of the basic rhythms that traditional fiddlers commonly use, and learn repertoire that gives them a good workout – one or two tunes a day, drawn from different parts of the South. We’ll also talk about other elements of style and quirks of individual fiddlers. This is an intermediate class, so you should already have enough facility on the fiddle to be able to play with others in medium-level jam sessions or bands, be familiar with the most common keys (A, D, G, and C), and be able to learn short phrases by ear. We’ll use other tunings besides the standard GDAE, and you should be willing to learn to use them. Bring a recording device as well as extra strings.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE III A (Brad Leftwich)
We’ll build on the vocabulary of Southern bowing rhythms by looking at some of the complex, syncopated rhythms that traditional fiddlers commonly use, and learn repertoire that gives them a good workout – one or two tunes a day, drawn from different parts of the South. We’ll also talk about other elements of style and quirks of individual fiddlers. This is an advanced class, so you should already have good facility on the fiddle (no difficulty keeping up with others in jam sessions or bands), be familiar with the most common keys (A, D, G, and C), and be able to learn short phrases by ear. We’ll use other tunings besides the standard GDAE, and you should be willing to learn to use them. Bring a recording device as well as extra strings.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE III B (Jimmy Triplett)
This class for intermediate/advanced fiddlers, will use regional tunes from West Virginia to explore the subtleties of Appalachian bowing and ornamentation. We’ll work on a set of favorite tunes, some that are great dance pieces and others that are just for listening, but all of which have deep roots in the Appalachian mountains. If you are unfamiliar with central West Virginia music, this class will ease you into a rich branch of fiddling full of unusual timing and tonality.
OLD-TIME FIDDLE III C (Erynn Marshall)
This class is for intermediate/advanced fiddlers who wish to expand their repertoire and explore a variety of archaic fiddle styles from Kentucky, North Carolina, and the Virginias. We will delve into left-hand ornamentation, blue notes, alternate tunings, and the intricacies of bowing (rocks, pulses, and dwells), and other nuances typical of traditional southern fiddling. Recording devices are recommended. Fiddlers should be comfortable playing by ear, have good facility on their instrument, and enjoy beautiful old tunes.
FLATPICKING GUITAR (Paul Kovac)
Making the jump from playing chords, to “Maybelle”-style leads, to flatpicking fiddle tunes in eighth-note style, requires good fundamental right-hand rhythm, comfort with a flat pick, some knowledge of the fingerboard, and a good ear for melody. In this class, we’ll use a few common fiddle tunes/songs to cover such topics as making the leap from quarter-notes to eighth-notes, pick direction and accenting (playing with a pulse), left-hand positions that put your fingers in the right spots, playing out of chord positions, using double stops to create leads, breaks and turnarounds, and good practice habits and exercises. If you can play “Wildwood Flower,” can kind of hear fiddle tunes in your head, and just need the skills to get to the next level, this is the class for you.
OLD-TIME GUITAR I (Meredith McIntosh)
This class will start with basic technique (chord shapes & the right-hand strum) and emphasize ear training. It will include basic music theory such as learning the relationship of the chords to the scale and how to use them to accompany songs and tunes. Bring a guitar and a medium weight flatpick. (You can get a pick at the Gathering.) A pre-event handout will be available for registrants upon request.
OLD-TIME GUITAR II A & B (Alice Gerrard, Kevin Kehrberg)
If you know a handful of basic chords, and can hold on to a flatpick, you’re ready for this class. Learn back-up guitar for stringband tunes and songs. Topics will include: the boom-chuck rhythm, chord choices, bass notes and runs, keeping time, tuning, learning to listen, and putting it all together into a duet, trio, or band. Guitar students may get together with fiddle and banjo students during the week.
PIEDMONT BLUES GUITAR (Lightnin’ Wells)
This finger-picking guitar class is an introduction to piedmont-style blues guitar. The class will explore blues tunes in the keys of C, G, A, and D, as well as dropped-D. Students will learn tunes from the repertoires of legendary piedmont blues artists such as Blind Boy Fuller, Gary Davis, Sylvester Weaver, Elizabeth Cotton, and William Moore. Students should have some familiarity with finger-picking guitar techniques.
OLD-TIME UKULELE (Lightnin’ Wells)
Lightnin’ Wells will teach vintage tunes in the mainland style for the standard (soprano) ukulele. We’ll explore old tunes from the 1920s, when the uke reigned supreme in America, such as “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’,” “Insufficient Sweetie,” “I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jelly Roll” and “Shake That Thing.” Several intros and endings in several keys for this small, but mighty, instrument will also be taught. Copies will be available of many of the songs presented, from vintage sheet music from the era with chord diagrams. All songs will be presented in the now widely-accepted C tuning for the ukulele - G-C-E-A.
OLD-TIME MANDOLIN I (Wayne Erbsen)
Old-time mandolin for beginners. We’ll play lead and backup to your favorite old-time songs and tunes, learn to create your own licks and fills and discover many of the tricks of improvising.
OLD-TIME MANDOLIN II (Carl Jones)
This intermediate-level class in the old-time style mandolin will focus on learning songs and tunes, with a good dose of music theory included. Twostring chord shapes will be utilized to aid in improvisation and to raise students’ mandolin comfort zone to new heights. An audio recording device is recommended and having fun while learning will be our goal.
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Banjo OLD-TIME BANJO I (Gordy Hinners)
In this class for the total beginner, students will learn the basics of clawhammer banjo technique. By the end of the week, students will be able to play a handful of old-time tunes, and will have learned some of the tricks of playing back-up on the banjo
OLD-TIME BANJO II A (Joseph Decosimo)
In this class, we will work on intermediate old-time banjo repertoire and techniques that will be useful for solo playing, playing with a fiddle, and playing with stringbands. We will pay close attention to the right hand as the engine that drives clawhammer banjo. By rooting ourselves in some delightful tunes that utilize several tunings and techniques, we’ll work on developing our ear, our ability to flesh out tunes, and our sense of where the banjo fits in when playing with others. Ultimately, we’ll work towards being better listeners and more confident players, capable of learning and working tunes into our own repertoires. If time and interest permit, we may spend a day discussing the rudiments of some old-time up-picking styles. Plan to have fun.
OLD-TIME BANJO II B (Carl Jones)
For the advanced beginner/intermediate player, this class will focus on gaining better right-hand technique as we combine some helpful music theory and apply the left hand’s ever-essential hammers, slides, and pull-offs. We’ll learn a few great tunes along the way and explore the banjo’s role as the fiddler’s best friend and supporter. Our goal for the week will be to make our banjos dance and our picking more musical.
OLD-TIME BANJO II C (Gordy Hinners)
For advanced-beginner/intermediate clawhammer banjo players who know some tunes in the clawhammer style, this class will focus on the rhythm of Southern clawhammer playing and explore tunes and ‘licks’ in several banjo tunings. The use of a recording device is highly recommended, as all tunes will be taught by ear.
OLD-TIME BANJO III A (Tom Sauber)
This class for intermediate/advanced players will start with a recap of the Round Peak style of clawhammer banjo. Using the common tunings for the keys of A and D we’ll review the left- and right-hand licks that are used so effectively to play the melody, while at the same time providing a driving rhythm to support the fiddle. From there, we’ll venture outward from the Blue Ridge, applying the Round Peak approach to tunes from other regions and repertoires such as Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, and the midwest. We’ll also explore several alternate tunings, which work quite well for tunes in the keys of G and C, and which are under-represented in the Round Peak repertoire, but quite common in other areas.
OLD-TIME BANJO III B (John Herrmann)
This class for intermediate/advanced banjo players will focus on playing banjo with a fiddle. Emphasis will be placed on the rhythmic connection between the two, the relationship of melody to chords/drones, and the tight interplay between these two instruments, which are the core of the old-time band. This is not a tune-oriented class. We will mainly cover technique and theory and there will be tips on how to play tunes you don’t already know.
Other Instruments INTERMEDIATE BASS (Meredith McIntosh)
This class is for musicians who already know the basics of old-time bass playing and have a solid understanding of basic music theory. This includes knowing how to play in G, D, A, and C for 4/4 tunes/songs and waltzes at a moderate to fast pace. We will work on tunes, songs, and waltzes, examine
their oddities, and explore how the bass part changes with them. We will also learn ways to support their melodic and rhythmic character and the ‘groove’ of music sessions in general. If time allows, we will listen to and explore other kinds of music as well.
OLD-TIME BAND 101 (Wayne Erbsen)
This is the right place for novice old-time musicians who can play several tunes and know some basic chords but want the thrill of bonding and playing with other musicians in a no-stress, fun string band. Bring your list of tunes and songs and we’ll learn to play and sing together. All stringed instruments and singers welcome! (No class limit)
OLD-TIME BAND LAB (James Leva & Kevin Kehrberg)
Students in this class will form string bands and with a little coaching, learn how to play together and achieve a cohesive band sound. We will consider each individual’s responsibility in a band, how to start and end tunes, tempo, rhythm, lead, back-up, chord choices, singing, band dynamics, and playing for dances or concerts. Bands will have the opportunity to perform at a student showcase or play for a dance at the end of the week. It is expected that students already know how to play their instrument, and that lead instrument players know a few tunes and/or songs in several keys with the accompanying chords. (No class limit)
MOUNTAIN DULCIMER I (Don Pedi)
Easy and fun! This class is for absolute beginners or those interested in building a solid foundation for playing mountain dulcimer in old-time music. Class will include dulcimer history, as well as playing techniques for developing the old-time sound. Traditional songs, tunes, and hymns will be taught by ear, but tablature will be provided. Bring an audio recorder.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMER II (Don Pedi)
This class for intermediate players and above will focus on playing techniques for old-time music on the mountain dulcimer. We will learn traditional tunes, songs, hymns, playing by ear, various noting techniques, different modes, dulcimer history, and more. The class will be taught by ear, but tablature will be provided. Bring an audio recorder.
AUTOHARP I (John Hollandsworth)
TThe autoharp has been a part of mountain culture since the early 1900s and since then has played a prominent role in old-time and early country music with the original Carter Family, Pop Stoneman, Kilby Snow, and others. Drawing on tunes from the old-time repertoire, topics in this beginner-level class will include right- and left-hand techniques, finger memory, tuning, timing, playing in 3/4 and 4/4 rhythms, basic chord progressions, playing in major and minor keys, harp setup, and playing scales that will lead you into melody playing. Ability to read music or tablature is not necessary, but handouts on the tunes and techniques covered will be provided. Students must have an autoharp in good playing condition, one thumb pick, and two finger picks. A music stand might also be helpful.
AUTOHARP II (John Hollandsworth)
During the past twenty years the autoharp has experienced a huge revival, with some major performers and landmark recordings. This class will provide insight into what top players are doing and how to expand the role of the autoharp as a melody instrument. Drawing on tunes from the Appalachian tradition, we will cover both chromatic and diatonic playing, rhythm changes, syncopation, chord substitutions, playing in 3/4 and 4/4 time, arranging, alternate tunings, and how to interact with other instruments in a group situation. Students will refine their playing skills and gain a good understanding of clean melody playing on the autoharp. Some basic knowledge
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Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 21-27, 2013 Breakfast, Tai Chi warmup (7:30-8:00)
7:30-8:30
9:00-10:15
OT OT OT OT OT OT OT OT FlatOT Autoharp Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle Banjo Banjo Banjo Guitar picking Mandolin I III B I II A III A II A Guitar I (HollandIA II A III A sworth) (Marshall) (Leva) (Leftwich) (Triplett) (Hinners) (Decosimo) (Sauber) (Gerrard) (Kovac) (Erbsen)
ShapeNote Singing (Pen)
Clogging II (Grace)
Coffee/Tea Break
10:15-10:45
10:45-12:00
Ballads & Crankies (RobertsGevalt, LaPrelle)
OT OT OT OT OT OT OT Fiddle OT Intermed. Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle Banjo Banjo Guitar IB Ukulele Bass III C II B III B II B II B II C (Roberts(Wells) (McIntosh) (Triplett) (Decosimo) (Marshall) (Jones) (Herrmann) (Kehrberg) Gevalt)
Mtn. Dulcimer I (Pedi)
Classic Country Styles (Sickenberger)
12:00-1:00
Lunch
1:15-2:15
Communal Gathering (Guest Master Artists, announcements)
Southern History Clogging Harmony of OT I (Gerrard, Music (Sutton) Sauber) (Pen)
2:30-3:45
PiedMtn. Louvin So. App. OT OT OT OT OT AutoOT OT UnaccomTeen mont DulciBros. Square GatherFiddle Fiddle Banjo Guitar Mandolin harp II Band Band Lab panied Blues mer (Sicken- Dance & 0 II D II C I II (Holland- 101 (Leva, Singing ing Guitar II berger, Calling (Grace) (Herrmann) (Leftwich) (Hinners) (McIntosh) (Jones) sworth) (Erbsen) Kehrberg) (LaPrelle) Kovac) (Jamison) (Wells) (Pedi)
4:00-5:00
Potluck Sessions (M,T,W,F) Supper (Pond Picnic-Th)
5:00-6:30
Slow Jams & Singing, Young Old-Time (Leddel)
6:15-7:15 7:30-?
Evening Events (concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.) Student Showcase (Fri.)
of melody playing would be helpful, but ability to read music or tablature is not required, and handouts on the tunes and techniques covered will be provided. Students must have an autoharp in good playing condition, one thumb pick, and two fingerpicks.
perform our efforts to each other, and to the rest of the camp. (To see videos of crankies, visit: http://annaandelizabeth.com/watch.html) There will be a $10 materials fee for this class, payable to the instructors on the first day of class. (Class limit: 20)
Song & Folklore
Bring a song or two to sing, and the rest of the class will be your audience. The focus will be on experimenting with how we deliver the “story” – what works best and is the most effective. This class will be a friendly environment to work through nerves or stage fright; try some tricks to improve projecting the voice; find a “high lonesome sound;” think critically about how to artistically interpret a song; or just share great songs with fellow music-lovers. Instruments aren’t forbidden, but stepping up to sing ‘without music’ is encouraged! (Class limit: 20)
SHAPE-NOTE SINGING (Ron Pen)
We will engage in musical and social harmony through the recreation of a rural nineteenth-century singing school. Singing from the Sacred Harp tune book (1991 edition), which features intoxicating harmonizations written in a unique four-shape notation of triangles, squares, circles, and diamonds makes learning to read music easy and enjoyable. The class will also include background historical and social context. Songs from other tune book traditions will be explored, including the Southern Harmony, Christian Harmony, and the Kentucky Harmony. The class will accommodate both total beginners and veteran singers. Books will be available to borrow for class use. At the end of the week, members of the class are invited and encouraged to participate in the seventh annual Swannanoa Singing with dinner on the grounds. This will be held on Saturday, July 27 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM at the Warren Wilson College Pavilion. (No class limit)
BALLADS & CRANKIES (Anna Roberts-Gevalt & Elizabeth LaPrelle)
Ballads are old story-songs handed down through the centuries from the British Isles & Ireland to the Southern Appalachians. A ‘crankie,’ also known as a scrolling panorama, or crank box, is a box containing a length of paper or fabric rolled around 2 posts, which is then pulled across the front, much like the film in an old camera, illustrating a story or song. In this class we’ll learn ballads by making crankies to illustrate them, working with cut paper to make silhouettes. ‘Non-artists’ are encouraged to give it a whirl – you may be surprised with what you come up with! Making pictures of the songs is sure to spark discussion about the stories and their meanings. Then we get to
UNACCOMPANIED SINGING (Elizabeth LaPrelle)
Classic Country singing STYLES (Kari Sickenberger)
Country Music’s Golden Age spanned half a century, from the 1920s–1970s. Within that time period, there were only a few artists with the integrity, grit, and talent to rise to the top to become undisputed Classic Country stars. Among them was Hank Williams, who paved the way for many to follow. In this class, we will explore some of the greatest country songs of all time (though perhaps not the most well-known) and the stylistic qualities that make them great. Through close listening, and lots of singing, we will honor and appreciate the most exemplary Classic Country styles, and have a lot of fun doing it. Be prepared to sing A LOT. (Class limit: 20)
HISTORY OF OLD-TIME MUSIC (Ron Pen)
What IS old-time music? How is bluegrass different from old-time? What do terms such as “authenticity” and “revivalism” really mean? What are drop-thumb, frailing, clawhammer, two-finger, and rapping? Where are Galax, Clifftop, and Mount Airy? Can you dance a Tobacco Hill? What is a crooked fiddle tune? The answers to these and other such mysteries will all be revealed here. Focused presentations on “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” the Georgia
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Fiddle Contest of 1924, ‘Affrilachia,’ moonshining, and Marion Sumner will provide windows on the style and culture. Discussion, recordings, videos, and guest presentations will nurture an overview of the history and context of old-time ballads, fiddle tunes, hillbilly music, and string bands from the Skillet Lickers to Uncle Earl. (No class limit)
SOUTHERN HARMONY (Alice Gerrard & Tom Sauber)
This harmony class will focus on how to find and sing traditional old-time and bluegrass duet harmonies. How do you find a harmony? How do you work with another person to get a good harmony sound? What goes into harmony singing besides the right notes? We will examine the challenges of different combinations: two women, two men, etc. One of the goals of the class will be to end up with students singing in duets. Brad Leftwich will also be joining us a few days for some trio singing. (Class limit: 20)
LOUVIN BROTHERSClose Harmony (Kari Sickenberger & Paul Kovac)
The Louvin Brothers took harmony singing to a new level, and with their unique duet sound they had a profound effect on early country music. Originally a gospel act, the Louvins’ skillful songwriting coupled with their own close harmony innovations inspire discriminating music lovers and singers – like us! In this class, we will focus on one Louvin Brothers song each day, examining their singing styles and harmony parts and honing in on the tricks and talents that carried these two country boys from a poor Alabama farm to the Grand Ole Opry and beyond. (Class limit: 20)
Dance southern appalachian square dance & Dance callinG (Phil Jamison)
This class, open to dancers as well as dance callers, of all levels, will focus on the traditional square dances of the southern Appalachian region. No prior experience is required. We will learn about, and dance four-couple squares as well as Southern big circle dances, and students will have the opportunity to try their hand (or voice) at calling out the dance figures. Dance callers of all levels will have the opportunity to expand their repertoire and receive feedback to improve their calling skills. Mainly though, we will have fun dancing and learning about the traditions of southern Appalachian square dances. (No class limit)
CLOGGING I (Rodney Sutton)
Let Rodney prove to you that everyone can learn Appalachain clogging steps. This class covers beginning southern Appalachian clogging and buckdancing from “step one.” Learn the basic steps and how to put them to use with live old-time music. Wear smooth-soled shoes – leather is best, and no taps. (No class limit)
CLOGGING II (Ellie Grace)
Are you ready to crank your dancing up a notch? If you have already taken beginning clogging or have previous percussive dance experience, this class for intermediate/advanced dancers is for you. The driving rhythms and beautiful style of Appalachian flatfooting will be explored, and you will learn specific techniques for making a clean, crisp sound and connecting with the music. The dancing will still be highly approachable, but we are going to have a grand time forging ahead towards clogging greatness! Tap shoes are welcomed and recommended, but not required. (Class limit: 25)
TEEN GATHERING (Ellie Grace)
This class is for teens only! It’s a time for all of you to come together and make plans to take over Swannanoa and possibly the world with music, dance, and other brilliant creations. Some adventures may include creating a young old-time flash mob, learning songs and practicing two-stepping for the Honky Tonk dance, crashing the square dance class, trying out every old-time instrument under the sun (guided by those in the class with in-
strumental experience), big group harmony singing, and a little clogging for good measure. Games and crankies and more. All proposals for fun activities will be considered! (Class limit: 20)
SpecialEvents T’ai chi (Don Pedi)
Start the day with a smile with these ancient, gentle, easy to learn rejuvenation exercises. Reduce stress. Focus on breathing, balance, and gentle stretching. Includes: T’ai Chi, Chi Kung, Standing Meditation, Eight Pieces of Brocade, and more. No experience necessary and no registration required. (No class limit)
POTLUCK SESSIONS
In addition to the regular class sessions, Potluck Sessions are offered most afternoons. These one-hour mini-classes give students access to the entire teaching staff, and provide a wide variety of class offerings to choose from. No advance registration is necessary.
SLOW JAMS & SINGING
After supper each night, students have the opportunity to participate in slow jams and singing sessions. At the slow jams, common tunes are played at a speed that is accessible even to beginners. The singing sessions are a chance to share your voice and songs.
YOUNG OLD-TIME
Each evening, after supper, teenaged musicians get together for Young Old-Time Band, a jam for young players, guided by Dave Leddel, and on Wednesday night, following the staff concert, this group will have the opportunity to play for the post-concert square dance.
EVENING DANCES
Evening dances will be held throughout the week, providing plenty of chances to dance a variety of traditional Southern Appalachian squares and circles. Thursday night features our valley’s long-standing weekly dance, the Old Farmers Ball.
We offer a full-day program, taught by Denisa Rullmoss, for children ages 6-12. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions please. Evening childcare for ages 3-12 will be provided at no additional cost. Beneath the wind and waves lies the melody and magic of the OCEAN. This summer in the Children’s Program we will visit the watery, wondrous world of the SEA and all of her inhabitants. We are likely to find sea horses, crabs, dolphins, fish, whales, mermaids, giant squid, sea serpents and much more. If King Neptune allows, we may take a ride in a Yellow Submarine to visit an Octopus’ Garden! Colorful coral reefs, mysterious deep sea creatures, smelly seaweed snacks and a scary shark or two.... who knows what may show up at the Gathering? LOTS of arts & crafts (with many shells), LOTS of water (and dry land) games and LOTS of fun will be our goal. Can you find the pearl in the oyster shell, the lost city of Atlantis or the homes of Sponge Bob, Patrick and Squidward? Let’s not forget the sounds of the sea.... as we sing silly sea songs AND create a band led by Sue Ford (singer, songwriter, percussionist). As a special treat, we will be visited by wandering musicians and artists (Gathering staff) who will perform just for our kids. We will, of course, continue our long-loved traditions of shaving cream hairdos day, movie night, pie-eating contests and the Gathering Scavenger Hunt. Each busy day will close with free swim time in the college pool. Non-swimmers must be accompanied by a parent to swim. So get your snorkels on and practice your fish faces as we dive into some nautical nonsense!! There will be a $30 art/craft materials fee for this class, payable to Denisa, the Children’s Program coordinator, on arrival.
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28-August 3
G
uitar Week has become one of the finest programs of its kind anywhere, staffed by some of the world’s best players and instructors. We have been awarded both the Bronze Medal and Silver Medal Player’s Choice Award for music camps by the readers of Acoustic Guitar magazine, and this high standard of quality is what keeps guitarists from across the globe coming back year after year. For 2013, we once again includes classes in the guitar’s tropical cousin, the ukulele. We’ve recruited some exciting new instructors, and several popular staff members from previous years will be returning. We will be offering more classes than ever before in flatpicking and fingerstyle acoustic guitar in all styles for all levels from beginning to advanced. Our seventeen world-class instructors, including several Grammy-winning guitarists, will be offering classes in a wide variety of styles ranging from Celtic to jazz and blues. We will offer a variety of beginning level classes to accommodate those students who aren’t quite ready for the intermediate-to-advanced classes, as well as classes suggested for more advanced players, so please read the descriptions carefully before you decide where you belong; we want everyone to get the most out of the week. For most of our classes it is recommended that students should play at an intermediate level: students should have mastered beginning skills, be able to tune their instruments, keep time, play scales cleanly, and know how to play a few tunes with confidence. Guitar Week runs concurrently with our Contemporary Folk Week, and students may take classes from either program, and this year we are offering even more guitar classes designed for singer/songwriters. One of the country’s top repairmen, Randy Hughes, will be available for consultations throughout the week. Ed Dodson will again lead slow jams after lunch each day, and our Luthiers Exhibit will feature some amazing guitars from some of the world’s most respected builders - Michael Bashkin, John Slobod and Gerald Sheppard, as well as a selection of instruments from the inventory of the renowned Dream Guitars.
TONY McMANUS
To find a unique voice on so ubiquitous an instrument as the acoustic guitar is quite an achievement: to do so within a centuries-old idiom where the instrument has no real history is truly remarkable. In a relatively short period as a professional musician, Tony McManus has come to be recognised throughout the world as a leading guitarist in Celtic music. In Tony’s hands the complex ornamentation normally associated with fiddles and pipes are accurately transferred to guitar in a way that preserves the integrity and emotional impact of the music. His 2002 recording, Ceol More, was Acoustic Guitar’s “Critic’s Album of the Year” and named “Album of the Year” by the Live Ireland Awards. He is a regular performer at the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville, and has appeared at guitar festivals in Soave and Pescantina, Italy; Frankston, Australia; Issoudun, France; Kirkmichael, Scotland; Bath and Kent, England; Bochum and Osnabrueck, Germany and five of Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Maryville, TN. Born in Scotland with strong Irish roots, he now lives in Canada and travels the world performing in numerous combinations, including intimate solo performances and various duos with friends Alain Genty, Bruce Molsky, and Alasdair Fraser, to the quartet, Men of Steel, with fellow guitarists Dan Crary, Beppe Gambetta and Don Ross. www.tonymcmanus.com
VICKI GENFAN
Guitar Player Magazine’s 2008 “Guitar Superstar,” Vicki Genfan defies categorization. A unique and fiercely original musical talent, she has been called the ‘Jimi Hendrix of acoustic guitar.’ “While others make noise with tapping stylings, Genfan understands the power of melody and instead makes music.” - Kirk Albrecht, www. minor7th.com. Drawing from folk, jazz, pop, soul and world music, Vicki has a distinctive style that pushes the boundaries of the singer/songwriter genre. An international phenomena, Vicki is lighting up stages in venues as diverse as the International Montreal Jazz Festival, Germany’s Open String Festival, Italy’s Soave Guitar Festival and Festival Across Styles in the Czech Republic. She has four CDs to her credit and two instructional DVDs, and in 2009 Luna Guitars unveiled the Vicki Genfan Signature Guitar built by Luthier Gray Burchette.Vicki has enjoyed teaching privately and in groups for over 20 years and brings her warmth, humor and inspiration to all who have experienced her many workshops, clinics and classes. And... she’s thrilled to be back at Swannanoa for the 2013 season! “If I could play like Vicki, I would stay home and entertain myself ” – Steve Vai
SEAN McGOWAN Sean McGowan is a fingerstyle jazz guitarist who combines many diverse musical influences with unconventional techniques to create a broad palette of textures within his compositions and arrangements for solo guitar. His first recording, River Coffee, won the Best Independent Release of the Year Award (2002) from Acoustic Guitar magazine and music from the recording has been featured on BBC’s Great Guitars radio program, and has been published in Japan’s Acoustic Guitar magazine and Mel Bay’s Master Anthology of Fingerstyle Guitar, Vol. 3 (2005). His most recent releases, Indigo, (2008) and Sphere: the Music of Thelonious Monk (2011) offer compelling portraits of jazz standards performed on solo electric archtop guitar. Sphere was named one of Acoustic Guitar magazine’s “Essential Albums of 2011”, and Sean was recently featured on the cover of Fingerstyle 360 magazine. His latest book/DVD, Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Essentials will be available winter 2013 As a soloist, Sean has performed at several festivals including the Novi Sad International Jazz Festival in Serbia, the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, Copper Mountain Guitar Town, the Newport Guitar Festival, and the Classic American Guitar Show in New York. He has also collaborated with several dance and improv companies, as well as with jazz and acoustic musicians throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Sean is an assistant professor of music at the University of Colorado, Denver, and has conducted jazz guitar workshops at Berklee College, Bowdoin College, USC, University of Maine, University of Oregon, McNally Smith College, String Letter Music School in San Anselmo, and for the Seattle Jazz Guitar Society and Cheyenne Guitar Society. He is also a contributing editor and educational advisor for Acoustic Guitar magazine. www.seanmcgowanguitar.com
GREG RUBY
Composer and guitarist Greg Ruby is a distinctive voice in the Hot Club jazz tradition. His most recent CD, Look Both Ways, celebrates the 100th birthday of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt with 12 original compositions, and reached #1 on the Roots Music Review’s jazz chart. As a member of the esteemed group, Pearl Django, Greg spent five years performing and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and appeared with the group at the prestigious Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois sur Seine, France. As founding member of the hot jazz string band, Hot Club Sandwich, Greg can be heard on all four of the band’s recordings and produced their most recent album, And If Only, featur-
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ing legendary vocalist Dan Hicks. Currently, he leads his own group, The Greg Ruby Quartet. A perpetual student and educator, Greg has published the Pearl Django PlayAlong Book Vol.1 through Djangobooks.com and is currently completing a play-along CD/book on the swing guitar mastery of Oscar Aleman. From private guitar lessons, to workshops and the school classroom, Greg is adept at multiple teaching styles. He has led the Gypsy Jazz Guitar Workshop at the State University of New York, Oswego, Seattle Jazz Guitar Society, Wintergrass Music Festival, DjangoFest, the Dusty String Music School and The Mandolin Symposium. www.gregrubyguitar.com
ADAM RAFFERTY
Adam Rafferty says the first time he heard the guitar he was “still in my mother’s womb.” By the age of 19, he was playing guitar professionally, from the New York City subways, and street corners to the most upscale music rooms New York has to offer such as Birdland and The Jazz Standard. He’s led his own band through Europe, produced his own albums, and been a first-call, in-demand guitarist with some of the world’s greatest musicians, such as The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Dr. Lonnie Smith, L.A. Studio legend Bennie Wallace (who wrote the soundtrack for White Men Can’t Jump), bassist Bob Cranshaw (from the original Saturday Night Live band), Alvin Queen (drummer for Oscar Peterson), and Dizzy Gillespie’s pianist Mike Longo. He’s played at countless music festivals in the US, Europe and Asia, concert halls, and New York City night clubs, taught workshops, written books and recorded instructional DVDs including his latest, featuring fingerstyle versions of Stevie Wonder’s most popular songs. Bass-lines, horn parts and vocals are replicated on guitar and the groove will make you jump out of your seat. Among Adam’s musical innovations is the ability to play two simultaneous melodies on the guitar, while doing hip-hop style “beatbox” percussion with his mouth at the same time, a feat that simply has to be heard to be believed. After years of playing electric, Adam has returned to solo acoustic guitar: “Playing acoustic guitar feels like coming home to me.” www.adamrafferty.com
DAVID JACOBS-STRAIN David Jacobs-Strain is a virtuosic slide guitar player and a storyteller who brilliantly brings the rich roots of slide guitar to the millennials generation with an eclectic styling that melds blues, folk, rock and indie pop into a tasty Americana brew inflected with accents of funk and reggae. He’s a six-foot-two Jewish blues singer from Oregon, a Stanford drop-out in a trucker hat, and a Left Coast poet; one part Leo Kottke, one part Ken Kesey, and one part Robert Johnson. He’s recorded seven albums, including his latest, Live From the Left Coast, a collaboration with harmonica legend Bob Beach. David has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, MerleFest, the Strawberry Music Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Fest, and toured with artists as diverse as Lucinda Williams, Etta James, Bob Weir, and Boz Scaggs. He also performs with his amplified string band, The Crunk Mountain Boys. www.davidjacobs-strain.com
AL PETTEWAY
Our Guitar Week Coordinator, Al Petteway is a Grammy and Indie Award-winning guitarist who has toured and recorded with folks like Jethro Burns, Peter Rowan, Tom Paxton, Jonathan Edwards, Cheryl Wheeler, Debi Smith, David Wilcox, Maggie Sansone, Bonnie Rideout and many more. Though his primary instrument has always been the guitar, he also studied lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. Al’s compositions and arrangements for acoustic fingerstyle guitar are strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues. His playing and music is featured on dozens of CDs, five instructional DVDs and the soundtracks of six documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns. His composition “Sligo Creek” is the main theme of the Emmy-winning PBS series, The National Parks-America’s
Best Idea. Al was voted one of the “Top Fifty Acoustic Guitarists of all Time” by the readers of Acoustic Guitar magazine where he also won Silver and Bronze medals for Celtic and Fingerstyle guitar in the magazine’s Player’s Choice Awards. Al’s CD Caledon Wood was an “Editors’ Pick” as one of the “Essential Albums of the past Twenty Years” in Acoustic Guitar’s 20th Anniversary issue. Al now performs and records exclusively with his wife, Amy White, and as a soloist for various guitar festivals throughout North America. www.alandamy.com
MURIEL ANDERSON
Muriel Anderson is the first woman to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. She has recorded with country legend Chet Atkins, performed in New York with Les Paul, at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall with the Chicago Symphony and in Tennessee with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. Muriel fell in love with the guitar at an early age and learned every style available to her, beginning with folk, bluegrass, and then jazz in high school. She has composed music since about age five, and has written solo instrumentals and vocals, choral and orchestral compositions. She received a degree in music from DePaul University and went on to study with classical virtuoso Christopher Parkening and with Nashville legend Chet Atkins. Her Heartstrings cassette traveled into space, accompanying astronaut Susan Helms for 2.3 million miles on the space shuttle Discovery. Muriel’s music can be heard in Woody Allen’s film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and her recent projects include the Harp Guitars Under the Stars CD with John Doan, and tours and recordings with German duo, Tierra Negra. Their CD together, New World Flamenco, has been met with rave reviews. Muriel is founder of the All-Star Guitar Night and the Music for Life Alliance charity. www.murielanderson.com
JIM HURST Born into a musical family, Jim Hurst spent his youth playing guitar influenced by flatpicking greats Tony Rice, Doc Watson, George Shuffler, and Clarence White, but the fingerstyle playing of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed was the “turn in the road” for Jim. The amalgam of these influences defined his technique. Jim’s guitar work and harmony vocals for Holly Dunn’s Rio Band brought his talent to both the national and international stage. He played guitar with Trisha Yearwood, touring extensively and appearing on numerous radio and television shows, and with Sara Evans, whose 1998 RCA release No Place That Far features Jim’s vocals and acoustic guitar work. Craving to play more bluegrass, Jim joined Grammy-nominated Claire Lynch and The Front Porch String Band in 1995, during which time he teamed up with bassist Missy Raines. Their partnership resulted in two Pinecastle Records, Two and Synergy, receiving critical acclaim and garnering them IBMA Guitar and Bass Player of the Year for 2001 and 2002. Jim left the Claire Lynch Band in 2010 to embark on a solo career. On four solo recordings, Jim exhibits his deft guitar work and soothing vocals. He performs and teaches at camps and workshops thoughout North America and Europe and collaborates with other bluegrass greats, most recently Rob Ickes and David Grisman. www.jimhurst.com
MARCY MARXER
Two-time Grammy-winner Marcy Marxer’s guitar playing spans a variety of styles- swing rhythm and lead, bluegrass, old time, celtic fingerpicking, folk fingerpicking and some of the most tasteful backup you can hear. She has played acoustic music on Emmy Award-winning National Geographic specials, platinum Eva Cassidy CDs and on over 50 recordings and instructional materials created with her partner, Cathy Fink. She also performs with the Four Bitchin’ Babes and recently completed a tour of Malaysia, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea as musical ambassadors for the US State Dept.’s American Voices program. The C.F. Martin Co. has honored Marcy with her very own signature model guitar, the MC3H, which she helped design. Flatpick Guitar magazine called Marcy
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“one of the country’s top Western style guitar players,” and her latest solo guitar CD, called Things Are Coming My Way, features a variety of guitars from tenor guitars to archtops, the flattop and a Big Tex T-Style electric. She also plays mandolin, bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, Latin percussion, banjos, pennywhistle and flutes, cello-banjo, and of course, her beloved ukulele. She directs 3 ukulele orchestras and has also created several online social networks for female musicians and ukulele players. Marcy is also an experienced teacher with a large following at top music camps such as Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Camp, Mars Hill, Woods Camp, etc., and several years at the Gathering. She’s one fun-lovin’ gal with talent in all 10 fingers and a heart of gold to accompany them! www.cathyandmarcy.com
Rolly Brown
A lifelong student of the guitar, Rolly Brown has been a National Fingerpicking Champion (1980), a Philadelphia Music Award nominee, a solo performer, teacher, and sideman for many well-known artists. Over the past 49 years, folk, blues, ragtime, bluegrass, country, & jazz have each been his passions. Acoustic Guitar magazine calls Rolly’s guitar sound “an exceptionally melodic, articulate playing style that takes full advantage of the acoustic guitar’s beautiful tone.” Wise sage Bennett Hammond says, “He’s the real deal, the gen-you-wine article, the guitar picker’s guitar picker.” Blues master Andy Cohen (who IS prone to hyperbole) told Rolly, “Dammit, you are the best that ever was. You may quote me.” Rolly has several instructional and performance videos available at youtube.com, and we’re pleased to have him back for his fifth Swannanoa Gathering. www.rollybrown.com
PAT KIRTLEY
Pat Kirtley is a US National Fingerstyle Champion and National Thumbpicking champion who was named one of “The Next Generation: Hot New Acoustic Acts for the Millenium” by Acoustic Guitar magazine. As a writer, Pat has been a featured columnist for magazines Onstage, Electronic Musician, Mister Guitar, Home Recording, Wood & Steel, and Germany’s Akustik Gitarre. Pat is a veteran of the festival and summer music camp scene, known for his patience, encyclopedic knowledge of guitar, clear explanations of difficult ideas, and taking the time to address the individual needs of each student one-on-one. Pat has produced instructional videos for Guitar Workshop and books for Mel Bay, including a 2-volume double-DVD instructional set called Pickin’ Like Chet – Vintage Chet Atkins Classics from Guitar Workshop. Pat has released six albums and he appears on Narada Records’ CD projects Guitar Fingerstyle, Masters of Acoustic Guitar and Guitar Fingerstyle 2. His music is also featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and GotRadio’s 24-hour Guitar Genius channel. www.myspace.com/patkirtley
STEVE JAMES Steve James is a well-known name among devotees of contemporary acoustic folk and blues, with numerous criticallyacclaimed recordings, a tireless international tour schedule and a sheaf of published work that includes numerous books, articles and online lessons for Acoustic Guitar, plus DVDs for Homespun. A Swannanoa veteran, Steve’s instrumental versatility and engaging personality make him a favorite at music camps and workshop programs nationwide. He’s been interviewed for features in Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Player, Blues Revue and Folk Roots magazines, and his music has been featured on A Prairie Home Companion, The House Of Blues Network and many other syndicated programs worldwide. In the studio, his solo efforts have been enriched by musical contributions from fellow travelers Bob Brozman, Bad Livers, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Cindy Cashdollar, Gary Primich, Ruthie Foster, and his frequent duet partner Del Rey. In turn, Steve has recorded with
a diverse crew including Maria Muldaur, James McMurtry, Jesse ‘Babyface’ Thomas and Kevin Russell of the Gourds. He’s shared the stage with such blues/roots luminaries as John Hammond, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and Howard Armstrong, and his original songs have been covered by artists as varied as new-folk phenom Ana Egge to folk/ blues godfather Dave Van Ronk. Steve has also appeared on numerous compilation albums, including a recent Grammy-nominated tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowell and an homage to Charley Patton to which he contributed both music and liner notes. www.stevejames.com
STEVE BAUGHMAN
One of digitaldreamdoor.com’s Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists, Steve is a Rounder Records recording artist and a pioneering Celtic and old-time fingerstyle guitarist and banjo player. Steve produced and plays on the landmark Banjo Gathering double CD, which was recently described by Bluegrass Unlimited as “a momentous undertaking and a ‘must’ addition to any serious collection of old-time music.” He is the author of five guitar books by Mel Bay Publications, a DVD on clawhammer technique called The Power of Claw. Steve lives on a boat in San Francisco Bay. His most recent project is a DVD called Zen Banjo., produced with Rev. Heng Sure, Director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, with whom Steve will co-teach a meditation class. www.celticguitar.com
ROBIN BULLOCK
Called a “Celtic guitar god” by the Baltimore City Paper, Robin Bullock’s virtuosity on guitar, cittern and mandolin blends the ancient melodies of the Celtic lands, their vigorous Appalachian descendants, and the timeless masterworks of the Baroque and Renaissance eras into one powerful musical vision. Robin is a winner of “Editor’s Pick” and “Player’s Choice” Awards from Acoustic Guitar magazine, the Association for Independent Music’s prestigious INDIE Award (with the world-music trio Helicon), multiple Washington Area Music Association WAMMIE Awards, a Governor’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, and a bronze medal at the National Mandolin Championships in Winfield, Kansas. His twelve solo and collaborative recordings include Celtic Guitar Summit with fellow Guitar Week staffer Steve Baughman, named one of the top CDs of 2003 by Acoustic Guitar; Rosewood Castle, featuring duets with guitar legends Alex de Grassi, Tony McManus, John Doyle, Al Petteway and Steve Baughman; and his latest, Majesty and Magic: Music of Bach, Dowland and Carolan for Solo Guitar. In addition to his solo work, Robin also tours internationally with Grammy-winning folk legend Tom Paxton, including Tom’s 2010 and 2012 “Together at Last” tours with Janis Ian. This is Robin’s eighteenth Gathering. www.robinbullock.com
PAUL ASBELL
From his early years, playing blues on Chicago’s South Side, to his present multi-faceted career based out of northern Vermont, Paul has earned an underground reputation as a true “musician’s musician.” He has played and recorded with blues legends Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin’ Hopkins; jazz greats Jon Hendricks, Betty Carter, Sonny Stitt, Biréli Lagrène, Joshua Redman and the Sun Ra Arkestra, folk icons David Bromberg, Paul Siebel, Mary McCaslin, and numerous others. Performance venues include the Kool Jazz Festival at SPAC, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, MerleFest, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen, the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Newport, Healdsburg, and Montreal Guitar Shows, and numerous national tours and concert dates. Paul has released several solo acoustic CDs, which have received glowing reviews in Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Downbeat, Dirty
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Linen, Sing Out!, and others. Paul has taught for years at University of Vermont and Middlebury College, and has given master-classes at Skidmore College, Dartmouth College, Johnson State College, Marlboro College, and others. In addition, he presently sees between 10-25 private students/ week, covering every conceivable age group, stylistic orientation, and playing level. Past students have included professionals in jazz, rock, folk, etc, including Phish songwriter/guitarist/icon Trey Anastasio. www.paulasbell.com
ED DODSON
Ed is the lead guitarist and singer for Wood & Steel, a bluegrass band based in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Bluegrass Unlimited called their 2007 release, Poor Boy, “a masterpiece of hard-driving bluegrass.” Tony Rice calls their music, “Bluegrass, in one of its most pure, unfiltered forms; played by good musicians.” Wood & Steel’s music was featured nationally in Home & Garden Television’s 2002 special, Barns Revisited, and Ed has recorded two albums with mandolin player/builder Skip Kelley,
including their 2010 release, Hopped That Train and… Gone. Ed is an accomplished songwriter, and a powerful rhythm and lead player with a deep abiding love of traditional music. www.woodandsteelband.com
randy hughes Randy Hughes has earned a reputation throughout the southeast as the kind of instrument repairman to whom you could entrust your priceless vintage guitar without a second thought. A superb luthier with a thriving repair business, Randy first came to Guitar Week in 2001 to inspect and adjust students’ instruments and share his vast store of maintenance tips. He is also an exceptional guitarist and taught fingerstyle jazz at the Gathering for two years. Randy will be here after lunch several days during the week to examine and evaluate the playing condition of participants’ instruments. www.randyhughesguitars.com
APPALACHIAN BLUES IN DADGAD (Al Petteway)
DADGAD tuning is perfect for Appalachian music and for blues, and I’ve found that there is a lot of crossover. In this intermediate level class, we’ll look at styles made popular by folks like Doc Watson and Etta Baker and we’ll learn a “shape-note” hymn with a blues twist. Finally we’ll work on some music that is often played as bluegrass, but it could just as easily be considered Appalachian blues. Most of all, we’ll have us some real down-home fun.
ARRANGING FOR FINGERSTYLE GUItar (Muriel Anderson)
Fingerstyle guitar arrangements are comprised of a melody, a bass line, some chords and a rhythmic structure. Sounds simple, but how do you come up with an arrangement that is original and compelling enough that listeners will be drawn in and want to hear it over and over again? Muriel will take this class for intermediate/advanced players step by step through her thought processes as she breaks down some of her arrangements of wellknown melodies, giving students a unique glimpse into the creative process. This class takes her groundbreaking “Arranging in the Key of D” one step further. It moves quickly and also provides individualized work to accommodate intermediate and advanced students.
51 RIGHT-HAND TECHNIQUES (Muriel Anderson)
Based on Muriel’s course, “50 Right-Hand Techniques You MUST Know,” it covers material in the course and then some. Truly for all levels of players, it presents the most efficient use of the right hand as well as some interesting ways to bring expression into your music and to help you find fresh and exciting accompaniments, solos and compositions. This workshop will range from fingerstyle to classical to flatpicking techniques, and even some that Muriel has discovered herself.
1-2-3 FINGERSTYLE (Muriel Anderson)
Based on Muriel’s new course of the same name, 1-2-3 Fingerstyle Guitar is designed for players who are ready to throw down that pick for a while to finally get a handle on fingerstyle. This workshop presents a way to get at the heart of the music, without being bogged down working through a ton of remedial instruction. You’ll find the left-hand side of things very familiar and accessible. You’ll dive right into developing that finger/thumb independence on the right-hand, and to get going playing cool and authentic sounding fingerstyle tunes and riffs.
CLAWHAMMER GUITAR (Steve Baughman)
This class is about all things Clawhammer for guitar. We will begin with the basic pattern and spend some time internalizing it. Then we will move on to the various pyro-picking techniques that Steve demonstrates in his YouTube video lesson, “Wasilla Weed.” This class is for fairly advanced players and it is recommended that participants spend some time working on the YouTube lesson before camp starts. Class is gonna be rigorous, and fun!
HYMNS FOR FINGERSTYLE GUITAR (Steve Baughman)
In this class we will learn to play several old hymns that Steve has arranged and tabbed out for guitar. We will also talk about what makes a good arrangement of a hymn and we will experiment as a class with arranging a hymn or two. Individuals will be encouraged to present their own hymn arrangements to the group. This is an advanced-intermediate to advanced class. Students enrolled in this class are encouraged to familiarize themselves in advance with Steve’s YouTube videos of “Nearer My God to Thee” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
MUSIC, MEDITATION & PERFORMANCE (Steve Baughman & Rev. Heng Sure)
In this class we will explore ways to achieve a sense of groundedness and calmness while playing the guitar. Heng Sure will guide the class in breathing and will teach a variety of contemplative tools useful to musicians. Participants will put these techniques to use as Steve leads the class in a variety of rhythmic and musical exercises. Despite the meditation aspect of this class, there will be a good amount of hands-on grooving as a group. We will also discuss performance tools and encourage each student to perform at least once for the class.
BOSSA NOVA GUITAR (Pat Kirtley)
The unique pop music of Brazil, including bossa nova, samba, and other related styles, exploded on the worldwide music scene in the early ‘60s almost overnight. The sophisticated rhythms and chord structures were irresistible to jazz musicians, and after a few years bossa nova had gone “mainstream,” with its rhythms and changes assimilated into the melting pot of jazz standards. Too bad - for it diluted an eloquent musical style which has little to do with jazz, and after a few more years, the unique identity of the genre was nearly lost. Now there is a rediscovery of this music by a new generation of performers who want to get back to the roots. In this class, intermediate to
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advanced players will learn the elements of the style from its foundations. It’s a perfect genre for solo guitar, because that’s where it was born. Pat will teach the essential rhythms, chords, and some great tunes from the world of bossa nova and samba.
THUMBSTYLE GUITAR (Pat Kirtley)
Thumbpicking champ Pat Kirtley comes from Kentucky, and so does the iconic guitar style made famous by Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Mose Rager, and other legendary players. In this class for intermediate players and advanced players who would like to acquire a new style, students will learn right-hand techniques, including the “boom chick” rhythm with a thumbpick, signature licks, and some cool chord forms unique to this style. By the end of the week we will have covered the basics and will be learning some great tunes from this amazing musical genre. Will you be able to reach the ultimate goal of ‘sounding like two guitar players at once?’ If your thumb already knows how to keep independent rhythm, come to the class and find out.
ALTERNATE TUNINGS THAT WORK (Pat Kirtley)
Alternate tunings you can really use! This class will jog your creativity with a new tuning each day – five days, five tunings – each one fully explained and documented with a handout sheet and its own chord chart, along with a complete tune to learn. The class is for those who like the challenge of new sounds, flavors, and patterns, and for singer-songwriters and composers looking for tonal ideas and inspiration. The tunings are presented as part of a “system” that relates everything back to standard tuning – a great help in understanding. Each of the tunings is a proven winner with great possibilities. Okay, let’s break some strings!
REV. GARY DAVIS REDUX (Rolly Brown)
This intermediate to advanced class is designed to meet the needs of students new to the style, and also to continue the process for students who did last year’s class. This year, we’ll review one of last year’s tunes, add one new tune, and work on “speaking Gary Davis-ese”, i.e., using the conventions of the Reverend’s playing in your own arrangements. Recording devices are highly encouraged.
IMPROVISATION 101 (Rolly Brown)
The goal of this class is to help students of all levels overcome their inhibitions about improvising. Along the way we’ll deconstruct the art of improvisation, beginning at the most basic level. Topics will include a beginning approach to phrasing with emotional content and simple note choices, beg./int. use of scales, arpeggios, and patterning, and just a touch of advanced discussion about “inside” vs. “outside” sounds and playing it safe vs. going for broke. Recording devices highly encouraged.
FLATPICKING FIDDLE TUNES (Rolly Brown)
We’ll start by examining the mechanics of the right hand, responsible for producing that difficult combination of precision, speed, and volume which makes for great flatpicking. Then we’ll talk about how to understand and learn tunes by breaking them down to basics, how to develop variations, wherein you play around the tune without ever losing the tune. Also, how to play good rhythm, understand jam etiquette, and more. All levels welcome. Bring a recording device!
SLIDE GUITAR 101 (David Jacobs-Strain)
In this hands-on class we’ll start with the fundamentals of slide guitar playing; creating a musical tone, developing accurate intonation, and exploring right-hand techniques that can make the slide come alive. The slide can be an incredible tool for emotional expression, and we’ll build our foundation on both mechanics and feel. We’ll dig into a few of the classic blues archetypes as the week progresses, using a call and response approach to train our ears as well as our hands. No prior experience with the slide or alternate tunings is necessary. If you’ve wondered where to begin with the slide or how to go from buzzes and clanks to a sound that really sings, this class if for you!
BEYOND THE BLUES (David Jacobs-Strain)
We’ll look at the blues as a way of emoting, and dig deep into both right- and left-hand techniques and concepts. Going beyond the basic alternate tunings, we’ll use a range of slide guitar and percussive right-hand ideas to stretch out what the blues can be. This class will be a bit more advanced than the Slide Guitar 101 class; we will break down each idea to the fundamentals, but we’ll be exploring more complete songs and covering more advanced exercises. This class is very hands-on; expect to learn new ideas and form solid habits by playing for much of each class.
WORDS AND MUSIC (David Jacobs-Strain)
In this class we’ll dig into what makes a song move you! You don’t have to be an accomplished writer; just bring a few tunes that you love to play, your own or covers, and we’ll workshop ways of making each one come to life. What makes a song great? We’ll be thinking in terms of rhetorical strategy, melodic and rhythmic content, and performance ideas. The aim is to deepen the way we create and perform; and to find a connection between words and music, emotion, and intellect. Plan on sharing music that you love as well as being open to giving and receiving performance and writing ideas from other participants!
FLATPICKING I (Jim Hurst)
The fundamentals of flatpicking are necessary formative ingredients that even some of the most experienced flatpickers neglect to spend enough time with or utilize. In this class for advanced beginners & intermediates, there will be minimal tablature, but we will work through many vital foundational aspects of what can make flatpickers better players. We will work on right-hand techniques of single- and multiple-string picking, and bluegrass rhythm patterns along with left-hand position and chord voicing. We’ll also work on the importance of scales, the CAGED idea, the importance of melodies, and practice information. It’ll be a challenge but good for you. Audio recording is encouraged, but for personal use only.
FLATPICKING II (Jim Hurst)
In this intermediate/advanced class we’ll touch on scales and chord shapes and voicing, before moving into melody ideas and solo building. With minimal tab in this class, the focus will be on utilizing ear training, your voice, and instinct to create your musical expression. We’ll also look at finding second and third (more?) positions to play melodies and improvisation, and tying them together for more options, CAGED theory and vocal perspective. It’s a challenging class with emphasis on learning for growth in the future. Audio recording is encouraged, but for personal use only.
FINGERSTYLE (OF SORTS) (Jim Hurst)
Another fingerstyle class? Well, yeah. As a ‘hybrid’ player – meaning I play both flatpick and fingerstyle techniques – my fingerstyle is slightly unorthodox in that I approach my playing with some single lines and slightly altered ideas. This class will use tab of one of my compositions so we can learn the song, but we will also learn it by ear and play it bit by bit to discover what aspects of the song will offer growth in your own playing. It will be a fun song to play melodically and expressively, especially the percussive, dynamic, and ‘not so obvious’ techniques. Having the ability to separate thumb from fingers fluently will help. Audio recording is encouraged, but for personal use only.
CHORD PROGRESSIONS EVERY SINGER/ SONGWRITER SHOULD KNOW (Vicki Genfan)
In today’s contemporary folk/pop/rock music there are certain chord progressions that are commonly used to create ‘hit’ songs. This intermediate class takes us through many of those chord progressions and explores a multitude of techniques that you can use to play and embellish them on guitar to create arrangements that really stand out with YOUR unique signature. We’ll also look at how to use these progressions in the songwriting process, to create a verse, chorus or bridge, as well as stepping a bit ‘outside’ the standard progressions to find some new harmonic twists. Some of the techniques we’ll work with are: strumming patterns, finger picking patterns/arpeggiating
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Guitar Week, July 28-August 3, 2013 Breakfast
7:30-8:30
9:00-10:15
Beginning Ukulele (Marxer)
Harmony Blues/ Holiday Thumb- Beyond Appalachian Rhythm for Swing/ the Bluegrass for Roots Favorites for style Blues in Guitarists & Jazz Blues Songbook Fingerstyle Guitar Fingerstyle Guitar DADGAD (Jacobs- Everyone Else Guitar (Dodson) Guitarists Toolbox Guitar (Kirtley) (Petteway) (Genfan) (Asbell) Strain) (Rafferty) (James) (McGowan)
FlatCeltic Improv. picking Fingerstyle 101 I (Bullock) (Brown) (Hurst)
Coffee/Tea Break
10:15-10:45
Chord Gypsy Music, Fingerstyle What Do Arranging Words & Blues/ Progressions Bebop & Flatpicking Jazz Guitar for Intermed. Meditation & Guitar I Need for Roots Music Singer/Song- Western Fiddle Guitar Beginners Fingerstyle Fingerstyle 10:45-12:00 Ukulele Performance in Celtic Theory (Jacobswriters Swing Tunes Basics (Dodson) (Marxer) (Baughman, Music For? Guitar Basics Strain) Should Know (McGowan) (Brown) (Ruby) Heng Sure) (McManus) (Asbell) (Anderson) (James) (Genfan)
Lunch
12:00-1:00 1:00-2:15
Guitar Maintenance & Repair, Luthiers Exhibit, Slow Jam (with Ed Dodson)
2:15-3:30
ClawSlide Alternate Gypsy Jazz: Deep Rev. Gary Guitar Accomp. FlatAdvanced Music of Celtic 1-2-3 Turlough hammer Guitar 101 Tunings Rhythm Bluegrass Davis for Singer/ picking Ukulele Flatpicking Fingerstyle Guitar (Jacobs- That Work Guitar Guitar Redux Songwriters II (Marxer) O’Carolan (McManus) (Anderson) (Bullock) (Baughman) Strain) (Kirtley) (Ruby) (Dodson) (Brown) (Rafferty) (Hurst)
3:45-5:00
FingerIntro to Fingerstyle Celtic style (Of Sorts) Guitar Blues (Hurst) (McManus) (Asbell)
Gypsy Bossa Bottleneck Percussive Building a Hymns for Music 51 RightJazz: Nova Slide Techniques, Jazz Guitar Fingerstyle of John Hand Lead Guitar Guitar Open Tunings Arrangement Guitar Fahey Techniques Guitar (Kirtley) (James) (Genfan) (McGowan) (Baughman) (Bullock) (Anderson) (Ruby)
Supper
5:00-6:30 7:30-?
Getting “Groove” Into Your Arrangements (Rafferty)
Evening Events (concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.)
chords, finding new voicings, changing time signatures, adding ‘color’ tones (9, sus 4, 13, etc.), using ‘walking’ bass lines to connect chords, percussive techniques (using the body of the guitar), melodic and rhythmic fills, using capos (regular, partial, harmonic capo) and using alternate tunings. Warning: lots of fun and ‘aha’ moments are common in this class!
RHYTHM FOR GUITARISTS – AND EVeRYONE ELSE! (Vicki Genfan)
This class is for all levels, no experience necessary, and guitars are not required! Drawing from eastern and western traditions, we’ll sharpen our rhythmic awareness and expand our rhythmic vocabularies by combining inner (meditative) work with outer (walking, chanting, moving) rhythm exercises. Through group rhythm circles, we’ll explore pulsation, syncopation, beat, off-beats, sub-division and more – all with a sense of spontaneity, flow (and of course, Boom Whackers!) and FUN!!
PERCUSSIVE TECHNIQUES, open tunings, now what? (Vicki Genfan)
This class is for those intermediate/advanced players who have been working with percussive techniques and open tunings, and now want to apply them to actual song composition and arranging. We will start with the techniques explored in Vicki’s DVD, 3D Acoustic Guitar, including bass note slapping, harmonic tapping and body percussion, and will move quickly into the realm of composition and arrangements using these techniques (and others that you may already be working with). Focus will be divided into two major areas: solidifying your technique and using these techniques in arranging and composing original or cover tunes. Bring a song to work on – or an idea for a new composition. In order to get the most out of this class, plan on performing something and being open to feedback.
FINGERSTYLE BLUES (Paul Asbell)
This class offers intermediate level fingerstyle blues instruction in the styles of Mississippi John Hurt, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Merle Travis, Dave Van Ronk, and others. Topics will include right-hand fundamentals, such as alternating-bass patterns, Delta-style drones, palm muting, and exercises to create effortless dexterity, syncopations and strong grooves. Left-hand issues range from basic chord concepts to sophisticated jazz and ragtime chord substitutions, moving bass lines, “guide tones”, etc. There will be added emphasis on creating your own licks, turnarounds and variations within the style. All levels welcome, but many ideas will be geared to the evolved player. We’ll have worksheets with exercises, TAB transcriptions, chord fingerings, etc… enough to keep you busy for many months afterwards!
SWING/JAZZ GUITAR STYLES (Paul Asbell)
Jazz has its own language... and for most guitarists, it’s a foreign language. This intermediate/advanced workshop explores the skills you need to play swing jazz in an ensemble, or solo. This overview will cover chord progressions and rhythm skills, technique-building exercises for soloing, chord-melody approaches, bass-line comping, jazz harmony and terminology, and basic theory concepts that enable you to apply these skills to jazz standards. All levels are welcomed, but some experience with jazz will be necessary, as advanced topics will be covered. Many hand-out sheets will be provided, so you’ll have plenty of material to work on for years to come!
WHAT DO I NEED THEORY FOR? (Paul Asbell)
Ever asked this rhetorical question? For a lot of guitarists, the words “music theory” suggests a dry, soul-killing bunch of “do’s and don’ts” that get used to dictate what is and what isn’t allowed in music-making. In reality, it’s not that at all. Rather, it’s a language which musicians use to express how our ears collectively hear stuff, and armed with that language, guitarists
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CELTIC FINGERSTYLE (Robin Bullock)
can develop their own fingerings for chords and scales they need, figure out without trial and error what scales to play over progressions, and make educated guesses as to which chords are likely to sound good with one another in a song. For most guitarists, it’s the “weakest link” in the chain of creative personal expression but it doesn’t need to be as obtuse as it’s sometimes made to appear. In this class, we’ll examine how to “decode” the jargon and make practical, musical use of basic theory concepts, including major scale and chord construction, ear training, transposing keys, etc. We’ll have many worksheets and assignments that will pull the veil of mystery from this extremely misunderstood topic!
This intermediate level class will explore the world of possibilities presented by traditional Irish, Scottish and Breton repertoire arranged for solo fingerstyle guitar. We’ll start with basic settings of relatively simple tunes and proceed from there, using alternate tunings such as DADGAD, CGCGCD and “Werewolf ” tuning (CGDGAD), which will not only make playing this music easier, but open up magical sounds that you never knew your guitar had. Along the way we’ll also discuss fingerstyle playing technique and how to get the fullest, richest tone with the minimum of physical effort. A good time will be had by all. Audio recorders recommended.
BUILDING A JAZZ GUITAR ARRANGEMENT FROM THE GROUND UP (Sean McGowan)
The blind harper Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) was the greatest of the Irish bards, whose 200-plus surviving melodies, a unique and beautiful blend of Celtic and Baroque influences, have become an integral part of the traditional Irish repertoire – and are perfect for fingerstyle guitar. In this intermediate-and-above class we’ll learn several of Carolan’s pieces and discuss the art of arranging them for guitar, in the process exploring how altered tunings and “harp-style” melody playing can evoke the otherworldly sound of the ancient brass-strung Irish harp. Audio recorders recommended.
BEBOP & WESTERN SWING (Sean McGowan)
John Fahey (1939-2001) was one of the 20th century’s most important acoustic guitarists. As a pioneer of solo instrumental steel-string fingerpicking and composition (in a style he called “American Primitive”), the founder of two hugely influential record labels, a folklorist who rediscovered blues greats Skip James and Bukka White, and an outrageous character and self-mythologizer, he inspired musicians as varied as Leo Kottke, George Winston and Sonic Youth and laid the groundwork for most contemporary fingerstyle guitar. This intermediate-and-above class will explore Fahey’s musical legacy, focusing mainly on his 1960s and ’70s work. We’ll learn several of his pieces, examine his techniques and tunings, and, as time allows, listen to recordings and watch performance footage of Fahey in action. Audio recorders recommended.
This intermediate/advanced class will focus on developing solo guitar arrangements of jazz standards in varying styles, using both pick and fingerstyle techniques. We will explore one classic jazz standard and bring it to life through the use of melodic/rhythmic approaches, walking basslines, chord substitutions, and basic strategies for solo guitar improvisation. Students will create an original arrangement of the tune and present it to the class on Friday. This intermediate/advanced class will explore two classic American musical styles: bebop and western swing. These musical first cousins from the 1940s share several commonalities including many great (albeit lesser known) guitar players. The class will work through Texas- and swing rhythm styles, developing solid picking technique, and essential soloing vocabulary of guitarists from West 52nd Street to West Texas. Specifically, we’ll play through works by Christian, DeArango, Shamblin, Kessel, Wyble, Ellis and Garland.
HOLIDAY FAVORITES FOR FINGERSTYLE GUITAR (Sean McGowan)
This intermediate/advanced class will explore some of the best-loved Thanksgiving/Christmas songs arranged for solo fingerstyle guitar in notation and tab. We’ll work through arrangements in standard and alternate tunings, and along the way analyze and discuss different approaches to harmony, fingerstyle techniques, and arranging for solo guitar. The holidays are truly right around the corner!
GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT FOR SINGER/SONGWRITERS (Adam Rafferty)
This class is for singer/songwriters, but, of course, guitarists and beginners are welcome too! Easily learn how to add new grooves, fingerpicking patterns, strums, harmonics and percussion to your guitar playing. Adam will show you slowly and clearly in a patient step-by-step manner how to learn, practice and add a whole new “palette of color” to your guitar accompaniment skills.
HARMONY FOR FINGERSTYLE GUITARISTS (Adam Rafferty)
This course is intended for intermediate/advanced guitarists who can already play some fingerstyle guitar pieces and have a fairly good working knowledge of the notes on the fingerboard. Knowledge of basic open and barre chord shapes is required, but reading standard notation is not. If you are more of a singer looking to improve your guitar skills see Adam’s Guitar Accompaniment for Singer Songwriters class.
GETTING “GROOVE” INTO YOUR SOLO GUITAR ARRANGEMENTS (Adam Rafferty)
Want to add more “pop,” “snap,” “percussion” and “groove” into your solo arrangements? In this class for intermediate/advanced players, you’ll learn how get the groove inside you onto the guitar and how to play grooves that will get your family and friends tapping their toes. Topics covered will include: finding rhythm on your own, playing hand drums, making guitar fingering choices that fall in line with your rhythmic concepts and more.
MUSIC OF TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN (Robin Bullock)
MUSIC OF John Fahey (Robin Bullock)
CELTIC FLATPICKING (Tony McManus)
Advanced intermediate players who already have some flatpicking facility can find some techniques to make jigs and reels work in this style of guitar. How does “Celtic” flatpicking differ from bluegrass? What rhythms are typical to Celtic music? We’ll look at jigs/reels/slip jigs etc. What ornaments can we steal from, say, fiddlers to make the guitar more idiomatic? How might we accompany jigs and reels? Come to this class and find out!
FINGERSTYLE GUITAR IN CELTIC MUSIC (Tony McManus)
We’ll look at the meaning of the term “Celtic Music” and how the guitar fits into it. We’ll look at music from Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Brittany and the different rhythms and grooves in these tunes and look at some altered tunings (DADGAD, CGCGCD, DAAEAE) as well as standard to make these tunes come alive for fingerstyle guitar.
INTRO TO CELTICGUITAR (Tony McManus)
For those new to Celtic music, I have found some really beautiful tunes over the years that make ideal entry-level guitar pieces. Come and explore airs, strathspeys, marches etc. We’ll cover some basic ideas in DADGAD and dropped-D tunings – basic enough that they can be used by those who first picked up a guitar two weeks ago, but useful enough to make some beautiful arrangements.
BLUEGRASS SONGBOOK (Ed Dodson)
This class focuses on how to play powerful bluegrass rhythm guitar. We will work on ‘alternating bass’ styles of playing as well as using bass runs and other motion within the chords to accent your vocals or the instrumentalists you’re playing with. In addition to these basic building-block techniques, we will learn one bluegrass song each day (all new for 2013). Lyrics will also
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be provided, so you can learn the words and add these songs to your jam sessions at home. The class will present songs that allow you to see the rhythm patterns conducive to most of the first position chord shapes. We will also discuss how to use a capo to get the song in a key to fit your voice. All levels of participants are welcome. Familiarity with guitar chords and knowledge of guitar tablature is helpful, but not required. Students are encouraged to bring audio recorders to class and also encouraged to participate in the Slow Jam that Ed leads every afternoon, following lunch, as a way to reinforce the techniques learned in class as well as learn additional songs/tunes.
DEEP BLUEGRASS GUITAR (Ed Dodson)
This course (as the name implies) is for the intermediate to advanced player who really wants to take it to the next level. During the week, we will cover a variety of techniques, including flatpicking leads and playing creative accompaniment behind singers and pickers, using the concept of playing licks around chord shapes, and building effective solos for bluegrass songs. These techniques will be learned using a specific bluegrass song or fiddle tune each day (all new for 2011). This year, we will emphasize learning multiple licks in the primary bluegrass keys/positions of G, C and D (including “dropped D” tuning). This class will build upon the techniques covered in previous years and as presented in my instructional book, Deep Bluegrass Guitar, but will be open and accessible for new participants, as well. Familiarity with guitar chords and knowledge of guitar tablature is highly recommended, but not absolutely required. Students are strongly encouraged to bring recording devices to class as a memory aid, as we will be covering some fairly challenging material.
GUITAR FOR BEGINNERS (Ed Dodson)
This class will cover the very basics of playing and enjoying guitar. Topics covered will include: tuning your guitar, basic chord shapes and patterns, basic rhythm patterns, simple right-hand technique (both flatpick and fingerpick), care and feeding of your guitar, and practice tips. By the end of the week, we will work in a tune or two for you to work on back at home. Knowledge of guitar tablature is helpful, but not required. Students are encouraged to bring audio recorders to class.
GYPSY JAZZ GUITAR BASICS (Greg Ruby)
Gypsy jazz is fun and accessible. This hands-on class is intended for either a beginning guitar player or a player new to Gypsy jazz. We will use tunes from the repertoire to learn the basics of chord voicings, rhythm guitar, pick technique, melodies and using licks to build a solo. Plan to be jamming over your favorite tunes by the week’s end.
GYPSY JAZZ: RHYTHM GUITAR (Greg Ruby)
This workshop will expand your understanding of Gypsy jazz rhythm guitar by focusing on the essential elements that drive an ensemble. Using repertoire common to the genre, participants learn ‘la pompe’, ‘four to the bar’, Gypsy bossa, and swing waltz rhythms. Launch into chord inversions to expand your chordal vocabulary.
GYPSY JAZZ: LEAD GUITAR (Greg Ruby)
This workshop will focus on the key elements to effective lead guitar playing in the Gypsy jazz realm. Using a variety of tunes, we will investigate melody interpretation, improvising, and adding chordal elements into your solos. We will also look at ways to learn and add Gypsy jazz licks and ideas to your vocabulary.
BLUES/ROOTS GUITAR TOOLBOX (Steve James)
This workshop will cover useful devices such as playing syncopation, harmonizing with chords and creating bluesy-sounding fills, phrases and turnarounds for accompaniment and improvisation. These will be presented in the context of a variety of song arrangements selected from classic recordings and Steve’s own repertoire. Some handouts supplied. Bring a guitar and accessories, pencil and paper. Q&A encouraged. Sound recording by prior arrangement.
BLUES/ROOTS FINGERSTYLE BASICS (Steve James)
These hands-on sessions will provide a beginner/intermediate level overview of tunes, techniques and tunings commonly employed in playing “country blues”, bluesy country and related guitar styles. Also included will be some anecdotal history of these songs and styles, and the remarkable musicians who created and popularized them. Some handouts supplied. Bring a guitar and accessories, pencil and paper. Q&A encouraged. Sound recording by prior arrangement.
BOTTLENECK SLIDE GUITAR (Steve James)
The intermediate guitar arrangements and techniques detailed here will involve using a slide to play those strange and evocative notes found “between the frets”, incorporating them into melodic motifs, and super-imposing these over fingerpicked rhythms (along with some tapping, slapping, chiming and cross-stringing). The tunes will include bluesy classics from past masters along with some of Steve’s original ideas. Some handouts supplied. Bring a guitar and accessories, pencil and paper. Q&A encouraged. Sound recording by prior arrangement.
Beginning UKULELE (Marcy Marxer)
Beginning players will get off to a joyous and eclectic start with tuning, chords and easy melodies. No previous experience necessary. We’ll play and sing traditional, jazz, Hawaiian, pop, Elvis, Beatles, Iz songs and more. Students will need a ukulele and an audio recording device or app. For class related or ukulele questions email Marcy directly at info@cathymarcy.com after February 1, 2013.
INTERMEDIATE UKULELE (Marcy Marxer)
Welcome to the Tiki Lounge where any hour of the day feels like Happy Hour. We’ll dive into chords and expand our knowledge of the ukulele fingerboard while building a common songbook. This class requires knowledge of some basic chords. Students will need an audio recording device or phone app.
ADVANCED UKULELE (Marcy Marxer)
We’re in the deep end now! The Advanced Ukulele class will play and learn one beautiful instrumental ukulele arrangement each day. Students will need an audio recording device and a pencil with an eraser.
SpecialEvents Note: There is no advance registration necessary for the following events.
GUITAR MAINTENANCE & rEPAIR (Randy Hughes)
Come have your instrument checked out and pick up a few ‘care & feeding’ tips.
Luthiers Exhibit
Throughout the week we will have three of the finest luthiers in America on hand displaying some of their instruments: Gerald Sheppard, www.sheppardguitars.com, Michael Bashkin, www.bashkinguitars.com, and John Slobod, www.circaguitars.com, as well as a display of some of the amazing inventory from Dream Guitars, www.dreamguitars.com, an award-winning local shop specializing in the world’s finest high-end instruments.
SLOW JAMS (Ed Dodson)
Each day, after lunch, Ed will lead jam sessions of common tunes at a tempo slow enough for folks to learn the tunes as they play.
GUitar Week Luau
On Friday, come experience the spirit of aloha at the Guitar Week luau!
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28-August 3 C
ontemporary Folk Week enters year number twenty-two with another world-class staff of new and returning artist/instructors – a slice of singersongwriter heaven. Drawing on tradition and innovation, our instructors bring a world of practical and imaginative experience to help you create and perform the music that makes your heart sing. Whether you’re trying out material at a local ‘open mike’, a performer with some experience, a working musician looking for some help in reaching your next goal, or someone who would simply like to feel more confident pulling your guitar out at a gathering, we’re here to help, and our foundations are support, fun, and community. Our top-notch staff of experienced professionals, knowledgeable in the various aspects of both the art and business of the contemporary folk world can help you achieve your goals. In addition, our limited enrollment and small campus encourage communitybuilding at its best – frequent and informal interaction between students and staff with whom you’ll have much to share, all doing our utmost to ensure that you go home energized and empowered to make the most of your music in hands-on and meaningful ways. We are honored to welcome first-time Gathering instructors Livingston Taylor, Guy Davis, Joe Crookston, and Ellis, along with a number of favorites from previous years. Choose from a wide variety of songwriting, performance, vocal and creativity classes which all stress supportive interaction among staff and students and individual attention to students’ needs. Each day’s schedule will address both artistic and commercial questions and concerns, while also providing time for sharing music on an informal basis, and social activities will include open mikes, concerts, song circles, special events, and spontaneous music-making. Contemporary Folk Week runs concurrently with Guitar Week using the same schedule, so it’s easy to take classes in either program. Please note, however, that the open mikes are open only to those who have declared themselves to be Contemporary Folk Week students and are taking at least two classes in the Contemporary Folk Week program.
JANIS IAN
Nine-time Grammy nominee (and Grammy winner!), Janis Ian wrote her first song at the age of 12, was published at 13, made a record at 14, had a hit at 15, and was a has-been at 16. It’s been all uphill since. She’s the writer of “Jesse,” a song recorded by so many others that few remember Ian wrote it; “Stars”, possibly the best song ever written about the life of a performer, recorded by artists as diverse as Mel Torme and Cher; “Society’s Child,” a song about inter- racial dating that provoked the burning of a radio station and the firing of DJs who played it, and the seminal “At Seventeen”, the 1975 song that brought her five Grammy nominations (the most any solo female artist had ever garnered), and which is now reaching its third generation of listeners. She’s also written short stories, songs for film and television, and her acclaimed autobiography, Society’s Child, published in 2008. A favorite guitarist of the late Chet Atkins, she was also the first female player to have a signature acoustic guitar by a major company (Santa Cruz.) We are delighted to welcome Janis back for her second Swannanoa Gathering. www.janisian.com
LIVINGSTON TAYLOR
Livingston Taylor picked up his first guitar at the age of thirteen, beginning a forty-year career that has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Born in Boston and raised in North Carolina, Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first record at 18 and has continued to create well-crafted, introspective and original songs that have earned him listeners worldwide. From Top-40 hits “I Will Be in Love with You” and “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. He is equally at home with a range of musical genres and has toured with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull. A natural performer, his shows are peppered with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth and a depth of musical knowledge that allows him to slip easily from folk to classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway. As a full professor at Berklee College of Music since 1989, Livingston’s Stage Performance classes are some of the most popular at the College, and provided him with the material for his book, Stage Performance. www.livtaylor.com
JOE CROOKSTON
From the first strum of his 1948 Gibson, through story songs of ex slaves, St. Francis, ruby red dresses, Tinian Island, Dylan Thomas, Taoist parables and drunken roosters you’ll be drawn in, inspired and deeply moved by the music of Joe Crookston. Singer, guitarist, fiddler and a pretty darn good percolating clawhammer banjo player to boot, Joe was chosen as a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Top 3 “Most Wanted” Emerging Artist. He was a finalist in the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, and received a year-long songwriting grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to travel throughout New York State, interview local residents, and write songs based on his experiences. Many of these songs were released on his CD, Able Baker Charlie & Dog, which was awarded “Album of the Year” at the annual conference of Folk Alliance International in Memphis, TN. He has shared festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, The Subdudes, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Tim Reynolds, John Gorka, and many others. He now lives in Ithaca, NY, and tours regularly in the US, Ireland and Canada. www.joecrookston.com
ELLIS
If you look up the definition of “wholehearted,” you just might find a photo of Ellis. An award-winning songwriter and performer, she has a way of leaving audiences better than she finds them, with softened edges & opened hearts. Audiences at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, and Moab Folk Festival have all voted her the “Most Wanted to Return” when she first performed on their stages. A Texan at heart, Ellis grew up outside of Houston until her family relocated to Minnesota at age 16. She quickly joined a rock band, and then started her own record label while in college. Since then, she has recorded and self-released 8 recordings. In 2009, Break The Spell was voted the “Best Female Singer-Songwriter Album” in the international Just Plain Folks awards, and the song “Red Light” was featured in the major motion picture movie The Roommate. Ellis’ latest studio release, Right On Time has won her several songwriting honors. She has been a resident instructor at the Rocky Mountain Song School for the past six years, and twice has been a guest instructor at the Sisters Americana Songwriting Academy. www.ellis-music.com
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CLIFF EBERHARDT
Red House recording artist Cliff Eberhardt knew by age seven that he was going to be a singer and songwriter. As a child, Cliff taught himself to play guitar, piano, bass and drums. In his teens, Eberhardt was fortunate enough to live close to the Main Point (one of the best folk clubs on the East Coast), where he received an early and impressive tutorial in acoustic music from such artists as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt. A driving force of the Greenwich Village New Folk movement and well-known among his peers, Cliff ’s songs have been covered by the likes of Richie Havens, Buffy St. Marie, Erasure, Lucy Kaplansky and the folk superstar band “Cry, Cry, Cry” (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky). A consummate performer, Cliff engages the audience with funny but true stories tinged with irony, accompanied by an unparalleled guitar style. Cliff has been an acclaimed instructor at many song writing camps, colleges, schools, and workshops, and is currently fulfilling one of his dreams – writing music for the theater. Never one to start small, he was asked to write all of the songs for, and perform in, the Folger Shakespeare Library’s production of The Taming of the Shrew, in Washington, DC. We’re pleased to welcome him back for his fifth Swannanoa Gathering. www.cliffeberhardt.net
GUY DAVIS
While on tour in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands sharing his music (and a week before heading north of the Arctic Circle to a children’s home in Greenland) Guy Davis was tagged with the moniker “The Ambassador of the Blues”. It’s fitting, for Guy takes his love of this truly American art form to the four corners of the globe. Whether he’s performing on the main stage in front of 10,000 people at a folk, jazz, or blues festival, or on Late Night With Conan O’Brien or A Prairie Home Companion, or an assembly at a school in the Basque region of northern Spain or an integrated school in South Carolina, Guy gives his all. He’s a blues musician and entertainer in the tradition of Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton, but out of the respect for those who came before him Guy will say that “the only cotton I’ve picked is my underwear up off the floor.” His influences are as broad and varied as his travels, from Blind Willie McTell, Fats Waller, Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal, to Zora Neale Hurston, Garrison Keillor, Ossie (his father) and Laura (his grandmother) Davis. He’s a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer who blends all of his experiences to convey his love of music, receiving accolades and praise for his performance off-Broadway as the legendary Robert Johnson in Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil, which won the Blues Foundation’s W.C. Handy “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award. He’s also received rave reviews for his most recent appearance on Broadway in Finian’s Rainbow, playing the part originally performed by the legendary Sonny Terry in the 1947 production. Guy has nine acclaimed releases on Red House Records and an AudioPlay collection of his one-man play, The Adventures of Fishy Waters. www.guydavis.com
SALLY BARRIS
Sally Barris is a top Nashville songwriter who has had songs covered by such artists as Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, and Lee Ann Womack. Her song “Let The Wind Chase You”, recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Keith Urban, received a Grammy nomination for vocal collaboration in 2009. Film credits include “Honey Suckle Sweet” from the Miramax film, An Unfinished Life, and “Liars Lie” featured in the Tim McGrawGwyneth Paltrow film, Country Strong. While her writing credits mightily impress, fans and peers are most captivated by her bright spirit and expressive mountain soprano. Dirty Linen says, “Barris knows how to write lyrics that are as forthright as a stream of
clear water and how to support them with melodies that share that quality.” In the last two years, the Minnesota native has performed on Mountain Stage, at the New Bedford Summer Fest and The Kerrville Folk Festival. Sally is currently touring with her new CD, Wilder Girl, and she is also a member of the The Waymores, with Don Henry and Tom Kimmel. www.sallybarris.com
COSY SHERIDAN
Cosy Sheridan has been called “one of the era’s finest and most thoughtful singer/songwriters.” A winner of both the Kerrville Folk Festival NewFolk Showcase and the Telluride Troubadour Contest, she has played everywhere from Carnegie Hall and The Jerry Lewis Telethon to the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Her songs have appeared in best-selling author Robert Fulghum’s book, Third Wish and in the documentary, Lines Across The Sand. She is a storyteller as well as a songwriter and weaves children’s stories into tales of modern adulthood (The Little Engine That Could talks with Ferdinand The Bull about achievement verses contentment) and her modern renditions of mythology (we meet Hades The Biker) have won her fans and praise from the press. The Cornell Folksong Society wrote, “Sheridan is frank, feisty, sublimely and devilishly funny. She fuses myth with modern culture, Persephone with Botox.” Cosy is a masterful performer who studied guitar with Guy Van Duser and Eric Schoenberg, and voice at the Berklee College of Music. She’s released seven CDs, written a one-woman show entitled The Pomegranate Seed An Exploration of Appetite, Body-Image and Myth in Modern Culture, and co-founded the Moab Folk Camp with musical partner TR Ritchie. She teaches songwriting and performance at music camps across the country, among them The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in Washington, and Summer Fishtrap in Oregon as well as several previous years at the Gathering. www.cosysheridan.com
ray chesna
An accomplished guitarist and songwriter, Ray is fluent in a wide range of styles including western swing, folk, blues, country and bluegrass, and has been a long-time fixture at Contemporary Folk Week, as the sideman of choice for open mikes and concerts. A private music teacher since 1971, Ray has also been on staff at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV, the Guitar Intensive at Bar Harbor, ME, Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, and has led workshops for the South East Bluegrass Association in Atlanta, GA. He continues to teach privately at his home studio in Asheville, NC, where he also maintains a guitar repair business. Ray records for Echo Lake Records and is the author of Guitar Tools, a guitar theory manual, featuring his unique method of understanding the guitar. www.raychesna.com
SIOBHÁN QUINN
A profoundly versatile vocalist and teacher, Siobhán writes and performs songs in folk, blues and adult contemporary pop styles. She is known as a dynamic singer of Chicago & New Orleans style electric blues and has performed many other styles from jazz and big band to r&b and rock; early song to renaissance music, and medieval madrigals in five languages. Truly one of the most popular vocal instructors around, she tours internationally, and is accompanied at Swannanoa by her music partner and husband, songwriter Michael Bowers. Her careful attention to each individual is renowned, and students often return to her workshops, learning new tools each year. She has taught at such programs as WUMB Summer Acoustic Music Week, Kerrville Folk Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Song School, NERFA, Great American Masters Music Industry Workshop, and coached voice
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at the Summersongs & Wintersongs songwriting retreats. When at home in Alexandria, VA, Siobhán teaches individuals, and coaches vocal performance for recordings. She consistently updates her own credentials through such programs as the international British Voice Association Conference master classes in performance/otolaryngology, and CCM at Shenandoah Conservatory. Awarded a WAMMIE for Best Traditional Folk Vocalist, Siobhán has also been a top-five songwriting finalist in the prestigious Boston Folk Festival Songwriting and (with Michael Bowers) Kerrville New Folk Competitions and Emerging Artist at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com
DAVID ROTH
Contemporary Folk Week Coordinator David Roth is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and enthusiastic instructor who has taken his songs, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time over the last twenty five years. His work has found it’s way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio concerts, the Kerrville and Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals (top honors at both “Emerging Artist” competitions), NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the space shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing songbook, and twelve CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. Winner of three “Posi” Awards (celebrating the best in empowering original music), David has also been on many of Christine Lavin’s seminal Rounder Records compilations. The former artist-in-residence at New York’s Omega Institute has also been a songwriting judge at Kerrville, Napa Valley, Tumbleweed, Eventide Arts, and the South Florida Folk Festivals. He’s taught singing, songwriting, and performance at the Augusta Heritage workshops, Common Ground on the Hill, the Woods Dance & Music Camp, WUMB’s Summer Acoustic Music Week, Moab Folk Camp, Rowe Center, Pendle Hill, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Lamb’s Retreat, the National Wellness Institute, and for many other songwriting groups and associations around the
country. David is also the creator/host of Cape Cod’s “Full Moon Open Mic” which, for the past 7 years has provided a forum for musicians to connect and be heard while at the same time collecting donations for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. www.davidrothmusic.com
SLOAN WAINWRIGHT
Sloan Wainwright is a singer and a songwriter of rare power and subtlety, serving up doses of the real and the mysterious in a soaring, soulful contralto that sends critics scrambling for metaphors equal to the thrill: “the aural equivalent of smoky, tantalizing aromas emanating from a soul kitchen;” “[her] thick as molasses voice gets under your skin in all the right ways;” a powerful, earth-mother voice that she pours into unexpectedly sensitive blends of folk, jazz, blues and funk.” Singing with the extended McGarrigle-Wainwright family, Sloan has rocked the house at Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall, and has released seven memorable records since her self-titled debut in 1994. She brings the same energy to her work as a solo artist, melding the best of pop, folk, jazz, and blues to create a unique, soulful hybrid. Sloan has been playing clubs, concerts and festivals coast to coast for two decades, triggering tears, hoots and hollers with deeply personal lyrics that connect life’s mysterious dots. A born storyteller and poet, Sloan started writing songs when she was 10. “Sitting at the piano and making up songs was my playground— a very safe place, magical and mystical. I surprised myself with what was in my head and how it all fit together.” For the last 16 years, she has been sharing that process with students, spreading the gospel of personal expression and lyrical reinvention. Sloan’s open hearted approach to singing , songwriting and letting loose has made her a treasured presence at a host of prestigious workshops, including The Swannanoa Gathering, Summersongs, Wintersongs, Moab Folk Camp and Richard Thompson’s Frets and Refrains. She’s thrilled to be returning to the Gathering again this summer, to share her love of song and story. www.sloanwainwright.com
Songwriting WRITING MELODIES (Cliff Eberhardt)
We’ll start with a brief history of melodic writing and then show how to incorporate a melodic vocabulary into your songs, including what to look for to get out of melodic repetition. Bring in songs that are incomplete or songs that you feel need improvement, not songs that you are married to or have already recorded. You’ll be asked to start with just a verse and a chorus to work on, no complete songs until later in the week. We’ll talk about how to insert different chords and use different intervals of your existing songs to improve your melodies, how to make the songs have more memorable melodies, and how to insert intros, bridges and endings. By the end of the week we will try to reconstruct your work into a complete beautiful song. Usually during the week most students start to get it and add their own suggestions. That’s when I get to take cat naps. The point is, I’ve never taught this class where the students didn’t have a great time.
WHERE YOUR SONG WANTS TO GO AND WHERE IT WANTS TO LIVE (Cliff Eberhardt)
Sometimes when we start a song we think we know what’s best for it, but believe it or not, sometimes we don’t. Songs take on a life of their own. We think that we’re the mapmakers but occasionally a song wants to take a different or new route. This class will be about freeing your songs – to learn that at times changing course in the writing is what the song wants. What the song wants the song should get. We’ll hear your songs, I’ll give my critique, then we’ll have a class discussion on what works and doesn’t work. We’ll want to know why you wrote the song and where you wanted it to go. We’ll give each other examples of how songs have changed course in midstream and how we followed the new idea. By the end of the week we’ll have listened to the rewrites and be awed and amazed at the progress that we’ve made.
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Contemporary Folk Week, July 28-August 3, 2013 Breakfast
7:30- 8:30 9:00- 10:15
Grain of Salt (Roth)
Guitar Tools: String Theory A (Chesna)
Shivers & Goosebumps (Crookston)
Intentional Performance (Ellis)
Swimming in the River of Your Song Master Class Vocal Clinic (Wainwright) (Ian) (Quinn)
12:00- 1:00
Lunch
1:00- 2:15
Free Time
Juke Joint Blues (Davis)
Time & Tools (Ellis)
Songwriting 101 (Roth)
2:15- 3:30
Stage Fright, Stage Conversations: Beyond Getting From Heart of Gold: Your Where Your Song Strength A the Fourth Wall Good to Great Unique Story & Song Wants to Go (Taylor) (Ian) (Barris) (Crookston) (Eberhardt)
3:45- 5:00
Stage Fright, Stage Strength B (Taylor)
Guitar Tools: String Theory B (Chesna)
Hitting Too Harmonica: Hands, Close to Home Rack & Box (Barris) (Davis)
The Dialog of Creativity (Sheridan)
It’s All About the Song (Quinn)
Singing With Your Heart, Soul & Body (Wainwright)
Supper
5:00- 6:30 7:30- ?
Writing Melodies (Eberhardt)
Coffee/Tea Break
10:15- 10:45 10:45- 12:00
Intro to Open Tunings & Partial Capos (Sheridan)
Evening Events (open mikes, concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.)
GETTING FROM GOOD TO GREAT (Sally Barris)
This is a class for songwriters who want to take it up a notch. There are songs, and then there are SONGS. What makes a song magic? What gives it the mojo to transcend time and space? How do you reach a wider audience and even get to a pro level? Each student will receive in-depth feedback, a full tool kit of strategies, and new skills that will widely broaden their songwriting horizons. Please plan to share one song and bring copies of your lyrics to share with the class.
HITTING TOO CLOSE TO HOME (Sally Barris)
Ironically, what is most personal is most universal. In this class we will focus on dealing with difficult subject matter in songs. As writers, we write about everything and everyone. Part of our job is to make sense of the things that don’t. How we deliver that song can make all the difference. So whether your song is personal or political, etc., we will create a safe zone and learn poignant, tactful and sometimes funny ways to express ourselves. Plan to bring a song you’ve been working on that challenges you and pushes you a little out of your comfort zone. This song could end up offering the greatest gift.
HEART OF GOLD: YOUR UNIQUE STORY & SONG (Joe Crookston)
There is a Georgia O’Keeffe quote that I love, and I’m paraphrasing: “The parts of ourselves that we are most self-conscious of are the parts of ourselves that are most uniquely true to who we are.” I see my work as a person and as a songwriter to access THAT quirky/true part of myself and tell THAT story. In this workshop, we will travel along musical, instrumental, emotional, mystical, humorous and personal roads as we explore the many aspects of a powerful song and performance. Everything is interconnected: the melody,
the imagery, the emotional core, the bass line, the lyrics, the phrasing and our commitment to being ourselves. This is a creativity workshop where we will write together, we will sing together, we will laugh and we will mine for gold in those quirky, hilarious and deep places inside ourselves.
THE DIALOGUE OF CREATIVITY (Cosy Sheridan)
Generally, when we write a song we tend to do it alone. And unless we do a lot of co-writing, we tend to think of our creative process as private. We often spend a lot of time developing an authentic individual songwriting style. Can we open up that private space and still maintain a sense of self in our songwriting? This week we will each set the intention to write a song. On our first day we will have a guided meditation to open the door, and we’ll help each other find meaning in that experience. During the week we will use partner and group exercises and games to help us explore our own song as it is being written. We will create a safe place to explore how it feels to have others enter our private creative process.
SWIMMING IN THE RIVER OF YOUR SONG (Sloan Wainwright)
This is our time to create songs from a place of freedom, flow and fun. Each day we’ll show up and allow ourselves to dip into the waters of creativity – we will listen, we will write, we will mine ideas and marry together music and words. Using games and prompts, we will practice being in and writing in “non-edit” mode and see where each of us are led. Through examples and discussion we will play with our ideas and open ourselves to inspiration. You’ll leave the class with a whole new outlook on your songwriting process, with new skills to help you grow as an artist, and a new song to sing. Jump on in...the water is fine!
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SONGWRITING 101 (David Roth)
Let’s roll up our sleeves together and start at the beginning. This all-levels class is geared especially towards those who are new to the craft but also to those who simply might like to strip down their own process a bit by looking at songwriting through a different lens. We’ll write every day (I’m lyric-driven – I usually start with words and see where they lead me), brainstorm compelling individual themes worth writing about, examine the different elements that make a song, and engage in lively dialogue/ exercises/demonstrations on topics like sculpting inspiration, developing universal truths from personal stories, the marriage of lyrics and music, tackling tough subject matter, and being honest. We’ll also have fun in a safe, playful, supportive, permissive, and powerful environment and with any luck (luck: the intersection of opportunity and persistence), and as time allows, we’ll get to hear some of these new creations during the week. We’ll also use one session to do a group co-write of a custom-made song for a sick child and his/her family for the Songs of Love Foundation in New York... very meaningful and powerful.
GRAIN OF SALT (David Roth)
Here’s an interactive and participatory opportunity to air out a song (or part thereof) that you might like some input on. You’re in charge of your song and you get to make all the final decisions, but what we can offer one another is food for thought. We’ll hear these works-in-progress and become a collective think-tank about what’s working so far and what might be improved upon in a supportive and constructive environment. There’s a lot to be learned by witnessing the process too, so it’s also an opportunity to hone your listening and feedback-giving skills as well as a chance to ponder all the elements that make a song click. Everyone will have a chance to be heard during the week, and we’ll bask in the beauty of our different points of view. Fun, friendly, playful, substantive, and all taken in with a you-know-what.
Vocal SINGING WITH YOUR HEART, SOUL, AND BODY (Sloan Wainwright)
Inside each of us lives and beautiful and unique instrument, so let’s sing together with joy and freedom! In this workshop we will move our bodies, soften our hearts, open our mouths and let our voices out to play. With an emphasis on vocal health and self care, we will use a combination of vocal warm-ups and work-outs – traditional and non-traditional – to help relax, release and strengthen the voice, making it more flexible and reliable. Individual attention is offered as well as to the group as a whole, and each student will be supported in developing their own personal vocal practice. This class is for singers and non-singers alike.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SONG (Siobhán Quinn)
This is intended as a next step for prior students of the Vocal Clinic class, but also available to those with a bit of vocal experience. We’ll spend the first day on basics, getting everyone on the same page, then immediately focusing on tools to capture your best performance in songs of your choice. There will be individual work/performance and interactive vocal warm-ups each day. Everyone will learn crucial vocal and performance skills for translating technical singing skills into excellent vocal performance of songs – whether humorous, sensitive, deep, dark songs, or the wailing blues. Siobhán may even use video to record and show you exactly what’s happening when you sing.
VOCAL clinic (Siobhán Quinn)
This class is for road-weary, occasional and even “never before” singers, especially guitarists! Everyone has a unique sound from the physical makeup of their vocal cords/resonance chambers; learning vocal technique will help you claim your songs with your voice! Siobhán uses classical/modern technique as a foundation for vocal flexibility while helping you to maintain individual vocal personality. We’ll work individually to explore and enhance your voice and you will develop a personal basic regimen to maintain skills you learn in the workshop. Siobhán is an encouraging teacher who will help you to bring out the best parts of your voice within each song you sing. Be prepared to work on two songs – one you love to sing, and one you really want to sing. They do not have to be your own and a capella is just fine. We will cover 1) vocal/breath warm-ups leading up to advanced workouts, 2) physiology of the voice, how to use each part – knowledge crucial to getting the most out of your instrument, including vocal health issues, 3) specific issues and exercises for songwriters/guitarists, such as posture with instrument, lack of breath, singing flexibly within your range, positioning and strengthening exercises to shake out the unsteady parts of your voice. We’ll work toward songs in the second half of the week, and how to translate the emotional intention of a song effectively.
Performance STAGE FRIGHT, STAGE STRENGTH (AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN) A & B (Livingston Taylor)
(Note: This class is offered twice; once in the morning, then repeated in the afternoon) Walking on a stage and facing an audience is an act of bold, courageous presumption. The notion that we have the right (and the need) to ask that our vision be seen and heard is a daunting request of strangers. No wonder people are terrified to go on stage. Let’s figure out why we want to do this, why it’s OK (even essential) to ask that our light be seen, and then DO this for one another. To allow ourselves to fall into the “mosh-pit” of an audience (a metaphor only, I won’t be teaching that technique), to accept their verdict about us (good or bad) with the grace that this is our vision and that we need them a great deal more than they need us is our goal. It is wonderful to be fear-free on stage.
SHIVERS AND GOOSEBUMPS (Joe Crookston)
Would you like your listeners to get goosebumps when you sing your original songs? Would you like to become more confident in sharing your music? We will explore numerous ways to sharpen these skills, and learn to be better communicators when presenting songs. This workshop is about looking inside ourselves to find the best, most authentic way to write and perform songs with the skills we have. We’ll talk about and practice guitar/instrument techniques, fingerpicking ideas and “sonic spices” that can help your songs shine. We will explore why dynamics and arrangements are so useful in conveying a song with clarity and power. This workshop is for everyone who writes songs or would like to learn more about the process. Participants will delve into their own song ideas and deepen their ability to craft songs that connect deeply with others. Come ready to play, grow, learn, and make beautiful music.
INTENTIONAL PERFORMANCE (Ellis)
Connect To Your Audience By Fully Embracing Who You Are. Every concert is different, but every audience wants the same thing: to feel moved and connected to the music you are making! Magic happens naturally when there is
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ease, joy, and a shared sense of a real connection between an audience and a performer. It can happen in the unexpected imperfect moments and there are practices you can use to strengthen your sense of balance and “play” in your performances. You are the only you in the whole wide world. So how do you allow yourself to be as full and bright as you can be and as the world needs? In this class, we will examine how to identify and use your music mission and we will explore how to prepare mentally and musically so you can fully ‘show up’ at every show!
Guitar & Creativity MASTER CLASS (Janis Ian)
This will be a traditional master class, normally offered on the university level and to colleagues in the arts, focusing on the role of and history of the artist through the ages and up to the modern world. We will be covering storytelling as it spread from the Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal to the ancient Greeks and those ugly Romans, the Dark Ages, the medieval troubadours and their role in spreading the news, the Renaissance, and why syphilis gave rise to the “artist as lunatic” perception. We’ll pay attention to fear and its affect on us as creative persons, the poetry and consciousness of wood, what to do when the well runs dry, the importance of both craft and talent, and the impossibility of living up to your ideals. There will be quotes and song illustrations as well. Students will be asked to read 3-4 short stories about artists before class begins. Contact me at janis@janisian.com for copies of same. Please bring a kazoo. (No class limit)
CONVERSATIONS: BEYOND THE FOURTH WALL (Janis Ian)
What are the things no one talks about? Yes, you can talk about them here!!! My morning “Master Class” will have a very defined fourth wall; it is an instruction class, not a discussion. Conversely, the afternoon class will be a guided free-for-all. Participants are encouraged to bring any and all questions and thoughts about art and business; discussions are expected. There will be a few guest interviews of select instructors and students, conducted by me and covering everything from “How political are the Grammys?” to “What do female performers do when there’s no bathroom available?” to “How can I age gracefully in a youth-skewed market” and “Why do I even bother?!” and “How can I convince my family to give me my college money and let me spend it making a CD instead?” Both classes will take advantage of the fact that I’ve been doing this since I was twelve years old. I am 61, so I must have learned something by now. Chiefly, I no longer have anything to lose by telling the unvarnished truth. Bring questions you don’t think anyone else will answer. Bring your doubts, bring your confusions, bring your anger and pain. We will sort through as much of it as we can, and become stronger in the making. (No class limit)
TIME & TOOLS OF A SONGWRITER (Ellis)
Right-Brained Approaches To Time Management & The Creative Process. Setting aside songwriting time has always been challenging for me amidst a busy touring schedule, being a mom to a toddler, and doing all those music business-y things on my to-do list. About a year ago I was officially diagnosed with ADD. This new understanding of my awesomely powerful creative right brain and not so powerful executive functioning helped to me understand why traditional left-brained time management and organizing skills haven’t worked for me. In this workshop I will bring inspiring ideas, stories, as well
as easy daily practices that will help you be more open and creative. I will also be offering friendly tools for time management that are designed for us wandering creative minded songwriter types who want out of the box! I have found that structure is freedom and I can’t wait to show you these tools.
INTRODUCTION TO OPEN TUNINGS & PARTIAL CAPOS FOR SONGWRITERS (Cosy Sheridan)
Using open tunings or partial capos can effect a song even as we are writing it - sometimes inspiring a new emotional tone to the lyric or a new melodic idea and taking it in a direction we would never have found in standard tuning. In this class we will learn three basic open tunings and a couple of partial capo configurations and we’ll see how they can affect our songs. If you are writing a song during the week, bring it in and see what happens each day as we try a modal DADGAD tuning, or a sweeter Open G tuning, or we try putting an E sus capo on the 4th fret. We’ll see how our instrument can take our songwriting in a different direction.
JUKE JOINT BLUES (Guy Davis)
Come one, come all. Participate - with any instrument - in some tasty blues classics like “Little Red Rooster” and “Hoochie Coochie Man”. We’ll focus (but not exclusively) on the Delta, Piedmont, and Chicago style blues songs and rags, and if you want to share a folk, country, rock, ballad, original, any kind of song, you are welcome here. Singing is encouraged even if you’ve never sung in front of anyone before. The one thing we’ll ask of one another (from novice to expert and all in between) is that we listen attentively and adjust our own “volume” so that even the softest voices can be heard. Suitable for all levels.
HARMONICA: HANDS, RACK, AND BOX (Guy Davis)
Be prepared to have some serious fun. If you want to learn harmonica come to this class. Guy will teach you the regular scale, the blues scale, how to bend notes, and no matter what level you’re at, he’ll help you get better. Jesse Fuller, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Guy are all guitar and “rack” harmonica players. They play both instruments at the same time with the assistance of a harmonica rack, leaving both hands free to play the guitar or other stringed instrument (“box”) at the same time. Students will need a diatonic key of “A” harmonica (bring others if you have them). Guy will begin with harmonica basics for all levels, then progress to “hands-free” as the week unfolds. This free-wheeling workshop will leave you with a few new songs AND the ability to play harmonica along with your guitar or other stringed instrument.
GUITAR TOOLS: STRING THEORY for GUITARists A & B (Ray Chesna)
(Note: This class is offered twice; once in the morning, then repeated in the afternoon.) Ray ties it all together and breaks it all down. Be it your own personal style, your songwriting, blues, bluegrass, new age, Celtic, pop, jazz; the one thing that they all have in common is THEORY. This fun and involving course will explore melody (scales) and harmony (chords) in understandable terms and with simple concepts. The insightful, practical instruction will enable the student to easily apply the concepts to the guitar. This has been a popular course for several years now, and, of course, Ray has some new tricks up his sleeve. This year we will be spending more time on chords, chord progressions and deconstructing classic songs. Clear, helpful handouts will allow the student to bring this information home for continued study. Repeat offenders always welcome.
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Fiddle August 4-10
S
ince the invention of the violin, the music of its unschooled alter-ego, the fiddle, has excited people to dance, evoked the devil and the spiritual, echoed the human voice and heart. It is an instrument that has made its way into the core of many different traditions and it speaks a language understood worldwide. Fiddle Week at the Swannanoa Gathering celebrates that universality with classes in traditional and contemporary styles ranging from Irish to Mexican, from Cajun to blues. The week also includes classes in guitar, focusing on accompaniment in various styles, and there are related offerings for the fiddle’s bigger siblings, the cello and bass. The class schedule has been structured in such a way as to allow students to explore a rich variety of fiddle styles each day. Each instructor teaches different levels in their area of expertise, and students are asked to place themselves in the appropriate level. Most classes are taught at the intermediate or advanced level, but we continue to offer a few introductory classes for students who want to gain confidence in learning and playing by ear, and for those who are newer to the instrument. Intermediate classes are also appropriate for advanced players who would like to explore a style that is new to them, or for experienced players who need to get more fluent playing by ear. The advanced classes are designed to build on previous experience in the style. The beginning fiddle class is designed to help brand-new fiddlers get off to a good start, and Joe Craven’s Blues and Improvisation classes are open to all levels and all instruments. During the last hour of the day, there will be a special class time for students of any skill level to form bands, along with students from Mando & Banjo Week. With the guidance of instructors, band members arrange and rehearse with the option of performing at the student showcase on Friday evening. Fiddle Week runs concurrently with Mando & Banjo Week, (see page 49 for details), and students may take classes in either program. New this year is a Luthier’s Exhibit, featuring several instrument builders including Jonathan Cooper, the highly respected Maine violin maker, who will be building a violin during the week and will also have finished instruments on hand to sample.
DAROL ANGER
Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, Darol Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous trailblazing ensembles such as his Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, Montreux, the Duo and other ensembles. Today Darol can be heard on NPR’s Car Talk theme every week, along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice. He has recorded and produced scores of important recordings since 1977, is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow, and has received numerous composers’ residencies and grants. He was the winner of Frets magazine’s Readers’ Poll for “Best Jazz Violinist” for four years running, is a featured soloist on dozens of recordings and motion picture soundtracks, and is an associate professor at the Berklee College of Music. He has released two popular instructional videos for Homespun Tapes, is a Contributing Editor for Strings magazine, and serves on the Editorial Board of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). www.darolanger.com
MICHAEL DOUCET
Michael Doucet and his band, Beausoleil, have been the premier ambassadors of the Cajun sound for more than three decades, offering music that is usually melodic and harmonically interesting, in addition to its riveting rhythmic drive. He grew up on his father’s farm about five miles west of Lafayette, Louisiana, and by 1974, Doucet was playing in local hangouts, when a French promoter asked him and his band to come to France for two weeks to play at a folk festival. “It was the turning point of my life,” he says, when he realized the correlations between old French songs from the Middle Ages and modern Cajun music. In 1975, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study the music styles of such living Cajun music legends as Dennis McGee. Most of his time has been spent with multiple Grammy-winners Beausoleil, and the group has toured throughout the states, Europe and the Middle East and recorded more than twenty albums. The band composed and recorded the sound track for the movie, Belizaire the Cajun, and the title song for the romantic thriller, The
Big Easy. Doucet has collaborated with Richard Thompson, and the band has made several appearances on Garrison Keillor’s radio show A Prairie Home Companion, and at former President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural gala. Keith Richards asked Doucet to play on his solo release, Talk is Cheap, and in 1990, Beausoleil celebrated Mardi Gras with the Grateful Dead for 17,000 fans at Oakland Coliseum. In 2005, Doucet was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
MATT GLASER
Matt Glaser is the Artistic Director of the American Roots Music Program at the Berklee College of Music, and was formerly chairman of the String Department at Berklee for 28 years. Matt is the first and only recipient of the Stephane Grappelli Memorial Award, “In recognition of his significant contribution to the teaching and playing of improvised string music in America”, presented by the American String Teachers Association with the National School Orchestra Association. He has performed widely in a variety of idioms ranging from jazz to bluegrass to early music, and has published four books on contemporary violin styles including Jazz Violin, co-authored with the late Stephane Grappelli. He has written for many newspapers and music magazines including the Village Voice, Strings, and Acoustic Musician. He has performed with Stephane Grappelli, David Grisman, Lee Konitz, Bob Dylan, J. Geils, Leo Kottke, Joe Lovano, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Kenny Werner, Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, the Waverly Consort, Fiddle Fever, and most recently with Wayfaring Strangers – a band that fuses jazz and folk music. The Boston Herald called him “possibly America’s most versatile violinist.” Matt served on the board of advisors of the Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary, and appears in the film as a talking head. Matt serves on the board of directors of Chamber Music America and the American String Teachers Association. He has performed at the White House, and at Carnegie Hall with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor as part of Stephane Grappelli’s 80th birthday concert. He has taught at the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp, University of Miami, American String Teacher Association conferences, International Association of Jazz Educator conferences, and many others.
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BRUCE MOLSKY
One of the most respected old-time fiddlers of his generation, Bruce Molsky plays southern roots and blues music on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and song with a great depth of spirit. Known for his collaborations with musicians of other cultures, his wide-angled approach to traditional folk music has influenced a generation of players and listeners. Bruce is a member of Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny’s acclaimed Mozaik, and he tours frequently with Aly Bain & Ale Möller. His band, Fiddlers 4, with Darol Anger & Michael Doucet was a Grammy Nominee. He is also a faculty member at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and frequent instructor at colleges and camps in the US and Europe. Bruce’s solo concerts and many CDs have become staples for fans of American and world music everywhere. www.brucemolsky.com
JOE CRAVEN
Creativity educator, former museum curator, visual artist, actor/storyteller, a coast to coast music festival emcee and recipient of the 2009 Folk Alliance Far-West Performer of the Year, Joe has made music with many folks ranging from jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli to Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, and from The Persuasions to The Horseflies. Always looking for the next expression and object to make music with, he is a musical madman with anything that has strings attached; violin, mandolin, tin can, bedpan, cookie tin, tenor guitar/banjo, mouth bow, canjoe, cuatro, berimbau, balalaika, boot ‘n lace and double-necked whatever. Joe has created music and sound effects for commercials, soundtracks, computer games and contributions to several Grammy-nominated projects. He performed at Carnegie Hall with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor as part of Stephane Grappelli’s 80th birthday concert. Joe has presented at numerous schools, universities and the American String Teacher’s Association, is Co-Director of The Wintergrass Youth Academy, Seattle, WA and is the Executive Director of RiverTunes Roots Music & Creativity Camp in California. No matter who he’s connecting with; a community workshop in Costa Rica, a university lecture demonstration in Washington, or on stage in front of thousands of school kids in Scotland, he’s at home and loving every minute. ‘Everything Joe touches turns to music,’ says mandolinist David Grisman, who Joe played with for almost 17 years. www.joecraven.com
BOBBY HICKS
Fifty years after his first Grand Ole Opry appearance, legendary fiddler, Bobby Hicks still inspires awe in his audiences. Born in Newton, NC, Hicks took up the fiddle at age nine and was self- taught. His early career paired him with other country music and bluegrass greats such as Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, the Judy Lynn Show in the 60’s, and the Bluegrass Album Band which included Tony Rice, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Todd Phillips, Jerry Douglas and Vassar Clements. In 1981, Hicks began a 21-year association with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, winning 3 CMA awards as Instrumental Group of the Year, 3 Music City News awards as Bluegrass Act of the Year and 5 awards from the Academy of Country Music as the Touring Band of the Year. In addition, Hicks won Grammys with the band for Bluegrass Rules!, Ancient Times, Soldiers of the Cross and Live From Charleston Music Hall. Hicks has taught fiddle at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, at Mark O’Connor/Berklee College of Music Summer String Program, and Harvard University’s Bluegrass Symposium. He has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, The North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame, and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, and was featured in a documentary of the first generation bluegrass players for the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. www.bobbyhicks.com
EMERALD RAE
Emerald Rae grew up in a musical family where country music and rock ‘n roll were prevalent and has spent the last 20 years studying all facets of folk music. She is a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion and a graduate of the Berklee College of Music well-known in the Boston area for her versatility, her dynamic power-house playing style and her unique perspective. Emerald is also a talented step-dancer and an active member of the Boston Cape Breton music scene, and she has danced for such fiddling giants as Natalie MacMaster and Alasdair Fraser. In 2013, she will release her newest solo album entitled, If Only I Could Fly, featuring her talents on guitar, fiddle and crwth (the ancient welsh fiddle, pronounced “krooth”). www.emeraldrae.com
DAVID KAYNOR
David Kaynor is a multi-instrumentalist and dance caller who has been featured at numerous music and dance camps, including thirty years on staff at Ashokan’s Northern Week, sixteen years at Contra Dance Musicians’ Week at the John C. Campbell Folk School, plus Fiddle Tunes, Lady of the Lake, Pinewoods, Mainewoods Dance Camp, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp and many others. He’s also performed at numerous festivals throughout the country and can be heard on the old Front Hall Records’ The Fourgone Conclusions: Contra Dance Music from Western Massachusetts, The Montague Processional with Three Good Reasons, High Clouds with the Greenfield Dance Band, Midnight in Montague with Betsy Branch, and other recordings. www.davidkaynor.com
MICHAEL ISMERIO Michael Ismerio began playing old-time music in 1997 in Portland, Oregon, a tiny music scene at the time that would evolve into one of the most active in the country. He was a member of two prominent west coast stringbands, The Dickel Brothers, and The Government Issue Orchestra, and founder of the Portland Old-Time Music Gathering. Since 2000, he has made yearly pilgrimages to the southern Appalachian mountains to visit and learn from older fiddlers such as Clyde Davenport, Joe Thompson, and Charlie Acuff. In 2010, he moved to Indiana to study with Brad Leftwich, a master fiddler and teacher who greatly informed his teaching and led Michael to develop a unique bowing-centric teaching style that is resonating with many new players. Michael has taught, performed, and called square dances all over the country including four years at The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Port Townsend, Wa, The Nimble Fingers Bluegrass and Old Time Workshop, Sorrento, BC, The Appalachian Stringband Festival, Clifftop, WV, and the Dare To Be Square dance callers gatherings. He has performed internationally in Mexico, Canada, The Netherlands, Ireland, and China. www.michaelismerio.com
JACK DEVEREUX
Born into an artistic family in Western North Carolina, Jack Devereux was drawn to music at a young age. Inspired by the oldtime fiddling, singing and guitar playing of his grandfather, Arthur Jenkins, and summertime visits to his father’s family in Ireland, Jack immersed himself deeply in the musical traditions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and the British Isles. Beginning with the fiddle, later adding the uilleann pipes and guitar, Jack quickly established himself as one of the premier young players on the traditional music scene. He has appeared on stage with such luminaries as Liz Carroll, Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, Tommy Peoples, and the band Altan. Jack is featured on the latest recording by Irish guitar virtuoso John Doyle, Shadow and Light, alongside master
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players Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien and others. Jack is currently in his last semester at The Berklee College of Music, where he is the recipient of the Fletcher Bright Scholarship for Strings. At Berklee, Jack had the opportunity to study with players such as John McGann, Darol Anger, Matt Glaser and Jamey Haddad, and worked closely with Matt Glaser as the student work-study for the American Roots Music Department, helping to develop curriculum for this newly instituted program. www.jackdevereux.com
JUAN RIVERA
Juan Rivera was born in Aguililla, Michoacán, Mexico. Both he and his brother developed an interest in music early on and went to Mexico City to pursue their studies at Casa de la Música Mexicana, where Juan later became an instructor. Juan studied the “huasteco” style of violin with Rolando “Quecho” Hernández and soon began recording with the group Son del Pueblo including two European tours with the dance troupe Compañia Nacional de Danza Folclórica de México. In 2001, Juan relocated to Chicago where he played with mariachi and son jarocho groups for several years. After a year-long stint in California, where Juan had an opportunity to study violin with Salvador “Don Chavita” Torres (a fiddler with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán for nineteen years), Juan returned to Chicago in the spring of 2005 to join Sones de México Ensemble and to continue his formal musical training at Wright College. Today, when he is not performing with the Ensemble, he continues to sit in with area mariachi bands and teaches private music lessons. www.sonesdemexico.com
ANDREA HOAG
Since hearing the Holy Modal Rounders at the age of 15, Andrea Hoag has been drawn to fiddle traditions where the serrated coincides with the sublime. This fascination led her inevitably to Sweden, where she studied with elder fiddlers Päkkos Gustaf, Påhl Olle, and Nils Agenmark on a fellowship from the Skandia Music Foundation. Andrea was the first non-Swede to graduate from Malungs Folkhögskola’s Folk Violin Pedagogy program, in 1984. Since then she has performed and recorded in numerous combinations across the U.S. and overseas. Career highlights include a Grammy nomination for her CD, Hambo in the Snow with Loretta Kelley and Charlie Pilzer; a collaborative recording with Jacqueline Schwab, Bruce Molsky, and others; leading Seattle’s Skandia Spelmanslag on a performance tour of Sweden; and the daily privilege of playing music for a living. A dedicated teacher, Andrea has been a guest instructor for the American String Teachers Association and the Berklee College of Music. Her music has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Performance Today, at the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, and at numerous venues around the U.S. and in Sweden. www.andreahoag.com
KEVIN KEHRBERG As a bassist in both jazz and traditional music, Kevin Kehrberg has toured the United States, Canada, and Japan. He has performed with Jean Ritchie, Curly Seckler, Lee Sexton, Art Stamper, Slide Hampton, and Roger Humphries, and his album credits include recordings by the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra, David Long, Rayna Gellert, Chris Sharp, and the Wildwood Valley Boys. He is also active as a rhythm guitarist, helping the Red State Ramblers to the finals at the 2008 Appalachian String Band Music Festival Band Contest in Clifftop, West Virginia. Kevin studies and performs music from other cultures as well, particularly those of Indonesia, China,
and Thailand. He previously served as an adjunct bass instructor in the Music and Jazz Studies programs at Transylvania University and Morehead State University. Currently, he is a member of the music faculty at Warren Wilson College, where he directs the college chorale and teaches courses and ensembles in American music and world music in addition to applied bass and guitar.
DAVID SURETTE
One of New England’s premiere instrumentalists, David Surette is highly regarded for his work on the guitar (both flatpicked and fingerstyle), mandolin and bouzouki in a wide variety of settings. As a soloist, he is nationally-known as a top player of Celtic fingerstyle guitar, yet his diverse repertoire also includes original compositions, blues and ragtime, traditional American roots music, and folk music from a variety of traditions, all played with finesse, taste, and virtuosity. He has performed as a duo with his wife, singer Susie Burke, for 20 years, recording several albums and building a reputation as one of New England’s top folk duos. Surette was a founding member of the Airdance band with fiddler Rodney Miller, with whom he recorded four albums and toured nationally. He has also released five solo recordings – his most recent is Return to Kemper, a collection of original and traditional solo guitar pieces from 1990-2011. David is an accomplished and gifted teacher who has taught at workshops and camps throughout the U.S., and the U.K. He is folk music coordinator at the Concord (NH) Community Music School, and artistic director of their March Mandolin Festival. He has authored a book of Celtic fingerstyle guitar arrangements for Mel Bay Publications, and is a regular contributor to Acoustic Guitar and Strings magazines. www.burkesurette.com
TONY MARCUS Since first realizing at age 16 that people could make music themselves, Tony Marcus has pursued that goal with joy and abandon. He has been a professional musician for forty years, playing a number of stringed instruments, but with a particular emphasis on swing guitar styles. He has played bluegrass with mandolin legend Frank Wakefield, jug band music and blues with Geoff Muldaur, string swing with Cats & Jammers, big band jazz with the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, weird old Hawaiian and hokum with R. Crumb and the Cheap Suit Serenaders and honky-tonk country with Rose Maddox He’s performed from Japan to Ireland, and from Alaska to Florida. He has written articles for Acoustic Guitar magazine and has taught at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, International Guitar Seminars, California Coast Music Camp and Augusta Heritage Workshops. www.tuxedorecords.com
JULIA WEATHERFORD
Fiddle Week Coordinator Julia Weatherford has been a full time artist/musician for more than 25 years. She played cello for 13 seasons with the Asheville Symphony, while moonlighting as a square dance fiddler. Julia has toured internationally as a dance musician, and performs regionally with the Akira Satake Band, Far Horizons, and Fly by Night. Among her performance and teaching venues are the LEAF festival, the Black Mountain Festival, Berea Country Dance School, Pinewoods, Folkmoot International, and the Biltmore Estate. Julia teaches both cello and fiddle and has worked extensively as a cellist on recordings by various artists. She was the Artistic Director of the legendary Black Mountain Festival for many years, and as a textile artist, Julia is a long-time member of the Southern Highlands Crafts Guild. Julia has also been the Swannanoa Gathering Logistics Coordinator since 2005. www.juliaweatherford.com
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NATHANIEL SMITH
Nathaniel Smith began studying cello at five years of age. He is a two-time winner of the alternative instrument category at the Southern Regional Fiddler’s Contest and won first place in the American String Teacher Association Alternative Music Competition in 2005, which included a winner’s performance at the Nugget Casino in Reno, Nevada where he received the award for Best Musicianship and also where he first met Mark O’Connor. That led to a national tour with Mark O’Connor’s American String Celebration. He has appeared on radio’s From the Top and A Prairie Home Companion, and TV’s Austin City Limits and performed with many great players including Darol Anger, Andy Leftwich, Cody Kilby, Bruce Molsky, Michael Doucet,
Christian Howes, Chris Thile, Gilles Apap, David Grier, Mike Marshall and Matt Flinner. Nathaniel appears on the Fiddle Masters Vol. 2 DVD, and has two CDs of his own. He has taught at the Clarridge Camp in Big Sur, CA, Christian Howes Creative Workshop, the Leahy Music Camp and Mark O’Connor’s String Camp at the Berklee School of Music. Nathaniel performs regularly with Natalie MacMaster, Jeremy Kittel, and Sarah Jarosz. www.nathanielsmithcello.com
LIZ KNOWLES (See bio under Celtic Week, pg. 11)
intermediate bluegrass fiddle (Bobby Hicks)
In this class for intermediate players, we’ll proceed at a pace that students are comfortable with in learning some of the original tunes of Bill Monroe, such as “Cheyenne” and “Big Mon.” In addition, we’ll learn ‘moving’ double stops/harmonies and twin fiddle technique using tunes such as “Tallahassee.” We’ll cover fill licks (working around a singer), intros and ‘outros’, and useful breaks that are also great finger exercises. We’ll also briefly cover the Nashville Numbering System to assist you in playing with other instrumentalists in jam sessions.
advanced bluegrass fiddle (Bobby Hicks)
In this faster-paced class for advanced players we will learn in greater detail a few of Bill Monroe’s tunes, such as “Cheyenne” and “Big Mon.” In addition, we’ll learn ‘moving’ double stops/harmonies and twin fiddle technique using tunes such as “Tallahassee.” We’ll cover fill licks (working around a singer), intros and ‘outros’, and useful breaks that are also great finger exercises. We’ll also briefly cover the Nashville Numbering System to assist you in playing with other instrumentalists in jam sessions.
intermediate ROOTS GROOVE TOUR (Darol Anger)
In this class for intermediate players, we will explore the eclectic and groovy world of fiddling using some of my favorite, really spectacular tunes which come from all over the world including blues, bluegrass, Brazilian choro, and Scandinavian polska. The wide-ranging topics will include: Rhythm and Chop – We will analyze the technique, get it under control, look at some different grooves to try, and talk about when to and when NOT to do it. Fiddle Backup– The ins and outs of playing behind a singer or other soloist. The Layers of Interest in any music– rhythmic content, melodic/harmonic content, the players’ attitude, and their phrasing, and tone. Leveraging Practice Strategies– Some ideas about what to practice, and how. We all have limited time and energy to improve: How can we make the most of what we have?
advanced ROOTS GROOVE TOUR (Darol Anger)
This class will cover the same topics as Darol’s Intermediate class but at a pace and level of detail more suitable for advanced players.
INTERMEDIATE SWEDISH FIDDLE (Andrea Hoag)
Rhythms that swirl like snow and nip like fire. Tonalities that conjure the deep forest and the midnight sun. Swedish fiddling is a wonderfully complex tradition with thousands of tunes, and though we can’t learn all of them this week, we’ll spend some time listening and learning about the culture. We’ll explore walking tunes, schottis, hambo, polska, and ceremonial tunes. We’ll
also look at harmony parts (a distinctive part of the tradition) and how to create them. Tunes will be taught by ear, with transcriptions provided at the end of the week. No experience with Scandinavian fiddling is expected. Be ready for an adventure!
ADVANCED SWEDISH FIDDLE: POLSKA! (Andrea Hoag)
The polska is the delectable dance form at the center of Swedish fiddling. It’s lyrical, rugged, luscious, transporting. With its many variations on 3/4 rhythm, polska bends the mind and steals the heart. In this class, we’ll take an overview of regional and local styles and then delve deeply into the southern slängpolska and one of the rich variants from Dalarna. Depending on class interest, we’ll work with harmonies as well as melodies. You needn’t have any experience with Scandinavian fiddling, but should be comfortable with trying new bowing patterns and scales, and ready to think outside the box.
INTro to old-time fiddle (Michael Ismerio)
This class will focus on identifying, naming, slowing down and playing the exciting rhythms, pulses, and drones that give old-time fiddling its distinctive sound. There will be a heavy emphasis on pointing out and demystifying the half of old-time fiddling that often gets neglected: the bowing hand. I will break down each of the bowing movements or rhythms that I use, teach the group to replicate them and then play them in the context of a melody. Once the group has a handle on the rhythm then we shift the focus to think about how you would teach those rhythms to others, thus creating a community of teachers. It’s part learning, part teaching, and part having fun. Basically, it’s the class I wish I had taken when I first started fiddling. This class is taught by ear and uses mostly your bow hand to get your muscle memory used to playing the rhythms. It’s appropriate for all levels of fiddlers, beginner or advanced, young or old, and anyone who is interested in teaching techniques. Bring a recording device.
INTERMEDIATE old-time fiddle A (Michael Ismerio)
Focusing on bowing first, melody second, we’ll build your familiarity with old-time music by learning the importance that bowing rhythms play in southern Appalachian fiddle music. Each tune will be taught by first breaking down the various rhythms that would be played in that tune and playing those rhythms in order to build your muscle memory. Once you have the bowing then we move onto joining those rhythms with the melody. The class will also delve into the subtleties and complexities of jamming with others; How do we attract other musicians rather than scare them away? How can you more easily fit into a jam session? This class is taught by ear. Bring a recording device.
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intermediate old-time fiddle B (Bruce Molsky)
In this class, we’ll survey regional styles, from Texas to North Carolina to Georgia and the Midwest, making stops along the way to dig into some tunes in detail. Emphasis will be on using the bow to make rhythm, on proper phrasing, and just making the fiddle ‘speak.’ We’ll spend some time learning to grab a tune from the air (the aural tradition) and put it on the instrument. If enough folks are interested, we’ll also do a session on singing with the fiddle.
advanced old-time fiddle (Bruce Molsky)
In this class for advanced fiddlers, we’ll take a deep look and listen to some classic old fiddle recordings. The goal is to discover what makes the performances so powerful, and to learn and play those tunes together. We’ll identify and develop the things that make old-time music so strong and unique: ornamentation, intonation, pulse, and language. We may also have a session on harmonizing and accompanying songs with the fiddle.
INTERMEDIATE swing fiddle (Matt Glaser)
This class will examine the playing of great swing fiddlers including Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Svend Asmussen, Joe Venuti, and Claude Williams. Students should spend as much time as possible listening to the swing greats and should be able to play several standards and have a basic understanding of chords and scales. We will analyze transcriptions of these masters playing on standard tunes, and then learn the same standard tunes and apply principles extracted from the solos. We will also work on articulation and rhythm issues, with some time spent on solving the problem of creating a horn-like attack on the violin. All jazz studies must at some point include basic harmony and the transposition of commonly occurring lines to twelve keys. We will also work on harmony through the arpeggiation of 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords, as well as common jazz devices including chromatic and diatonic approach tones, and upper structure triads. For the more intuitive (less intellectual) students, as much of this work as possible will be done in a call-and-response setting in which Matt plays a phrase and you play it back by ear.
ADVANCED swing fiddle (Matt Glaser)
This class will examine the playing of great swing fiddlers including Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Svend Asmussen, Joe Venuti, and Claude Williams. Students should have invested extensive hours in listening to swing greats and know at least 5 standard tunes, (melody, chord changes and structure). We will analyze transcriptions of these masters playing on standard tunes, and then learn the same standard tunes and apply principles extracted from the solos. We will also work on articulation and rhythm issues, with some time spent on solving the problem of creating a horn-like attack on the violin. All jazz studies must at some point include basic harmony and the transposition of commonly occurring lines to twelve keys. We will also work on harmony through the arpeggiation of 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords, as well as common jazz devices including chromatic and diatonic approach tones, and upper structure triads. For the more intuitive (less intellectual) students, as much of this work as possible will be done in a call-and-response setting in which Matt plays a phrase and you play it back by ear.
INTRO TO IRISH FIDDLE (Jack Devereux)
This class will be geared toward intermediate players who have some technical facility on the fiddle, but haven’t yet delved much into Irish Music. Some tunes will be taught, but the emphasis will be on techniques and stylistic elements unique to Irish fiddle playing. A portion of class time will be spent listening to recordings of both historic and contemporary Irish music, and discussing the changing sound and social context of the tradition. Because we only have a week, my goal is to equip you with skills and knowledge that will allow you to continue your study of this music on your own in an effective and fun way. If you have any questions or specific things you would like to cover in class, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jack@jackdevereux.com
INTERMEDIATE IRISH FIDDLE (Liz Knowles)
You should have a basic understanding of where all of the notes are in first position, basic bowing patterns, and basic sound production. You may or may not have had specific instruction in Irish fiddling before but hopefully you have heard it before and maybe even play a couple of Irish tunes already. I will cover basics for learning by ear, some technique as it applies to Irish music, practice techniques for ornamentation and bowing in the Irish style and we will learn as many tunes as the general class level allows. I will happily provide sheet music for tunes and anything else we cover in the class. Please come with a recorder of some kind (*most important*), a pencil and your questions. I will send you a tune or two via email at least two weeks before the class. Even if you already know the tune or have heard it before, LISTEN to it as much as you can (in the car, while washing dishes, reading a book, etc). I know it will be hard for some of you but do NOT try and learn it! Just listen. All will become clear in the class!
Advanced IRISH FIDDLE (Liz Knowles)
For this class, we will use tunes you already know (as well as new tunes that I will teach in the class) to explore variations, ornamentation, style, and bowings. You should have more than two years of experience in learning by ear and should have a list of at least 3 Irish fiddle players that you have listened to regularly. We will not cover much basic technique in this class but might touch on specific topics like learning harmony and theory through Irish music, dealing with the issues that arise from learning difficult tunes and some good practice techniques applicable to all styles of fiddling. We will learn at least one tune in a flat key and I will provide some sheet music for specific topics. Please come with a recorder of some kind (*most important*), a pencil and your questions. I will send you a tune or two via email at least two weeks before the class. Even if you already know the tune or have heard it before, LISTEN to it as much as you can (in the car, while washing dishes, reading a book, etc). I know it will be hard for some of you but do NOT try and learn it! Just listen. All will become clear in the class!
intermediate HUASTECO FIDDLE (Juan Rivera)
This class is for intermediate players who want an introduction to Mexican fiddle music. Huapango Huasteco is a style from the Huasteca region of Mexico and is distinguished by its virtuosic fiddle playing, canorous falsetto singing, and poetic improvisation. We’ll learn together some simple songs from the Huasteco style by ear, which is the traditional way of learning this music, but sheet music for some pieces will also be provided.
ADVANCED HUASTECO FIDDLE (Juan Rivera)
This class is for advanced fiddle players who want to explore Mexican fiddle music beyond Mariachi. Huapango Huasteco is a music style from the Huasteca region of Mexico and is distinguished by its virtuosic fiddle playing, canorous falsetto singing, and poetic improvisation. We’ll learn together some of the most important Huasteco tunes by ear which is the traditional way of learning this music but sheet music for some pieces will also be provided. The class will start with simple songs and move quickly into more complex pieces.
IMPROVISATION: IN THE MOMENT, WITHOUT A NET (Joe Craven)
How do you make better music in the moment, jam confidently with folks you’ve never met, and/or say something different every time you take a solo? This class for ALL instruments will help deepen one’s connection to spontaneity and flow through organized sound. Joe teaches musical improvisation more from a theater model rather than the requisite model of jazz. Therefore, this is not an ability-based class. Joe connects improvisation to what you already do and moves you forward from there. We’ll focus on ways to think differently about sound, embrace fearlessness, and address the connection between spoken-word language and the language of music. Showing up empty-handed, mimicry, dis-association, “awareness/focus”, “quantity/ quality”, “what/how”, mistakes & metaphor, “sending/receiving” and losing
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Fiddle Week, August 4-10, 2013 7:30-8:30 9:00-10:15
Breakfast Intermediate Intermediate Roots Groove Cajun & Creole Tour Fiddle (Anger) (Doucet)
Advanced Old-Time Fiddle (Molsky)
Fiddle Advanced Intermediate/ Advanced Improvisation From Swedish Fiddle: Cape Breton Fiddle (Craven) Scratch Polska! (Rae) (Kaynor) (Hoag)
10:15-10:45
Coffee/Tea Break
Advanced Intermediate Intermediate Advanced Cajun & Creole Old-Time Swedish 10:45-12:00 Roots Groove Tour Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle (Anger) (Doucet) (Molsky) (Hoag)
12:00-1:00 1:15-2:30
2:45-4:00
American Roots Guitar (Surette)
Intermediate/ Advanced Scottish Fiddle (Rae)
Feelin’ the Blues (Craven)
Intermediate Bass (Kehrberg)
Celtic Guitar (Surette)
Lunch Intermediate Intermediate Bluegrass Huasteco Fiddle Fiddle (Hicks) (Rivera) Advanced Bluegrass Fiddle (Hicks)
Advanced Huasteco Fiddle (Rivera)
Advanced Swing Fiddle (Glaser)
Advanced Irish Fiddle (Knowles)
Intermediate Intermediate Swing Fiddle Irish Fiddle (Glaser) (Knowles)
Intro to Contra Dance Old-Time Fiddle Band (Ismerio) (Kaynor) Intermediate Old-Time Fiddle (Ismerio)
Intro to Irish Fiddle (Devereux)
4:15-5:15
Band Sessions & Daily Bluegrass Jam (Dodson)
5:00-6:30
Supper
7:30- ?
Advanced Cello (Smith)
Intermediate Swing Guitar (Marcus) Advanced Swing Guitar (Marcus)
Evening Events (open mikes, concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.)
control are just some what we’ll apply to our music making in class. Lots of exercises and opportunity to play with others in new ways. The class will stretch you and may well change some of your perceptions of what music is. It’s a fun and enlightening romp!
FEELIN’ THE BLUES (Joe Craven)
The blues are truly a foundation and inspiration for most traditional and contemporary vernacular American music. This adventure is open to ALL bowed instruments. We’ll listen to historical references from early recordings to the present. We’ll play basic forms (the 8, 12 and 16 bar and grill). We’ll feel the grooves (from ballads to stomps, rumbas to shuffles, hand jive to swing). We’ll reference the melodic guidepost of the human voice, bending long and short tones and learn some tunes/songs that reflect them. We’ll also tackle how to translate the “feel” of the grease, the groan and the growl of the blues to your instrument, and importantly, we’ll address taking your time sayin’ a bunch (without playin’ a bunch) of notes. Playin’ the blues suggests the “technique” of clarity over correctness – of intuition, release and expression of your personal emotion. Surrender to the feeling and you’ll do it! We’ll have a great time!
INTERMEDIATE CAJUN & CREOLE FIDDLE (Michael Doucet)
Intermediate Cello (Smith)
In this class we will make our way through the history of Cajun fiddling and culture from 1929 to the present. We will cover the spectrum of Cajun and creole fiddle styles highlighting fiddlers such as Dennis McGhee, Canray Fontenot, Doc Guidry, Will and Dewey Balfa. We will delve into stylistic variations throughout southwestern Louisiana, such as Texas influence on players like Harry Choats. We will learn aspects of the style including double stops, fiddling as an integral part of song, bowing and rhythm. This class will proceed at an appropriate pace for intermediate fiddle players, and be directed by student interests and experience.
ADVANCED CAJUN & CREOLE FIDDLE (Michael Doucet)
This class will cover essentially the same material as the intermediate section above, but at a pace more appropriate for advanced players, and once again, the class will be directed by student interests and experience.
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED Cape Breton FIDDLE (Emerald Rae)
This class will focus heavily on the rhythm, tempo, accents and ornamentation that make that Cape Breton “sound.” We will learn some classic tunes and discuss how to go about adding “the dirt”, how to make tunes danceable and how to build your repertoire. The music learned in this class will be entirely by ear, which involves quite a bit of listening, so bring a recording device!
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SCOTTISH FIDDLE (Emerald Rae)
In this class, we will cover as much of the wide and varied spectrum of Scottish music as possible, including tunes old & new, from the islands, from the highlands, and a bit about how traditional fiddle music evolved and was influenced by other styles of music over the last few centuries. We’ll tie it all together with a selection of tunes that will build your repertoire and understanding of the style as well as giving you a grasp of how and when to use various types of ornamentation and bowing. The music learned in this class will be entirely by ear, which involves quite a bit of listening, so bring a recording device!
CONTRA DANCE BAND (David Kaynor)
This class is open to all instruments, but oriented toward intermediate fiddlers who can play at least a reel or jig or two at a moderate tempo, and will focus on fiddle-specific technical details such as bowing for dynamics and phrasing. We will explore dance-related matters including tempos (including how to both set and change them), medleys, fitting tunes to dances, starts and stops,
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working with callers, and repertoire development. We’ll work mainly by ear while providing information about tunebooks and online transcription sources. Recording devices are strongly recommended. Also strongly recommended: Personal tune lists, which will help us develop common repertoire for some of our work on rhythm, expression, and danceability.
FIDDLE FROM SCRATCH (David Kaynor)
This is a class for folks who have always wanted to play fiddle, but don’t know where to start, and also for fiddlers who want to go back to the beginning and set things right with a patient teacher in a supportive atmosphere. You will learn your first fiddle tune and lots of technique to help move you beyond the “scratch”. We’ll work by ear while providing information about commercially available tunebooks and links to online sources of transcriptions for reference. Recording devices are strongly recommended.
INTERMED. cello (Nathaniel Smith)
This class for intermediate players will be a survey of modern cello technique including the chop, finger style pizzicato, and bass lines. These techniques will be reinforced through practical application while jamming and improvising on tunes from various genres such as blues, jazz, bluegrass, celtic, and rock.
ADVANCED cello (Nathaniel Smith)
Consider yourself an advanced player if you learn quickly and are comfortable in all cello positions. The advanced class will cover all techniques described in the intermediate class at a faster pace and may also include elements of composition and advanced ear training.
intermediate BASS (Kevin Kehrberg)
This class will cover intermediate principles of bass performance and accompaniment applicable to various musical settings including jazz, swing, and traditional music styles. Topics include bass line construction, following chord progressions, timing and feel, and ear training. Concepts of bass soloing and improvisation will also be introduced. The class will mainly use pizzicato technique, although other techniques may be discussed if applicable (e.g., slap technique, bowing). Students should possess fundamental technical skills and know basic scales.
BLUEGRASS GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT (Ed Dodson)
This class focuses on how to play powerful bluegrass rhythm guitar. We will work on alternating-bass styles of playing as well as using bass runs and other motion within the chords to accent your vocals or the instrumentalists you’re playing with. In addition to these basic building-block techniques, we will learn the rhythm accompaniment part to one bluegrass song or tune each day. The class will present songs/tunes that allow you to see the rhythm patterns that work effectively in most of the first position chord families. We will also discuss how to use a capo to get the song in a key to fit your voice. All levels of participants are welcome. Familiarity with guitar chords and knowledge of guitar tablature is helpful, but not required. Participants are encouraged to bring recording devices to class and also encouraged to participate in the Bluegrass Jam that Ed will lead every afternoon, as a way to reinforce the techniques learned in class as well as learn additional songs/ tunes. (Find this class in the Mando & Banjo Week Schedule on page 55)
advanced BLUEGRASS GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT (Ed Dodson)
This course will delve into more advanced forms of bluegrass guitar rhythm playing. In addition to learning our way around the standard “boom-chuck” bass note and strum patterns that form the foundation of bluegrass rhythm guitar, we will explore more advanced moving bass lines, substitute chords and inversions, and even some basic three-note swing rhythm patterns to put some extra “sock” into your playing. Along the way, we’ll highlight the concepts of harmonic theory and how to select chords and chord patterns to
strengthen the guitar’s support of the vocalist and instrumentalist. Familiarity with flatpicking and guitar chords, along with knowledge of guitar tablature is highly recommended. While tablature will be provided for most techniques and songs covered in class, participants are strongly encouraged to bring recording devices to class as a memory aid, as we will be covering some fairly challenging material. (Find this class in the Mando & Banjo Week Schedule on page 55)
CELTIC GUITAR (David Surette)
Since its introduction into the world of Celtic music in the 1960s, the guitar has become an integral part of the music, both in accompaniment and as a solo instrument. This class for intermediate/advanced players will focus on both of these aspects, primarily through arrangements of traditional Irish and Breton dance tunes and folk songs from the British Isles. We will cover rhythms, strums, bass lines, drones, modal chords, and stylistic elements, all while keeping a solid groove. We will look at several tunings, including DADGAD and standard, and will also talk about ornamentation and decoration, developing interesting arrangements, improvisation, and using traditional forms and vocabulary as a launching pad for original compositions. Please bring a notebook, and feel free to bring an audio recording device.
AMERICAN ROOTS Guitar (David Surette)
This new class for intermediate/advanced players will offer a survey of the guitar’s role in traditional American roots music. We will take a look at both flatpicking and fingerpicking, with a repertoire including country blues, traditional folk, old-time, guitar rags, fiddle tunes, and the like. We will start with standard tuning, and will also look at some open tunings, especially for fingerstyle instrumentals. We will also focus on fiddle tune accompaniment, song accompaniment and arranging, improvisation and soloing, and developing new material using traditional vocabulary. Please bring a notebook, and feel free to bring an audio recording device.
intermediate SWING GUITAR (Tony Marcus)
This class will teach the use of moveable four-note chord voicings, with a fairly small number of shapes that will allow students to accompany jazz/ swing standards. We’ll also work on right-hand strumming to lock into the propulsive 4/4 swing feel. You can expect to come away from the class with enough information to play almost any song in any key. There’ll be lots of playing in class!
ADVANCED SWING GUITAR (Tony Marcus)
This class moves beyond the most common moveable chord shapes, expands the chord vocabulary and also gives an introduction into chord-melody playing. If you already have a good repertoire of three- or four-note chord forms, this can move you to the next level. We may also talk a bit about single note soloing, though this is primarily a chord class.
Other Events DAILY BLUEGRASS JAM (Ed Dodson)
In the last hour before supper, Ed will lead a non-threatening bluegrass jam for all levels and instruments. Come have fun channeling your inner Bill Monroe! (No class limit)
BAND SESSIONS (staff )
During the last hour of the day, there will be a special class time for students of any skill level to form bands, along with students from Fiddle Week. With the guidance of instructors, band members arrange and rehearse with the option of performing at the student showcase on Friday evening. (Sign up for band sessions at Orientation, no advanced registration required.)
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Mando & Banjo August4-10
Mando & Banjo Week features classes in two of the instruments that are at the core of several of the most popular folk genres, including bluegrass, oldtime, Irish and Scottish, as well as some of the more adventurous blendings of traditional and jazz flavors known variously as ‘newgrass’ or ‘new acoustic’ music. For the mandolin students, we also offer classes in classical mandolin, improvisation, Brazilian choro, and traditional swing/jazz, while the banjo students can sample a variety of classes in three-finger plucked or clawhammer styles. Mando & Banjo Week has been paired with our Fiddle Week, offering classes in similar styles, to encourage students from both programs to jam with each other, and with guitar classes in both programs to provide rhythm players, the possibilities for impromptu bands and jam sessions are rich, indeed. There will be concerts throughout the week featuring our world-class staff, and the optional student showcase at week’s end will be an opportunity for students to show what they have learned. Most classes are taught at the intermediate or advanced level, but we continue to offer a few introductory classes for students who want to gain confidence in learning and playing by ear, and for those who are newer to the instrument. For the intermediate classes, it is recommended that students have mastered beginning skills, be able to tune their instruments, keep time, play the principal scales cleanly, and know how to play a few tunes with confidence. This level is also appropriate for advanced players who would like to explore a style that is new to them, or for experienced players who need to get more fluent playing by ear. The advanced classes are designed to build on previous experience in the style. Advanced students should be able to easily learn by ear, have a basic repertoire in the style, and be comfortable playing in more difficult keys. During the last hour before supper, there will be a special class time for students of any skill level to form bands, along with students from Fiddle Week, or participate in the Daily Bluegrass Jam, or visit our new Luthiers Exhibit with mandolin builder Dan Voight and violin maker Jonathan Cooper. Mando & Banjo Week runs concurrently with Fiddle Week, (see page 42 for details), and students are free to take classes in either program.
MIKE MARSHALL
Mike Marshall is one of the world’s most accomplished and versatile string instrumentalists whose musical tastes are as wide-ranging as music itself. A master of mandolin, guitar, mandocello and violin, he has created some of the most adventurous and interesting instrumental music imaginable on recordings and in concerts around the globe. Whether playing bluegrass or jazz with Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck or Chris Thile, Brazilian choro music with Hamilton de Holanda or Baroque classical music with German mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, Mike is able to swing gracefully between all of these musical styles with a unique blend of virtuosity, depth and musical integrity that is rare in the cross-cultural musical world of today. He grew up in central Florida, cutting his teeth on traditional American music, and at age 19, made his way to the San Francisco Bay Area to join the ground-breaking David Grisman Quintet, which set a new standard for American stringband music. He’s been pushing the boundaries of acoustic music ever since on hundreds of recordings as a composer, featured artist, sideman and producer. He founded Windham Hill’s Montreux Band, and the classical ensemble, The Modern Mandolin Quartet, which redefined the mandolin family in a classical music setting with many newly-created works for this format. His love affair with the choro music of Brazil has led to recordings and concerts with some of Brazil’s finest musicians, and his group, Choro Famoso, has helped spearhead a wave of popularity in the U.S. for this infectious style. His own label, Adventure Music, has released over thirty CDs to date of the music of Brazil. You can find him on concert tours with everyone from the Swedish group Väsen, Grammy-winning jazz ensemble, The Turtle Island String Quartet, or with his progressive bluegrass group, Psychograss, with Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Todd Phillips and David Grier. He’s also a dedicated teacher and founded the famous Mandolin Symposium with his old pal David Grisman. Already known as one of the best chefs amongst his musical buddies, he often trades guitar lessons for cooking lessons with Michael Peternell, head chef at Berkeley’s famed Chez Panise Restaurant. www.mikemarshall.net
TONY TRISCHKA
Tony Trischka is perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. In his 40 plus years as a consummate banjo artist, his stylings have inspired generations of bluegrass and acoustic musicians. His technical and conceptual advances opened the way for such players as Bela Fleck and Alison Brown and his recordings with them and others from Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley and Pete Seeger are part of every banjolovers musical reference. A native of Syracuse, NY, Trischka’s interest in banjo was sparked in 1963 by the Kingston Trio’s hit, “Charlie and the MTA.” Over the next decade and a half, he was a member of a number of influential groups including the Down City Ramblers, Country Cooking, Country Granola, and Breakfast Special. These last three comprised his “food band” period. After his second solo album, Banjoland, was released in 1976, he became the musical leader for the Broadway show, The Robber Bridegroom. In the early 1980s, he formed a new group, Skyline, with whom he recorded four albums, and in 1984, he performed in his first feature film, Foxfire. Three years later, he worked on the soundtrack for Driving Miss Daisy. He has also appeared on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch, and other radio shows, and recently produced Steve Martin’s Grammy-nominated Rare Bird Alert (Rounder), which features performances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. His 2007 release, Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, featured appearances by Steve Martin, Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, Alison Brown and more, was nominated for a Grammy and won three IBMA awards including Banjo Player of the Year for Tony. His recent recording, Territory, was named Best Americana Album at the Independent Music Awards. Tony is the musical director and associate producer of the documentary, Give Me the Banjo, which aired on PBS and has been released on DVD. He has created numerous instructional books, DVDs, CDs and the groundbreaking Tony Trischka School of Banjo, that is the online banjo home for students from around the world. Tony was also recently one of 50 recipients to receive a fellowship from United States Artists, a privately endowed organization that annually awards grants to participants in all of the arts, including music, dance, visual artists, and literature.
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NOAM PIKELNY
Noam Pikelny has emerged as the pre-eminent banjoist among a new generation of acoustic musicians. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the “pros’ top banjo picker,” Noam is a founding member of Punch Brothers, a string ensemble which the Boston Globe calls “a virtuosic revelation” and The New Yorker describes as “wide-ranging and restlessly imaginative.” In September of 2010, Pikelny was awarded the first annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music. Pikelny has shared the stage with The Decemberists, Marcus Mumford, Béla Fleck, Dave Douglas, Steve Martin, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Orchestra. Noam continues to broaden the awareness of the banjo in the mainstream through recent collaborations with Wilco, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Lindsey Buckingham & Jon Brion for the soundtrack to This is 40 and Punch Brothers’ feature song on The Hunger Games soundtrack. In December 2012, Noam’s sophomore recording, Beat the Devil and Carry A Rail, was nominated for the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy Award. www.noampikelny.com
EMORY LESTER
Emory Lester is one of this day’s foremost exponents of the acoustic mandolin. His landmark recording projects, Pale Rider, The Emory Lester Set, and Cruisin’ the 8 have inspired and influenced many of today’s current wave of mandolinists, and his latest solo recording, Reminiscing Today, showcases his skill as a multi-instrumentalist. Emory performs with Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa, doing shows across the U.S., Canada, Europe and the U.K. He has also produced many recordings by other prominent artists, and his ten-year partnership with noted ‘clawgrass’ banjoist Mark Johnson has yielded three creative recording projects, with another nearing completion. Mark and Emory have toured all across the U.S., and have been featured on several performances with Steve Martin, most notably on the Late Night with David Letterman show in September 2012. Emory also performs with his own band, the Emory Lester Set, at concerts and festivals throughout the country. A Virginia native now living in Ontario, Canada, Emory has taught master series workshops at events such as the Steve Kaufman Camp, the Mandolin Symposium, Transatlantic Bluegrass School in Wales, U.K., the Alaska Guitar Camp, and many other prestigious schools and workshops far and wide. www.emorylester.com
MARK JOHNSON
Mark Johnson has revolutionized the art of clawhammer banjo by adapting its techniques and rhythms to the demands of playing in a bluegrass ensemble in a banjo style he calls ‘Clawgrass’. He has performed and recorded with many bluegrass and acoustic luminaries and is also a gifted teacher and songwriter. His second recording, Acoustic Rising, a duo CD with Emory Lester, released on the Crossroads/Mt. Home Record Label was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) in 2007 as “Instrumental Album of the Year.” Mark’s music was used in a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan television commercial, and in September of 2012, he was named as the third annual winner of the prestigious Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music, and has performed his clawgrass banjo style on The Late Show with David Letterman. Mark has conducted countless clawhammer workshops at bluegrass and acoustic music festivals across the country, and he continues to host an annual clawhammer banjo workshop as part of the IBMA Fanfest in Nashville, Tennessee. www.clawgrass.com
KEN PERLMAN
Perhaps the best-known exponent of the “melodic” clawhammer style, Ken Perlman is known wherever banjos are played as a master of clawhammer technique and an expert teacher of clawhammer mechanics. He has been a Banjo Newsletter columnist for over 25 years, written several books on clawhammer instruction including the well-known works, Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Clawhammer Style Banjo, and he has recorded several audio and video banjo instruction series. He directs three banjo camps of his own – American Banjo Camp, Midwest Banjo Camp, & Suwannee Banjo Camp – and he has taught at many others including Banjo Camp North, Bath Banjo Festival, Breaking Up Winter, the Celtic College, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Maryland Banjo Academy, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Common Ground on the Hill, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute. Also an independent folklorist, Ken spent over two decades collecting tunes and oral histories from traditional fiddle players on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. He has published a collection called The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island and is now at work on a website devoted to PEI traditional fiddle music, sponsored by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Ken’s most recent recordings include Southern Summits (with Alan Jabbour) and Northern Banjo, and his most recent book is Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo. www.kenperlman.com
DON STIERNBERG
While still in his teens, Don Stiernberg learned to play the mandolin from the innovative and influential virtuoso Jethro Burns. Don “graduated,” wound up as a member of The Jethro Burns Quartet, and has been a professional musician ever since. Don co-produced and played rhythm guitar on Jethro’s final recordings, Swing Low, Sweet Mandolin and Bye Bye Blues for the Acoustic Disc label. Some 30 years later he still enjoys playing, teaching, and writing about the mandolin. Don has six CDs of his own and appears on many others by a variety of artists in all styles. His current release, Swing 220, on Blue Night Records might be thought of as a seminar in swing, featuring mandolin, guitar and trio renditions of 14 jam session favorites. A concert DVD with Tony Williamson, Low Country Jazz, has also just been released. Besides freelance performing and session work around his native Chicago, Don tours with his trio or quartet from coast to coast and abroad. He writes the jazz column in Mandolin Magazine and has been an instructor at such mandolin events as Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Camp, The Mandolin Symposium, Mandolin Camp North, River of the West Mandolin Camp, Accademia Internacionale di Mandolino(Italy), The European Mandolin Academy(Germany), and many others. These days Don fronts his own jazz quartet, and recently performed in Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and at Momento Rio Bandolim in Brazil. www.donstiernberg.com
ALAN MUNDE
Alan Munde needs no introduction to long-time bluegrass music fans. From his early creative work with Sam Bush in Poor Richard’s Almanac to his traditional bluegrass apprenticeship with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys to his 21- year stint anchoring the landmark Country Gazette, Alan has blazed a trail as one of the most innovative and influential banjo players of all time. Along the way, he has also recorded and contributed to numerous instrumental recordings, including the 2001 IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year, Knee Deep in Bluegrass. Alan has supplemented his recorded work with several instructional publications for the banjo, and, from 1986 - 2007, Alan taught in the Creative Arts Department at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, a program which has
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produced many professional musicians nationwide. In recent years, he has performed and recorded as a duo with his South Plains faculty colleague, and former Gazette-mate, Joe Carr. Alan’s extensive body of recorded work, his instructional materials, and his work at the college has solidified his status as one of the true “gurus” of the 5-string banjo. Alan currently appears in Ranch Road 12, a bluegrass trio with Elliott and Janis Rogers, and his most recent recording, Dapple Patti, is a live recording with long-time friend and picking partner Adam Granger of St. Paul, Minnesota. www.almundesbanjocollege.com
CATERINA LICHTENBERG
Caterina Lichtenberg is one of the world’s premier classical mandolinists. A graduate of the Cologne Academy of Music, she is the winner of numerous national and international music competitions and was a scholarship holder at the Richard Wagner Foundation. Apart from her solo and duo work with Mirko Schrader (Duetto Giocondo), she also performs in other chamber music settings, e.g., with Thomas Müller-Pering (guitar; Germany); John Dearman (guitar; USA), Silke Lisko (Duo Galante), Brigitte Engelhard (cembalo; Austria), Mike Marshall (mandolin; USA), the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (USA) and orchestras such as the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, the Aachen Chamber Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the members of the Ensemble Recherche, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has toured throughout Europe as well as the US, Canada, Mongolia and Japan, and numerous compositions have been written for her and for Duetto Giocondo. Caterina is a sought-after artist and lecturer at national and international festivals and master classes, such as the International Mandolin Festival in Kobe (Japan), the International Mandolin Convention in Washington and Minneapolis (USA), and at the Domaine Forget Music and Dance Academy (Canada). She has performed in concert with the European Plucked String Orchestra, the Guitar Festival in Nürtingen, and the Savannah Music Festival, and she is regularly invited as a juror to national and international music competitions. She teaches at the Cologne University of Music, where she currently holds the sole Professorship of Mandolin in the whole of Europe. www.caterinalichtenberg.de
RADIM ZENKL
Radim Zenkl is a mandolin player, composer and instructor. Originally from the Czech Republic, he began playing the mandolin at thirteen, and discovered bluegrass by listening to records that were smuggled into this communist country. The sound of a bluegrass mandolin was the spark that launched a decision at the age of seventeen to play music as a career and subsequently led Radim beyond bluegrass to an eclectic array of styles. He escaped from Czechoslovakia four months before the fall of communism and settled in the San Francisco Bay area. His style features progressive original and eastern European traditional music flavored with bluegrass, jazz, new age, flamenco, rock, classical and other influences. In 1992, he won the US National Mandolin Championship playing his own compositions. Radim is at the cutting edge of the mandolin’s future, designing new mandolin family instruments and creating new playing styles. He has invented a masterful technique, the “Zenkl style,” in which a single mandolin sounds like two. According to David Grisman: “Zenkl has re-invented the mandolin in several different ways.” Besides collaborating with the top musicians of the acoustic music scene, Radim has built up an extensive repertoire for solo mandolin, mandola and Irish bouzouki. He has recorded several solo CDs (released on Acoustic Disc, Shanachie and Ventana) and has appeared on more than sixty other recordings. Radim’s worldwide performing and teaching credentials include guest appearances at prestigious music institutions such as the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the
Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Radim has been also teaching at a number of different music camps every year since 1994, and this is his second appearance at the Swannanoa Gathering. www.zenkl.com
BOB CARLIN
Banjoist Bob Carlin has been offering performances, lectures and workshops for over forty years. Carlin had largely left the solo arena when he was invited in the mid-1990s to join the band of legendary songwriter John Hartford with whom he toured throughout the United States and Canada until Hartford’s death in 2001. Since then, Bob has returned to solo performing, teaching and appearances with other musicians. With five Grammy nominations and three banjo models bearing his name, Bob Carlin is truly one of the best known clawhammer banjo masters. He is the author of six method books and three instructional CDs, and has taught at many camps including the American Banjo Camp, Midwest Banjo Camp, Suwannee Banjo Camp, Banjo Camp North, Maryland Banjo Academy, Tennessee Banjo Institute, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week, Augusta Heritage Center, Sore Fingers Summer School in England. bobcarlinmusic.com
MARLA FIBISH
A San Francisco native, Marla is a long-time feature of the Bay Area Irish music scene, and an unapologetic proponent of the mandolin in Irish music. She brings a musicality and excitement to the tradition that is not often heard on the mandolin. Her dynamic playing is featured both on her CD with Three Mile Stone, and on The Morning Star, a duo CD with Jimmy Crowley, an all instrumental project which features Irish music on an array of mandolin-family instruments – mandolin, mandola, mandocello, bouzouki, and dordan. In addition to the mandolin, Marla plays mandola, tenor guitar and button accordion. She sings and writes music, and is known for her musical settings of works from a variety of poets. An experienced and sought-after teacher, Marla teaches private students, and has been a staff instructor at many music camps, including The Mandolin Symposium, California Coast Music Camp, Lark Camp and Portal Irish Music Week. www.marlafibish.com
ADAM TANNER
Adam grew up in northern California, and was exposed to oldtime and bluegrass music in his early teens. Proficient on fiddle, mandolin and guitar, he spent countless hours slowing down records trying to pick out every detail of the traditional music he loved. Adam’s approach to playing reflects the diversity of styles heard on the early 78rpm discs and field recordings from which he draws his greatest inspiration. Over the last six years, Adam has toured in both the US and Europe as a member of both The Crooked Jades string band and The Hunger Mountain Boys. Since 2006, he has taught both mandolin and fiddle during several of the Gathering’s programs. He currently lives in Weaverville, NC, where he teaches fiddle, mandolin and guitar and performs with Mark Jackson as the The Twilite Broadcasters, a duo specializing in vintage country vocal harmonies and fiddle and mandolin tunes. www.adamtannermusic.com
ED DODSON
(See bio in Guitar Week section, pg. 31)
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andolin THE ART OF THE MELODY (Mike Marshall)
We will explore the art of interpreting beautiful melodies. Whether it’s a simple fiddle tune, a Bluegrass classic, a jazz standard or a Brazilian choro, we will work through a variety of musical styles over the course of our week. From developing a beautiful tremolo on a folk ballad to creating variations on fiddle tunes and improvising on some classic bluegrass barn burners, we will dive into some jazz standards, and of course a healthy dose of Brazilian choro classics along our way.
THE ART OF THE GROOVE (Mike Marshall)
From the simplest of folk strums to the bluegrass chop, we will artfully slip into some basic swing syncopations, pop and funk rhythms and the evercontageous Brazilian choro grooves. Also, I will present you with my own fool-proof way of understanding chord theory on the mandolin and explore how to find almost every chord from three simple chord shapes.
INTERMEDIATE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN A (Emory Lester)
This class will focus on many subjects designed to improve the clarity and precision of your mandolin playing, including technique (both left- and right-hand), tone, playing with clarity and confidence, crosspicking ideas, playing up the neck, rhythms and rhythm playing at speed, chord inversions, and rehearsal strategy and thoughts for practicing. Handouts will be provided, and tablature will be used in the handouts and in the teaching of this class. Bring your audio or video recording devices if you wish, and lots of questions are always useful and welcome, and often provide interesting and informative topic exploration.
ADVANCED BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN (Emory Lester)
This class will focus on many subjects designed to help to stretch your creativity and improve your musicianship as a mandolin player including creativity, musicianship, basic chord-melody, bass-note study, experimenting with colors, thought process, alternate tunings, chasing down melodies by ear, thoughts on improvisation, and expanding your sound. Handouts will be provided, and tablature will be used in the handouts and in the teaching of this class. Bring your audio or video recording devices if you wish, and lots of questions are always useful and welcome, and often provides interesting and informative topic exploration.
MODERN MANDOLIN (Radim Zenkl)
In this class for intermediate and advanced level players we will cover improvisation in blues, bluegrass and jazz, a step-by-step system on how to practice improvisation, scales and arpeggios covering the whole fretboard, ‘modern’ chord forms and chord substitutions, open tunings, odd time signatures, slide mandolin technique and usage of the bottleneck slide in open and standard tunings, chord melody, arranging for solo mandolin, the ‘duo style’ and sound reinforcement ideas. Several handouts will be available.
INTERMEDIATE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN B (Radim Zenkl)
The topics of this class for intermediate level players will include a proper setup of the mandolin, flat-picking technique overview featuring four basic styles of right-hand picking and two left-hand positions, several chord forms organized into systems, various strumming patterns, two kinds of tremolo,
cross-picking, tools for developing and maintaining speed, basic scales and arpeggios, improvising solos, jamming etiquette, ideas for backing-up songs and classic bluegrass instrumental repertoire. Several handouts will be available.
INTERMEDIATE IRISH MANDOLIN (Marla Fibish)
This class will provide a survey course in Irish music in its many forms, and how to approach it on the mandolin. We’ll look at how to get the rhythm and the pulse of Irish music into your playing. This is about understanding the music and focusing on the right hand: learning and practicing picking patterns for various tune types (jigs, reels, polkas, etc.) to create a rhythmic framework on which the tune will sit, better yet, dance! We’ll learn tunes together (by ear) and use those tunes to demonstrate, drill and practice what we learn. Bring a recording device!
ADVAnced IRISH MANDOLIN (Marla Fibish)
For those with more experience in Irish music, this class will build on the basics covered in the intermediate class, focusing on both technique and musicality. We’ll look at phrasing and ornamentation, as well as using dynamics and variation to best apply the unique qualities of the mandolin to Irish music, respecting the core of the tradition on this ‘newcomer’ of an instrument. We’ll learn tunes together (by ear) and explore different ways to give those tunes life and lift, applying the concepts and techniques that we learn in class. Bring a recording device!
INTERMEDIATE SWING/JAZZ MANDOLIN (Don Stiernberg)
“Chords, Progressions, & Tunes for Fun and Profit” These sessions will focus on chord voicings containing color tones and voice movements in the context of the progressions and tunes favored by swing and jazz players. Learning the fretboard and how progressions work should help you spice up your rhythm part in any style of music. We’ll use tunes from western swing, gypsy jazz, and swing standards, such as “All of Me” and “Sunny Side of the Street,” more involved tunes like “Indiana,” “How High the Moon,” various Django originals, and we’ll learn how to jazzify a blues progression. We’ll learn drills for changing chords smoothly and how to reduce tunes with tons of chords to a few basic tonalities, making them easier to memorize. There will be handouts for reference. In addition to your mandolin and pick, bring a recording device. Familiarity with the harmonized scale and its resulting numbering of chord functions(I-IV-V, ii-V-I, etc.) will be helpful.
ADVANCED SWING/JAZZ MANDOLIN (Don Stiernberg)
“Improvisation Workshop” When it’s your time for a break, do you feel like you’re actually improvising or playing the same things all the time? We’ll broaden our soloing vocabulary by looking at phrases, patterns, and licks that fit with various harmonic situations, emphasizing color tones, connecting chords, substitutions, and alterations helpful for players of all styles. We’ll discuss melodic and harmonic approaches to soloing, how to get a swing feeling, and drills for playing flowing lines over lengthy chord changes. We’ll play for each other and discuss which things sound good and why. There will be handouts including sample solos. We’ll also demystify nasty looking chords and progressions as seen in fakebooks where “it looks like someone
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Banjo wrote G and then their phone number after it” (G7#11b13, Gm7b5, etc). No need to be an advanced improviser, but you should know the fretboard and be a bit familiar with numbered progressions. Bring your mandolin, your favorite jam tunes, and questions about where you’re having trouble or looking for other options. Most importantly, bring your willingness to go for it – we’re all going make mistakes, but in this laboratory no one gets hurt!
CLASSICAL MANDOLIN BASICS (Caterina Lichtenberg)
This class will bridge the gap between the folk mandolin and the early Baroque and Classical mandolin composers. We will begin by working on the fundamentals of sound production, then move on to some basic mandolin techniques that include cross-picking, some nice exercises and some wonderful melodies. Lastly, we will work on coordination and speed, but we’ll keep the focus on having fun. The ability to read music is helpful, but it is not neccesary for this class.
ADVANCED CLASSICAL MANDOLIN TECHNIQUES (Caterina Lichtenberg)
In this class we will focus on the Romantic and Contemporary periods, and the great Italian masters who pushed the mandolin art form to such a high level. We will focus on developing a good tremolo and then move on to ‘Duo Style,’ where you play two parts at the same time. Then we will break down the art of playing ‘harp arpeggios’ (cross-picking) techniques from these periods. The ability to read music is helpful, but it is not neccesary for this class.
MANDOLIN FOR THE COMPLETE BEGINNER (Adam Tanner)
This class is for the first-time mandolin player. The focus will be on learning proper right- and left-hand techniques to make the best sounds possible from the mandolin while learning some simple fiddle tunes and chords. Other topics covered will be the importance of solid timing, expressing the feel of a tune with rhythm, and how to seamlessly blend into a jam session even if you don’t know the tunes. Tablature will be provided. A digital video and/ or audio recording device is recommended.
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED OLD-TIME MANDOLIN (Adam Tanner)
Prerequisites: Students should be able to play a few simple fiddle tunes on the mandolin in the keys of G, A, D and C, and the student should feel comfortable picking up new musical information by ear. This class will start with a brief review of fundamental techniques that will enable you to be most comfortable with your instrument and help you to employ ergonomic strategies to best transfer what you hear in your head onto your mandolin. The focus will be on playing the southern Appalachian fiddle repertoire, including tips for approaching melodies in settings in which the fiddle is tuned open (AEAE and other tunings), as well as borrowing sounds and styles from various old-time fiddle bowing techniques and ornaments. Other topics will include chording and melody ideas for participation in an old-time string band ensemble, with side trips into ragtime/blues styles and the mandolin of the early country music duets. Very simple tablature for several of the tunes will be provided. A digital video and/or audio recorder are strongly recommended.
INTERMEDIATE BLUEGRASS BANJO (Alan Munde)
In this class for intermediate players, we’ll analyze the solos of Earl Scruggs on “Blue Ridge Cabin Home,” “Your Love is Like a Flower,” and “Little Darlin’ Pal of Mine.” We’ll also learn how play backup, by combining chord shapes, rolls, licks, and runs to produce quality bluegrass banjo accompaniment, and learn to combine the rolls and melodies in a stylized fashion that produces bluegrass banjo solos. Tab will be provided, and use of a small audio recorder is encouraged. (Class limit: 20)
advanced BLUEGRASS BANJO A (Alan Munde)
This class for advanced players will cover fretboard stratagems, or “How Do I Know Where to Put My Fingers?” by learning the names of the notes and where they are, diatonic chord systems, intervals, and much more. We’ll learn how to play in keys other than G without a capo, how to create beautiful and interesting back-up and chord solos for slow songs, the melodic style of playing fiddle tunes (and the different way of viewing the fingerboard needed to perform them), and we’ll take a look at some of Alan’s original tunes including “Peaches and Cream,” “Molly Bloom,” “Uncle Cooney Played the Banjo,” and others. Tab will be provided, and use of a small audio recorder is encouraged. (Class limit: 20)
ROUND PEAK BANJO (Bob Carlin)
Learn to play tunes and arrangements from one of North Carolina’s most vibrant old time music communities. Located between two famous fiddlers’ conventions in Mt. Airy and Galax, Round Peak produced three notable banjo masters – Tommy Jarrell, Fred Cockerham and Kyle Creed – whose echoes can be heard throughout today’s clawhammer playing. Day one will introduce the notable licks found in Round Peak playing, along with a simple tune utilizing those licks. We’ll also have a brief discussion of tablature and how to (and not to) use it to decode the Round Peak (and other) styles. Day two will spotlight Kyle Creed, day three Tommy Jarrell and day four Fred Cockerham. And, because the fiddle/banjo combination is such an important part of the Round Peak style, day five will combine Bruce Molsky’s fiddle class with the banjo class to show off how that combination does and doesn’t work.
NORTH CAROLINA BANJO STYLES & STYLISTS (Bob Carlin)
North Carolina has a vibrant banjo tradition and this class explores and celebrates the richness and diversity of old time banjo in the Old North State. Each day we will learn tunes of a different region from a particular regional stylist. Day one will highlight Doc Watson’s father-in-law, Gaither Carlton from western NC. Day two will cover the southeastern Sand Hills stylings of Marvin Gaster. African-American clawhammer from the Thompson Family of the Triangle area will be covered on day three, and the finger-style of Piedmont star Charlie Poole on day four. Finally, we’ll join up with Bruce Molsky’s fiddle class to explore the interaction between the fiddle and the banjo, which is vital to good string band music.
INTERMEDIATE BANJO TECHNIQUE (Noam Pikelny)
Noam will cover basic music theory, how it applies to the banjo, and how improving one’s general musicianship greatly eases the path towards conquering more advanced topics on the banjo. Noam will provide introductions to the single-string and melodic techniques and will discuss strategies for creating arrangements and how to improvise. Tab will be provided. Please bring an audio or video recording device. (Class limit: 20)
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ADVANCED BANJO TECHNIQUE (Noam Pikelny)
Noam will focus on advanced single-string, melodic and Scruggs techniques and ways of moving fluidly between the styles. There will be an emphasis on music theory in effort to help open up the entire banjo neck. He’ll discuss how to find different voicings of chords, constructing single-string and melodic scales and how these tools can be incorporated to play and improvise with greater musical freedom. We’ll also examine transcriptions of tunes and solos from other instruments and how to apply them to the banjo. Tab will be provided. Please bring an audio or video recording device. (Class limit: 20)
advanced BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE BLUEGRASS BANJO (Tony Trischka)
We’ll discuss timing (working with a metronome, drum machine or tractor), separation of notes (where every note is crystal-clear), and tone. We’ll also get into Playing the Syllables: Playing the True Melody of a Song Like Bill Monroe Would Like You To. In addition, there’ll be analysis of Scruggs solos and devising ways to construct your own breaks. Back-up will be prioritized as well as the history of the melodic style and its techniques. Some attention will be paid to playing in other keys besides the omnipresent G. Improvising will be discussed, and if everyone behaves, a series of ‘hot licks’ will be taught. Tab will be dispensed and recording devices are welcome. (Class limit: 20)
advanced BLUEGRASS BANJO B (Tony Trischka)
We’ll cover Scruggs style, including an historical overview of Earl’s playing from live Opry shows with Bill Monroe in the 1940s through the mid-50s. We’ll also discuss his sophisticated concepts of syncopation. Time will be spent discussing ways of opening up your creativity, as applied to improvisation and composition, and more advanced improv techniques will be demonstrated. Playing the blues on the banjo will also be discussed, as well as more advanced discussions of slow and medium-to-fast back-up. I’ll cover the single-string style, as applied to fiddle tunes, scale patterns, etc. And there is always time for digression when appropriate. Tab will be dispensed and recording devices are welcome. (Class limit: 20)
CLAWHAMMER BANJO TECHNIQUE (Ken Perlman)
Prerequisites: about a year’s clawhammer experience. Expand your playing horizons by focusing on the techniques that go into effective playing. Each day concentrates on a different aspect of technique. On the first day we’ll devote the entire session to attaining strong and effortless right-hand technique, with a special emphasis on being able to use drop-and-double thumbing on any string and on plucking the strings in any conceivable combination. Next we’ll examine the left hand – finding the most ergonomically sound method of holding the neck, how to address the issue of fingering and moving around the neck, and how to maximize the efficiency of hammer-ons and pull-offs (including off-string pull-offs). On the third day we’ll look at fool-proof techniques for playing syncopated melodies and ragtime. Day four covers techniques and concepts for playing up the neck, and we’ll end the week with techniques and concepts for playing backup, clawhammer-style as exemplified by Ken’s duet recording with fiddler Alan Jabbour, Southern Summits.
INTERMEDIATE CLAWGRASS BANJO (Mark Johnson)
In this class for intermediate clawhammer banjo players, we will explore the melodies of “Angeline The Baker” in Double D tuning and “Old Joe Clark” using the Clawgrass “roll patterns.” We will begin with a quick review of basic clawhammer right-hand techniques (building blocks) of basic frailing: note, brush, thumb, drop-thumb, and then combine them into the Clawgrass right-hand roll patterns. We’ll also learn how to play more dynamically using clawhammer techniques in a group/ensemble using back-up clawhammer methods in support of other instruments. These back-up methods include using chord shapes, percussion (clawhammer/mando chop) and harmony/ counter melodies. Tab and handouts will be provided. Bring a capo, and the use of a small audio recorder and/or smart phone camera is encouraged. (Class limit: 20)
advanced CLAWGRASS BANJO (Mark Johnson)
In this class, we’ll learn banjo techniques to play more dynamically. We will explore the tunes “Clinch Mountain Backstep” in an A-modal tuning and “Hard Times” in the key of D. For “Clinch Mountain Backstep,” we’ll learn how to play the melody in “lead and back-up form” in a hard-driving Clawgrass banjo style and also learn to play backup using counter-melody. For “Hard Times,” we’ll learn to play the melody more dynamically, at a medium tempo, using chord shapes in the “lead” and counter-melodies in the backup. Tab and handouts will be provided. Bring a capo, and the use of a small audio recorder and/or smart phone camera is encouraged. (Class limit: 20)
MELODIC CLAWHAMMER REPERTOIRE (Ken Perlman)
Prerequisites: about a year’s clawhammer experience plus a willingness to think outside the box. “Melodic” clawhammer is the art of playing complete fiddle tunes and other complex melodies in clawhammer style in a rhymthmically powerful, artistically evocative manner. There’s a system involved of course, which we’ll explore as students learn melodic arrangements of southern hoedowns, Celtic jigs and reels, waltzes, and ragtime tunes. It is strongly recommended that those who take the repertoire class should also enroll for the clawhammer technique class.
Guitar BLUEGRASS GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT (Ed Dodson)
This class focuses on how to play powerful bluegrass rhythm guitar. We will work on alternating-bass styles of playing as well as using bass runs and other motion within the chords to accent your vocals or the instrumentalists you’re playing with. In addition to these basic building-block techniques, we will learn the rhythm accompaniment part to one bluegrass song or tune each day. The class will present songs/tunes that allow you to see the rhythm patterns that work effectively in most of the first position chord families. We will also discuss how to use a capo to get the song in a key to fit your voice. All levels of participants are welcome. Familiarity with guitar chords and knowledge of guitar tablature is helpful, but not required. Participants are encouraged to bring recording devices to class and also encouraged to participate in the Bluegrass Jam that Ed will lead every afternoon, as a way to reinforce the techniques learned in class as well as learn additional songs/tunes.
advanced BLUEGRASS GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT (Ed Dodson)
This course will delve into more advanced forms of bluegrass guitar rhythm playing. In addition to learning our way around the standard “boom-chuck” bass note and strum patterns that form the foundation of bluegrass rhythm guitar, we will explore more advanced moving bass lines, substitute chords and inversions, and even some basic three-note swing rhythm patterns to put some extra “sock” into your playing. Along the way, we’ll highlight the concepts of harmonic theory and how to select chords and chord patterns to strengthen the guitar’s support of the vocalist and instrumentalist. Familiarity with flatpicking and guitar chords, along with knowledge of guitar tablature is highly recommended. While tablature will be provided for most techniques and songs covered in class, participants are strongly encouraged to bring recording devices to class as a memory aid, as we will be covering some fairly challenging material.
AMERICAN ROOTS Guitar (David Surette)
This new class for intermediate/advanced players will offer a survey of the guitar’s role in traditional American roots music. We will take a look at both flatpicking and fingerpicking, with a repertoire including country blues, traditional folk, old-time, guitar rags, fiddle tunes, and the like. We will start with standard tuning, and will also look at some open tunings,
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Mando & Banjo Week, August 4-10, 2013 7:30-8:30 9:00-10:15
Breakfast The Art of the Melody (Marshall)
Intermediate Banjo Technique (Pikelny)
Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin A (Lester)
Advanced Bluegrass Banjo A (Munde)
10:15-10:45
Modern Mandolin (Zenkl)
Intermediate Clawgrass Banjo (Johnson)
Clawhammer Bluegrass Guitar Banjo Accompaniment Technique (Dodson) (Perlman)
Coffee/Tea Break
The Art of the Groove 10:45-12:00 (Marshall)
Advanced Banjo Technique (Pikelny)
Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin (Lester)
12:00-1:00
Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin B (Zenkl)
Advanced Beginner/ Intermediate Bluegrass Banjo (Trischka)
Melodic Clawhammer Repertoire (Perlman)
Advanced Bluegrass Guitar Accompaniment (Dodson)
Lunch
1:15-2:30
Advanced Swing/Jazz Mandolin (Stiernberg)
2:45-4:00
Intermediate Swing/Jazz Mandolin (Stiernberg)
Intermediate Irish Mandolin (Fibish) Advanced Irish Mandolin (Fibish)
Mandolin for the Complete Beginner (Tanner)
Intermediate Bluegrass Banjo (Munde)
Intermediate/Advanced Old-Time Mandolin (Tanner)
Classical Mandolin Basics (Lichtenberg)
Advanced Classical Mandolin Techniques (Lichtenberg)
Advanced Clawgrass Banjo (Johnson)
4:15-5:15
Band Sessions, Luthier’s Exhibit & Daily Bluegrass Jam (Dodson)
5:00-6:30
Supper
7:30- ?
Advanced Bluegrass Banjo B (Trischka)
Round Peak Banjo (Carlin) NC Banjo Styles & Stylists (Carlin)
Evening Events (open mikes, concerts, dances, jam sessions, etc.)
especially for fingerstyle instrumentals. We will also focus on fiddle tune accompaniment, song accompaniment and arranging, improvisation and soloing, and developing new material using traditional vocabulary. Please bring a notebook, and feel free to bring an audio recording device. (Find this class in the Fiddle Week Schedule on page 47)
CELTIC GUITAR (David Surette)
Since its introduction into the world of Celtic music in the 1960s, the guitar has become an integral part of the music, both in accompaniment and as a solo instrument. This class for intermediate/advanced players will focus on both of these aspects, primarily through arrangements of traditional Irish and Breton dance tunes and folk songs from the British Isles. We will cover rhythms, strums, bass lines, drones, modal chords, and stylistic elements, all while keeping a solid groove. We will look at several tunings, including DADGAD and standard, and will also talk about ornamentation and decoration, developing interesting arrangements, improvisation, and using traditional forms and vocabulary as a launching pad for original compositions. Please bring a notebook, and feel free to bring an audio recording device. (Find this class in the Fiddle Week Schedule on page 47)
intermediate SWING GUITAR (Tony Marcus)
This class will teach the use of moveable four-note chord voicings, with a fairly small number of shapes that will allow students to accompany jazz/ swing standards. We’ll also work on right-hand strumming to lock into the propulsive 4/4 swing feel. You can expect to come away from the class with enough information to play almost any song in any key. There’ll be lots of playing in class! (Find this class in the Fiddle Week Schedule on page 47)
ADVANCED SWING GUITAR (Tony Marcus)
This class moves beyond the most common moveable chord shapes, expands the chord vocabulary and also gives an introduction into chord-melody playing. If you already have a good repertoire of three- or four-note chord forms, this can move you to the next level. We may also talk a bit about single note soloing, though this is primarily a chord class. (Find this class in the Fiddle Week Schedule on page 47)
Other Events DAILY BLUEGRASS JAM (Ed Dodson)
In the last hour before supper, Ed will lead a non-threatening bluegrass jam for all levels and instruments. Come have fun channeling your inner Bill Monroe! (No class limit)
Luthier’s Exhibit
Throughout the week we will feature several fine luthiers displaying instruments, including mandolin builder Dan Voight danvoightmandolins.com, and violin maker Jonathan Cooper jcooperviolinmaker.com.
BAND SESSIONS (staff )
During the last hour before supper, there will be a special class time for students of any skill level to form bands, along with students from Fiddle Week. With the guidance of instructors, band members arrange and rehearse with the option of performing at the student showcase on Friday evening. (Sign up for band sessions at Orientation, no advanced registration required.)
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1. Stop and think about what classes you wish to take. Do you really want to take a class in every period? Although our ‘open format’ allows students to take as many classes as the schedule will allow, many students find that one or two classes give them plenty to work on, and use the free periods for practice. Remember, also, that class size is limited to 15 unless indicated otherwise in the course descriptions, so out of consideration for others, “take all you want, but want all you take.” 2. Find the schedule for your week printed elsewhere in this catalog. 3. Referring to the schedule to avoid time conflicts, make your class selections and write them in the spaces provided under ‘Class Choices’ on the Registration form. 4. In the event that one or more of the classes you select are full, you may select Alternate classes, again using the schedule to avoid conflicts, and write them in the ‘Alternate’ spaces on the form. If you list Alternates for classes that are full, we will process your registration assigning you to your Alternate choices. 5. If one or more of your class selections is full, and you wish to have no Alternates, check the box indicated and we will notify you of the situation and await your instructions before we process your registration. 6. Cut out or photocopy the completed form, attach your payment, and mail or fax it to us at the address indicated. When your registration is processed, you will be notified of the amount received, any balance due, and the classes for which you are registered. Registrants will receive an information packet later in the spring. Classes will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. If you wish to make changes in your class choices, please notify us immediately. Students may switch after the first class meeting into another open class if they find they have made an inappropriate choice. The add/drop period ends at 6pm on Monday of each program week. After this ‘settling-in’ period, we expect students to remain in those classes, and we discourage dropping in and out of classes during the week. 7. You may also register online by visiting our website and clicking on the ‘Register’ link. This is the fastest way to register.
Tuition is $485 per week. This includes a deposit of $100 which is required for each week’s registration. Full payment is required by June 7 to guarantee your class choices. After that date, your class reservations will be unconfirmed until we receive your balance. If we are holding a space for you in a class that is full, and your balance is unpaid after June 7, we may release that space to another student. There is no deadline for class registrations. Registrations after June 7 for any remaining spaces must be accompanied by full payment. Some classes may require materials- or other fees as specified in the course descriptions and can be paid directly to the instructor upon arrival. Tuition for the Children’s Program for ages 6-12 during Traditional Song, Celtic, and Old-Time Weeks, is $175 per child per week (includes evening childcare), with a $25 deposit required. The Children’s Program also has an additional materials fee of $30 payable to the coordinator on arrival. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions, please. Housing is $385 per week, and includes double occupancy accommodations for six nights, supper on Sunday, three buffet-style meals a day at the Gladfelter Student Center, and breakfast on Saturday at the end of the week. A limited number of single rooms are available at an additional fee of $150 for a total of $535. The college is catered by Sodexo (828-298-1041), and low-sodium and vegetarian meals are available. Those wishing to stay over on the Saturday night at week’s end may do so, space permittting, for a fee of $75. This does not include the cost of meals. No Saturday stayover on August 10. We cannot house those wishing to arrive a day early. Adults staying off-campus may purchase a meal ticket for $123, and meal tickets for children under 12 may be purchased for $79. Meals may also be purchased individually. See the ‘Children’s Programs’ section on page 2 of this catalog for our policy regarding children’s housing. Some may find our hilly campus challenging, and students should give reasonable consideration to their ability to get around without assistance. Although we help where we can, we don’t have the resources to provide mobility assistance to all that require it. Those with special needs should include a detailed, written description of those needs with their registration. As long as space permits, non-students may accompany enrolled students and be housed with them in student dorms for payment of the $385 housing fee and an activities fee of $130, which allows admission to all events except classes. There is a $50 deposit required to register as a non-student. If possible, full payment with your registration is helpful and appreciated.
Cancellations and Refunds The deposits are processing fees credited toward tuition and not student funds held in escrow, and are thus non-refundable and non-transferrable. Should an enrolled student need to cancel, we can refund all monies collected other than the deposits, if notified four weeks before the student’s program begins. No refunds other than the cost of meals ($123 for adults, $79 for children) can be made for cancellations within four weeks of the event.
PLEASE PRINT!
Name________________________________________________ Sex_____
o I will require housing/meals. o I will require a meal ticket only.
Address_______________________________________________________
I prefer to room with (name): _________________________________________. o I prefer a single room, if available (additional fee of $150) o I have special medical needs (please attach description)
City__________________ State/Prov._______ Zip/Post Code____________ Country (if outside US) __________________________________________ Day Phone____________________ Cell Phone____________________ (Please circle primary phone) Email________________________________________________________
o I prefer future communication by email only. o I will be bringing a vehicle (no motor homes please). o I am eligible for a special parking permit due to mobility impairment NOTE: All attendees receive a list, with the home city, state and email (not phone), of program participants so that they might pursue friendships made at the Gathering. If you would prefer NOT to be included on this list, please check this box: o Please initial here to indicate that you have read and understand our policy on Cancellations and Refunds printed on pages 1 and 56: ___________
I would like to register for:
o Traditional Song Week, July 7-13 o Celtic Week, July 14-20 o Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 21-27 o Guitar Week, July 28-August 3 o Contemporary Folk Week, July 28-August 3 o Fiddle Week, August 4-10 o Mando & Banjo Week, August 4-10 o I am a non-student accompanying the following registered student: (student’s name)__________________________________________ Class Choices:
Period 1.______________________________________________________ Period 2.______________________________________________________ Period 3.______________________________________________________ Period 4 .(if applicable) ___________________________________________ o No Alternates. Please notify me of full classes before processing my registration. Alternates:
Period 1.______________________________________________________ Period 2.______________________________________________________ Period 3.______________________________________________________ Period 4 .(if applicable) ___________________________________________ For information on admission to Warren Wilson College, contact: admit@warren-wilson.edu or 1-800-934-3536
My age: List age if under 21 _______ o 21-30 o 31-45 o 46-65 o above 65 I am a o smoker o non-smoker o early bird o night owl I am registering (#)______ children in the Children’s Program (for ages 6-12) (NOTE: programs for children in Trad. Song, Celtic & Old-Time weeks only) Children’s names & ages _____________________________________________ I am bringing (#)________ additional children under the age of 12 not enrolled in the Children’s Program. Children’s names & ages _____________________________________________ I’m arriving by air; sign me up for the airport shuttle at o noon o 3pm o 5pm My flight #s, arrival & departure times are: ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
Amount previously paid: (deposit, etc.)
$________
Tuition - $485 per week (required deposit $100): Housing/meals - $385 (double occupancy, no deposit required): Housing/meals - $535 (single room, no deposit required): Non-student Activity Fee - $130 per week (required deposit $50): Children’s Program total - $175 per week (required deposit $25): Meal ticket only - $123 adult; $79 per child per week: Other amount for __________________________: Tax-free donations to The Swannanoa Gathering:
$________ $________ $________ $________ $________ $________ $________
o Doug & Darcy Orr Endowment o Youth Scholarship Endowment $________ o Greatest Needs Fund TOTAL enclosed $________ o I am paying by Check (preferred) #: _________, or Money Order. or
o VISA
o MasterCard o American Express Name as it appears on card: ___________________________________________ Card #: _________ - _________ - _________ - _________ Exp. date:____/____ Security code (last 3 digits on reverse of card, or AmEx: last 4 digits on front): ____________ Tuition is $485 per week. Housing with meals is $385 per week. Non-students accompanying students pay the Housing fee and a $130 Activities Fee. The deposits are required for registration and are non-refundable and non-transferable. Full payment required by June 7 to guarantee class choices. No deadline for registrations. Registrations after June 7 for any remaining spaces must be accompanied by full payment. Children’s Program is $175 per child per week. Please make checks payable to: “The Swannanoa Gathering”, and mail with this form to:
The Swannanoa Gathering Warren Wilson College PO Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815-9000
Phone/Fax: 828-298-3434 Email: gathering@warren-wilson.edu Website: www.swangathering.com