From organizer Linda Littleton of the great band, SIMPLE GIFTS:

Hi folks,

Just wanted to let you all know that Clarion Folk College is coming
up in a couple of months and we hope you'll be able to join us. This
is a fun and educational weekend for folk musicians of all levels and
instruments, plus there are events for non-musicians too.

Clarion Folk College will begin at 3pm on Friday, May 30 and continue through late afternoon on Sunday, June 1. All events are held at Clarion University, which is just off route 80 in western Pennsylvania.

If you're on the mailing list, you should have received a brochure by
now, so if you didn't get one, please contact Kris Stiglitz (contact
info below) and she'll send it to you. There is also lots of
information (including a registration form) at:

http://www.simplegiftsmusic.com/cfc

Teachers and performers for the weekend include:

No Strings Attached - jazz inflected folk
Sparky & Rhonda Rucker - blues, songs, and stories
Atwater/Donnelly - old time songs, tunes and clogging
Hesperus - early music
Changeling - Celtic
Small Potatoes - singer/songwriters
Sugarfoot - Larry Unger, Lissa Schneckensburger, & Sam Bartlett
Simple Gifts - Celtic to Klezmer
Out of the Blue - hammer dulcimer & guitar
Well Tempered String Band - traditional American
Howard & Jodi Blumenthal - jammin' til dawn
Tina Czajkowski - fiddle
Connie Ingram - piano

The focus of the event will be group playing with an emphasis on
arranging and performing folk music.

Most of the workshops will be open to all instruments, for example:

Celtic Tunes
Old Time, Swing
Blues
Improvisation
Backup Techniques
Klezmer
Contradance Tunes
Medieval Music
Song Performance
Waltzes
Playing Musically
Chord Substitutions
Tips for Beginners
Songwriting
Sephardic Music
Looking at Rhythm
Singing Circle
How to Jam
... and much more


We'll have workshops for some specific instruments too, including:

guitar
fiddle
piano
mandolin
banjo
whistle
recorder
hammer dulcimer
harmonica
bass
bodhran

There are also workshops for singers and dancers, a continuous staff-led jam session, and a lecture/discussion series appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike.


There are workshop for specific levels, so that a beginner could choose workshops like:

The Very Basics
How to Jam
Hearing Chord Changes


Advanced players might opt for:

Advanced Improvisation,
Swedish Tunes
other advanced topics


Those in between could choose from offerings like:
New England Tunes
Playing Musically
Old Time Music
... and more


A key part of the weekend will be "Folk Bands," where participants
will be divided into small bands. Each band will have rehearsal time
together over the course of the weekend. With the help of a staff
coach, you'll choose some music to arrange and rehearse, and Sunday
afternoon, bands that are interested will have an opportunity to
perform.

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 most of the night!

The cost of the weekend is $100 if postmarked by April 11 and $125
afterwards. The fee includes all workshops and concerts, plus
continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Space is available for
people to stay in the dorms for $15 per night for a shared room.
Continuing Ed credit is offered by Clarion University for the weekend
and we are also working on getting Act 48 credit approved. A few
partial scholarships are available in exchange for a few hours of
work over the weekend. Contact Kris if you're interested in that.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
To register, request a brochure, or ask general questions, contact:

Kris Stiglitz -- 814/393-2227 -- kstiglitz@clarion.edu


For questions about the musical program, contact:

Linda Littleton -- 814/865-0819 (daytime) -- lrl@psu.edu


We're VERY excited about the lineup of staff and the program for the
weekend. I hope you'll be able to join us!

-Linda

ps. Please reserve September 12-14 for the Cook Forest Folk
Gathering, also held in western Pennsylvania. This will be a fun
weekend of workshops, concerts, and jams open to all folk
instruments, and we are especially pleased to have John McCutcheon
with us again as the festival headliner. Other teachers/performers
include Paddy's Retreat, Flapjack, Rick Thum, Doofus, Out of the
Blue, and Simple Gifts.