Dana & Susan Robinson in Concert

For the Cornell Folk Song Society

Saturday, March 3, 8 pm,

165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Hailing nowadays from Asheville, North Carolina (by way of the Pacific Northwest and New England), Dana and Susan Robinson have the rare ability to write contemporary songs set deep within the American tradition and to transport their audience along on their journey through time and place. Their stories unfold through brilliant instrumentation (fingerstyle guitar, fiddle, clawhammer banjo, mandolin) and lovely, intimate vocal harmonies. They’re also acclaimed devotees and hot pickers of old-timey Appalachian music.

Dana’s a gifted song creator with something to say; he took a path to full-time touring (since 1994) after off-grid homesteading and running a bakery and folk music café in northern Vermont. Susan came to traditional music by way of environmental work and classical training in piano, oboe, and Scottish fiddle, which got tweaked when she learned from real old-timers in the North Carolina mountains. Because they love and breathe the songs, they can throw together Robert Johnson, Lui Collins, cowboys and farmers, Child ballads, a dash of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, railroad hobos, Annie Dillard, and Bill Steele’s Griselda, and can evoke a Mississippi paddlewheeler, the Nebraska sandhills, or the Outer Hebrides while remaining cohesive and true to themselves.

Dirty Linen proclaims Dana and Susan Robinson worthy to wear Woody Guthrie’s mantle because they “embody the heart and soul of folk music.” They have “a poet’s perspective delivered in quietly spectacular musicianship… the music sounds laid back even while the guitar licks are knocking your socks off” (Music Matters Review). A reviewer for Music Upstream (Hartford, CT) describes their music as “physical and spiritual, contemporary and ancient, up to its eyeballs in mud and transcendent–in and of this world with a vengeance, but filled with brilliant epiphanies that throw narrow shafts of light into the corners of worlds barely imagined.” Come and hear for yourself!

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.

– Margaret Shepard

ARCHIE FISHER IN CONCERT, Saturday, February 11, 8 pm

Hollis Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Archie Fisher is a true legend in the world of Scottish folk music for songs both traditional and his own, which are considered classics. His warm, craggy voice and simple but masterful guitar have an inimitable spirit. Raised in Glasgow, he was influenced by his father’s broad love of ballads, vaudeville, and opera and by the lyrical music of the Outer Hebrides sung by his Gaelic-speaking mother. His attitudes toward music-making and politics were in part shaped by hearing the Weavers (Seeger, Gilbert, Hays, and Hellerman, not the Scottish tweed-makers). Moving to Edinburgh in the 1960s, he formed the Fisher Family band with his parents, sisters Ray and Cilla, and Artie Tresize; they made many treasured and influential recordings on the Folk Legacy label. Archie Fisher also hosted an Edinburgh music club where he played with the likes of Bert Jansch and Robin Williamson and penned songs performed by the nascent Incredible String Band and Steeleye Span. Involved in the Fringe Fest, he went on to run the Edinburgh Folk Festival (1988-1992) and hosted the beloved Travelling Folk traditional music program for BBC Radio Scotland (1983-2010).

It is no small sign of respect that the only songs the late great Stan Rogers recorded but did not write himself were written by Archie Fisher: Witch of the Westmerlands, Final Trawl, and Dark-eyed Molly. Archie Fisher’s discography since 1965 includes seven solo recordings and many with other performers, including Off the Map (1986) with Garnet Rogers. The two share a passion for open spaces, raising horses, and creating story songs with soul. The ballads on Fisher’s 2008 CD, Windward Away, breathe the wild beauty of the Scottish Borderlands.

In the early years, Archie Fisher collaborated and produced recordings with a fine roster, including Bert Jansch, Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, as well as Silly Wizard. The UK has been his regular performing turf, but since the late1980s, he has toured Canada (and rarely the States) both solo and with John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, James Keelaghan, and Garnet Rogers. Despite his many awards, including the Tradition Bearers, Scots Music Hall of Fame, and MBE bestowed by Elizabeth II, he seems happy to stay below the radar. He considers himself not a celebrity but a low-key journeyman musician, and accepts friend Christie Moore’s advice: “You’ll never be famous because everybody knows you!” Throughout a deeply respected career of making and fostering music, Archie Fisher has remained a quiet giant. Please make him welcome for the first time in Ithaca.

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.

– Margaret Shepard

The Contradictions

SATURDAY, 21 JANUARY 2012: CONTRADICTIONS Dance and Dessert (last contra at WCB!)

Beginner’s Workshop 7:00 pm, Dancing 7:30-11:30 pm, Dessert potluck 10:30 pm

Women’s Community Building, 100 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca

A feast of music, dancing, friends, and fabulous desserts are all part of the Ninth Annual “Dance and Dessert Potluck” hosted by Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca. Contra dancing (7:30-10:30 pm) will be followed by a dessert potluck and schottisches, hambos, and waltzes, 10:30-11:30 pm. Step lively and you just might balance your caloric intake and output! Music is by the witty, high-energy Contradictions: Laurie Hart on fiddle, Rick Manning on fiddle and mandolin, Tom Hodgson on guitar, Dave Davies on bass, and the sparkling Vikki Armstrong calling. Their irresistible fiddle harmonies and imaginative, hot rhythms will drive winter away, at least for one night. Having performed together for over a decade, they’re revered for tight playing; nary a contradictory note. Their peppy mix of Appalachian and Irish jigs and reels, bluegrass, driving French Canadian tunes, lilting Swedish dances, 1930s and Texas swing, and sophisticated tango-waltzes has brought joy to dancers from the Saratoga Dance Flurry, the Brattleboro Dawn Dance, and Ashokan, to the Finger Lakes, where the Contradictions reside.

Beginners of all ages are always welcome; a workshop at 7:00 pm will teach the basic moves. No need to bring a partner, but please bring clean, soft-soled shoes and something yummy to share for the grand dessert finale. Hot beverages will be provided. Info: 607-539-3174 or www.hands4dancers.org. Admission: $8 HFDI members; $10 nonmembers.

Amid the sweetness, the evening will be a little bittersweet. The Women’s Community Building, which has been the site of many Hands Four dances, including the annual Contradictions dance, will be torn down for a new building that will not have a large space for events. On behalf of the contra dance community, Hands Four extends its thanks and fond farewell to the WCB staff for supporting such a diversity of fine events and programs over the years.

– Margaret Shepard

Sarah VanNorstrand

Saturday, 3 Dec., 8-11 pm (beginners’ workshop 7:30 pm)

Beverly J. Martin School, 302 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca

$8 HFDI members, $10 nonmembers

The members of Montage are true to their name; they fuse deep interests in dance music old and new: Breton, English, and Scottish country dance, Parisian café tunes, Renaissance bourrées, hot swing, and music rooted in Scandinavia, Canada, New England, and southern Appalachia. In the few years since Sarah VanNorstrand has been a dance caller, she’s proven her mastery and inventiveness and is in demand across the country at high-powered dance events. She’s also a mainstay organizer of the Syracuse Country Dancers.

Montage is a dynamic trio of well-attuned musicians. Jane Knoeck (piano, accordion), classically trained, discovered contra and other folk dance in the 80s and has performed on the dance circuit ever since; she also plays with the contra bands Riverbend and Groovemongers, where she is both focused and explosively energetic. Rachel Bell (accordion, wooden flute) is earning recognition as a fine composer of quirky, playful, and highly danceable tunes. She’s also a lively member of Tunescape and the Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand Band. Tom Santarsiero (guitar, mandolin, banjo, jaw harp, foot percussion) provides the rock-solid yet eclectic beat that anchors dancers while giving them space for expression; he also plays with Riverbend. The rich sound of Montage has been described as “chocolate cake,” so come hungry to dance!

Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca is pleased to sponsor this event. No need to bring a partner, but please DO bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the dance floor. People new to contra dancing or to this area are always made welcome by the dance community. There are just a few basic steps and patterns, easily learned, and every dance is briefly taught. You can join HFDI (a volunteer nonprofit organization) at the event and receive a discount on all our dances. For more info, visit www.hands4dancers.org or call 607-539-3174.

– Margaret Shepard

Mike Merenda and Ruthy Ungar Merenda

Saturday, 19 November, 8 pm

Hollis Cornell Auditorium,

Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Theater in NYC drew them together, but it is music that has found sweet union in this couple. For seven years, Ruthy Ungar Merenda and Mike Merenda made an impressive worldwide splash as founders, with Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, of The Mammals, a “subversive” acoustic string band (who gave a riveting concert for the Cornell Folk Song Society back in 2004). They’ve played with Arlo Guthrie on his 40th Anniversary Alice’s Restaurant tour and for Pete Seeger’s 89th birthday appearance on Letterman. Mike & Ruthy tour with Jay Ungar (Ruthy’s father) and Molly Mason (of Ken Burns’ Civil War and contra and swing dance fame); this stellar Family Band did a great show for CFSS back in 2008. Ruthy also performs with her mother Lyn Hardy, Abby Newton, and Rosie Newton (local old-timey darling of the Pearly Snaps and Evil City) as the Mother Daughter String Band.

The birth of their son in 2008 did not slow their music-making, but gave Mike & Ruthy a new focus. Since then, they have performed mostly as a duo. And what a duo! Love infuses their instrumental give and take and the twining together of their voices. Says Ruthy, “I’ve always loved singing harmony. Mike’s voice is very breathy and mine is really strong, so it was a challenge at first. But I think that’s part of what makes us sound different than other duos.” Their interplay creates a “disarmingly laid-back yet tensile feel,” writes Jeff Rosenberg (Willamette Week).

In concert, Mike & Ruthy offer a no-limits repertoire from original to contemporary indie roots-rock, blues, stompin’ honky tonk, and traditional American folk delivered with passion and respect. They’re edgy, sensual, literate, political, and full of heart. Dazzling fiddle, banjo, guitar, and ukulele, and sweet, soulful harmony singing are alive with this young couple’s natural chemistry. Ruthy was raised on a diet of Ashokan folk music camps, swing, and contra dances (as a child, she created the wildly fun “Wizard’s Walk” dance), while Mike grew up honing his lyrical skills as a songwriter and playwright, and playing in alternative and ska bands. They’re willing to experiment, but are solidly planted; their songs have meaning and their music-making is organic, never copied. The Valley Voice declares that “Mike & Ruthy bravely and successfully bring folk music to a new place, while holding on to the timelessness of the of the genre, namely, the telling of a story.”

In addition to their recordings with The Mammals, Mike & Ruthy have produced seven CDs, including the ambitious Million to One in 2010. Of this most recent project, David Bromberg says, “The songwriting, singing, and production are all first rate.” Come hear for yourself the continuing evolution of this surprising and endearing duo. For sound clips and fun photos, check out http://www.mikeandruthy.com/

$15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for CFSS members, seniors, teens. Cornell students $10/$12. Children 12 and under free. Tickets: Ludgate’s, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org. Info: website or 607-279-2027.

– Margaret Shepard

Friday, October 21, 8 pm

[NOTE FRIDAY, NOT SATURDAY]

Memorial Room,

Willard Straight Hall, Cornell

Fingers flying, this British musician from Glossop, UK is one top-notch squeezebox man (Anglo concertina, button accordion, melodeon), and he’s no slouch on guitar. Brian Peters’ intricate, energetic arrangements, combined with a fervent voice and sly humor, give life to old jigs and reels, traditional folk songs and ballads, wild sea songs, ragtime, blues, hillbilly rock, contemporary songs, and his own clever compositions. His passion for music of the past is evident, but he is hardly mired there: you can expect a surprising performance with forays in many directions, anchored by musicality and wit. A Dirty Linen reviewer describes Brian Peters as “a singer, guitarist and melodeon player of rare ability,…an unusual repertoire and unusual conviction in singing it.” And Rock’n'Reel puts him in fine company: “No singer outside Nic Jones and Martin Carthy has embraced the tradition and used its wellsprings in as vivid and ingenious a way.”

Where Brian Peters truly shines is as a world ambassador and guardian of centuries-old ballads: ghosts and dragons, the wise child and the devil, the beggar and king, the spells, the magic ring. He plunges deep into these ancient songs to find their mystery, evil, drollery, and courage, and brings them to us fresh. Some of the old Child ballads he has unearthed had no surviving tunes, so he has ably met the challenge of writing music that fits them beautifully. This is a fine gift. Roy Harris of The Living Tradition calls him “A ballad hero….a man who sings these vivid tales as though he read them in this morning’s headlines.” He’s not afraid to give some songs a shake-up.  Steve Winick ofDirty Linen praises his “folk-rock arrangement of Three Ravens worthy of Steeleye Span…. tragedy, action, excitement, and humor, to say nothing of sex, drugs, and even rock ‘n’ roll. You couldn’t ask for more.” Festival-goers at Mystic Seaport, Champlain Valley, Fox Valley, and Old Songs have thrilled to his Child Ballad show “Songs of Trial and Triumph.”

In concert, Brian Peters’ musical integrity, compelling energy, and easy rapport quickly draw in his audience. A fine teacher, he is in demand in Europe and the States for vocal and instrumental workshops. When he isn’t busy nosing out new old material, performing, and teaching, he’s likely to be found in a recording studio: 12 fine albums to date, with his latest, Gritstone Serenade earning rave reviews.

Local dancers take note: Brian composes traditional-style dance tunes as well as researching dances and songs from rare old manuscripts, and is a powerful force in the resurrection of dance music from Northern England; there will be room in the hall for you to leave your seats and dance as the music moves you.

It takes a volcano to stop this fellow. Last year, when the Iceland volcano grounded all trans-Atlantic flights, we had to cancel Brian Peters’ Ithaca concert. But the Cornell Folk Song Society rebooked him immediately for his next available trip ‘cross the Pond. With typical vigor, he’s made up for last year’s cancelled shows by doing five East and West Coast tours in 2011. Please make welcome this thoroughly grounded, well-rounded angular Anglo!

Tickets: $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebates at door for members, seniors, teens; children free. CU students $10/$12. Tickets at Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Bound for Glory, Autumn Leaves Book Store, Ludgate Farms, and online <http://www.cornellfolksong.org/>. Info: website or 607-279-2027 or mbs19@cornell.edu.

– Margaret Shepard

Clayfoot STRUTTERS CONTRA DANCE, Saturday, 8 Oct.: DOUBLE FEATURE!

4-6 pm and 8-11 pm dancing; 6:15 pm potluck; beginners’ workshop 7:30 pm Beverly Martin Elementary School, 302 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca

Every October, legendary caller George Marshall brings with him from New England a mighty fine band for a Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca contra dance. We’ve delighted to Nightingale, Wild Asparagus, and Swallowtail; this time ‘round it’s the glorious Clayfoot Strutters. They were last in Ithaca many years back for the Fiddlehead Frolic; you don’t want to miss them! They’re veterans of the Dance Flurry, Falcon Ridge, and other dance festivals, camps, and musical partnerships too numerous to list. The stellar band includes our own Harry Aceto (bass), Vermonters Pete Sutherland (fiddle, piano, and vocals), Jeremiah McLane (accordion and piano), and Lee Blackwell (drums, guitar and vocals), plus Peter Davis (guitar, piano and sax) from Saratoga and Mark Roberts (flute) from the Pacific Northwest.

Since 1990, the Strutters have set the pace for creative musical fusions that really sizzle on the dance floor. With uninhibited, fluid playfulness and tight, brilliant instrumental work, they’re masters at arranging and composing contra dance tunes that meld disparate styles: traditional New England, Celtic, and Quebecois with jazz, swing, and pop, and hot grooves based in Latin, Afropop, Cajun, and Zydeco dance. This is one of the few bands that can pull off this level of diversity, holding dancers to the beat while bringing out their full expressiveness on the floor. Contra bliss is guaranteed.

This event is a special “double-header”: an afternoon session for experienced dancers, and an evening dance for everyone. Newcomers are encouraged to try this old, but freshly evolving, form of community dance. The steps and patterns are simple and quickly learned, particularly as taught by gracious caller George Marshall, who is adept at leading smooth, fun dances with clear, brief walk-throughs.

Between the two sessions there will be a potluck supper in the cafeteria. Please bring a generous dish to share! You don’t need to bring a partner to the dance, but please do bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the floor.

Cost varies by session, with discounts for HFDI members. Call 607-539-3174 or visit www.hands4dancers.org for more information. HFDI is an all-volunteer community-run organization, with membership open to all

– Margaret Shepard

ITHACA NY - Saturday, August 27, 8-11 pm Beginners’ Workshop 7:30 pm CSMA Third Floor (Community School of Music and Arts), 330 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850

Fine fiddler David Kaynor, revered icon of the New England contra world, and by now an “honorary Ithacan,” will call and lead a band of friends in a high-spirited, inventive evening of dance. Beneath David’s whimsical and self-effacing image lies a superb musician who has dedicated himself to creating and sustaining a vibrant contra dance community. Over many years he has affectionately mentored other musicians, callers, and composers of tunes and dances; it was his pivotal effort that preserved and expanded Greenfield’s Guiding Star Grange (dance mecca) for Grange members and dancers alike.

Rounding out the band on August 27 will be a medley of old friends and new faces: Andrea Katz and Jennifer Dotson on fiddles (watch out: triple fiddle bliss), Gail Blake on guitar, Nancy Spero on bass (and sharing the calling), and Ethan Jodziewicz (just in from the Pacific Northwest) on tenor banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass. David is sure to mix goofy jokes or puns and wry commentary with some sublimely flowing dances and can’t-be-beat traditional tunes. Expect the unexpected. CSMA is spacious, airy, and air-conditioned, with a smooth, cushioned Marley floor! Sound wizard Terry Kelleher will get the acoustics just right.

No need to bring a partner, but please DO bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the splendid dance floor. People new to contra dancing or to this area are always made welcome by the dance community. There are just a few basic steps and patterns, easily learned, and every dance is taught.

$8 HFDI members; $10 nonmembers. You can join HFDI at the event and receive a discount on all our dances. Mark your calendars for upcoming HFDI dances: Clayfoot Strutters and George Marshall (Oct. 8), Montage with Sarah Van Norstrand (Dec. 3), Contradictions with Vikki Armstrong (Jan. 21), Matching Orange and more at the Fiddlehead Frolic (April 28), Jane’s Gang (June 16)!

For more info, visit www.hands4dancers.org or call 607-539-3174.

–Margaret Shepard

Saturday, 30 April, 7 pm at CSMA, 330 E. State St.

Late-breaking news! Rebecca Lomnicky, an outstanding traditional Scottish fiddler (and Cornell freshman), will perform from around 7-8 pm before Jean Redpath takes the stage at 8 pm. Arrive early to get a good seat and to hear Rebecca, who plays with wonderful soul as well as technique. Those of you fortunate enough to hear her at the Moira Smiley & VOCO concert will know you’re in for a rare treat. Rebecca (who is also a composer, singer, classical violinist, pianist, and concert master of the Cornell Chamber Orchestra) has won many prestigious awards: the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Competition (2005, with Bonnie Rideout as one of the judges), the Corvallis Folklore Society Music Award  (2007, 2008, 2010), Oregon All-State Honors Orchestra, Oregon Music Hall of Fame, Northwest Folklife Festival Fiddlers’ Showcase, and the 2009 Glenfiddich International Scottish Fiddle Championship at Blair Castle, Scotland (an invitation-only competition, equivalent in the world of traditional Scottish fiddling to the Grammys). She has performed with many of the greats, including Alasdair Fraser, Brenda Stubbert, Calum MacKinnon, and David Brewer. In addition to U.S. and BBC radio programs, festivals, and concerts, Rebecca plays at farmers’ markets, senior centers, and schools, spreading music to a wider community. She has two CDs, including the recent “Inspired” – a fitting description of her style. To learn more, visit http://rebeccalomnicky.com/. And get to CSMA by 7 pm. You won’t want to miss a minute!

– Margaret Shepard

Cornell Folk Song Society Concert

Saturday, 30 April, 8 pm

Community School of Music and Arts,

330 E. State St., downtown Ithaca

Edinburgh-born, but at home on both sides of the Atlantic, Jean Redpath is the foremost interpreter of the songs of Robert Burns, and for more than 50 years has sung traditional and contemporary Scottish songs and ballads like no other. Her voice has depth, tenderness, grit, and no small measure of wit: she sings and laughs as easily as breathing. “To call Jean Redpath a Scottish folk singer is a bit like calling Michelangelo an Italian interior decorator,”declares the Edinburgh Evening News. The Cornell Folk Song Society is honored that she has agreed to return to Ithaca; her concert is truly a “Don’t miss!” event.

Raised in Fife, Ms. Redpath found her life’s focus while studying oral tradition at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Scottish Studies. In 1961, she made her way to the United States; arriving with $11 to her name, she fell in with Rambling Jack Elliot, Bob Dylan, and others of the Greenwich Village folk revival. She was quickly “discovered,” with raves from the NY Times and recording offers. Since then, she’s toured world-round, from coffeehouses and festivals to the Sydney Opera House and Avery Fisher Hall, and has made over 40 superb recordings, including definitive collections of Robert Burns. For years, she has been a dedicated teacher of Scottish folklore and music at all levels, from elementary school to universities (artist-in-residence at both Wesleyan in Connecticut and Stirling in Scotland), summer programs, and workshops. Her honors are numerous: four honorary doctorates, command performances for Queen Elizabeth, M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire), Kentucky Colonel, Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and a portrait in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Although she’s considered a living legend, Jean Redpath has remained unpretentious: direct, spontaneous, and funny. In performance, she is a stand-up comic and ethnomusicologist, as well as a sublime singer. Her voice is “a mezzo soprano that classically trained art singers might envy; no one interprets the Scottish tradition more beautifully or with more affection” (New York Times). She sings with operatic resonance, yet is down-to-earth: a rare gift. “Her deep, sandy voice is a marvelous ballad instrument, its naturalness concealing awesome control,” writes a Boston Globe reviewer. “When she takes a breath, she blows beauty into the very soul” (The Scotsman). Because she brings passion and understanding to traditional Scottish songs, they are not musty fossils, but very much alive and with full meaning today.

At the Chelsea House in Brattleboro, Vermont, where she made numerous fine recordings for Philo, I first heard Jean Redpath live in 1975. When she performed Song of the Seals, she held us as fully spellbound as the seals. I have never heard anything finer.

Jean Redpath is familiar to radio listeners of the late Robert J. Lurtsema’s Morning Pro Musica program out of Boston, and has been a regular on Prairie Home Companion, where Garrison Keillor said of her, “She has a fierce devotion to the music, as a Scot and as an artist. Everything she most deeply feels and believes in–about death and love and country and womanhood–comes out in these songs. The songs aren’t pictures. They’re rocks. They are the mountain itself.” Get yourself to the mountain: Jean Redpath was last in Ithaca in 1986!

Concert tickets are available at Ludgate Farms, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.

Jean Redpath Vocal Workshop

Sunday, May 1, 1:00-3:00 pm

Hollis Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall,

Cornell Arts Quad on East Ave.

In this master class, Jean Redpath is likely to cover traditional Scottish song (from lullabies and child’s play songs to love songs, ballads, and laments), Robert Burns, and perhaps a bit of gospel. She’ll help with pronunciation and translation of Scottish dialect (“essentially a foreign language”) and with conveying the essence of a song. Whatever the material, Jean Redpath is bound to be wise and funny, and will encourage participants to shed self-consciousness for love of singing. All levels of singers are welcome.

Please pre-register (so we’ll know how many to expect) by contacting Margaret Shepard (mbs19@cornell.edu). Cost is $15, payable at the door.

–Margaret Shepard

Saturday, April 16, noon to 11 pm
Boynton Middle School, 1601 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca

As fern fiddleheads push their way through winter-squashed litter and tardy snow, dancers and musicians will also unfurl in 11 hours of nonstop contra, English country, squares, waltzes, instrumental workshops, and jamming. Fabulous New England-based band Elixir, with Ethan Hazzard-Watkins on fiddle, Anna Patton on clarinet and vocals, Jesse Hazzard-Watkins on trumpet and flugelhorn, Owen Morrison on guitar and foot percussion, and multi-talented caller-trombonist-vocalist Nils Fredland, will ignite the crowd with the brassiest contra dances around. It’s a happy fusion–with finesse–of big-band, traditional Celtic and French Canadian, Dixieland jazz, swing, reggae, and rock. The tone ranges from raucous to serene; always creative and impossible for dancers to resist! Nils Fredland is an inventive, wildly popular and gifted caller who wowed the crowd at the 2007 Fiddlehead Frolic with fun, interwoven dances never before seen in Ithaca. Nils and Elixir will also do some singing squares learned from grand master Ralph Sweet, will provide flowing tunes for English country dances taught by Pamela Goddard, and will lead an instrumental workshop. Energy to spare!

Ithaca’s own O’Shanigans (in high demand throughout the region), with Tim Ball on soulful fiddle, Michael Ludgate on mandolin, and Phil Robinson on guitar, will offer more contras (called by Katy Heine), waltz sessions, and a contra medley. http://canaaninstitute.org/oshanigans.html

Mad Goat String Band (Peter Fraissinet on fiddle and banjo, Joe Hayward on banjo, Tom Ruscitti on mandolin and hammered dulcimer, Marianne Marsh and Nancy Spero on [double] bass) will play for an old-time square dance with Nancy Spero calling. Informal jam marathons will occur afternoon and evening (no charge for those who come just to jam).

If high spirits and sublime, hot music are not fuel enough, there will be sandwiches/light lunch and a waltz jam at noon and a community potluck supper at 6:15 pm. There’s also a silent auction (with wonderful donated goods and services). Whether it’s your fingers or feet that are flying, you’ll find hours of delight in spring-celebratory company at the Fiddlehead Frolic, hosted by Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca.

Prices vary by session (afternoon, evening, all-day); discount for HFDI members. Full schedule and details at http://www.hands4dancers.org/frolic/2011/index.html or call 607-539-3174. Out-of-towners who need a place to stay should contact Susan Arnsten-Russell at 607-277-0770 or sarnsten@gmail.com. Newcomers are welcome; each dance is taught, there a just a few basic steps, and the dance community is friendly and happy to help beginners. You don’t need to bring a partner, but you will need clean, soft-soled shoes (to protect the floor). Hands Four Dancers is a community-run, all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to promoting great dances in the region, and the Frolic is our home-grown festival, guaranteed to induce euphoria!

RSVP ON FACEBOOK! See who else is coming!! https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140384776025805

—Margaret Shepard

Saturday, April 2, at 8 pm

Hollis Cornell Auditorium,

Goldwin Smith Hall

East Ave/Arts Quad

Cornell University

How to describe this man to those not yet fortunate to have heard him? “Voice of the sea,” a legendary composer with staying power, collector of traditional music from many parts of the world, poet, sailor, boat-builder and artist with wood, innovative creator of the cellamba (a six-string fretted cello) and a 12-string guitar of unrivaled depth and versatility. An easy-going Downeaster whose yarns and folk ballads have entranced listeners for decades with quiet passion and droll humor. Memorable songs of real people, hard work and dreams, of living and mythical creatures. Gordon Bok is one of the giants.

The Cornell Folk Song Society’s most requested, and perhaps most beloved, performer, Gordon Bok has defined and set the standard for the new folk tradition of original works that respect and build on the old. He first gained fame as the first First Mate on Pete Seeger’s sloop Clearwater. Since then, for about a half-century, he’s performed around the globe and has recorded over 35 albums, both solo and with other outstanding musicians, including Cindy Kallet, Anne Dodson, and his legendary trio with Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett. At any local livingroom folk sing, you’re sure to hear more than one Bok song, with great choruses that urge the whole gathering to voice.

No one can match Gordon Bok’s sonorous voice and masterfully understated instrumentation with 12-string and classical guitars, the cellamba, viola da gamba, and multi-keyed whistle. He was a pioneer at bringing contra dance fiddle tunes into the guitar repertoire many years before the contra renaissance, and began including South American music in his repertoire long before it became today’s dance floor craze. Many fine traditional New Zealand and Australian songs have become familiar in the States thanks to Gordon Bok. He has also worked to preserve and share the music of the Kalmyk Mongolians who settled in the States in the 1950s. But he’s not too serious to indulge in some fun, as evidenced by his membership in the Camden Trash Band and the Quasimodal Chorus, and his skill at spinning tall tales.

A resident of coastal Maine who has built and worked on boats for a significant part of his life, he has a special affinity for music of the sea, with songs and fables large and timeless as the ocean. Sandy Paton said it simply: “Gordon Bok sings of the sea with the authority of a man who has been there, and he sings of life with the zest of a man who lives it as he chooses, and loves it.”

Gordon Bok was last in Ithaca five years ago. His concert is likely to sell out; buy tickets in advance or arrive early to avoid disappointment! Tickets: Ludgate Farms, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.
–Margaret Shepard