The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #9866   Message #66491
Posted By:
28-Mar-99 - 01:27 PM
Thread Name: Favorite Music Festivals
Subject: RE: Favorite Music Festivals
Jane Valencia wrote: > The blurb I have here doesn't *exactly* say where the festival takes > place, but I believe it's in Tarzana or thereabouts, in southern California.

[...]

> -------------------------------------------------------------------- > CALIFORNIA TRADITIONAL MUSIC SOCIETY Summer Solstice Festival > June 1999 > > Harp Staff: Sylvia Woods and Alfredo Ortiz. > > Sylvia will be teaching workshops on such topics as "How to play the > harp for people who have never seen a harp", "Beginning harp for those > who have a harp", and Celtic & O' Carolan tunes. Alfredo will teach > "Improve your playing thru relaxation techniques for harp and other > instruments", "Beginning Latin Styles for all harps", and special > effects for all harps. > > For more info: > > Elaine Weissman, CTMS > 4401 Trancas Pl > Tarzana, CA 91356 > 818-342-7664

Just to give an idea of the scope of this thing, the full name is the "15th Annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance & Storytelling Festival 1995"... (The storytellers are very proud to be part of the title now... )

Anyway, I'm on staff for this thing. It's being held on the grounds of Soka University in Calabasas. It's north west of Los Angeles (30 miles? whatever). Soka is a Japanese owned school on a beautiful campus. There is even a small lake with genuine (bad-tempered) swans in it. Lots of big oak trees, etc. There is a limited amout of camping space on site and a state recreation area nearby.

There are a bunch of workshop tracks:

Accordion & Concertina Guitar Arts & Crafts Hammer Dulcimer 1 Banjo Hammer Dulcimer 2 Bowed psaltry and Bodhran Harp (!) Children's Area Jam Sessions Dance 1 Mandolin Dance 2 - Celtic Dances Small Instruments Dance 3 - International Songs 1 Scottish Fiddle Festival Beginning Songs2 Scottish Fiddle Festival Advanced Storytelling Workshops Fiddle 1 Storytelling Concerts Fiddle 2 Fretted Dulcimer 1 Fretted Dulcimer 2 Wind Instruments 1 - Flutes, Whistles & Panpipes Wind Instruments 2 - Recorders, Shawm, and Piano

There is also a continuous concert stage, and there are special concerts Friday and Saturday night.

I think it's a lot of fun. Oh, and Sylvia is one of the three honorees this year.

-- Tim