Hello folks,
Okay, a couple of quick plugs for events which are coming right up!
This coming Sunday afternoon (June 11) I will be leading a Creole waltz workshop in Seattle. Read on for details!
On Saturday evening, June 17th, I’ll be leading an Acadian and Québécois tune fest workshop, featuring repertory from Robin LeBland and Richard Forest, who will both be on staff at Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in a couple of weeks. We will also squeeze in a jam AND a potluck. And no! You do NOT know these tunes! Read on for details!
And on Sunday afternoon, June 18th, I’ll be leading a Cajun one-step workshop in SE Portland, with jamming to follow. Two awesome tunes from Dennis McGee, The Godfather of Cajun fiddling. Read on for details!
July and August I’ll be all over the place teaching and touring: Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp, Boxwood Festival in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, Best of Boxwood Tour all over Nova Scotia, Atlantic Fiddle Jamboree in PEI, and Robin LeBlanc’s Acadian Fiddle Camp. More about this later.
Meanwhile, most of my life is about resisting. Resisting hate, intolerance, the dismantling of democracy, government protection for hardwood gains in public health, safety, education, racial justice, protection of the elderly, the poor, refugees, immigrants…well, I guess you have the gist. Hope that you also are countering fear and hate with love and tolerance. Keep blooming where you are planted!
Love,
Lisa
JUNE 2017 workshops
SUNDAY JUNE 11th AFTERNOON SEATTLE CREOLE WALTZ WORKSHOP
DESCRIPTION. Hey all you lovers of tabasco-flavored waltzes, two-steps, stomps, and more…come learn La valse du père Carriere (Daddy Carrière’s Waltz) a way-cool beautiful Creole three-part tune. After learning the basic melody, we’ll explore how to embellish it and improvise on it — dress it up, dress it down! We’ll also learn fun-to-do, fun-to-listen-to harmony lines. By the time you leave, you’ll be ready to play this waltz at your next dance or jam session! The tune will be taught by ear.
WHAT: Cajun Tune Workshop
WHEN: Sunday, June 11, 3-4:30pm
WHERE: Jeff’s home: NE 85th St., Seattle (details furnished upon registration)
INSTRUMENTS: Fiddle, mandolin, banjo, concertina and accordion (piano accordion and button accordion welcome; button accordionists need a D box);
COST: $20-30 sliding scale
WHO IS THIS FOR: If you are able to get your way around your instrument on a dozen or more tunes without your hair catching on fire, can pick up simple tunes by ear (this one is very accessible), and have some background with OT, Cajun, French-Canadian, Irish, or contra tunes, this workshop is for you!
To Register: contact me via this site!
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QUEBEC/ACADIE TUNEFEST WORKSHOP and JAM SESSION, Sat. June 17, 7PM, in SW Portland
Hey there all you fans of musique from Québec and Acadie! Come join Lisa Ornstein for a tunefest workshop followed by a jam session. You’ll learn two way-cool tunes: an original composition from Richard Forest and a traditional Acadian tune from Robin LeBlanc. Both these guys are teaching at this year’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, so whether you yourself are headed that way, here’s a chance to get a sneak peak at s
DETAILS:
WHAT: Québec/Acadie Tunefest Workshop and Jam
WHEN: Saturday, June 17, 7pm-10pm (optional potluck supper 6-7pm)
WHERE: SW Portland (Hillsdale area; details furnished upon registration)
COST: $20-30 sliding scale
HOW TO REGISTER:contact me via this site!
So that’s June. July brings three camps!
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CAJUN MUSIC WORKSHOP Sunday Jun. 18 (1- 2:30 PM) in SE Portland
DESCRIPTION. Hey all you fans of one-steps, two-steps, stomps, and more…come learn a couple of way-cool one-steps (like two-steps, but short and to the point!): One Step des McGees and Happy One Step. After learning each basic melody, we’ll explore how to embellish it and improvise on it — dress it up, dress it down! We’ll also learn fun-to-do, fun-to-listen-to harmony lines. By the time you leave, you’ll be ready to play these one-steps at your next dance or jam session! The tune will be taught by ear.
The workshop will be followed by a snack and beverage potluck at 2:30pm and a jam session from 3-4:30pm.
WHAT: Cajun Tune Workshop
WHEN: Sunday, June 18, 1-2:30pm
WHERE: Home of Tia Regan & Ned Leager, 1935 SE 56th Ave., Portland
INSTRUMENTS: Fiddle, mandolin, banjo, concertina and accordion (piano accordion and button accordion welcome; button accordionists need a D box);
COST: $20-25 sliding scale
WHO IS THIS FOR: If you are able to get your way around your instrument on a dozen or more tunes without your hair catching on fire, can pick up simple tunes by ear (this one is very accessible), and have some background with OT, Cajun, French-Canadian, Irish, or contra tunes, this workshop is for you!
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP LEADER. Fiddler Lisa Ornstein, who launched Portland’s Cajun jam, will lead this workshop. She can’t wait to share this tunes which you may have danced to if you were at the Spare Room in 2015 when she and Suzie, Allegra, and Eric Thompson teamed up with Caleb Klauder, Reeb Williams, for a set of Cajun must at the POTMG.
TO REGISTER: contact me via this site!
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JULY camps, festivals, and tours
July 2-8: Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. For the first time, I get off the staff merry-round and am tutoring. How could I pass up the opportunity to offer support New Brunswick Acadian fiddlers Robin LeBlanc and Claude Austin? Trust me, if you love Québécois and Acadian music, do NOT miss the opportunity to take classes and band labs with these folks. Are you a fan of Richard Forest tunes? You’re in luck! Not only will he be there, but his whole band (Réveillons) will be there too! Expect dancing and parties to bust out, folks! I’ll be happy to give you a hand on the Acadian band lab repertory!
July 9-14: Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp. Wallowa Fiddle Tunes is a gem of a camp: affordable, accessible, family-friendly, with incredible heart and all this set in the unbelievable beauty of eastern Oregon’s high mountain and Alpine region. I’ll be teaching Cajun fiddle…sharing tunes I learned while partnering with David Greely at the Boston Revels last December, and tunes a lonnnng time ago learned from Dewey Balfa and others.
July 23-29: Boxwood Festival, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
Registration for the 2017 Festival & Workshop is still open. Here’s what’s on tap: beautiful Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to discover music, ballad, and dance traditions amid one of North America’s most exquisite 18th century seaside towns. Boxwood presents a full range of classes with world renowned artists in the realms of traditional folk, early music, and dance. The flute is center stage along with a myriad of other instruments, song and dance.
Boxwood will inspire the creative spirit of every participant with its concerts, dances, sessions, classes, and lectures along with handmade local food in the heart of Nova Scotia’s beautiful South Shore. The Boxwood experience brings together kindred spirits from all over the world, creating lasting friendships, nourishing music, and soulful fun in a unique, non-competitive festival and workshop program.
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AUGUST tours and camps
July 30-August 4: Best of Boxwood Tour, all over Nova Scotia.
Don’t exactly know where I am headed, but I know I will be in good company on this tour featuring staff root he Boxwood Festival!
August 5-6: Off to PEI for the Atlantic Fiddle Jamboree.
Hosted by the Mont-Carmel Parish Hall, the festival is situated in the Evangeline region, a coastline rich in natural landscape and Acadian culture, where the inhabitants proudly share their French language, music, food and “joie de vivre”. A weekend of concerts, workshops and impromptu music sessions ranging from the intimate to the informal.
August 11-13: Acadian Fiddle Camp in northeastern New Brunswick, close to Bathurst.
This 3-day wee-end camp is packed with music workshops, jam sessions, dances, concerts, AND opportunities to socialize, relax, and discover New Brunswick’s beautiful northeastern Acadian Peninsula. Musicians of all ages and playing experience are welcome to this family-friendly, affordable cultural adventure!