Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002

Subject: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 05:45 PM

Ewan MacColl Celebratory Weekend
27th - 29th September, 2002

Main Venue - The Working Class Movement Library

51 The Crescent, Salford 5
(Greater Manchester, UK)

Friday 27th September

8.00pm

The Rivelin Folk Club
start the weekend's celebration with a performance of Ewan's Singing the Fishing.

Plus other guest singers.

The venue is the Annexe at the Working Class Movement Library.

Saturday- workshops during the day and a singaround in the evening
Sunday- workshops in the morning, concerts afternoon/evening.

All sorts of wonderful singers are goiung to be there.

Concert Tickets £5.00
Day Tickets £5.00
Weekend Tickets, £15
Check the website to find out more:

Events at the WCML

(Buying tickets in advance is advised as they sold out last year.)

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 05:59 PM

Love to get a report on the turnout and how well it went.

Good luck,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 06:49 PM

Thanks for the interest, Charley.

The first such weekend took place last year, and was a resounding success (I am told, as I couldn't be there). The Saturday evening singaround in the Ducie Arms had to be seen/heard to be believed, with more wonderful singers than you could shake a stick at.

I'm not going to miss a second of it this year; I've already got my weekend ticket :0)

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 07:03 PM

Noreen,

Can you just turn up at the Ducie? Or do you need a ticket for that bit too?

Money is VERY tight right now

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 07:12 PM

Thanks, Noreen! Pity I won't be able to hop over, but I, too, would like a report ...

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 07:23 PM

Come and stay, Susanne!

Guest, I think the singaround is open to all, as it's in a public house, but I'll check with Terry when I see him on Sunday.

Whether it will actually be held in the Ducie is a moot point, as the pub is closed at the moment for renovations, including knocking down of walls to make it more open plan... :0(

So we shall see whether the new-look Ducie is suitable, or whether a new home must be found for the sing.

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 Aug 02 - 07:45 PM

Thanks for the info Noreen - I will try and get there.

I'm afraid I do have a bit of an issue with Salford council though. Not just this but other things as well. Wouldn't you think that as the only active folk club in Salford, and at the heart of Salfords administration, Swinton folk club would have been involved? We have not even been invited. I only know of it through the Mudcat! They know we exist - they subsidise the festival. What do we have to do to get the approval of our local authoroity? Ah well, rhetorical question I guess. The council know that they can get away with anything. Put a red rosette on a pig and they would vote for it around here...

Saddened by the slight but hopeful for the future.

Cheers

Dave the Gnome

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: John Routledge
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 08:26 PM

Delighted to report that the fine tuning for this event has now been completed.

As intimated earlier The Ducie Arms will not be available. The Crescent (PUB) on The Crescent in Salford just along from the WCMLibrary will host both the Friday Folk Club and the Saturday night Singaround.

Both these events will be held in a room separate from the main pub and a charge will be made for non-weekend ticket holders.

Will post more fully in a couple of days.

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: John Routledge
Date: 05 Sep 02 - 01:57 PM

Important bit first : Tickets and info from Terry Whelan on 0161-9762716

FRIDAY 27TH September 8 pm
Folk Club at The Crescent Pub with;
Geordie McIntyre & Alison McMorland,Bob Blair,John Faulkner,Terry Yarnell and Gammon Dearman & Harrison
The Rivelin Folk Club will present Singing the Fishing at an appropriate point in the evening.

SATURDAY 28TH September
10 - 11am Bob Blair: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl
11 - 12noon Pat Mckenzie and Jim Carrol
The Craft of Traditional Singing;MacColl's work on Vocal Techniques
2 - 4.30 Terry Whelan Dave Bishop and other artists.Singer's Workshop building on Pat and Jim's Presentation
Singers,Please bring a song to work on!! - Non singers welcome
4.30 - 5Pm Wise Monkey Theatre Group present Readings from Ewan's Plays

NB All day informal Sing Around at same time as workshops.

7pm-11pm Sing Around in The Crescent Pub with all the artists.

SUNDAY 29th September
10 - 11am Vic Gammon
One Hundred years of the Folk Song Society
11 - 12 noon Sandra Kerr
MacColl,Critics,Continuity and Context.

2 - 5pm Concert
with Terry Yarnell, Sandra Kerr, Jim Bassett,Terry Whelan, Donal Maguire, Bob Blair,Kevin&Ellen Mitchell and Mudcatter Sue van Gaalen.

7 - 10pm Concert
with Geordie McIntyre & Alison McMorland,Kevin & Ellen Mitchell, Terry Yarnell, Donal Maguire,Bob Blair,Terry Whelan, John Faulkner,Dave Bishop and Jim Bassett

Workshops and concerts are in The Working Class Movement Library Annexe

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 05 Sep 02 - 03:08 PM

Looking at the programme and participants for this MacColl weekend I would urge anyone with any interest in folk song to go there. There will be so much to learn, argue about, and enjoy -just as there was when Ewan himself was around - how we do miss him. Having said all this I won't be there because I will be in the USA just a few days after that weekend so my spare money is spoken for. If there is another one next year I'll be there. In the meantime I wish everybody concerned much success in this tribute to a great man. Burl

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 05 Sep 02 - 10:21 PM

Very sorry to miss this one. Thanks for the info Noreen.

All the best,
Dan

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Sep 02 - 11:07 AM

refresh

Just a reminder - tho' it's probably too late now to buy any tickets.

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 19 Sep 02 - 11:35 AM

It's a bit far for me to make it - perhaps we ought to hold one down here in Beckenham - after all he spent a considerable part of his life in the district !

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: curmudgeon
Date: 19 Sep 02 - 11:47 AM

We'll be there in spirit and will certainly sing some of his songs at our Friday evening session. I will also do "The Shoals of Herring" at the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Fest that weekend.

Keep the songs alive -- Tom

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: 8_Pints
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 09:17 PM

Guest,

There are in fact a few tickets left!

Tickets and info from Terry Whelan on 0161-9762716

Bob & Sue vG

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:41 PM

It starts this evening. See you there!

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 08:35 PM

Wonderful evening's singing at the Crescent tonight (this will also be the venue for Saturday night's singaround). Looking forward to tomorrow!

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: John Routledge
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 07:01 PM

It's now over.

What an amazing stimulating weekend with glorious singing and hugely informative Talks and Workshops.

There were so many highlights that I will restrict myself to a single comment.

The legacy of MacColl is much much more extensive than ever I imagined.!!

A big public THANK YOU to TERRY WHELAN for putting this experience together.

Roll on 2003.

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Catrin
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 03:49 AM

I echo your sentiments John

I haven't been on Mudcat for a long time, due to having such a busy life at the moment. But I feel so excited by the weekend that I cannot get through today without expressing it.

I was there from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, when (reluctantly) I had to leave to catch a train.

This was one of the most exciting folk weekends I have ever attended. Words fail me. And I was one of the 'victims' of the vocal technique workshop, run along the same lines as the critics group. This involved singing a song and then have people make suggestions as to how it might be sung better. "Try singing it twice as fast" "try talking the first verse and then sliding into the melody" "try singing each verse higher than the previous one" "play with the song when you get home, see how high/fast you can get it." "try varying the way you sing it. Push your voice to its limits, shout it, whisper it, sing it like a gallop, sing it like a love song" "If it's a scottish song it should either be sung in a true scottish accent or anglicised completely - you can't do a bit of both, it's unconvincing" "Understand the history of the song - you have to know it inside out and feel it as if you were really there"

(By the way, the song I chose was 'the fair flower of northumberland')

I have a lot of homework to do.

I also learned a lot about Ewan's life, his politics and his incredibly high standards of himself and of others.

Then to hear the songs sung by people who really do know what they are doing. I was buzzing all weekend

Amazing - and a big thank you to Terry, who worked so hard to organize it, and to all those wonderful singers who were so generous in sharing their knowledge, skills and songs.

Truly amazing.

Catrin

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 02:43 PM

Terry Whelan put on a great weekend for song lovers; it was a pity not to be able to get to all the events. It was interesting to hear so many memories of Ewan MacColl and the Singers Club, and the Critics Group.

The greatest testimony to his memory was the quality of the singing over the weekend, and it was also good to hear Sandra Kerr describe how she is applying techniques she learned from Ewan in the Newcastle University Folk and Traditional Music degree course.

It isn't fair to single out individual singers, as there were so many good performances. However it is only right to note here the singing of Sue v G. (one half of "8_Pints") - she gave a powerful rendition of Blackwaterside, and also showed her skills in ballad singing before giving a very moving performance of Linda Kelly's song Sparehand

M

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: 8_Pints
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 02:09 AM

I want to say how much I enjoyed the weekend - and how much I learned too! Like Catrin, I also put my neck on the block and did a song in the vocal workshop. It was quite scary but tremendously worthwhile.

I felt incredibly priviledged to perform in the concert on Sunday with such wonderful singers. What an experience! Thank you M for your very kind comments.

Terry has confirmed that it will happen again next year so as soon as we have a date we will post it up.

Sue vG

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: vicki
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 07:14 PM

many thanks to all those who gave the ewan maccoll celebratory weekend positive feedback. and thanks to the singers, musicians and workshop presenters who gave so freely of their time to share their knowledge, skills and expertise to celebrate and carry on creatively ewan's legacy to the folk revival.

it was good to read after all the work involved in organisation etc

plans are going ahead to hold regular workshops and will post details to the list when available

best wishes


terry whelan

Subject: RE: Ewan MacColl Weekend 27- 29 Sept 2002
From: Noreen
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 08:03 PM

Thanks, Terry!

See you soon.