Country Dance and Song Society Folk Music Week at Pinewoods July 25 - August 1, 1998

Folk Music Week at Pinewoods July 25 - August 1, 1998 Program Directors: Peter & Mary Alice Amidon Staff: Tony Barrand Mary Cay Brass Jeff Davis Lisa Greenleaf Debby McClatchy Rodney Miller Doug Quimby Frankie Quimby John Roberts Lucy Simpson *Advisors plus: Brad Foster Wally Macnow

Program Description: [Back to Top]
We offer a special emphasis this year on ethnic choral singing -- and group singing in various traditions. At the same time Folk Music Week will maintain its longstanding tradition of having classes for improving instrumental and band skills, working on solo singing, and listening to and learning from great traditional singers.

During each main class period there will be at least one offering of group choral singing. We are very lucky to have the Georgia Sea Island Singers (Doug and Frankie Quimby) returning from last summer. The Quimbys will be joined by Lucy Simpson in leading a singing class of gospel and spirituals. The superb English duo John Roberts and Tony Barrand will lead part singing from the English pubs as well as group singing from other English traditions. Mary Cay Brass, who spent 2½ years in the former Yugoslavia collecting folk songs, is the best American leader of Balkan singing that we know; she will lead a class in Balkan Village singing. Peter Amidon, a major figure in the current shape note singing revival, will lead daily shape note singing. Regular attendance in these classes will give participants an indepth experience of each of these traditions.

We also have an exciting dance program led by Boston area contra and square caller Lisa Greenleaf. She has a wonderful sense for choosing exactly the right dance for the right moment and leads dancing with lots of good humor. Lisa will call the evening dancing and teach two daily classes. Legendary New England fiddler Rodney Miller will play for the contra dancing, accompanied on piano by the ubiquitous Mary Cay Brass. Rodney will also coteach a New England dance band class with Peter Amidon.

Jeff Davis's knowledge and skills in American vocal and instrumental music run as deep as anyone we know. He will teach an indepth solo singing styles class. Jeff will coteach an oldtime string band class, teach an intermediate guitar class and play fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar for old-time dancing and singing.

Lucy Simpson has been a source of inspiration for us since we first met her at Pinewoods Folk Music Week in 1976. She is an exquisite singer of old American hymns and has a passion for digging up gems from old hymn books.

Folk Music Week 1998 will be banjo heaven with the addition of Debby McClatchy, one of the finest accompaniment banjo players around. Debby has been performing throughout the U.S. and England for 30 years; we are looking forward to her dynamic performances of oldtime mountain and contemporary songs. She will also teach a class on oldtime banjo styles and coteach the oldtime string band class.

Doug and Frankie Quimby will lead a class of slave games, dances and work songs. The Amidons will lead a class in group harmony singing with the parts taught by ear.

Other classes include a ballad singing class with John Roberts, Tony Barrand and Debby McClatchy, a concertina class taught by John Roberts and an Appalachian dulcimer class taught by Mary Alice Amidon. There may also be fiddle and other instrumental classes, depending on interest.

The whole camp will come together every day for a late morning community gathering of singing and dancing, and nightly for an evening concert followed by dancing for all.

The Pinewoods weeks are now open to ages 15 and up, and we hope to attract a dynamic group of campers of diverse ages. We think that this week will have a particular appeal to folks in many of the overlapping traditional music communities, including the folk music faithfuls, the contra dance community, the shape note and Balkan singing communities, the teenage/young adult Village Harmony community and anyone who loves to sing or dance.

Folk Music Week at Pinewoods Tentative Schedule:
9:00 - 10:00
Shape Note Singing	Peter and Mary Alice
Contra and Square Dancing	Lisa
Vocal Styles	Jeff
Old-Time Banjo Styles	Debby
10:15 - 11:30
All Camp Gathering of Song and Dance
2:00 - 3:00
English Traditional Singing	Tony and John
New England Dance Band	Rodney and Peter
Slave Games, Dances and Work Songs	Doug and Frankie
Intermediate Guitar	Jeff
Lucy's Gems	Lucy
3:15 - 4:15
Gospel Singing	Doug, Frankie and Lucy
Old-Time Stringband	Jeff and Debby
Harmony Singing	Mary Alice and Peter
Concertina	John
4:30 - 5:30
Balkan Singing	Mary Cay
Couple Dances	Lisa
Ballad Singing	Tony, John and Debby
Appalachian Dulcimer	Mary Alice
8:00 - 9:00
Concert	Staff
9:15 - 11:00
Evening Dance Party	Lisa and staff

Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]

Gospel Singing -- The Georgia Sea Island Singers, Lucy Simpson
Doug and Frankie Quimby have spent much of their lives collecting and sharing the rich heritage of African-American music and dance, particularly from the Georgia Sea Islands. Lucy has her own unique repertoire of beautiful, unusual and singable hymns she has collected from old hymn books. This workshop will look at gospel, hymns and spirituals from different traditions with an emphasis on group singing.

English Traditional Singing -- Tony Barrand and John Roberts
John and Tony have been pivotal figures in the folk music scene for the last 28 years both as a duo and as solo artists. This class will include part singing from the English pub tradition.

Shape Note Singing -- Peter and Mary Alice Amidon
There is an amazing variety of styles within this tradition of fourpart unaccompanied American sacred song, but all are characterized by strong rhythms, open harmonies and powerful poetry. Peter will lead singing mostly from the Sacred Harp. Music reading skills, although helpful, are not necessary.

Balkan Singing -- Mary Cay Brass
Mary Cay has produced a book and CD of Balkan Village songs called Village Harmony. She has performed and taught workshops in singing Balkan music throughout the U.S., England and Europe. She will teach songs and song/dances from Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia.

Slave Games, Dances and Work Songs -- The Georgia Sea Island Singers
As Doug and Frankie Quimby teach from their rich repertoire of 19th century AfricanAmerican clapping games, hambone chants and work songs, they will tell stories of the history behind these songs and dances.

Ballad Singing -- Tony Barrand, John Roberts, Debby McClatchy
This class will explore American and English ballads: their sources, their stories, their singers and the wide range of singing styles.

Lucy's Gems -- Lucy Simpson
Lucy, who has discovered and popularized such treasures as "Angels Hovering Round" and "Blessed Quietness," will share and sing some of the treasures she has found in old hymn books over the years. Come ready to sing.

Harmony Singing -- Mary Alice and Peter Amidon
Come sing gospel and secular American and English traditional songs with arranged three and four part harmonies. The class will include unaccompanied singing and work on group warm-ups as well as learning how to make up harmonies by ear.

Vocal Styles -- Jeff Davis
Listening to and imitating singers from various traditions are fundamentally important ways to learn about singing styles. This will be a listening class as well as a singing class, and it will include homework! You will take a tape of a traditional singer back to your cabin to work on learning a piece of the song in the appropriate style.

Contra and Square Dancing -- Lisa Greenleaf caller, with Rodney Miller & Mary Cay Brass
This is a class for all levels: beginners to experienced dancers. You will learn the elements of traditional social dance as Lisa teaches some of her favorite contras and squares.

Couple Dances -- Lisa Greenleaf, musician to be announced
Lisa will teach "break" dancing -- the waltzes, schottisches, polkas and hambos that happen at the intermissions and ends of most contra and square dances. With an emphasis on partner connection, this class will teach the basics and variations of these popular couple dances.

New England Dance Band -- Rodney Miller, Peter Amidon
Hot jigs and reels, lilting waltzes and Rod's own tunes make up the repertoire for this band class of mixed instruments. Arrangements will be partly by Rodney and Peter, and partly by group collaboration.

OldTime Stringband -- Debby McClatchy, Jeff Davis
Bring your fiddles, guitars and banjos and play along with some oldtime songs and tunes. The class will work on mastering a small repertoire as well as just doing some informal jamming.

Old-Time Banjo Styles -- Debby McClatchy
Debby will give a class on frailing banjo techniques in different tunings. The class will focus on how to use the banjo to accompany singing.

Concertina -- John Roberts
John will lead this class on playing the concertina and other free reed instruments for accompanying dancing and singing.

Intermediate Guitar -- Jeff Davis
This will be a class for those who have a working knowledge of the guitar. Jeff will work on some basic flat picking techniques for playing oldtime guitar accompaniment, as well as for accompanying various kinds of songs.

Appalachian Dulcimer -- Mary Alice Amidon
Mary Alice will lead dulcimer players in tunes and songs, welcoming beginning to intermediate players. Simple chords and song accompaniment will be explored.

Program Description Class Descriptions & Schedule Top

413-268-7426 FAX: 413-268-7471

Country Dance and Song Society 132 Main St/PO Box 338 Haydenville, MA 01039-0338 Office Hours 9:30am - 5:00pm EST

http://www.cdss.org/