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Folk College, Central PA USA
| wysiwyg | 25 May 02 - 03:26 PM | |
| wysiwyg | 07 Mar 05 - 09:12 AM | |
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Folk College, Central PA USA
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Subject: Clarion Folk College, Clarion PA USA From: wysiwyg Date: 25 May 02 - 03:26 PM Last weekend I attended the third annual Clarion Folk College at Clarion University, Clarion, PA. !!! WOW !!! This is an event organized and led by folk musicians, for folk musicans. The format is simple and powerful. You arrive on Friday afternoon and pre-workshop workshops are going on-- a couple of jams near the registration area, led by "faculty." You can jump in or go find your dorm room. At 7PM there is a concert in a wonderful space, presented by the band who has organized the workshop and one or two other bands. I can only imagine what it is like to play for fellow musicans, but it is really wonderful to be in an audience of all-musicians! Following the concert there are more jams or mini-concerts. You see, they give us just enough of a breather, in the concert, to whip us up to want to play for a couple of hours! There were mini-concerts off in various rooms, song circles, and instrumental jams for various playing abilities. PLUS after these, back in the dorm, the huge first-floor lounge became Jam Central. The bedtime jam went on till 1AM the first night, and was led by an experienced couple who helped get us through some fiddle tunes with a piano to bang out the chords. Newer players like me played right alongside performing professionals, and those piano chords really made the chord changes pop out for us rhythm-bangers. At this, and indeed all weekend, it was wonderful how people kept swapping instruments around to try out each others' stuff. Example: One lady had never autoharped, and was eyeing mine. So I handed it to her, and she played for about an hour while I rested my shoulder. And everyone was doing this. You could look around and see every folk instrument imaginable, from the biggest standup bass to the tiniest banjo uke, and then there were the rhythm instruments.... bones, spoons, jawharp, you name it.... Up and at it the next morning, we found a swank contintental breakfast laid out in the lobby of the building where most of the workshops would be. This led into an orientation talk by the organizers. The various workshop leaders were introduced and most of them said a few words about the workshops they would present-- so you could go beyond the topic descriptions posted on the website and get a feel for each presenter as a person. Then it was off to the workshops. There were two morning sessions, an hour and a quarter each, with a short passing period between them. Imagine a building like your local high school, with people getting to class. Only instead of books and backpacks, it's armloads and cartfuls of instruments. (I didn't see any makeout sessions going on the halls, just jams in odd corners.)And you'd keep your instruments with you throughout-- for instance, at the concert the aisles were full of cases. Because you never knew when you might want to grab your axe. (There was a lockup if you wanted to leave your gear in the workshop building overnight, too.) Lunch was on our own, and there was a snack shop on campus to supplement the Wendy's and Subway shop right on the edge of the university. At some point, each person filled out a form and turned it in, listing the instruments they play, their playing level, and the kind of music they like. These were to aid organizers in dividing us up into bands. (more on those further down) Two more afternoon workshops.... then a presentation on how to arrange a song, from song choice through performance. (I'll be posting the handout that listed all the things to consider, it was great.) After this, the "bands" met with their "coaches." The idea was, each band would work through the process of forming a into band and choosing and arranging one song or medley to perform, the next day, at a recital of all the bands. Each "coach" was a member of one of the performing bands for the weekend, and of course these same people were presenting all the workshops. A dinner break... and then another concert, with three more bands. More jams afterwards, and another bedtime jam. It was still going when I went to bed at 2AM. Sunday AM, more workshops, lunch, and then after lunch the concert. The thing about the lack of sleep was, we were doing MUSIC. It wasn't just that we were having so much fun we didn't mind being tired. It was that the music actually replaced some of the sleep, brain-wise. And there was JUST the right mix of sit-&-listen, playing music ourselves, and moving around to stretch legs by toting instruments from workshop to workshop. Again, this had been organized by musicians for musicians. I have been at lots of kinds of workshops, conferences, retreats, trainings.... this was the most intense I had ever attended, but with the least wear and tear on my whole person, from soul to toes. It had more life in it FOR us than it sucked OUT of us. What would you like to hear about next? Shall I post more about the workshops I attended? Or are you already so green with envy you just want me to quit now? *G* ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Review: Clarion Folk College, Clarion PA USA From: wysiwyg Date: 07 Mar 05 - 09:12 AM The early bird deadline for this fine event is coming up-- March 10. ~Susan ================================================================ Folk College in Central PA May 27-29Folk College with Simple Gifts will be held May 27-29 at Juniata College in Huntingdon PA. It's the same program we've held at Clarion University but at a new location this year. Juniata College is in the beautiful Allegheny Mountains of Central Pennsylvania. For those of you who've made the trek from Philadelphia or the DC area, you'll appreciate the shorter drive!Folk College is a fun and educational weekend for folk musicians of all levels and instruments, plus there are events for non-musicians too. Activities begin Friday afternoon, May 27 and continue through late afternoon on Sunday, May 29. New this year is an optional extra day Folk Intensive with Simple Gifts on Monday, May 30. If you're on the mailing list, you should have received a brochure by now, so if you didn't get one, please contact Ilona Ballreich (contact info below). There is also some information at http://www.simplegiftsmusic.com/folkcollege. I'm having trouble getting files to upload to the web, so the registration form and other details aren't there yet, but hopefully will be soon. If you want to sign up by the early bird deadline (March 10) and don't have a brochure, call Ilona.
Teachers and performers for the weekend include:
Planned Workshops
Most of the workshops will be open to all instruments, for example: We'll have workshops for some specific instruments too, including: guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, hammer dulcimer, bass, harmonica, and percussion. There are workshops for singers and dancers, a contradance with open band, a continuous staff-led jam session, and a presentation/discussion series appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike. New this year is a multi-part Beginners' Intensive to get new musicians started. There are also workshops for specific levels so anyone from beginner to professional musician will find something appropriate. Continuing Education credit is offered by Juniata College for the weekend, and Pennsylvania school teachers can get Act 48 credit.
A key part of the weekend will be "Folk Bands," where participants will be divided into small bands. Friday and Saturday evenings we'll have concerts by the staff, followed by jam sessions led by staff members (or you can form your own). In previous years, the jamming has continued at the dorms for much of the night! The cost of the weekend is $120 if postmarked by March 10, $135 by April 25, and $150 afterwards. The fee includes all workshops, jams and concerts. Housing is available in a college dorm Friday and Saturday nights for $35 for a shared room or $55 for a single. Four meals (breakfast & lunch on Saturday & Sunday) are available for $30. Dinner will be on your own, with several local restaurants setting aside seating so we can eat together as a group. A few scholarships are available in exchange for working at the event. Contact Ilona for details.
Also new this year is an extra day-- For those of you who know and love Folk College, could you help us spread the word by giving out some flyers? If you can help, email Ilona and let her know how many flyers to send and where to send them.
CONTACT INFORMATION: We're VERY excited about the lineup of staff and our beautiful new location. I hope you'll be able to join us! -Linda Littleton |
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