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Country Dance and Song SocietyFolk Music Week at Pinewoods
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Country Dance and Song SocietyFolk Music Week at Pinewoods
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Folk Music Week at Pinewoods July 19 - 26, 2003 Program Director: Staff: Advisors: |
Program Description: [Back to Top]
Look up our Adult Programs for some general information; here is more detail about this particular program and staff.
Folk Music Week 2003 features a wide variety of songs and singing styles from England, Australia and the U.S., dances, storytelling, women's songs and song writing all grounded in traditional music. Everyone is welcome to take a place in the community where the love of traditional song and dance unites Pinewoods newcomers and old-timers.
There is an emphasis this year on traditions of England. Dave Webber and Anni Fentiman return to Folk Music Week with their glorious harmonies and great delight in traditional songs. Anni brings an intimate knowledge of Northumbrian (Geordie) songs, and Dave is one of the great singers and songwriters on the contemporary English folk music scene. Vic Gammon is a wonderful performer and scholar of English folk music including West Gallery singing.
The English-Australian connection is represented by Danny Spooner. A wonderful singer with a wide repertoire of songs learned in his native England during his years as a bargeman and lighterman, Danny moved to Australia forty years ago, and he is now considered a "national treasure" there.
Jennifer Armstrong is a nationally-recognized storyteller and singer, and she has an amazing ability to capture the hearts and imagination of her listeners. She says of herself "I tailor my programs to meet the needs of each audience while remaining true to my own ideals of honesty, positive thinking and participation."
Bob Walser and Julie Young combine a marvelous breadth of traditional song and dance into exciting and entertaining performances. With Bob's relaxed singing and playing and Julie's percussion and singing, they are a joy to behold. George Ward brings the week his experience as "balladeer of the Erie Canal." Caller Becky Hill will lead us in exciting evening dances to the music of Crazy Quilt: Mary Lea (fiddle), Seth Houston (piano), Anna Patton (clarinet) and Peter Siegel (guitar and mandolin). Mary, Anna and Peter will all lead instrumental workshops, and Seth will lead his very popular workshop in choral singing.
Jennifer Armstrong is a musician, singer and storyteller with a unique ability to weave together songs and stories. Daughter of George and Gerry Armstrong ("mom and pop" of the Chicago Folk Music Scene and members of the original Golden Ring), Jennifer has a lifetime of involvement in the folk arts. With Scottish bagpipe, fiddle, sit-down square dancing, Celtic, Appalachian and personal tales, Jennifer Armstrong delights and enthralls audiences of all ages from pre-schoolers to seniors. She is a national touring artist giving performances, workshops and residencies in singing, storytelling and writing. In 1998 she was a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN and on Thanksgiving Day 1999, she and her daughters were interviewed by Noah Adams on All Things Considered. Personal Webpage
Crazy Quilt: A wonderful, swinging contra dance quartet including:
Mary Lea (fiddle) is one of the best contemporary New England fiddlers and a member of many bands including Yankee Ingenuity, BLT and Bare Necessities. Personal Webpage
Seth Houston (piano, guitar) is a choral director, composer and dance musician.
Anna Patton (clarinet) plays dance tunes with great verve, clarity and harmonic whim; she is also a respected player of Balkan music.
Peter Siegel (mandolin, guitar) holds it all together with mandolin, banjo, guitar and feet. A great rhythm player, Peter is also a sought after old-time performer and political singer-songwriter. Personal Webpage
Vic Gammon, scholar and popular performer, was a member of the classic English folk band -- Etchingham Steam Band (with Ashley Hutchings and Shirley Collins) -- and the creator of the classic recording Tale of Ale, a history of the English and their ale in song. Vic has written and produced works on the whole gamut of English traditional music, church bands, dance bands, ballads, traditional singing styles, etc. He also plays melodeon, concertina and banjo. Personal Webpage
Becky Hill is the author of two books of original contra dances, Twirling Dervish and Twirling Dervish Returns, and is an internationally-popular caller, choreographer and dance teacher. She is particularly adept at creating evenings of exciting dances which are fun for all levels of dancers. Personal Webpage
Allen Hopkins is an accomplished musician who plays a wide range of instruments from strings to reeds. He has attended Folk Music week as camper or staff for 22 years and has played with several bands in a range of folk and traditional idioms. He enjoys fostering interaction and participation in an open, carefree and improvisational setting. Personal Webpage
Danny Spooner was born into a working-class family in the East End of London prior to World War 2 and grew up with the traditions, music and folklore of a typical Cockney family. At 13 he left school and worked on a sailing barge that plied the Thames and the south coast of England. Under the instructive eye of Bob Roberts, Danny learned British songs and was a regular in libraries along the coast. Over the next 10 years he held various jobs including salvage tug and trawler skipper. After moving to Australia in 1962 he quickly developed into one of the best singers of British folk songs in Australia. Over the years he has augmented what he learned "on the job" with a vast repertoire spanning almost every part of the British tradition -- as well as a respectable portion of the Australian folk heritage. His passion is getting people singing, and he has inspired and encouraged many in developing their singing craft. Nothing gives him more pleasure than getting a good singing session going. As Danny says, "That's what folk song is about". Personal Webpage
Dick Swain, Program Director, has an abiding interest in traditional folk song and an unusual repertoire of songs from the Great Lakes, Maine and the Atlantic Provinces.
Bob Walser has been an active singer, dance leader and dance musician for over 20 years. An expert on deep water and river work songs, Bob made his living in the early 1980s as a shantyman at Mystic Seaport, and has appeared at clubs, festivals and folk camps in the U.S., Canada, France, Poland and the Netherlands. Bob is a fine singer and a highly talented multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, concertina, melodeon) and calls dances and leads singing. Bob has recently earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, with a dissertation focusing on music education and African music, and he is now working on the publication of the James Madison Carpenter Collection of English and American Songs.
George Ward, a folklorist, dance musician, singer and songwriter, has performed in concerts, museum interpretive events, festivals, thematic tours and television specials from coastal Virginia and Maine to Great Britain (where he once won a song writing contest). He says he plays more than 17 instruments, and has earned his "canal balladeer" nickname through years of in-depth research and performance of regional waterways music. George has composed a number of songs based on his research into canal and woods life, as well as the scores for four PBS documentary films. In addition to his solo work, he performs with the Irish traditional group The Broken String Band and with The Vic Kibler Band, featuring the Kibler family's Adirondack fiddle traditions.
Dave Webber and Anni Fentiman's enthusiasm sparkles in the powerful vocal performances developed from their involvement in traditional and traditional-style music for over 25 years. Their first love is a cappella singing, both solo and in harmony, and they acknowledge the debt of gratitude that is owed to source and early revival singers who have helped to keep alive this wonderful singing style. Anni's intuitive harmony adds color and depth to the duo whilst her solo performance is clear and sensitive. From the North East of England, Anni is a "Geordie" and presents an unusual repertoire featuring dialect songs. Dave sings with a rich and powerful style. His love of this music is clear in his performance, from the gentle and plaintive traditional ballad to the stirring chorus song that inspires even the most reticent audience to join in. Dave is also a songwriter of note with many of his better-known songs often assumed to be traditional. Dave has published a book of his songs -- all of which are written in the traditional idiom. Personal Webpage
Julie Young, while rooted in the flat foot clogging traditions of Appalachia, draws on the Native American, quebecois and tap traditions she has researched in the American Southeast and Midwest to create electrifying percussive dance. She is a fine singer and instrumentalist (banjo, guitar and bass) and her hambone (body percussion) is amazing.
| Folk Music Week at Pinewoods Tentative Class Schedule: | |
| 9:00 - 10:00 | |
| Songs of Australia | Danny Spooner |
| Body Percussion | Julie Young |
| West Gallery Singing | Vic Gammon |
| Song Accompaniment | George Ward |
| Stories With and Without Tunes | Jennifer Armstrong |
| 10:15 - 10:45 | |
| All Camp Sing | |
| 10:45 - 11:30 | |
| Staff Presentation | |
| 2:00 - 3:00 | |
| Traditional English Songs | Vic Gammon |
| Vocal and Instrumental Jam | Allen Hopkins |
| Singing Together | Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman |
| Guitar | Peter Siegel |
| Fiddle | Mary Lea |
| 3:15 - 4:15 | |
| "I like to rise..." | Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman |
| Dance Workshop | Becky Hill and Crazy Quilt |
| Chorus Songs | Danny Spooner |
| WomanSong | Jennifer Armstrong |
| Bob Walser | |
| 4:30 - 5:30 | |
| Bob & Julie | Bob Walser and Julie Young |
| Traditional Choral Singing From America and Around the World | Seth Houston |
| Song Writing | George Ward |
| Slow Jam | Anna Patton |
| 8:00 - 9:00 | |
| Concert | Staff |
| 9:15 - 11:00 | |
| Evening Dance Party | |
| 11:00 - ? | |
| Late Night Song Circle | |
Class Descriptions: [Back to Top]
Period I: 9:00 - 10:00
Songs of Australia -- Danny Spooner
Convicts to Confederation, 1788-1901
Body Percussion -- Julie Young
Hambone and beyond. Learn to play yourself.
West Gallery Singing -- Vic Gammon
Chorus in this style of English music closely related to shape note.
Song Accompaniment -- George Ward
Develop your accompaniments, no matter what instrument you play.
Stories With and Without Tunes -- Jennifer Armstrong
Jennifer is a master story teller and a wonderful singer. She will focus on how to present your story, no matter how you want to tell it.
Period II: 2:00 - 3:00
Traditional English Songs -- Vic Gammon
This workshop will includes topics such as 'What a Way to Go': Funerals in English (and US) Songs; Separation, Reunion and Rejection; Musical Magic: Songs and Ballads with Sirenic Elements; Inept Men; 'We'll All Get Drunk Tonight': Songs about Drink, and Early Recordings of English Traditional Singers (illustrated with historic recordings)
Jam -- Allen Hopkins
A long-time favorite at Pinewoods, vocal/instrumental thematic jams led by Allen.
Singing Together -- Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman
Compare the construction and evolution of harmony styles, using live demonstrations, recordings and discussion.
Guitar -- Peter Siegel
For intermediate/advanced players. Peter plays "the blues, swing, hip hop, traditional fiddle tunes and the folkiest of folk."
Fiddle -- Mary Lea
Instruction for intermediate/advanced plays from one the best fiddlers in New England.
Period III: 3:15 - 4:15
"I like to rise..." -- Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman
Songs of countryside, crafts, and trades. From heavy horses to heavy seas, Dave and Anni will share their wonderful repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs.
Dance Workshop -- Becky Hill and Crazy Quilt
Improve your waltzing, learn some swing. Enjoy a great caller and a great band in a pot pourri of dances.
Chorus Songs -- Danny Spooner
Join in an amazingly wide repertoire of Australian and English songs with a great shantyman.
WomanSong -- Jennifer Armstrong
Songs by, of and for women to nurture and empower us all.
Bob Walser
Multi-cultural multi-instrumentalist. Bob has a repertoire ranging from Brittany to North Dakota, and Africa to England.
Period IV: 4:30 - 5:30
Bob & Julie -- Bob Walser and Julie Young
Interweaving traditional dance and song from all over the world.
Traditional Choral Singing From America and Around the World -- Seth Houston
No need to know how to read music. Learn the parts by ear. Repertoire will include works from America and around the world, including music from Croatia, Bulgaria, Georgia and South Africa as well as shape note, Appalachian and gospel music. He may also teach some contemporary music rooted in traditional styles.
Song Writing -- George Ward
George has written wonderful songs, sung by Trickett, Muir & Bok among others. Work on your song writing with someone steeped in traditional music.
Slow Jam -- Anna Patton
Interweaving traditional dance and song.
Staff
Class Descriptions & Schedule
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Country Dance and Song Society 132 Main St/PO Box 338 Haydenville, MA 01039-0338 Office Hours M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm EST |
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