Rehearsals
Rehearsals are always free! No cost to participants!
The next Fiddleheads rehearsal date is the morning of 2/5/11, at the Burlington Violin Shop (BVS) www.vermontviolins.com 23 Church Street in Burlington. The BVS shop moved from its 2nd floor, Main Street location in November. Its 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 and the Big Joe Burrell statue.
The space is limited, so please let me know if you're planning to come. We need to limit the number to no more than 15 players..... Luke Bisceglio, Dana Hartshorn, Gabo Lewis and Cooper Strong have already confirmed, so they're set. If you're planning to come but aren't listed here, please let me know. You're in unless you get a return message from me. If you can't make the commitment until the last minute, come anyway, unless I've sent a message that there's no more space. Call me at 802-233-5293 if its the morning of the rehearsal and you need to know. I'll be at the shop no later than 9:15am to set up chairs, etc.
The schedule will be the same as the most recent Saturday rehearsals..... 9:30am to 10:30am new-to-Fiddleheads players learning core repertoire (looks like it will be me teaching 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 guest instructors teaching a new tune or 2.
Sarah Blair (photo) will be a guest instructor this month, teaching from about 11:15am to 12 noon. Sarah an accomplished, well known Irish and Contra Dance fiddler and teacher who plays frequently at sessions and dances in New England and Canada. She has been the private teacher for several players who have been involved with Fiddleheads over the years, and is well known as one of the best traditional Irish fiddlers in North America, with a beautiful solo CD and a cover story a couple of years ago in Fiddler Magazine. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and 2 boys. We're extremely lucky that she can be with us. She's be playing later that afternoon at the Young Tradition Showcase at City Hall (3 to 5) with Maria Naumann, one of her fiddle students and a long time member of Fiddleheads. Anyone interested in following up with Sarah for lessons, etc. can reach her at vtblair@sover.net
An new, added feature for the 11:15am to 12 noon slot will be someone who will coach the chord and rhythm players while the guest instructor is teaching tunes...... helping learn the tune of course, but also working on what rhythm and chords to play. Pete Sutherland (photo) will be with us for that purpose this month. Pete has been a guest tune instructor in the past...... I doubt anyone needs an introduction here. You can contact Pete at epact@gmavt.net for more information.
Sarah King (photo) teaching at the January rehearsal.
Dominique Dodge (photo) teaching at the January rehearsal.
I'll be at the shop 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 okay with playing/learning in group situations. The teaching parts are done by 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 already 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 often 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 after the rehearsal for new tunes.
The Burlington Violin Shop www.vermontviolins.com and Young Tradition Vermont www.youngtradtionvermont.org sponsor these rehearsals. Be sure to thank the folks at the Burlington Violin Shop for their continuing support of Fiddleheads.
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 chord charts for almost everything in the core repertoire. MP3s, sheet music and chord charts are available for most tunes in the core repertoire and tunes taught by guest instructors. Ask if you'd like a copy.
1. Aran Boat Song/Skye Boat Song
2. Swallowtail Jig/Road to Lisdoonvarna
3. Chase Me Charlie
4. Gaspe Reel
5. L'Oiseu Bleu
6. The Butterfly
7. St. Anne’s Reel (from Maria Naumann and Sarah King)
8. Fanny Power
9. Kerry Polkas (Kerry Polka #4/Ger the Rigger/John Ryan’s Polka)
10. Off She Goes/Smash the Windows
11. Rose Tree
12. Mary's Wedding
13. Boda Waltz
14. Billy in the Lowground (from Pete Sutherland)
15. Eel in the Sink (from Laura Markowitz)
16. Border Hornpipe (from Tim Cummings)
17. The Famous Bridge (from Joanne Garton)
18. Waltz of the Little Girls (from Molly Shallow)
19. Bonnie Tammie Scolla (from Sarah King)
20. Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman (from Sarah King)
21. Rocking the Baby (from Dominique Dodge)
22. The Frost Is All Over (from Sarah King)
23. Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman (from Sarah King and Hannah Beth Crary)
Next Fiddleheads Appearance
2/5/11 Family Contra and International Dance with Hannah Goodwin, Eliza Arsenault, Charley Ferguson, Mediha Jusufagic, and Mark Sustic (callers/instructors) and Fiddleheads and the Irregulars with the Bosnian Lilies and other guests from 6pm to 8pm in Contois Auditorium at City Hall in Burlington. Part of the Burlington Winter Festival. Presented by Burlington Parks and Recreation and Young Tradition Vermont. Contact http://burlingtonwinterfestival.wordpress.com/activities/, mrksustc@together.net or www.youngtraditionvermont.org
Fiddleheads members will be playing tunes for the dances (except for the Bosnian Lilies segment). I'll be there to set up the sound system, chairs, etc. for the Young Tradition Showcase (3 to 5) by about 1pm. You can come anytime after about 2:30pm. 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. Luke Bisceglio and most of the players who also play with the Irregulars (Laura Harris, Dana Hartshorn, McKinley James, Christopher Krag) have confirmed. Let me know if you’re coming but aren’t on this list. No special dress for this.
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.
2/12 contra dance 6pm to 8pm at the Folsom Educational Center in South Hero......Gabo Lewis, Eileen O'Grady and Oliver Scanlon are confirmed..... but we need more players!
3/5 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon at the Burlington Violin Shop
3/12 performance 2pm to 4pm at Chocolate by the Pound benefit for the Franklin County Human Society at the St. Albans Historical Society...... Luke Bisceglio and Maria Naumann are confirmed, but we need more players! Don't let Luke and Maria get ALL the chocolate!
3/17 workshop with Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Ciaran Tourish (TBA time in the afternoon, prior to Altan concert) at the Burlington Violin Shop..... once we have a definite time, I'll send information out.....
!? 3/? performance 7pm to 8pm at the Public Library in Fair Haven...... this will be on a Tuesday or Thursday sometime in March, focusing on Irish tunes...... it would be helpful to know now if anyone is interested in being part of this...... I only need 3 or 4 players
5/7 rehearsal with TBA guests 9:30am to 12 noon
! 5/14 performance (sometime after 10am, before 3pm) at the Young Tradition Weekend Showcase Contest at Waterfront Park in Burlington..... we didn't have Fiddleheads represented last year because there weren't enough folks who could do it...... the slots fill up at least a month in advance, so let me know if its something you think you could be part of
! 5/15 performance (TBA time in afternoon) at the Lilac Sunday at the Shelburne Museum..... no one signed up yet...... let me know if you can do it so I can confirm or not with the organizers
! 7/15 performance 1pm to 2pm at the Kellogg-Hubbary Library in Montpelier.... part of their summer reading program...... no one signed up yet...... let me know if you can do it so I can confirm or not with the organizers
! 7/23 performance (sometime between 10am and 2pm) at the Public Library/the Gardens in Williamstown..... part of their summer reading program...... no one signed up yet...... let me know if you can do it so I can confirm or not with the organizers
More events scheduled after that....... but information about those another time. Hope to see you soon!
Latimer, Zachary and Ian (photo) at 1/8/11 Jericho dance
