Rehearsals
The next Fiddleheads rehearsal date is the morning of 12/4/10, but NOTE THE LOCATION...... NEW ADDRESS for the Burlington Violin Shop (BVS) www.vermontviolins.com at 23 Church Street (not Billings at UVM, as previously announced). The BVS shop moved from its 2nd floor, Main Street location this past week and is now in a beautiful new street level space on the Church Street Marketplace. This is in the last block of the Marketplace, near the Unitarian Church end of the street. Its on the same side of the street, in the same block, as Borders Books, and almost directly across the street from Halverson's.
IMPORTANT!...... Because we're not sure how many people we can get in the space at the new location, please let me know if you're planning to come. We're going to limit the number to 15 players..... Luke Bisceglio, Kyla Leary and Sasha Pearson have already confirmed, so they're set. If you're planning to come but aren't listed here, please let me know. I'll confirm with you if you can get the message to me before Friday. If you can't make the commitment until the last minute, come anyway, unless I've sent a message that there's not more space. Call me at 802-233-5293 if its the morning of the rehearsal and you're wondering. I'll be at the shop no later than 9:15am to set up chairs, etc.
The schedule will be the same as the past 3 Saturday rehearsals..... 9:30am to 10:30am new-to-Fiddleheads players learning core repertoire from more experienced members (Molly Shallow this month), 10:30am to 11:15am playing tunes up to speed from the core repertoire and tunes taught recently by guest instructors, and 11:15am to 12 noon with a guest teacher teaching a new tune or 2.
Joanne Garton (photo to left) will be with us this month, teaching from 11:15am to 12 noon. Joanne is an accomplished, well known Scottish fiddler and dancer who taught fiddling and dancing at Trad Camp this past summer and plays frequently for dances in New England and Canada. She has also been featured at the Young Tradition Weekend event in the past. Since moving from Montpelier to Montpelier she has gotten married, had a new baby, and continued her professional work as a geologist. We're extremely lucky that she can be with us.
Tim Cummings (photo) teaching at last month's rehearsal at UVM.
I'll be there by 9:15am, and will have my cell phone with me (802-233-5293).
Some information to consider, to make the best use of everyone's time at these rehearsals..... You should be comfortable playing/learning in group situations. The teaching parts are done by someone playing a phrase of music/a group of notes, and everyone else repeating that, working our way through a tune until complete, then playing it a few times as a complete tune. You should have a variety tunes you are familiar with and feel fairly confident about playing. If you are new to playing, struggling with getting/producing notes that sound right, knowing where your fingers go, how to hold your instrument, etc., this is probably going to be a frustrating experience for you. If you're unsure, you can certainly come and watch...... but you should be aware that there is a basic level of playing and being able to learn that is assumed. We focus on learning by ear. Sheet music isn't the target, but guest instructors do bring sheet music..... feel free to use sheet music during any of the sessions if that's helpful to you. A majority of folks who participate are fiddle players....... but there are also mandolin, viola, cello, flute, whistle, etc. players, and accompaniment players (piano, guitar, etc.). For accompaniment players (melody players can play accompaniment too, especially if they already know the tunes), I try to create chord charts for any new tunes, and I have chord charts for everything in the core repertoire.
The Burlington Violin Shop, the UVM Old Time Music Club, and Young Tradition Vermont help sponsor these rehearsals. We'll be making a decision about sticking with the Burlington Violin Shop location, or moving back to the UVM space after we see how this month goes. Be sure to let me know if you have a preference of any kind. Be sure to thank the folks at the Burlington Violin Shop for their continuing support of Fiddleheads.
Next Fiddleheads Appearance
Vermont International Festival www.vermontinternationalfestival.com at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction on Friday (12/3). Fiddleheads is scheduled for two 30-minute sets..... one at 1pm and the other at 1:30pm. I'll be there starting at 11:30am, so come anytime after that if you can. As soon as anyone shows up, we'll find a place to rehearse and make some decisions about what we're going to play. Don't worry about not getting there early enough to rehearse.... but be sure to come with a choice or two from the core set list, and be prepared to introduce yourself to the audience..... first and last name, where you live, and some other information I may ask you to share.
Confirmed players are Sarah Bahr, Luke Bisceglio, Tyler Bryant, Sterling Ford, Dana Hartshorn,
Christopher Krag, Ceili Kronick, and Sasha Pearson. Let me know if you’re coming but aren’t on this list.
The scheduled performances will likely be done by 2pm. If some people are still around at that hour, we may play informally somewhere in the building and/or talk with students who will be visiting from area schools. Friday is dedicated to groups of students visiting from area schools, so we will be performing for students and some of their teachers at 1pm and 1:30pm. No special dress for this performance, but avoid wearing anything you wouldn't wear if you were in school
Core Set List
These are the tunes we focus on having ready for performances. Sometimes we do others, but if you can work on the tunes on this list, and have some or all of them memorized, you'd be ready to for performances. We do adjust the list as we learn new tunes from guests, recycle tunes learned in the past, etc. I have sheet music, MP3s, and chord charts for all of these...... ask if you'd like a copy.
- Aran Boat Song/Skye Boat Song
- Swallowtail Jig/Road to Lisdoonvarna
- Chase Me Charlie
- Gaspe Reel
- L'Oiseu Bleu
- The Butterfly
- Bonnie Tammie Scolla
- Kerry Polkas (Kerry Polka #4/Ger the Rigger/John Ryan’s Polka)
- Off She Goes/Smash the Windows
- Rose Tree
- Mary's Wedding
- St. Anne's Reel
- Devil’s Dream/Mason’s Apron/Miss McLeod’s Reel
- Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman
- Boda Waltz
- Fanny Power
- Billy in the Lowground (from Pete Sutherland)
- Eel in the Sink (from Laura Markowitz)
- Border Hornpipe (from Tim Cummings
Fiddleheads schedule
Here is a list of other events on the Fiddleheads schedule. More details will be sent as each event approaches. An '?' means its not confirmed..... pencil these in but don't worry about confirming with me until you get more information that its a definite. An '!' in red means I need some players to sign up, or we'll risk canceling it as a Fiddleheads event.
- ! 12/18 performance 5pm to 6pm for Winter's Eve at the Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington
- ! 12/29 performance 7pm+ at Lake Champlain Access Television in Colchester
- ? 1/8 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at TBA in Burlington
- 1/8 contra dance 7pm to 9pm (5pm soup and rehearsal) at the Jericho Community Center in Jericho Center....... soup and rehearsal at Amy Malinowski's house in Jericho
- ? 2/5 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at TBA in Burlington
- ? 3/5 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at TBA in Burlington
- ? 4/2 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at TBA in Burlington
- ? 5/7 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at TBA in Burlington
- 2/12/11 contra dance 6pm to 8pm at the Folsom Educational Center in South Hero
- ! 3/12/11 performance 2pm to 4pm at Chocolate by the Pound benefit for the Franklin County Humane Society at the St. Albans Historical Society
- ? 3/17/11 workshop with Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Ciaran Tourish (TBA time prior to Altan concert) at the Flynn in Burlington
Mairead and Ciarnan workshop in 2008
Catherine and Eliza at Chocolate by the Pound benefit
