BROOKTONDALE NY (near Ithaca) - Laura Cortese w/ Mariel Vandersteel at the Canaan Institute - Wed May 8th - Fiddle workshop at 5:00 pm followed by a House Concert at 7:00 pm followed by a jam session. Workshop alone $20-, Concert alone $15-, both together $25- RSVP to mike@cinst.org to reserve your space in any of these. http://www.thisislauracortese.com/ and http://www.marielvandersteel.com/

Workshop - Bow, Grooves and Arrangement
Bow techniques, Grooves, Chords and Arrangements for fiddles, violas and cellos. Make your bow work for YOU not the other way around. This class is the foundation for learning jamming and arrangement techniques as a fiddler. We’ll adapt the workshop to accommodate all skill levels; talk to Mike when you RSVP mike@cinst.org

Directions http://canaaninstitute.org/mn/mus_jamcann.html

Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/509851765743287/

Laura Cortese BIO - scroll past photo
http://www.thisislauracortese.com/

Laura Cortese to Release New Album “Into the Dark” April 23
Full East Coast, West Coast Record Release Tours; Midwest Support Dates

“Ambition often follows talent, and Laura Cortese has an embarrassment of both. Her open-armed approach to her art reveals a determination to spread the word about folk music without watering down its distinctiveness.” - John Wenzel, Denver Post

Fiddle player and folk-pop singer-songwriter Laura Cortese takes to the road this April and May in support of her forthcoming full-length release, “Into the Dark” (street date April 23, 2013). American Songwriter describes the title track, which the publication premiered, as a “fiddle-drenched, Americana gem.” The rest of the record follows suit as all ten tracks feature Cortese’s stunning vocals backed by lush string arrangements on both her original, dark folk songs and a few carefully curated covers.

Cortese grew up in San Francisco and moved to Boston to study violin at Berklee College of Music. She has since immersed herself in the city’s vibrant indie music scene and enjoyed a busy sideman career, which has included appearances with Band of Horses at Carnegie Hall, Pete Seeger at Newport Folk Festival, and Patterson Hood and Michael Franti for Seeger’s ninetieth birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden. She performs frequently with Jocie Adams of the Low Anthem and can be heard on Adams’s upcoming album.

The finest moments on Into the Dark occur when Cortese spins out a metaphor as fluidly as she plays. She wrote the album’s first song, “For Catherine,” about an incident in her hometown in which a young woman was sexually assaulted by a group of high school boys. “For Catherine” bends and shifts as if through an alcoholic haze, playing on the dual meanings of “brandy” as both a libation and a woman’s name. As the song nears its mournful conclusion, the strings soar and the drum strikes a doleful beat. But Cortese always has the last word. When the cacophony subsides, her voice rings out alone. More http://www.thisislauracortese.com/

Mariel Vandersteel BIO - scroll past photo
http://www.marielvandersteel.com/

Somewhere between the fjords of Norway and mountains of the Blue Ridge, the fiddle-playing of Mariel Vandersteel intones the strains of elevation, clarity and tremendous feeling. It is uncanny that she hails from a very different set of mountains: those of northern California. Mariel came of age musically nurtured by the Bay Area’s rich revivalist traditional music scene, receiving a cultural grant to venture to the traditional music archives in Dublin, Ireland, and attending Boston’s Berklee College of Music for violin performance. After graduating, Mariel moved to Norway to study Hardingfele, the country’s national instrument at Hogskolen i Telemark folk music school. Returning to Boston in 2009, Mariel continued to work with acoustic-roots conjurers Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, exploring musical connections between Scandinavia and the United States.

On her new record, Mariel aims to bridge old and new worlds, organically melding the sounds, ornaments and accents of the fiddle communities in which she has delved; Boston and Norway, Ireland and California. In making the record, the goal was to give an aural snapshot of the textures of those communities. Collaborating with the Boston-area’s finest acoustic musicians, including producer/composer Jordan Tice, Scottish harpist Maeve Gilchrist, Tristan Clarridge, Samson Grisman, Dominick Leslie and Duncan Wickel, Mariel’s new music incorporates lush instrumental dialogues, playful timbral exchanges between fiddle and hardanger, and evocative interpretations of old-world melodies. The record endeavors to capture the incredible energy and ingenuity of the musical community Mariel has surrounded herself with: warmly inviting the listener to the fjord, the Sierra or the living room.

Along with her solo project, Mariel tours nationally and internationally with Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Laura Cortese’s Acoustic Project and a duo with Emma Beaton. More http://www.marielvandersteel.com/

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BROOKTONDALE NY (near ITHACA) - Old-time fiddle and Old Country Song Day - at The Canaan Institute Sat Apr 20th - Vocal Harmony workshop plus old-time house concert. Katie Trautz and Alec Ellsworth:

Twin fiddles and country songs (VT). Plus local favorites Steve Selin, Stefan Senders and Emily Thompson (Ithaca). This will be an all afternoon and evening event! Do it all or take it in “a la carte”. Vocal workshop. American harmony singing workshop from 3:00-5:00 pm - $20., Potluck dinner from 5:00-6:30 pm; bring something to share please., House Concert from 7:00-9:30 pm - $15., Music Jam after the concert; bring your instrument or voice! or $25 for the whole day. No tax dollars. No grant money. No Arts money: Funded only from your donations at the door. Thanks for your support. RSVP to mike@cinst.org to reserve your place! Directions here http://canaaninstitute.org/mn/mus_jamcann.html

Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/593710150640882/

Alec Ellsworth and Katie Trautz
‘Twin Fiddles and Country Songs’
www.katietrautz.com

Alec Ellsworth and Katie Trautz are a Vermont based duo that plays traditional old-time and Cajun music. Both musicians are strong fiddlers who weave harmonies and melodies together playfully and tastefully. Ellsworth and Trautz swap lead and harmony vocal parts effortlessly and as mufti-instrumentalists, they integrate banjo and guitar. Their collaborations together are relatively new, but both Alec and Katie are well versed in traditional music. Most recently, they have traveled to Louisiana where they learned and shared music with some of their favorite musicians.

Katie will be teaching an American Harmony Singing Workshop from 3-5pm at the Canaan Institute. Katie will teach Appalachian two part close harmony songs, three and four part Gospel tunes, Carter Family songs and shape-note hymns. The songs will be taught primarily by ear, word sheets provided. No experience necessary to join the folk choir! Katie has taught this workshop for the past five years at the Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture in Vermont www.summit-school.org

Katie Trautz (www.katietrautz.com) is a native Vermont fiddler who has toured nationally and internationally sharing traditional music and original folk songs. She has released three albums in the past three years, two of which have won ‘best traditional album of the year in the state of Vermont. Katie plays fiddle, guitar and banjo crossing genres with her numerous ensembles. Her bands include: Mayfly, Wooden Dinosaur and the New Foundry. She has studied with some of the greatest fiddle players in the US, including Dirk Powell, Pete Sutherland, James Bryan, Jimmy Tripplett, and Bruce Molsky. Katie has played alongside and shared the stage with many well-known bands including: Aoife O’Donovan Band, Brittany Haas & Lauren Rioux, Dirk Powell and Riley Baugus, Deadly Gentlemen, Sheesham and Lotus, David Wax Museum, Matt and Shannon Heaton, Rusty Belle, Michael Chorney and Dollar General, Brown Bird, Devil Makes Three, 4tet, Pete Sutherland and many others. Katie is also the co-founder of the non-profit folk music school ‘The Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture’ based in Montpelier, VT.

“Katie Trautz is representative of many young people playing traditional music today. On (her album) Remembering, she has used the traditional style to establish her own distinctive and lovely repertoire.” — TD, Sing Out Magazine

“On her new solo recording, Trautz does her mentor proud and really shines as a vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter. Her fiddling is full of old-timey swing, her five-string banjo playing leisurely, and her alto voice confident and full of emotion.” –Robert Resnik, VPR

“In the spotlight by herself, Trautz reveals nuance and depth. She approaches singing the way she does the fiddle: with a subdued directness, creating a sound that’s beautiful in its simplicity.” –Dan Bolles, Seven Days Review

Alec Ellsworth plays his fiddle and sings from the small mountains of Central Vermont. He grew up in the dance halls of New England, where he fell in love with traditional music and dancing. After biking across the US with a fiddle on his back, he fell in love with the music of the South, and has since spent much time learning traditional tunes. Over the summer of 2012 he received a grant to study traditional American fiddle styles, and he spent the summer learning from some of our great cultural proprietors. He now uses his fiddle and voice in dance halls, farmers markets, living rooms and street corners across the U.S.

Steve Selin (guitar) began playing old-time American fiddle music with his family, and has been influenced by the elegant simplicity of it ever since. He is a multi-instrumentalist and professional luthier who performs in the Evil City Stringband along with multiple side projects. Steve will be joined by Stefan Senders and Emily Thompson.

BROOKTONDALE NY (near ITHACA) - Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand - Sat Mar 16th House Concert & Workshop - Spend the whole day at the Canaan Institute or take it in “a la carte”. Details and suggested contributions listed here: Contra Musicians’ workshop 2:00-4:30 pm $20, Potluck dinner 5:00-6:30 pm bring something to share, House Concert 7:00-9:30 pm $15, Music Jam after the concert - bring your instrument, or $25 for the whole day. This takes place at a private residence, please email Mike for reservations and directions mike@cinst.org. Telephone 607-539-6153. The Canaan Institute: www.cinst.org

Here is a video clip from the March 16 concert … they played this song spontaneously from a request by an audience member.

CONCERT DETAIL - The VanNorstrands have been bringing their brand of high-energy alternative folk music to concert halls, festival stages, and dance floors across North America for more than a decade, but this concert is a return to the brothers’ musical roots. They began their musical careers learning old-time fiddle tunes, but soon became proficient on an astonishing variety of instruments; guitar, banjo, bouzouki, bongos, mandolin, bodhran, and even didgeridoo. Recently they’ve branched out into an edgier, more improvisational style including jazz, rock and world-beat percussion.  Their stunning abilities as both performers and composers, combined with energetic, heartfelt performances, have built a large and loyal following. This show presents a special opportunity to hear these remarkable musicians in a cozy, close-up setting.

RSVP mike@cinst.org to reserve your place! Let us know what part of the day you want to participate in.  This will be an all day event.  Spend the whole day at the Institute or take it in “a la carte”.  Details and suggested contributions listed here:

Contra Musicians’ workshop 2:00-4:30 pm - $20 alone
Potluck dinner 5:00-6:30 pm - bring something to share
House Concert 7:00-9:30 pm - $15 alone
Music Jam after the concert - bring your instrument
$25 donation covers the whole day

DIRECTIONS to this event http://canaaninstitute.org/mn/mus_jamcann.html
Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/143069282522156/

WORKSHOP DETAIL - Here is a mini-summary of possible workshop topics: great for contra dance musicians!

Crowd Control: rhythm, dynamics and communication
Bigger on the Inside: tune deconstruction and arrangements
The Perfect Fit: working with callers, matching tunes with dances
Between the Sheets: improvisation and finding the soul of a tune

More about Noah and Andrew VanNorstrand:

www.andrewandnoah.com
www.facebook.com/andrewandnoahband
www.sonicbids.com/andrewandnoah

PHOTO - Noah on the left, Andrew on the right

Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand are two of the most exciting and creative musicians on the folk music scene today. This special show will be a rare, all acoustic performance by the duo, featuring a finely crafted blend of old-time country songs, mountain fiddle tunes, swing, and bluegrass, as well as some originals. The intimate setting of the Canaan Institute is the perfect venue for this kind of concert.

The VanNorstrands have been bringing their brand of high-energy alternative folk music to concert halls, festival stages, and dance floors across North America for more than a decade, but this concert is a return to the brothers’ musical roots. They began their musical careers learning old-time fiddle tunes, but soon became proficient on an astonishing variety of instruments; guitar, banjo, bouzouki, bongos, mandolin, bodhran, and even didgeridoo. Recently they’ve branched out into an edgier, more improvisational style including jazz, rock and world-beat percussion.  Their stunning abilities as both performers and composers, combined with energetic, heartfelt performances, have built a large and loyal following. This show presents a special opportunity to hear these remarkable musicians in a cozy, close-up setting.

Andrew & Noah are DIY musicians with some hard-earned credentials. They’ve been featured performers at the Lake Eden Arts Festival in NC, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in NY, KVMR Celtic Festival in CA, Suwannee Springfest in FL, Midpoint Music Festival in OH and many others. They’ve toured extensively, often playing for contra dances as The Great Bear Trio with their mom Kim on piano. They’ve taught at various music camps including Ashokan Fiddle & Dance, CDSS Pinewoods and the Augusta Heritage Center. Andrew is also the program coordinator for the annual Ashokan Guitar Camp. They performed live on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” when they were in their teens. They maintain their own independent label (Great Bear Records) and produce an annual music and dance festival in Oswego, NY called The Groove.

Andrew and Noah are a true brother duo in the line of the Stanleys, the Louvins and the Everlys. Their finely-honed vocal harmonies bespeak over two decades of common musical experience, but it’s their differences that make them truly dynamic. Both brothers started out playing fiddle at age eight. Andrew was always drawn to bluegrass, swing, old-time country and cowboy songs, which eventually led him to take up the guitar and banjo. Noah, on the other hand, dug deeper into Celtic, Appalachian and contemporary acoustic roots music; branching out on the mandolin, tenor guitar, didgeridoo, drums and percussion. They recorded several albums in their teens of all original material and in 2004 they appeared on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. Now in their twenties, the brothers continue to write, record and tour all over North America with several bands including The Great Bear Trio, Giant Robot Dance and of course, the Andrew & Noah Band. They maintain their own independent label (Great Bear Records) and produce an annual music and dance festival in Oswego, NY called The Groove.

Press quotes:

“Their material is original, yet sounds timeless, demonstrating a depth of musical understanding seldom found in musicians double or triple their ages.” – Rob Weir, Sing Out!

“These folks are going places!” – Jay Ungar, performer, composer

“Their eclectic arrangements show both considerable technical ability and an ear for orchestration.” – Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen Magazine

“These two brothers are fun, talented, and above all, great showmen!” – Bill Knowlton, Bluegrass Ramble, WCNY-FM

ANDREW & NOAH BAND
www.andrewandnoah.com
www.facebook.com/andrewandnoahband
www.sonicbids.com/andrewandnoah

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BROOKTONDALE NY - Long Time Courting - Workshop for musicians (instrumental and vocals) Sunday July 29th 2012 2:00-4:30 pm $20- at The Canaan Institute. RSVP to Mike to reserve a seat and for detailed directions mike@cinst.org

Long Time Courting will be performing for WVBR’s Bound for Glory radio show later that same evening.

Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/402306366486460/

Band website http://www.longtimecourting.com/home.html

Workshop details:

In this workshop, Long Time Courting will work with instrumentalists and vocalists to explore ensemble playing and arrangement of traditional music. Long Time Courting will teach a song/tune and use that piece as a springboard for creative exploration, diving into the different aspects of arrangement that can craft a song or tune set into a unique musical experience for the players and their audience.

We will explore groove and harmonic options that can add that extra bit of excitement to a tune set. In order to bring out the narrative structure of a song, we’ll demonstrate and experiment with the usage of harmony vocals and instrumental breaks. By looking at aspects of arrangement such as orchestration, form and harmony/melody, we’ll show participants ways in which they can shape their traditional repertoire into a unique sound that is both personal and well grounded in the tradition that they are drawing from.

This is a hands-on workshop, so participants should bring their instruments. While Long Time Courting specializes in voice, guitar, fiddle, whistle, accordion and cello, all instruments are welcome. Like instruments will be grouped together for some small “sectional” work and larger full ensemble playing will be done as well.

Long Time Courting: Bio (scroll down)

PHOTO from L to R: Valerie, Sarah, Liz, Shannon.

Take four individually accomplished traditional musicians and singers with fresh attitudes. Combine them, and you have the rich, soaring four-part vocal arrangements and high energy dance tunes that are Long Time Courting. Bringing together the talents of Sarah Blair on fiddle/vocals, Liz Simmons on guitar/vocals, Shannon Heaton on flute/vocals, and Valerie Thompson on cello/vocals, this Boston-based band shares a love of traditional Irish, Scottish and American folk music as well as contemporary material. They bring elements of these various genres to their repertoire in a way that is seamlessly innovative, inventively arranged, and skillfully rendered.

Meet Long Time Courting:

Sarah Blair “Sarah Blair is simply a great fiddler. Her combination of grit and control makes for music with drive, lift, and a compelling earthiness.” -Fiddler Magazine.

Sarah began playing Irish fiddle in Providence, Rhode Island’s thriving traditional Irish music scene. She honed her playing as a sought-after session leader in Boston and in the world of American contra dancing. With her band The Sevens and with other ensembles, Sarah has played at festivals, concerts, and dance weeks from Alaska to Quebec to Florida. Her most unusual gig was filling in for fiddler Liz Carroll for a portion of The Eagles’ singer Don Henley’s 2000 tour. In 2001, the Sevens were featured on NPR in an interview with Noah Adams. She is included in “Handy with the Stick: Fiddler Magazine’s Best of Irish fiddling,” a forthcoming book profiling top Irish fiddlers by Brendan Taaffe.

Liz Simmons “A honey-voiced singer. . .Simmons sings with winsome ease and genuine feeling.” -Dirty Linen Magazine

Liz grew up listening to her mother sing traditional songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and Appalachia, as well as the New Orleans brass music her father plays. Since then, she has developed a unique vocal and guitar style that incorporates the sounds of traditional and contemporary music. She is the lead singer of Annalivia, a string-band that fuses Celtic and Americana musical styles. Among her other performing credits are North Cregg, The Sevens, and The John Whelan Band. Her singing will be featured in the soon-to-be-released film “Time and Charges”, written and directed by Grammy and Emmy award winner Ernest Thompson.

Shannon Heaton “Shannon’s voice is the sun: remarkably light yet powerful, reminiscent of the 10,000 Maniacs’ Mary Ramsey…

Shannon’s flawless flute playing adds another layer of lightness…” -Molly Snyder, OnMilwaukee.com??Shannon is a veteran performer, having toured nationally with her husband, guitarist Matt Heaton, for over ten years. She developed her love of folk and traditional music early on, having lived in music-rich Nigeria and Thailand. It was in Chicago, IL that she discovered the local Irish music community and began learning tunes at Comhaltas and pub sessions. Since then, her keen melodic and arranging sensibilities, discerning ear, and exquisite Irish flute style has been featured with numerous Boston area ensembles.

Valerie Thompson “One of the most interesting female low end musicians isn’t technically a bass player. She is electric and acoustic cello player, Valerie Thompson.”-Bill Copeland - CTRL ALT Music

Kansas City native, Valerie grew up a classical cellist in a household filled with the music of Bach, The Beatles, The Chieftains and the blues. Entranced by dance music in her teens, she supplemented her formal studies by participating in summer folk festivals. She graduated with honors from the Berklee College of Music and is currently pursuing a masters in music in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory. She has toured nationally and internationally with musical projects as diverse as Fluttr Effect (world infused progressive rock band,) Laura Cortese’s Acoustic Project (acoustic folk pop,) and Goli (songdriven chamber duo.) Not just an engaged performer, Valerie is an active teacher and recording session musician in the Boston area and her original music has scored independent films and plays.
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Tony Trischka & Territory in Concert
Sunday, May 27 @ 4pm
Ithaca Unitarian Church
http://wintervillagebluegrass.org/

Winter Village is pleased to bring Tony Trischka & Territory back to Ithaca this Sunday for an intimate and affordable show at the Unitarian Church in downtown Ithaca. Banjo master Tony Trischka will be accompanied by vocalist and guitarist Michael Daves (Thile – Daves duo) , fiddler Tashina Clarridge, and bassist Skip Ward. Tony and his fine band will perform two sets beginning at 4pm (no opening act). Tickets cost $15 in advance and can be purchased at the door for $20 ($15 for seniors and students).  To view a video of TT & T performing The General at Winter Village in January 2012, click here.   Here they are with Tashina on fiddle at the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in 2011 performing the By and By Medley.

The Unitarian Church is a great venue for music with excellent acoustics, high quality sound system, all in an intimate setting that holds up to 300 people.  It is located at the northwest corner of Aurora and Buffalo Streets in downtown Ithaca.  Note however that this is Cornell graduation weekend so restaurants will be difficult to get into in the downtown area. Tickets are available in advance at the Ticket Center on the Ithaca Commons, www.ithacaevents.com; (607) 273-4497 until Saturday at 2pm.  Tickets purchased at the Ticket Center are subject to additional fees and can be purchased in person, by phone or online.  Tickets should be available at the door but arrive early to ensure you get in and get a good seat.

Tony Trischka & Territory Instrument Workshops
Sunday, May 27 at 1pm
$30 for 2 hour class (5 person minimum)
Contact Rick Manning to hold a place in workshops.

Tony Trischka – Banjo

Tony Trischka is one of the most influential banjo players 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.  A true luminary in the banjo world, his technical and conceptual advances opened the way for such players as Bela Fleck and Alison Brown. His recordings with them and others such as Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Pete Seeger, members of REM, William S. Burroughs, Natalie Merchant, Alison Krauss and Steve Martin are part of every banjo-lovers musical reference.
The latest of his 16 recordings for Rounder Records, Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, won several IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards including one for Banjo Player of the Year and was nominated for a Grammy Award.  Tony has raised the awareness of both the banjo and his own music with numerous articles in the national press, interviews on radio and television appearances. His solo album for Smithsonian Folkways Records, Territory was named Best Americana Album at the Independent Music Awards. He has just produced Steve Martin’s Rare Bird Alert (Rounder), which features performances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. Tony is also the musical director of the documentary Give Me the Banjo, which aired on PBS and will be released on DVD this spring.  In addition, Tony is one of the instrument’s top teachers, and has created numerous instructional books, DVDs and CDs.  The groundbreaking Tony Trischka School of Banjo launched in July of 2009, and is the online banjo home for students from all around the world.

Michael Daves – Guitar & Vocals

While he can play just about anything with strings and has had his hands in styles from jazz to noise rock Michael Daves is known as one of the U.S.’s premier bluegrass vocalists and guitarists.  In addition to playing with Tony, Michael also appears as a solo artist and with his experimental noise rock-country band, the Buzz Buzz Tabernacle. He has also performed with John Herald (of the Greenbrier Boys), Gordon Stone, Chip Taylor, Howard Fishman, John Herald, Greg Garing, Josh Roseman, Jen Larson, the Klezmer Mountain Boys, and Matt Munisteri of Brock Mumford.
Michael’s album with Chris Thile, Sleep With One Eye Open (2011, Nonesuch Records) received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album!

Skip Ward - Bass

Skip Ward is one of the most in-demand stand-up bassists in New York City.  As with the other member’s of the band, Skip is conversant in a number of different musical styles. Skip is a classically-trained jazz musician with a penchant for rock n’ roll and fusion, blues and bluegrass. He plays four, five and six string electric and acoustic fretted and fretless basses, and has a special love for the upright.  He has studied with Anthony Knight of the Cleveland Orchestra and Frank DiLaberto of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also had the privilege of studying with the great Jaco Pastorius.  Artists he has played/recorded with include: Tony Trischka, with Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, and Gordon Stone (Phish), Phoebe Snow, Cyndi Lauper, Cassandra Wilson, David Sancious (Sting, Eric Clapton), Manolo Badrena, Jim White, Tandy, The Wild Colonials, Angela McCluskey, David Benoit, Carrie Rodriguez, Melissa Manchester, Shannon McNally, Michael Daves, Steve Holley (Paul McCartney, Ian Hunter), Demolition String Band (featuring Boo Reiners), Brendan O’Shea, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Tom Pierson Big Band, Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony, the Ohio Ballet. You’ll hear Skip on many soundtracks, and he has been on national tour with a number of major theatrical productions.

Tashina Clarridge – Fiddle

Tashina began Suzuki violin lessons at the age of 2, at Humboldt State University & the University of Montana. She continued studies in Baroque classical violin with Rob Diggins, and in Texas-Style/Contest fiddling with Megan Lynch. Drawn into the creative world of acoustic music camps, she was immersed in the music of fiddle greats such as Darol Anger, Natalie MacMaster, Matt Glaser and Mark O’Connor.
Now a resident of Boston, Tashina enjoys a lively pursuit of bluegrass, Appalachian old-time, Irish fiddling, and the fusion of such styles, sometimes labeled “New Acoustic” music. She is a Grand National Fiddle Champion and 11-time Grand National finalist.  She has performed at Carnegie Hall as part of MacArthur Fellow/Grammy-winning bassist Edgar Meyer’s Young Artists program, and works regularly with Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, and Mike Marshall. She tours with her brother Tristan, Simon Chrisman, & Wes Corbett in the acoustic eclectic quartet The Bee Eaters, and with Mark O’Connor’s American String Celebration, representing O’Connor’s Strings Conferences, where she has taught for the past 8 years. Tashina and her brother also created and administrate 2 extremely popular fiddle camps of their own which have run every year for the last six years.
Save the Dates:

Winter Village Fiddle Camp
January 11, 12 and 13, 2013

Join Darol Anger (bluegrass & swing), Judy Hyman (old time), Laurie Hart (Celtic & Scandi), and Hope Grietzer (Beginner and Intermediate)
at La Tourelle Resort and Spa, the site of WVBF.  Contact Rick Manning for more information.

Winter Village Bluegrass Festival
January 25, 26 and 27, 2013

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

WORKSHOP: 3-5 pm, Willard Straight Hall

Music Room (Room 411), Cornell University

CONCERT: 8 pm, 165 McGraw Hall,

Central Ave., Cornell Arts Quad, Cornell University

Widely considered the premier old-time fiddler of his generation (by fellow virtuoso fiddlers including Alasdair Fraser, Jay Ungar, and Darol Anger, and by audiences worldwide), this Grammy-nominated musician is also outstanding on guitar, banjo, and vocals. Bruce Molsky is most closely identified with Appalachian music (Darol Anger calls him its “Rembrandt”), but over two decades he’s also absorbed and transmuted traditional music from many cultures—Celtic, Scandinavian, Eastern European, Delta blues—into his unique sound. He has “a mystical awareness of how to bring out the new in something that is old,” says composer Mark O’Connor, who credits Molsky’s spirit and drive as the inspiration for O’Connor’s remarkable String Quartet No. 3 and Concerto for Violin, Cello and Symphony Orchestra. Perhaps Molsky’s greatest influence is as a teacher. “Young people realize this is a guy who’s tapped into the real deep emotional wellsprings of this music. Young people are very hungry for something real. Bruce has that in spades,” writes Matt Glaser, director of the American Roots Program at Boston’s Berklee College, where Molsky is on the faculty this semester.

Bronx-born, Molsky encountered blues and jazz as a teen, but credits Cornell University with his introduction to old-time music. In his twenties, he moved to Virginia and began to learn from traditional players like Tommy Jarrell of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, for whom music was integrated into daily life as work, play, and an expression of regional culture. At age 40, in the thick of his career as a mechanical engineer, Bruce Molsky decided he did not want to wait until retirement to make music full-time. With full blessings from his wife, Audrey, he took a year off in 1997 to explore his passion and never looked back. We are all blessed by that choice.

Molsky’s approach to performing is without pretension: “I talk to an audience the way I talk to people in my house; and I play for them just like we’re all in the living room together. I want to present myself as who I am; and this music as what it is.” The songs he writes depict the strengths and hardships of communities, as in Peg and Awl, in which shoemakers lose their jobs to automation. An April 20, 2011 headline from Bloomberg News humorously shorthands Molsky: “Bronx Fiddle Master Designed Drainage System, Made Ronstadt Cry.” Peg and Awl made her weep, admits Linda Ronstadt, because of the honesty in Molsky’s singing: “It’s pared back to only the essential architecture of emotion.”

Whether performing solo or with a vast list of friends (including Mike Seeger, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Dirk Powell, Kevin Burke, Mick Moloney, Bill Frisell, Donal Lunny, Darol Anger, Nikola Parov, Rens van der Zalm, Rafe Stefanini, Michael Doucet, Andy Irvine, Aly Bain, and Ale Möller), he’s a warm, compelling musician, equally at home on world tours, at Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and backporch house concerts and jams. He’s made at least 16 recordings, including 6 solo, some with Big Hoedown, Mozaik, Fiddlers 4, and others, and some instructional. He’s in high demand as a teacher at Ashokan, Mark O’Connor’s camps (where he’s taught every year since 1990), and Berklee. To celebrate Bruce Molsky’s return to his alma mater, the Cornell Folk Song Society is sponsoring both a fiddle workshop and concert.

Concert Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate at the door for CFSS members, seniors, and teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10 advance/$12 at door. [Discount for workshop participants, see below.] Info: 607-351-1845 or website. We anticipate a sell-out, so get tickets early.

Old-Time Fiddle Workshop (3-5 pm): Bruce describes the afternoon as follows: “The workshop takes a hands-on approach to old-time fiddle. Tunes are taught a phrase at a time, first melody, then bowing, and then piecing things together. We’ll dig into old-time music’s unique phrasing, rhythm and syncopation, intonation, etc. The tune is the vehicle, so mostly we’ll be playing! Suggested experience level: If you’re comfortable with the instrument and have at least a small repertoire of tunes, you’ll be fine. A recorder (minidisc, hard disk, tape, 78-rpm acetate cutter or wire recorder) is highly recommended.  Since developing ear training skills is one of the workshop goals, written music will not be provided.  *No video cameras, please.*”

Workshop limited to 25 participants; please pre-register to reserve a spot (E-mail Laura Taylor at lbt1@cornell.edu). Payment at the door is fine: $15 for students, $25 for non-students. Discount price for combined workshop plus concert: $20 students, $35 non-students (an amazing deal!).

UPDATE: AS OF 18 APRIL, ONLY ABOUT 5 SPOTS LEFT IN THE WORKSHOP!

– Margaret Shepard

BROOKTONDALE NY Sunday April 22nd - Musician’s instrumental Workshops with Phil Banaszak and Dave Ruch from The Canal Street String Band. Phil and Dave will teach 2 workshops concurrently: one in the farmhouse and one in the music building at the Canaan Institute. See http://www.canalstreetstringband.com/home.cfm and http://www.daveruch.com/ At The Canaan Institute. RSVP to Mike to reserve a seat and for detailed directions michael@canaaninstitute.org Sunday April 22nd 2012 2:00-4:30 pm $20- Dave and Phil are performing for WVBR’s Bound for Glory radio show later that same evening with The Canal Street String Band!

Fiddle (Phil) - Former New York State fiddle champion Phil Banaszak’s self-taught style is based on bluegrass, Celtic and old-time fiddling. He has played professionally for over 30 years and has taught fiddling for nearly 20 years. His workshops usually take on a life of their own based on the needs and questions of the group, and in the past they have focused on the mechanics of playing the fiddle for different levels, music theory, learning new tunes and more. Phil is an inductee into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame, and he also sings, plays the guitar (a little) and the mandolin with The Canal Street String Band.

New York State fiddle/dance tunes (Dave) - For all melody instruments. Join Dave Ruch for a special session on lesser-known fiddle and dance tunes from the repertoires of NYS old-time fiddlers. This is a hands-on workshop for all instrumental musicians interested in adding some authentic New York State fiddle tunes to their playing. Tunes will be taught by ear in the old style, with the instructor playing one phrase at a time (on mandolin) until the group is ready to move on to the next. Sheet music will also be provided, but let’s see how far we can get without it! Other questions that will be addressed by Dave include:
* Is there a New York State “sound”?
* How did the traditional music played in this area differ from what was played in the American south, and in New England?
* Who were/are the Tommy Jarrells and Henry Reeds of this area, the tradition bearers who kept (and keep) the old fiddle music alive and passed it down through the generations?

The approximate plan for the afternoon is this:

1) Starting promptly at 2:00 pm - a mixed session for everyone, Phil & I introduce ourselves, play a tune or two, then break off into two areas.

2) Phil leads his fiddle workshop, Dave will lead a NYS Tunes workshop in separate room, (He’ll teach the tunes on mandolin, but this will be for all melody players, he will teach at least two and maybe three or more tunes depending on speed of class), for maybe 60-75 minutes

3) break/mingle/refreshments …

4) the two groups come back together, bowing issues and other fiddle related questions from Dave’s session can be addressed with Phil, we can then break off again or stay together depending on flow, people’s interests, etc

HUNTINGDON PA  — Musicians of all ages, instruments and skill levels are invited to attend Folk College 2012, where they’ll have the opportunity to learn from locally and nationally-known folk musicians in a fun and friendly environment.

The event will be held May 25-27 at Juniata College in Huntingdon PA (near State College and Penn State) and will feature workshops, concerts, jam sessions and more, culminating in a student concert where participants can show off the skills they learned throughout the weekend. Workshops range from beginner to advanced and cover genres including blues, old time and world music.

The Folk College 2012 musical staff include:

• Atwater-Donnelly: Atwater-Donnelly performs a unique and thrilling blend of traditional American and Celtic folk music and dance, along with original songs and poetry. The highly praised husband-wife duo blends gorgeous vocals with an astonishing array of instruments including the mountain dulcimer, old-time banjo, tin whistle, guitar, limberjack, mandolin, harmonica, feet and more.
• Four Shillings Short: Four Shillings Short is part of the creative fusion that is happening in World Music today.  Blending Celtic, East Indian and American Folk music with Medieval, Renaissance and original compositions, the international duo have carved out a musical identity all their own.
• Simple Gifts: Three women plus twelve instruments equals one good time when Simple Gifts takes the stage. Drawing on an impressive variety of ethnic folk styles, th award-winning trio of Linda LIttleton, Karen Hirschon and Rachel Hall play everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer frailachs and haunting Gypsy melodies, spicing the mix with the distinctive rhythms of Balkan dance music, the lush sounds of Scandinavian twin fiddling, and original compositions written in a traditional style.

• The Horse Flies: A longtime favorite of critics and fans, The Horse Flies blend Americana roots with indie rock, ethnic percussion, creative songwriting, and a fierce, percolating groove. With a love of both the traditional and the modern, The Flies have consistently explored the intersection of the two to create a musical world all their own.
• The Twilite Broadcasters: The Twilite Broadcasters are the missing link between vintage country, old time, early bluegrass and rockabilly. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, the band creates traditional American music directly inspired by the likes of the Louvin Brothers and Bill Monroe.
• Tomás Lozano and Polly Ferber: Barcelona born Tomás Lozano’s music incarnates his mix of cultural roots; a history of conquest and resistance masterfully expressed through his smooth voice, the vibrant fingerwork on his guitar and the soothing droning of his hurdy-gurdy. He will be joined by Polly Ferber, a percussionist, music educator, performer, and recording artist who specializes in hand percussion from the Middle East, the Balkans, Spanish Andalusia, and North Africa.

The weekend will also feature teacher training for the Mark O’Connor method of fiddle playing. This intensive workshop is designed for music teachers interested in learning O’Connor’s unique method of fiddle instruction.

Folk College is hosted by Simple Gifts nd sponsored by the Huntingdon County PA Arts Council. Those who register before April 1 can take advantage of a $200 “early bird” pricing; the cost is $235 after April 1. Meals and lodging in Juniata College residence halls are also available for additional fees.

Folk College 2012 will be held May 25-27 at Juniata College in Huntingdon PA. For more information, visit folkcollege.com or contact the Huntingdon County Arts Council at 814-643-6220.

ITHACA NY - This workshop will focus on songs that Aoife learned from her father Bobby Clancy, and other family members growing up in Co Tipperay, Ireland. The class will include material at all levels, from childhood songs to advanced material with a brief history on the background of the songs. Aoife will also be teaching some love songs from around the time of the Napoleonic wars and other unusual family songs that were passed down from her grandparents on both sides. She will work on the pacing of a song and also help students develop their own individual style and approach to singing. There will be some time spent on vocal technique, ornamentation and warm up exercises for the vocal chords. The focus will be on the oral tradition and learning to sing by ear, so students should bring some recording device for class. Aoife will encourage students to sing and help them overcome the “fear of performing”.  http://www.aoifeclancy.com/

Sunday October 2nd 2011 - in the afternoon 2-4 pm $20-
at The Canaan Institute (Mike and Raylene’s workshop)
http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewtopic.php?p=4206#4206
RSVP to Mike to reserve a seat and for directions michael@canaaninstitute.org

About Aoife ….

Aoife Clancy (pronounced “Eefa”) brings a refreshing new voice to folk music, one that ranges from traditional Irish songs to ballads and contemporary folk. Aoife comes from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir, in Co Tipperary, Ireland, where her musical career began at an early age. Her father Bobby Clancy of the legendary Clancy Brothers, placed a guitar in her hands at age ten, and by age fourteen was playing with her father in nearby pubs.

She later moved to Dublin, where she studied drama at the Gaiety School of Acting. After a season at the Gaiety, Aoife was invited to do a tour of Australia. There she performed at festivals and concerts sharing the stage with some of Ireland’s greatest performers, including Christy Moore and the Furey Brothers. Her performances also include a Caribbean cruises with the Clancy Brothers, the Milwaukee Irish Festival and a seven week tour of the United States with the renowned Paddy Noonan Show

In 1995 Aoife was asked to join the acclaimed group “Cherish the Ladies”, which is one of the most sought-after Irish American groups in history. For the past four years Aoife has toured extensively doing no less than two hundred dates a year throughout the United States and Europe. She has been a featured soloist with orchestras such as the Boston Pops and Cincinnati Pops and, while performing with Cherish the Ladies, collaborated with the Boston Pops on their Grammy nominated Celtic album.

Now with seven recordings under her belt in the last decade, Aoife has clearly established herself as one of the Divas of Irish and contemporary Folk Music. She has recorded two solo projects “Its about Time” and “Soldiers and Dreams” on Rego Records. On her debut CD “It’s About Time,” Aoife presents some traditional favorites, such as “Factory Girl” and “Mrs. McGrath,” but she also presents a sassy rendition of Leon Russelson’s “Don’t Get Married Girls.”

As one reviewer remarked, “she has a breadth of styles that make her concerts fascinating. Her singing would melt packed ice with it’s warmth and richness”—Mike Jackson, Canberra Times. On Aoife’s second Rego solo album, “Soldiers and Dreams,” Al Riess, from Dirty Linen magazine, wrote: “Soldiers and Dreams has a contemporary-meets-traditional-music feel and Clancy’s smooth, expressive singing works both ways—ensuring a successful merger of the two approaches and an enjoyable listening pleasure”.

Currently, Aoife is touring with her own band in support of her two Rego solo releases and her latest Appleseed release “Silvery Moon”. When she comes to a town near you, be sure not to miss this totally enchanting performer.

###

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