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FiddleDeis Workshops

Friday, March 15

Workshops are 50 minutes long, unless otherwise noted

12-6pm Registration in the lobby

12:00 p.m. Welcome Jam with Repertoire introduction

First look at 4 tunes in the Scottish, Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass traditions. There will be several opportunities to practice them throughout the weekend and on Sunday morning they will be part of a Performance on the Slosberg Stage by participants. Recital Hall (RH)

1:00 p.m. Klezmer Jam with Yoni Battat

Yoni and friends will treat us to a Klezmer performance and teach a song. (RH)

2:00 p.m. Learning by ear with Jeremy Kittel

Jeremy Kittel is one of the foremost among a new breed of fiddlers and violinists who easily navigate a multitude of musical styles and traditions, while cultivating new ground and redefining the role of the instrument. Some of his recent exploits include: performing as a worldclass jazz improviser in the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet; leading his namesake group, the Jeremy Kittel Band, into exciting new acoustic music territory; coarranging and recording strings for rock band My Morning Jacket‘s latest record; performing at Bonnaroo & Telluride Bluegrass Festival with singer-songwriter Abigail Washburn; and teaching internationally as one of the world’s leading Scots/Irish fiddlers. (1 hour 20 minutes / RH)

3:30 p.m. What’s a Hardanger? Mariel Vandersteel

A Hardanger fiddle (or in Norwegian: hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument used originally to play the music of Norway. In modern designs, the instruments are very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood. Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the rest, aptly named understrings or sympathetic strings, resonate under the influence of the other four, providing a pleasant haunting, echolike sound. (Room 212)

4:30 p.m. Finding your groove with Laura Cortese

Welding the propulsive grace of ancient fiddle styles to disarmingly openhearted original pop songs, Laura Cortese has emerged among the most intriguing and versatile, musicians in the bountiful New England postfolk scene. At home in any number of traditional styles, her highly visible work as a supporting musician (on fiddle, vocals, and bass) includes appearances with Uncle Earl, Tao Seeger, Band of Horses, Patterson Hood and Michael Franti and as part of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden. The past two years have found Cortese in creative overdrive, balancing sideman duties, solo tours, co-founding Miles of Music Camp, and recording sessions with an increased devotion to her own music: a kaleidoscopic hybrid that is enriched by roots music undertones and yet remains defiantly contemporary. (RH)

For information on places to eat nearby click here

7:00 p.m. Performances by Mariel Vandersteel, Reiner Family Band, Laura Cortese with Mariel Vandersteel and Valerie Thompson and the Jeremy Kittel Band

Saturday, March 16

Workshops are 50 minutes long, unless otherwise noted

9:00 a.m.   Registration and Continental breakfast in Lobby

10:00 a.m. Repertoire Play-through / Dave and Andy Reiner

4 tunes in the Scottish, Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass traditions will be learned for performance on Sunday Morning. (Room 212)

10:00 a.m. Bowing Patterns for Fiddles / Laura Cortese (Room 234)

11:00 a.m. Indian Classical violin up close with Meena Kothandaraman (RH)

11:00 a.m. Irish Tune Workshop / Andy Reiner  (Room 212)

12:00 p.m. Yoga, relaxation and stretches for string players with Amy Harris

Learn some stretches and relaxation techniques to keep you loose and ready for playing your instrument. (Room 212)

12:00 p.m. Jazz Improvisations for strings / Ben Powell

While improvising is a creative skill that is developed through personal inspiration it is Ben’s belief that there are certain techniques and practices that help instrumentalists develop their own improvisational style without detracting from their creative stimulus.  It is Ben’s ambition that the students who attend his workshop will leave encouraged to continue their own exploration of improvisational jazz concepts with the exercises and methods he has to offer.

12:50-1:50 Lunch Break
On Campus Food Choices - click here

2:00 p.m.   Chopping and Looping / Casey Driessen                                  

The set up is simple: One man. One fiddle. One pedal board. Mixing his signature percussive fiddle style “chopping” with digital loops and effects, the Grammy-nominated fiddler will build each show layer by layer in real time in front of the audience. The result is a one of a kind experience that pushes the boundaries of musical genres and styles.

Casey Driessen is—like his music—inspired, unconventional and truly original. He has built a following as both solo artist and collaborator, touring the world with artists such as Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Steve Earle, Darrell Scott and Tim O'Brien. He is also a founding member of The Sparrow Quartet and never without a pair of red shoes. (1 hour 50 minutes / RH)

2:00 p.m. Old-Time Tune Workshop / Andy Reiner with Paul Harty, guitar

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also encompasses ballads and other types of folk songs. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments (most often the guitar and banjo). (Room 212)

3:00 p.m.   Bluegrass Tune Workshop / Dave Reiner, Paul Harty, guitar

In the 1940s Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys revolutionized American string band music by incorporating virtuosic instrumental solos and a “high lonesome" vocal style. Bluegrass fiddling burst into national view during the folk revival of the 1960s. (Room 212)

4:00 p.m. Cajun Fiddle workshop / David Greely and Chris Stafford           

David Greely, founding fiddler of the Mamou Playboys, has for years been assembling a repertoire of uncommon Cajun music. He uses old and rare tunes, new companion pieces to the old ones, and striking new melodies that meld Cajun roots with fiddle sounds he’s heard in his travels worldwide, and arranges them with novel instrumentation and rich harmonies. Chris Stafford of Feufollet join Dave with Fiddle and Accordion. (RH)

4:00 p.m. Repertoire play through / Andy Reiner, Paul Harty

4 tunes in the Scottish, Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass traditions will be practiced for performance on Sunday Morning. (Room 212)

5:00 p.m. Open Jam in the Lobby

7:00 p.m. Performances: Meena Kothandaraman, David Greely and Chris Stafford, Ben Powell Jazz Quartet, Casey Driessen

Sunday, March 17

All workshops approximately 45 minutes, unless otherwise noted.

10:00 a.m. Coffee and Pastry in lobby

10:00 a.m. Final Repertoire run through with Dave Reiner

4 tunes in the Scottish, Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass traditions will be rehearsed for performance on Slosberg Stage at 11 a.m. (Room 212)

11:00 a.m. Workshop participants perform (RH)

Those 4 Scottish, Irish, Old-Time and Bluegrass tunes will be performed and it's open stage for anyone who would like to share a tune.

12:00 p.m. Medieval fiddle – learn about the music and origins of the Vielle with Shira Kammen (RH)

1:00 p.m. Medieval Vielle Performance with Shira Kammen

2:00 p.m. Kissing Cousins: Meet the Viol Family workshop
Emily Walhout, Sarah Mead (RH)
Lyra-viol demo and Masterclass: Learn what the lyra-viol is all about and how it relates to the viola da gamba and the fiddle. Listen to (or take part in) a masterclass on lyra repertoire.

3:00 p.m. Fiddling in the 17^th Century

Sarah Mead, Emily Walhout, Shira Kammen & Cathy Liddell  (sporting several dozen strings between them) will perform consort music from England’s Golden Age. Featuring members of the fiddle family (treble & bass violins), their cousin (the viola da gamba), a stepsister, (the lyraviol), and their many stringed family friend (the theorbo). (RH)

4:30 p.m. Luck of the Irish fiddle workshop and jam with Andy and David Reiner. Celtic Tunes taught and played in honor of St. Patricks Day with Guinness Beef Stew, Bread and beverage available for purchase (1 hour 30 minutes /Reinharz Hall)

7:00 p.m. Daniel Stepner Baroque Project