Author Archives: Lisa

Summer 2020 News

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Classes and workshops in June and July 2020!

Summer Greetings. I hope that this newsletter finds you healthy and safe. If you are on the front lines, whether on a check-out stand or an ER room or anywhere in between, my heartfelt thanks. If you or your loved ones or friends have been stricken by or lost to this pandemic, my heart goes out to you. If you are standing up for Black Lives Matter, hats off. If you are working to expand safe and inclusive voting and/or just and compassionate government, big shout out to you.

Like many of us, I continue to what I can to build resiliency and a better future on as many fronts as possible, as we journey through the unknown together. On the music front, here’s what’s coming up: a trio of review/jam Bridge the Gap classes focusing on tunes from my recently completed 2020 Spring Quebec Session Class, and (starting July 26), a 2020 Summer Quebec Session class. I invite you to join me in making the rafters (safely) ring across the nation and around the world, pandemic be damned! 

July 13-15 Bridge the Gap: Quebec Spring Session Review and Jam. From mid-March through mid-June, I led a series of six two-hour Zoom workshops focusing on style in Québécois fiddle music. The idea was to look deeply into tunes from different regions, celebrating the beautiful details of bowing and ornamentation which give them lift and a distinctive sound. Over 80 participants from three continents took this bilingual workshop (French and English) and, by popular demand, I’ll be doing another series starting July 26 (see below for details). MEANWHILE!

 I’m offering a series of three one-hour review/jam sessions from 5-6pm PST (8-9pm EST/20h à 21h, l’heure de l’Est) on July 13, 14, and 15 to  review the twelve tunes which were explored during my 2020 Quebec Spring Session Zoom Class. Each one-hour session will focus on four tunes (see individual class dates for the specific tunes). These classes will be conducted in English, with French-language translations if our group includes francophones. 

Please note: If you did NOT take the 2020 Quebec Spring Session Class, you are still welcome to register for any of these sessions, but be aware that I will NOT be teaching these tunes, but rather reviewing them. You will receive dance-speed recordings and sheet music for the tunes which will be reviewed in the session(s) you register a few days before the actual session. These tunes vary in complexity; you definitely want to be an advanced or intermediate/advanced player in order to be able to jump in and play along.

We’ll spend about 15 minutes per tune, starting with a 3-4 play-throughs at warm-up speed, followed by a Q&A check-in, in case you have questions about specifics, and then another 8 or so play-throughs, building tempo as we go. If there’s extra time at the end of the session, we’ll do some jam session favorites!

TUITION OPTIONS. Each workshop is $15.76. You can sign up for one, two or all three–whatever works for you. At this price, you can take all three workshops for less than $48. I’m also including two other options so that our community can support each other through this pandemic, and so you can do what works best for your schedule, musical interests, and budget. Pre-registration is required, so sign up today!

July 26- Oct. 4: 2020 Summer Quebec Session Class., Aug. 9, Aug. 23, Sept. 6, Sept. 20, Oct. 4.

The Summer 2020 Québec-Acadie Session Class is a six-session group Zoom class for intermediate/advanced players who love (!) playing Québécois and Acadian dance music and want more pizazz, detail, and stylistic authenticity in their music. Each class will explore two tunes from Québec or Acadie, delving deeply into the details of ornamentation, bowing, swing, variations, etc., to add sparkle and joie de vivre to your playing! 12 tunes in all! All melody instruments welcome!

Each of the six  Zoom classes will be recorded and made available to class members who can’t make the scheduled meeting times. In addition, each class is supplemented by a Google folder with materials about the two tunes explored in that class, including source recordings, learning recordings, sheet music, biographical backgrounds of the folks whose versions we are learning; tune histories, photos, additional related video and  links when available–yowza!

These classes will be conducted primarily in English, with supplementary French-language explanations along the way if francophone participants sign up!

SCHEDULE: The six group class sessions meet via ZOOM every other Sunday from 10am-12pm Pacific Standard Time (= 1-3pm Eastern Standard Time). Here are the class dates: July 26, August 9 and 23, September 6 and 20, and October 4. 

TUITION OPTIONS. I’m offering a bunch of options so that our community can support each other through this pandemic, and so you can do what works best for your schedule, musical interests, and budget:

  1. If money is really tight, no worries! There’s a $0-to-whatever sliding scale Pay What You Can option–use it! 
  2. If you have enough money to pay your registration AND help pay it forward for someone who can’t, buy your subscription  with the Regular Tuition button and then add a donation with the Pay it Forward donation button. 
  3. Otherwise, just use the Regular Tuition Options button to sign up. 
  4. AND! I’m offering a special discount class/private lesson combo: Attend the class-and-folder option for only $100 when  you also sign up for four consecutive 30-minute weekly Skype, Zoom, or Facetime private lessons, with a hefty discount: $40 per 30-min. lesson: total = $260 (30-min. lessons are normally $50).

Pre-registration is required, so sign up today!

2020 Spring Quebec Session Class

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On Sunday, April 5, I will launch a six-session Spring Quebec Session Class. I want to invite you to join me in making the rafters (safely) ring across the nation and across the border this Spring, pandemic be damned!

The Spring 2020 Quebec Session Class is a six-session group Zoom class (meets every other Sunday over a 12-week period) for intermediate / advanced players who love (!) playing Quebecois dance music and want more pizazz, detail, and stylistic authenticity in their music. Each class will explore two popular Quebec session tunes, delving deeply into the details of ornamentation, bowing, swing, variations, etc., to add sparkle and joie de vivre to your playing! 12 tunes in all! All melody instruments welcome!

Each of the six Zoom classes will be recorded and made available to class members who can’t make the scheduled meeting times. In addition, each class is supplemented by a Google folder with materials about the two tunes explored in that class, including source recordings, learning recordings, sheet music, biographical backgrounds of the folks whose versions we are learning; tune histories, photos, additional related video and links when available–yowza!

These classes will be conducted primarily in English, with supplementary French-language explanations along the way if folks from Québec sign up!

SCHEDULE: The six group class sessions meet via ZOOM every other Sunday from 10am-12pm PST (=1-3pm EST). Class dates are April 5 and 19; May 3, 17, and 31; and June 14.

TUITION OPTIONS. I’m offering a bunch of options so that our community can support each other through this pandemic, and so you can do what works best for your schedule, musical interests, and budget:

  • If money is really tight, no worries! There’s a $0-to-whatever sliding scale Pay What You Can option–use it!
  • If you have enough money to pay your registration AND help pay it forward for someone who can’t, select and purchase an option from the Regular Tuition button drop-down menu and then add a donation with the Pay it Forward donation button.
  • Otherwise, just use the Regular Tuition button drop-down menu to sign up.

REGULAR TUITION OPTIONS:

  • $140 US for all 6 two-hour Zoom classes AND class folders;
  • Can’t make all six Zoom sessions? Sign up to come to any 3 classes of your choice plus access to the related three class folders for $100;
  • Can’t make any sessions at all? Sign up for access to class folders ONLY or $80.
  • CLASS/PRIVATE LESSON COMBO DISCOUNT PACKAGE: Attend the class-and-folder option for only $80 when you also sign up for four consecutive 30-minute weekly Skype, Zoom, or Facetime private lessons, with a hefty discount: $40 per 30-min. lesson: total = $240 (30-min. lessons are normally $50).

Pre-registration required! Class starts April 5, so please sign up today! Private message me on FB if you have questions! Merci!

Spring News 2020

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Classes and workshops April and May 2020! Spring Greetings. I hope that this newsletter finds you healthy and safe. COVID-19 is causing a huge ripple of tumultuous disruption and harm throughout the world. If you are on the front lines, whether on a check-out stand or an ER room or anywhere in between, my heartfelt thanks. If you or your loved ones or friends have been stricken by this pandemic, my heart goes out to you.

Like so many of us, I’m doing what I can to build resiliency for my family, my neighbors, and as many communities as possible, as we journey through the unknown together. On the music front, here’s what’s coming up: I am about to launch a twelve week session class and invite you to join me in making the rafters (safely) ring across the nation and across the border this Spring, pandemic be damned! 

The Spring 2020 Quebec Session Class is a six-session group Zoom class for intermediate/advanced players who love (!) playing Quebecois dance music and want more pizazz, detail, and stylistic authenticity in their music. Each class will explore two popular Quebec session tunes, delving deeply into the details of ornamentation, bowing, swing, variations, etc., to add sparkle and joie de vivre to your playing! 12 tunes in all! All melody instruments welcome!

Each of the six Zoom classes will be recorded and made available to class members who can’t make the scheduled meeting times. In addition, each class is supplemented by a Google folder with materials about the two tunes explored in that class, including source recordings, learning recordings, sheet music, biographical backgrounds of the folks whose versions we are learning; tune histories, photos, additional related video and  links when available–yowza!

These classes will be conducted primarily in English, with supplementary French-language explanations along the way if folks from Québec sign up! 

SCHEDULE: The six group class sessions meet via ZOOM every other Sunday from 10am-12pm PST. Class dates are April 5 and 19; May 3, 17, and 31; and June 14.

TUITION OPTIONS. I’m offering a bunch of options so that our community can support each other through this pandemic, and so you can do what works best for your schedule, musical interests, and budget:

  1. If money is really tight, no worries! There’s a $0-to-whatever sliding scale Pay What You Can option–use it! 
  2. If you have enough money to pay your registration AND help pay it forward for someone who can’t, select and purchase an option from the Regular Tuition button drop-down menu and then add a donation with the Pay it Forward donation button. 
  3. Otherwise, just use the Regular Tuition button drop-down menu to sign up. 

REGULAR TUITION OPTIONS:

  • $140 US for all  6 two-hour Zoom classes AND class folders;
  • Can’t make all six Zoom sessions? Sign up to come to any 3 classes of your choice plus access to the related three class folders for $100;
  • Can’t make any sessions at all? Sign up for access to class folders ONLY or $80.
  • CLASS/PRIVATE LESSON COMBO DISCOUNT PACKAGE: Attend the class-and-folder option for only $80 when  you also sign up for four consecutive 30-minute weekly Skype, Zoom, or Facetime private lessons, with a hefty discount: $40 per 30-min. lesson: total = $240 (30-min. lessons are normally $50).

Pre-registration required!  Class starts April 5, so please sign up today!  Private message me on FB if you have questions! Merci!

Spring and Summer News for 2019

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Hello folks!

Spring is in the air here in the Pacific Northwest and here in Fiddleville, workshops, festivals, and music camps are looming on the horizon. Most of my energy is still focused in my work with Olympia Indivisible, but music continues to be a wellspring for joy and renewal. Hope to see some of you in my travels this summer, which will include Oregon, California, Vermont, British Columbia, Quebec, and Newfoundland.

MAY: Workshops in Quebecois and Cajun Music!

In Olympia: Spring Sing Mouth Music Fling SATURDAY, MAY 11, 10:15am-12:15pm. Come learn how to do turlutte, the Québécois answer to scat-singing. You’ll learn how to sound authentic lilting some great tunes from Quebec and Acadie. AND enjoy some rhubarb crisp, a quintessential Québec Springtime treat! To register, visit the Spring Fling registration page on the Classes and Workshops dropdown menu.

In Portland, OR: Cajun Tune Workshop, SATURDAY, MAY 18, 10:30am-12:30pm. We will start off with Bosco Stomp, that great Cajun tune which, unfortunately, is also often a Total Jam-Buster because there are too many dang different versions. We will get our act together collectively so that Portland’s Cajun jam can rock out on this classic. And then, we will go on to learn a Mazurka (one of the many kinds of waltzes in circulation in Louisiana in days of yore) from Dennis McGee. To register, visit the PDX May 18 Cajun Tune registration page on the Classes and Workshops dropdown menu.

In Seattle: Cajun Tune Workshop, SUNDAY, May 19: 2-4pm. We will focus on upping our game on Eunice Two Step, getting some great variations and a solid “seconding” line. If time allows, we’ll go review “Bon Tempss Rouler,” that Lawrence Walker song we worked on in January. If you missed that workshop, here’s a great chance to catch up! . To register, visit the SEA Cajun Spring Workshop page on the Classes and Workshops dropdown menu.

JUNE: Oregon/California Tour and Northern Heritage Music Camp!

In June, I’ll be heading down the coast with musical partner-in-crime Dan Compton for a series of concerts:
OREGON AND CALIFORNIA TOUR: June 3-8 (details to follow)
June 3: Ashland
June 4: Sebastopol
June 5: Berkeley
June 6: Santa Cruz
June 7: Mountain View
June 8: Eugene

June 23-29: Northeast Heritage Music Camp (Starksboro, VT). I’ll be teaching French-Canadian fiddle along with Yann Falquet and Nicol Williams of Genticorum. The line-up of teachers is stunning: Becky Tracy, Katie McNally, Pete Sutherland, David Surette, Alex Kehler, David Kaynor, and more. I think there are still a couple of slots left, so hustle to the website if you’d like to be part of this amazing week of music, dance, song, great food, and fellowship in beautiful northern Vermont.

Winter 2019: Cajun Workshop Jan. 26

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Happy New Year! Here is wishing you hope, good health, resilience, fellowship, and music for 2019.

The holidays went whizzing by with two full-to-the-brim teaching sessions (Olympia and Portland) sharing teaching old-Time mountain tunes for the Xmas Season.

2019 is looking bright already, with a Cajun workshop coming up in Seattle January 26, and concerts with Dan Compton in Olympia and Seattle come March, and Portland in April.

Summer will be busy! Fiddle camps and festivals in Oregon, Vermont, Quebec, and Newfoundland, AND Le Bruit court dans la Ville will launch their new album!

I am taking new students here in Olympia and via Skype. I also occasionally day-teach in Seattle and Portland, so if you’re in one of those places and are interested in a lesson or workshop, let me know!

All the best,
Lisa

Acadian Tune of the Month for March 2018: Claude Austin’s Jig (#2)

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Here is a graceful jig from New Brunswick Acadian fiddler, Claude Austin, whom some of you had the pleasure of spending time with last summer along with Robin LeBlanc at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Claude was born and raised in Sheila, in northeastern New Brunswick, in a family where traditional music and dance were deeply woven into daily life: fifteen of his father’s seventeen siblings played fiddle! Claude took up fiddle at the age of nine on a homemade fiddle, a present from his father, which came with a somewhat daunting admonition: “Si tu peux pas le jouer comme il faut, ne le joues pas” (if you can’t play it right, don’t play at all”). Claude worked very hard to play it right and built up a large repertory, playing 10-12 six-part quadrilles of an evening at the local dance without repeating a single tune. Claude still plays for his own pleasure and is a fine, exacting teacher–let’s hope we can “play it right” too!

Claude Austin’s Jig (#2)

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Claude Austin's Jig (#2) mp3

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Spring 2018 News: Workshops, Camps, Albums, etc.!

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WORKSHOPS: Hey Portland, OR, I’ll be doing a Québécois New Tunes Workshop on Saturday, March 31st, 2-4:30pm–you can register right here on the website and catch details on the Classes and Workshops dropdown menu!
CAMPS: I am delighted to report that I’ll be on staff at three music camps in June and July:
Northeast Heritage Music Camp: June 17-23 in Starksboro, VT
Acadia School of Traditional Music and Arts: June 25-29, Bar Harbor, ME
Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp: July 8-13, Wallowa, OR

FESTIVALS: I will be teaming up with Genticorum lads Pascal Gemme and Yann Falquet to perform at the First Annual Little Sea Festival in Portland, ME on June 30th! That should be a rafter-shaker, for sure!

ALBUMS:
And…Le Bruit court dans la ville will be recording a new album in May!

PLUS: I’m teaching private lessons by Skype and in person, here in Olympia and (occasionally) in Seattle and Portland, OR.

Those of you on my inside track know tha tI put professional music-making went on the back-burnerDecember 2017 in order to become a volunteer co-founder of a chapter of Indivisible in my hometown of Olympia, WA. Olympia Indivisible now has over 585 members and are a well-organized band of angels working hard for democracy. I’m in for the long haul, until 2020, but doing music when I can…teaching and performing help keep me grounded, so if you’d like to see me doing either where you live, just get in touch! May strength, resolve, love, and commitment attend your days as Spring approaches, Lisa

2017-18 Solstice and Winter News

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Winter uses all the blues there are.
One shade of blue for water, one for ice,
Another blue for shadows over snow.

Winter solstice is upon us, the nights dark, long and chill. All nature seems a metaphor in this year of deep darkness, so let us bank the flames in our hearts with engagement, love, music, and service, to keep our spirits warm and bright.

So with this in mind, I am planning on sharing as much music as I can in Olympia, Portland and Seattle this winter. Here’s what’s up right now, and there will be more to come!

Sunday, December 17: CAJUN DANCE MUSIC WORKSHOP AND JAM IN SE PORTLAND
Hey all you fans of tabasco-flavored two-steps, stomps, and more…come learn “Empty Bottle Stomp” –a way-cool A-modal dance tune with a lot of old-time fiddle buzz.” What, you may ask, is a stomp? Well, cher, a stomp is like a one-step, but with a healthy extra dose of attitude. 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 and chords for you back-up players. By the time you leave, you’ll be ready to play “Empty Bottle Stomp” at your next dance or jam session! The tune will be taught by ear. To register, go to the Dec. 17, 2017 Cajun Workshop Registration page on the Classes & Workshops drop-down menu.

This workshop will be followed by a snack and beverage potluck at 2:30pm and a jam session and dance from 3-4:30p. (or later, who knows?)

WHAT: Cajun Tune Workshop

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 17, 1-2:30pm

WHERE: Home of Tia Regan & Ned Leager, 1935 SE 56th Ave., Portland

INSTRUMENTS: Fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, 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!

Summer 2017 News: workshops, camps, and more!

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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!

Spring 2017 News

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It’s been a wonderful and unusual year so far here in Fiddleville. My life changed last November when I realized that I needed to step up my commitment to justice and liberty for all. I was already committed for a monthlong run of playing the Revels in Cambridge, MA (one of the most happy experiences of my musical adventures), but since the day after Xmas, I’ve become an accidental political organizer, full-time and then some. Here’s a shout-out to Olympia Indivisible, the best group of 300 citizen activists anyone could every hope to meet. And to all of you who are out there actively pursuing a path of kindness and fellowship.

Finding balance is a big part of remaining sustainable, so I am figuring out ways of keeping my musical muse alive and well. As an experiment, I squeezed in 6 workshops and concerts in late November and December, with a significant chunk of the proceeds going to Southern Poverty Law Center. Thanks to all who showed up and helped raise over $800 for SPLC. thanks to Mark Simos and Matt Glaser for organizing a blissful day of teaching at Berklee College of Music. January was a solid month of political organization. But in February, Dan Compton and I did a house concert in Olympia (thank you, Carla!) and donated some of our proceeds to the local Habitat for Humanity. My guess is that I’ll be doing a lot more of this kind of profit-sharing work in the next four years. I also did a weeklong residency working with middle and high school students in Pendleton, Oregon, where the multi-talented Emily Callender ably steers at the helm of an incredibly vibrant string program. It was pure joy working with these talented and lively musicians! And, I also taught my first home stay fiddle camp (major fun with Alice and Jeannine!).

For March and April: I’m starting to pick up students in Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. Would love to work with you Puget Sound fiddlers! Give me a shout. I’m also offering occasional OT fiddle workshops in Portland and offering individual lessons in SE Portland at least once and sometimes twice a month (let me know if you are interested!). I’ll be working with the wonderful kids in the BRAVO string ensemble in north Portland, prepping some French-Canadian string ensemble magic for an April 15 concert. And, with any luck, Dan Compton and I will be heading to Whidbey Island and the environs for dance music and concerts.

Come May, I’ll be on tour with Le Bruit court dans la Ville in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. I’ll also be giving the keynote address at the Young Tradition Vermont Week-end, Friday May 5, 2017 at the Bishop Booth Conference Center in Burlington, VT.

Summer’s a ways away, but just so you know, I’ll be tutoring at Fiddle Tunes and teaching Cajun fiddle at Wallowa Fiddle Tunes, and teaching all Kinds of Fiddle at the Boxwood Festival in Lunenberg, NS in July and then touring with the Best of Boxwood in early August. More on that later!

Late Fall, Early Winter News 2016

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First of all, to all of you, a hug and thoughts of fellowship and resolve and love.

Late November and December, I’ll be doing concerts, workshops, and shows on both the west and east coasts. Here’s the scoop:

WEST COAST

THANKSGIVING WEEK-END TUNE WORKSHOPS in PORTLAND AND OLYMPIA: I’ll be offering workshops in Portland (Friday, Nov. 25 2-4pm) and Olympia (Sunday, Nov. 27, 2-4pm) on Thanksgiving week-end. On the program: 3 great tunes from eastern Quebec and New Brunswick, including a lovely new waltz from accordionist Keven Desrosiers and two great tunes from Acadian fiddler Robin LeBlanc. Tunes will be taught by ear. Sheet music will be furnished at the workshop.

Don’t play fiddle? If you’d just like to learn some tunes, play a melody instrument (mandolin, flute, tenor banjo, melodic claw-hammer banjo, concertina, accordion, etc.), can pick up tunes easily by ear or with sheet music (not tablature), and don’t mind sitting through some discussion of bowing, welcome aboard! Tunes are in A modal, D, and G-C.

Level: (intermediate to advanced). If you are comfortable with your instrument, can play a dozen or so tunes close to or at dance speed without your hair catching on fire, and have facility picking up tunes either from sheet music or by ear, these workshops are for you!
WHAT DOES IT COST? I am suggesting a $25-35 sliding scale. If that is simply out of your range, please come anyways and contribute what is affordable for you. I will be donating 25% of the proceeds to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization with a long history of upholding civil rights and peacefully, effectively combatting hate crimes throughout the nation.
HOW TO REGISTER: E-mail me via this site. I’ll send you details.

EAST COAST (DEC. 4-23)
Come December, I’ll be heading to Cambridge, MA where I’ll be playing fiddle in the Boston Revels, which is celebrating Acadian and Cajun cultures. It’s my first Revels experience, and I’m not exactly a dress-up-in-costumes type, but I had a heckuva good time recording the cast album in May, and the repertory is really on the mark. What’s more, the children and adult choirs sing with polish and heart, the staff are kind and incredibly good at what they do, and the back-up musicians include dear-friends-and-stellar-musicians Josée Vachon, Keith Murphy, and David Greely. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

In addition to doing the Revels (I’ll be doing performances Dec. 9-23), I’ll also be doing a fiddle workshop in Arlington, MA on December 4 . The workshop will be held at a private residence in Arlington, near Route 2 and accessible by public transportation (within a half-mile of the 77, 62, and 76 buses). For details and to register, e-mail Adrienne at adriennehoward88@yahoo.com.
and a day of teaching at Berklee College of Music December 5th. If you are a Berklee fiddle student, check this out!

AND, David Greely and I will be doing a house concert in Arlington, MA on Thursday, December 15.The concert will be held at a private residence in Arlington, near Route 2 and accessible by public transportation (within a half-mile of the 77, 62, and 76 buses).

AND THEN BACK TO THE WEST COAST! (Dec. 24 – January)
Come January 2017, I plan to stay close to my new home in Olympia and organize a teaching schedule to provide regular lesson and workshop opportunities in Olympia, Portland, and Seattle. I also teach by Skype. Please feel free to get in touch if you are interested in any of these options.

So here is wishing you all the very best. Stay safe, take care, get involved. There is plenty for all of us to do!

Late Summer News 2016

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Hello folks! Greetings from Fiddleville. Hope you have been having a good summer, staying cool, taking good care of yourself, playing up a storm, and reaching out locally and globally for all of us.

It’s been a momentous summer for me–moving into a new chapter in my life, with a new location: Olympia, WA, home to the beautiful southern tip of Puget Sound, a vibrant community of musicians and upstarts of all kinds, and (so far) much more affordable living spaces than Portland, OR. I’ve been officially in Olympia since early July, but teaching at Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Wallowa Fiddle Tune Camp,and the Swannanoa Gathering Fiddle Week have kept me pretty busy!

I’m about to take off for my last teaching gig of the summer: Camp de Souches à oreilles (Aug. 25-28). This wonderful, very affordable, family-friendly music camp in eastern Quebec is run by our friends from Tidal Wave. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in Québec culture and music! Late August is a wonderful time of year to be in Quebec–it’s the tail end of summer and the weather tends to be fair and pleasant (right now the forecast is for the low 70s, with cool evenings and clear skies). There are 75-minute classes in fiddle, accordion, piano, guitar, and dancing, with LOTS of jamming. The setting, a newly-renovated classical music festival site, is welcoming, and a number of Americans and Anglo-Canadians attending, with strong turn-outs from New England. The camp is filled for this year–check out the website for 2017!

After the camp, I’ll be headed to Joliette to spend a couple of weeks with Le Bruit court dans la Ville (André Marchand and Normand Miron), digging into some new repertory for a new show and album…we’ll make a very brief appearance at the Carrefour mondial de l’accordéon (September 1-5), an annual massive seismic outburst of accordions of every conceivable kind (and a few you would never even conjure up in your wildest dreams) from all over the planet, holding forth for three days of buttons and bellows, to say nothing of a lot of rhinestone and mother-of-toilet-seat blingosity.

In October, I’ll be back to eastern Quebec and the Magdelan Islands with Le Bruit for workshops and festivals, and then staffing at Janie Rothfield’s Jumpstart Camp in the Philadelphia area (October 21-23rd). Janie’s camp is a great way to get a LOT of learning and jamming in an intimate setting, with gourmet meals and a small coterie of equally passionate folks from all over. There will be classes in Cajun and Old-Time music as well, with Janie and Michelle Kaminsky.

In November, Dan Compton and I will be doing a quick tour up to Vancouver, BC, with stops in Mount Vernon and Seattle. Stay tuned for details.

And in December, I’ll be playing the Boston Revels, which this year celebrates Acadian and Cajun traditions. Couldn’t be in better company (Keith Murphy, David Greely, and Josée Vachon, with the children and adult choruses and some amazing brass players to boot!).

The Portland Québécois and Cajun jams (monthly on first Tuesday evenings and third Sunday afternoons respectively) continue to celebrate the joys of music and community in Stumptown, and there is a lively, third-Thursday Québécois jam here in Olympia as well.
I have a lot to learn about my new community–will keep you posted on what’s shaking here as I learn the ropes.

Meanwhile, if you live in Olympia, Seattle, or Portland, OR (or points in between) and would like to set up a lesson or workshop, let me know. I’ll be setting up a teaching schedule for the fall and winter and would love to sign you on board! And if you live further afield, just get in touch. I teach by Skype!

Cheers and all the best,

Lisa

Winter News 2016

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First off, Happy New Year and all the very best to you. Here is wishing you all the very best. May good health, love, laughter and music be your boon companions throughout 2016, and here is hoping that our paths will cross!
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It’s been a busy month of January in Fiddleville: The year began with a great Québécois jam session chez nous. The monthly Québécois jam (first Tuesdays, 7-10pm) is a wonderful place to learn and share French-Canadian tunes in a learner-friendly environment. It’s free, hosted by jam e-mail list members in private homes around Portland. Get in touch with me to sign up for the list!
In addition to the jam, I just finished teaching a wonderful bunch of folks a 4.5 hour workshop series on how to play back-up fiddle for Cajun music (two steps and stomps); a follow-up to last Fall’s class focusing on “seconding” for waltzes. We packed one heckuva lot of material into these workshops. It’s been great watching Portland’s Cajun music scene grow and blossom. Speaking of which, our monthly Cajun jam (third Sundays, 1-3:30pm) was a knock-out. There must have been at least 15 musicians (fiddle, accordion, mandolin, rub board, guitar, singers, ‘tit fer) setting the rafters on fire, plus some beautiful dancing by Adam and Ali Grimshaw of the Cascade Zydeco. Thank you, Ali and Adam, for reaching out…the dancers and musicians in this scene are starting to connect! Please get in touch if you’d like to join the e-list for this free, monthly jam.

I’ve been cramming in private lessons this month in anticipation of about 6 weeks of touring soon to come up, both on-site and Skype lessons. Please get in touch if you’re interested…old-time music, music of Québec, and helping you strengthen your skills as a player are my teaching passions!

The Portland Old Time Music Gathering just came and went–another literally jam-packed event with dances, concerts, workshops, and after-parties scattered across Portland, run on volunteer steam. Thanks to the POTMG organizers, volunteers, and after-party hosts for their incredible dedication. I got to play a Cajun set at the kick-off dance at the Spare Room with the Côte ouest Cajun Band (myself, W.B. Reid, Tony and Catherine Mates, Eric Thompson, David Cahn, Jinny Macrae and Caleb Clauder–woo hoo!) and a square dance with Crankset String Band (Scott Killops, Joe Moore, Robin Wilcox, and Reese Dummer) at Velocult the following evening.

What’s ahead? Well, I’m off to Brittany! Le Bruit court dans la ville (myself, André Marchand and Normand Miron) is just about to leave for a series of concerts, workshops, festivals and school visits in France. We’ll be on the road January 26 – February 25th. It should be an amazing month. I’ve posted some, but not all of our gigs. If you happen to be in northwestern France during that period, send me a shout!

And no sooner do we get home, then we’re off again! It’s Le Bruit’s second Pacific West Coast Tour (March 5-16). This time we will start with school visits and the fabulous Festival du Bois in Vancouver, B.C. (March 5-6). On the 7th, we’re off to a 10-day run of concerts down the coast in Washington, Oregon, and California, with stops in:
Monday, Mar. 7: Lopez Island, WA (house concert) at 7:30pm
Tuesday, Mar. 8: 3:30-5pm band lab workshop and a 7:30pm concert at the Grange Hall in Port Townsend, WA
Wednesday, Mar. 9: house concert AND JAM SESSION in Seattle, WA starting 7pm
Thursday, Mar. 10: Traditions Fair Trade Cafe in Olympia, WA at 8pm
Friday, Mar. 11: house concert in SE Portland, OR at 7:30pm (with potluck at 6:30pm)
Saturday, Mar. 12: concert at Headwaters Building, Ashland, OR at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar. 13: house concert in Sebastopol, CA at 7:30pm
Monday, Mar. 14: concert at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall in Felton, CA at 7:30pm
Tuesday, Mar. 15: concert at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA at 8pm
Wednesday, Mar. 16; house concert in Arcata, CA at 8pm

Details for all these events are available in our calendar. We are so delighted to have the chance to visit and perform for friends in France and the U.S. west coast. Hope to see you at one of these events!, but not all of our gigs. If you happen to be in northwestern France during that period, send us a shout!

Old-Time Tune of the Month for December 2019: Old Christmas Morning

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Here is a great old holiday season fiddle tune: Old Christmas Morning. I learned this tune from the playing of French Carpenter (1899-1965), a great mountain fiddler from Clay County, West Virginia.
Old Christmas refers to the celebration of Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, on January 6 (celebrated in Québec as La fête des Rois), and was the date some old-time Appalachian communities celebrated Christmas by lighting bonfires at night with much gun-play and fireworks.

Want to learn more Christmas season old-time tunes? Sign up for my Sunday, December 20 workshop: Breaking up Xmas (see the Classes and Lessons drop-down menu for details).

Old Christmas Morning

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Old Christmas Morning (mp3)

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Québécois Tune of the Month for January 2016: Cos-reel de Pontbriand

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Here is a great cross-tuned fiddle tune I learned from Henri Landry (1923-2001), a fiddler who lived in Pontbriand, Québec (near Thetford-Mines). He was a spirited player whose brisk, rock-steady tempos reflected his long career as a dance musician. Henri played fiddle for community dances and house parties for most of his life. After a long career as a truck driver in the mines, he spent an incredibly joyful retirement playing fiddle at local galas, contests, and house parties. He and his wife Fernande were immensely hospitable and kind, and they hosted many the memorable party, where good food and music and company filled the house to overflowing.

In addition to playing the standard local repertory, Henri had a repertory of tunes which he learned as a young boy from left-handed fiddler Thomas Pomerleau, a poor, reclusive and eccentric old man who lived in a tiny hut abutting the Pomerleau family farm. Although Thomas Pomerleau was known locally as “Quêteux” (beggar) Pomerleau and lived a marginal, hand-to-mouth existence, his fiddle playing was in demand at local weddings and dances. This is one of his tunes.

Cos-reel de Pontbriand (mp3)

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Cos-reel de Pontbriand (mp3)

1 file(s) 1.24 MB
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Old Time Tune of the Month for January 2016: Old Bunch of Keys

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Here is a great cross-tuned old-time reel from North Carolina fiddle legend Tommy Jarrell (1901-1985), who learned it as a young man from fiddlers Fred Hawks and John Rector of Fancy Gap, Virginia. I learned this tune from Tommy some forty years ago back in 1975 when I spent a good part of the summer in Mt. Airy visiting with him.

Tommy always served his tunes up “fresh,” packed full of subtle colorations and phrasings which reflected his mood of the moment as well as the musical chemistry of whomever he was playing with.
When playing “Old Bunch of Keys,” Tommy would vary the number of repetitions of the low part of the tune, as the spirit moved him. Here he reflects on how he picked up that custom, and the signaling used to announce the return to the high part of the tune:
“Up on the mountain (near Fancy Gap, Va.) from my daddy-in-law (Charlie Barnett Lowe), an’ John Rector, an’ Fred Hawkes, an’ some of ’em…Well, we’d go on the high part twice, y’know, but we played the low part a long time ‘fore we’d go to the high part. We’d just keep playin’ the (low part) til one of us wanted to change an’ them we’d punch a knee. We’d sit (facing each other) with our knees together. An then if I took a notion to go on the high part, all I had to do is (bump knees), an’ if he did, why, he’d do the same thing to me. An’ we knowed exactly what the other one was gonna do thataway. In place of raising the fiddle up, that’s what we’d do, y’know. Course when Lawrence (Lowe) got to playing with us, we couldn’t do that, we had to raise my fiddle up when we’d go to go on the high part. Uncle Charlie and Daddy both (signaled by raising the fiddle) all the time. That’s when I knowed when they was a-gonna change, y’know. They played like that, played the low part of it maybe over half a dozen or a dozen times ‘fore they’d play the high part, an’ just go over the high part twice” (Old Time Herald, Vol. 3, No. 2, Winter 91-92, pg. 46).

Old Bunch of Keys (mp3)

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Old Bunch of Keys (mp3)

1 file(s) 1.13 MB
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Quebec Tune of the Month for December 2015: L’histoire de mon vieux coq

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Here is an original composition from Gaspé-region fiddler Yvon Mimeault, still fiddling up a storm in his 80s!

About Yvon: Born in 1928 in Mont-Louise, Quebec, Yvon is the seventh of a dozen children. A “preemie” baby, Yovn’s small stature precluded his following his family farming practice. Yvon discovered his passion for fiddling at the age of 21 while working as a handyman in a lumber camp. When he came home eight months later, he put his woodworking and creative skills to work and made himself a fiddle. At the same time, he went to school to become an électricien. A few months later, Yvon was playing in a radio band in Matane; from 1949 to 1954 he played for local dances on the week-ends after a 60 hour work week.

Yvon married in 1956 and he and his wife raised six children. Music went on the back burner for the next 20 years or so, but in 1977, Yvon dusted off his fiddle and started playing again. He has a huge repertory of tunes learned from family, from the radio, and from recordings, as well as a number of his own compositions. Yvon is an immensely sociable musician who loves a good laugh. He is also a very skillful woodcarver who makes wonderful animal sculptures.

About the tune: The title of this tune in English would be ‘The Story of My Old Rooster.” Here’s Eric Lortie reporting the information he gathered from Yvon about this tune:
Act 1 (or Part A, for the musicians)

A farm in Gaspesia, as young boy Yvon walks accross the yard he is attacked by the old rooster — a big grey Plymouth Rock weighing in at about 12 pounds. Yvon, with injured leg and pride, pulls out his slingshot and faces the rooster (just like in a Sergio Leone movie!). As the beast turns its head sideways to look him in the eye — roosters turn sideways for a face to face — Yvon takes a shot. The bird, hit in the head, falls to the ground. Yvon, after making sure nobody saw him, leans it against a fence where he can discretely keep an eye on it. After a while, the rooster, who was only knocked out, gets up and staggers back to the henhouse, to the relief of Yvon.

Act 2 (Part B)
The next morning, as usual, the old rooster hopped on a fence to wake up the whole farm, but he was now singing out of tune.

L’histoire de mon vieux coq, recording (mp3)

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L'histoire de mon vieux coq (mp3)

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Fall News 2015

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It’s been a busy Fall here in Fiddleville! In September, Le Bruit court dans la Ville did a northern New England mini-tour, with concerts and workshops in Fort Kent, Orono, Lewiston, Maine; Montpelier, Bellows Falls, and Randolph, Vermont; and Turner’s Falls, MA. October was stay-at-home month and the beginning of two fiddle classes: Back-up Fiddle for Cajun music, and the 10th Quebec Session Class (Favorites from the Olympia and Seattle Jams).
November started with a mini-tour in Washington with Dan Compton (concerts in Vashon, Lopez, Seattle, Bellingham, and Olympia. On November 17th, Dan and I will play our first Pendleton gig at Isaac Callendar’s Acoustic Shed series (see calendar for details). Then on November 19th and 21st, DÉJOLI makes its début with concerts in Ashland (Nov. 19th) and Seattle (Nov. 21st). DÉJOLI is myself, Déjah Léger and Josie Mendelsohn…music and songs from Quebec and Appalachia, with a side order of original tunes. EEK!! My first all-woman band (’bout time!). See calendar for details.
December…thinking about doing a couple of one-off workshops here and in Olympia and/or Seattle over the holiday season. Otherwise, I’ll be home. Hope to catch you at the Dec. 1st Quebec jam or the Dec. 20th Cajun jam here in Portland. If you’d like a lesson from far away, let me know and we can Skype! Cheers for the season. Make all the music you can…the planet can sure use the joy, harmony, and fellowship.

Québec Tune of the Month for October 2015: Le Batteux

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Here’s a wonderful tune for the harvest season: “Le Batteux” (“The Thresher”), from Louis “Pitou” Boudreault (1905-1988). Le Batteux is Mr. Boudreault’s name for a family tune and dance which in Louis Boudreault’s childhood were linked to the annual activity of grain threshing. In Mr. Boudreault’s father’s day, threshing place during the winter when the grain had dried and farm work was otherwise more or less at a standstill. The local flour mill owner had a grain-threshing mill which he rented to farmers to thresh their grain by turns. Every evening, they held a get-together with music and dance, and “Le Batteux” would be played and danced. Capping off a hard day of collective labor with dancing and celebration seems to be an ancient tradition, not only in Europe and North America, but all over the world.

Le Batteux (sound recording, mp3)

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Le Batteux

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On Tour with Bruit in New England Aug. 30-Sept.6

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Hey, northern New England! Heads up! Le Bruit court dans la ville is headed your way!
Le Bruit is hitting the road, starting in Québec (concert in Lanaudière 26 Aug., Souches à oreilles camp Aug. 27-30), and then…
– Aug. 30 7pm concert at University of Maine at Fort Kent, ME;
– Aug. 31 6pm concert at University of Maine (Orono);
– Sept. 1 3-5pm workshops at the Franco Center in Lewiston, ME;
– Sept. 1 6pm Soirée at the Franco Center in Lewiston, ME;
– Sept. 2 1:30-3pm song workshop at Lewiston-Auburn College in Lewiston, ME;
– Sept. 2 7pm concert at Bates College in Lewiston, ME;
– Sept. 3 7:30pm concert/jam at Four Corners Schoolhouse, Montpelier, VT;
– Sept. 4 8pm house concert in Bellows Falls, VT;
– Sept. 5 8 pm house concert in Turners Falls, MA;
– Sept. 6 all day at the New World Festival in Randolph, VT.
Read on for details. Hope to see some of you at these events!

A Word About Le Bruit:
Le Bruit court dans la Ville play traditional music and songs from Québec and Acadie. André Marchand, Normand Miron and I have made music together in various configurations for over thirty years and now that my kids are off to college, we’re planning on doing a lot more music together! You can find more out about our goings-on at our website.

So here’s more details about the tour, with links and info. if you’d like to see us:
Wednesday, August 26: 8:30pm, concert at CRAPO in St-Jean-de-Matha, QC.
CRAPO is a bistro/bar/theatre/performance and jam space in the lovely village of St-Jean-de-Matha, about 35 minutes northwest of Joliette, QC. They have all kinds of activities throughout the year, including a LOT of trad music. Check them out!

Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 27-30: Camp de souches à oreilles – Pass It Down Music Camp in St-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, QC.
This three-day trad music of Quebec camp held in beautiful St-Alexandre (about 2 hours northeast of Quebec City) is the brainchild of the folks from Tidal Wave and has a great staff line-up which includes guitar, step dancing, accordion, piano, and fiddle. I think they are full for this year, but check them out for 2016!

Sunday, Aug. 30: 7pm concert at University of Maine at Fort Kent Fox Auditorium. Tickets: $10 available at the door.

Monday, Aug. 31: 5pm potluck and 6pm Free concert at University of Maine Franco-American Centre (110 Crossland Hall).
Come celebrate the inauguration of the Franco American Studies program’s new after-school French program!

Tuesday, Sept. 1: 3-5pm advanced-level fiddle, accordion, and fiddle workshops at the the Franco Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston, ME.
Cost: $25 per person, $15 for students up to age 21. (Cost includes free admission to Soirée afterwards – see listing below.) Advance registration advised. Contact Cindy at (207) 782-0386 or cindylarock@gmail.com

Tuesday, Sept. 1: 5:30-8:30 Supper and Soirée at Franco Center, Lewiston, ME.
In the old-time Franco-American kitchen-party spirit, this festive evening will offer not only music but some fun-&-easy traditional French Canadian contra & square dancing. Joining Le Bruit in providing the music will be a mega back-up band composed of the participants in the afore-mentioned workshops (hold onto your hats, folks!). Location: Heritage Hall at the Franco Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston. Admission: $7, or for $8 more ($15 total) you can add on supper at 5:30 (menu: French Canadian meat pie, savory vegetable quiche, garden salad, pickled beets & dessert). Note: Meal reservations must be made by 8/25. Contact Cindy at (207) 782-0386 or cindylarock@gmail.com.

Wednesday, Sept. 2: 1:30-3pm, Song Workshop at Lewiston-Auburn College, Rm. 170, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston, ME.
Come join Normand and André for a call-and-response song workshop; fluency in French not required – lyrics will be provided. Location: Lewiston-Auburn College, Rm. 170, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston. Admission: just $2 (includes discount to concert by Le Bruit later that evening; see below). FMI, contact Cindy at (207) 782-0386 or cindylarock@gmail.com.

Wednesday, Sept. 2: 7pm Concert at Bates College’s Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St., Lewiston, ME.
Admission: $12 (two dollars off for anyone who buys their ticket at the chansons workshop listed above, or for members of DownEast Friends of the Folk Arts; please present your DEFFA newsletter at box office as proof of membership); $5 for students up to age 21. FMI, contact Cindy at (207) 782-0386 or cindylarock@gmail.com.

Thursday, Sept. 3: 7:30pm Concert at Four Corners Schoolhouse, 945 Vincent Flats Road, East Montpelier, VT.
There will be a pre concert potluck at 6, Concert at 7:30, and a post concert jam session. Space is limited, so reservations are recommended. email hendrixfiddle@gmail.com to reserve. Suggested donation: $18.

Friday, Sept. 4: 8pm House Concert in Bellows Falls, VT.
The concert begins at 8:00 pm, doors open at 7:30. Suggested donation is $15 to $20. Space is limited, so advance reservations are recommended. Email Peter at PS@SOVER.NET for reservations and directions.

Saturday, Sept. 5: 8pm House concert in Turners Falls, MA.
Doors open at 7:30; concert starts at 8pm. Suggested donation is $15-20. Limited seating. Contact Bob for reservations and details.

Sunday, Sept. 6: Performances at New World Festival in Randolph, VT.
We’re honored to be part of an amazing line-up of more than 70 exceptional musicians drawn from New England, Canada and the British Isles to play at this one-day annual festival. Concerts, music and dance workshop sessions, children’s activities, and open dancing unfold on five continuous stages from noon until 11 PM. Food and drink provided by the area’s finest chefs and breweries. Adults – $34 advance; $39 after Aug 21. Students (13-18) $12; Children (2-12) FREE! After 6 PM – $25. Call 802-728-6464 or visit festival site and order on line.

Québec Tune of the Month: Quadrille des Montagnards

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Here’s a great tune from the repertory of Les Montagnards Laurentiens, a hugely popular and successful radio musical ensemble from the Québec City region who performed live every Saturday evening on the airwaves of CHRC from 1931 1962. The show, which ran either a half-hour or an hour, featured traditional dance music with the occasional song, joke, and comic sketch, with an in-house radio host. The original Montagnards were a quartet (three fiddles and guitar), but the band personnel was fairly fluid, becoming much larger in the 1940s and eventually including accordion, piano, bass, and saxophone, and clarinet. The Montagnards Laurentiens show occasionally broadcast live from local theaters or Quebec City’s provincial fairgrounds, playing to packed, enthusiastic crowds. When CHRC went from a 100-watt to a 1000-watt station in the 1940s, the listening audience for the Montagnards’s weekly show expanded significantly to many parts of central and eastern Quebec.
I learned this tune from Marcel Messervier, a stellar accordion builder, player, and composer, who listened to the Montagnards every Saturday night during his childhood.

Quadrille des Montagnards (dance speed, mp3)

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Quadrille des Montagnards (dance speed, mp3)

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July News 2015

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Greetings from Ste-Béatrix, QC from the home of Claude Méthé and Dana Whittle. I’m here for the week to help Claude and Dana with a project to publish sheet music to the songs and tunes from Claude’s album L’amant confessor. Dana and Claude and Denise Lévac are busy recording a new album — the first to be recorded in the new in-house studio, with Dana and Nicolas Babineau seated in the studio engineering booth. André Marchand and Normand Miron will be coming on Saturday for a barbecue and some tunes. The weather is glorious and so is the company and companionship. Ça fait du bien d’être au Québec!

It’s been a great month for friendship and music! The first week of July, André, Normand, and I were on staff at Festival of American Fiddle Tunes along with a huge roster of wonderful fiddlers from all over North America as well as Denmark. Our band lab was big, exuberant, and totally rocked the rafters with a medley of tunes (Isidore Soucy’s Reel de Ste-Blandine and Adélard Thomassin’s Reel du bonhomme) played in Montagnards Laurentiens big-band style (including a horn section, snare, piano, and step-dancing!) and a lovely Acadian reel à bouche.

Last week-end I had the joy of teaching at Becky Tracy and Keith Murphy’s Northern Roots Camp, a three-day multi-generational gathering of singers, dancers, and musicians in Dummerston, VT. Shannon Heaton was also on staff and it was equal parts glorious music and hilarity sharing her company. I’ll get those tunes posted soon, folks!

Come August, I’ll have two more camp teaching gigs: August 2-8, I’ll be teaching at Swannanoa Gathering for Fiddle Week It’s my first time at Swannanoa and the first time back in North Carolina since my wastrel days of youth…then August 27-29, Le Bruit court dans la Ville will be part of the staff at Souches à l’Oreilles in St-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, QC. From there, Le Bruit will be touring in Maine (Fort Kent, Orono, Lewiston), Vermont (Montpelier, Randolph), Massachussetts (Turner’s Falls) and possibly New Hampshire.

It’s amazing to be playing and teaching this much…hope you are playing up a storm wherever you are, and that our paths cross soon!

All the best,
Lisa

Quebec Tune of the Month for July 2015: Reel du bonhomme

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Here is sheet music for a composition from button accordionist Adélard Thomassin of Sillery, Québec, who passed away June 4, 2015 at the age of 88. Mr. Thomassin took up the accordion at an early age and was playing in his own band by the age of 17. He played with many of Quebec City’s best-known traditional music groups, including Gerard Trudel’s orchestra (38 years with them!), L’ordre du Bon Temps, and Le Groupe sans Âge. In addition to playing extensively on radio, television, and festival stages, Adélard also accompanied several folk dance troupes such as La Parenté and Les Danseurs folkloriques du Madawaska. I had the pleasure of playing with Mr. Thomassin as an accompanist for the folk dance troupe La Parenté in 1980 and 1981. He was an extremely nice, gregarious man who got along with everyone, and a lovely player with a spritely touch and a vivid musical imagination which led him to compose many tunes, including Le Reel du bonhomie. The Quebec Band Lab band at did a bang-up version of this tune at the 2015 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, completely with a descant brass section, snare, and step-dancing. Adélard would have been tickled!

Reel du bonhomme (sheet music, pdf file)[wpdm_file id=452]

Quebec Tune of the Month for June 2015: Ladies’ Chain

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Here is a Ladies’ Chain, from button accordionist Keith Corrigan of St-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, QC. I chose it in honor of the Big Review (a four-week session which begins May 31st where we will scrape off the rust and polish up 24 tunes from the Quebec session classes I’ve been teaching the past four years). Keith (1933-2010) learned this tune from his father, Patrick, who played it on the fiddle. The Ladies’ Chain is the fourth part of the quadrille known in Valcartier as The Set (there are six parts altogether). As was often the case, Keith did not have a specific title for this tune and referred to it by its association with dancing. Like many of the tunes Keith learned from his father, this melody has all the hallmarks of an Irish jig, but I have been unable to find any ancestral sources.

Ladies’s Chain (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=443]

Québec Tune of the Month for May 2015: La gigue à Julie

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Here’s a three-part gigue (a step-dancing tune) I learned from Vermont Franco-American fiddler Louis Beaudoin (1921-1980) way back yonder a long time ago. Louis did not have a title for this tune, so I named it in honor of his wife Julie. I recorded this tune with André Marchand as part of a medley of  dance music from Louis Beaudoin on the album One Fine Summer’s Day.  Here’s a bit of background about Louis:

Born and raised in the mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts, Louis Beaudoin learned to love music from his father Joseph (also a fiddler) and from family relatives who, like his parents and grand-parents, immigrated to the United States from Ste-Emelie-de-l’Energie (a small village north of Joliette, the home of La Bottine Souriante). When Louis was a child, Lowell was a city of ethnic neighborhoods, including a vibrant and large French-Canadian district known as “Petit Canada,” where he was raised. Louis got his start on fiddle, harmonica, and step-dancing at an early age, aided by family and neighbors. He moved with his family to Burlington, Vermont when he was seventeen. After serving in the military, he returned there and worked first as a police officer and later as a radiator repairman. His wife Julie and five daughters shared his love of music, singing, dancing hospitality and laughter. Julie and Louis have passed on, but the Beaudoin clan throw the best house party in New England!

La gigue à Julie (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=439]

La gigue à Julie (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=440]

Old Time Tune of the Month for May 2015: Sugar in the Gourd

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Here’s a lovely and unusual setting of Sugar in the Gourd from North Carolina fiddler Marcus Martin (1881-1974). He was a multi-instrumentalist (harmonica, banjo, dulcimer) and a fine ballad singer as well. A jack of all trades, Martin moonlighted as a square dance fiddler and played for many years at Bascom Lamar Lunsford’s Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville, opening the festival with the tune “Gray Eagle.”

Sugar in the Gourd (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=441]

Sugar in the Gourd (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=442]

Spring 2015 News: concerts, camps, and more!

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Spring greetings: May is bursting into bloom with back-to-back concerts Friday May 8th and 9th: Friday is a Hayloft concert in Salem with the wonderful Betsy Branch (fiddle, vocals, guitar) Leela Grace (banjo, vocals, clogging), and Elizabeth Nicholson (harp, guitar, vocals).  Driving tunes played on fiddles, banjo, guitar, and harp, powerful songs (both original and traditional) sung in lush three- and four-part harmony, and a bit of percussive dance!  Hope to see you there. Saturday May 9th is a house concert in SE Portland with Johnny Connolly and Dan Compton. There is an amazing synergy at work in this trio–it feels like flying on thermals playing with these guys! We’ll do a mixed grill of Irish, Quebecois, and Appalachian music, with some great songs on the side. And! And! And! Check it out—we’ll be announcing our spankin’ new band name at the concert! Read on for details:

 

FRIDAY MAY 8 AND SUNDAY MAY 17 CONCERTS WITH LEELA, BETSY, AND ELIZABETH

Lisa Ornstein, Leela Grace, Elizabeth Nicholson, and Betsy Branch!
Lisa Ornstein, Leela Grace, Elizabeth Nicholson, and Betsy Branch
FRIDAY, MAY 8
Hayloft Concert in Salem, Oregon!
8:00pm (or whenever the hayloft fills up) 
Note: Portland folks usually come early to reserve their seats, bring a picnic, and beat some of the traffic!
Location: 5304 Center St. NE; Salem, OR. Info: Email Sharon Moore
 
SUNDAY, MAY 17
Special House Concert in SE Portland! (Facebook event page)

5:30-8:00pm

Tickets at the door

Sliding scale $15-20 for ages 13 and up

$10 for 12 and under

Info/Reservations: Email Betsy Branch to reserve your seat and you will receive the location of the concert. Reserve now! Seating is limited.

About the Shows: It is a treat to join forces for these special shows! The four of us will be pulling out some of our favorite songs and tunes to make a diverse, exciting, and beautiful concert. I get to trot out my tonsils for some four-part harmonies and do some twin fiddling with Betsy, the diva of soulful harmonies. Don’t miss this sweet evening filled with tasty tunes, beautiful harmonies, traditional, original, Old Time and Irish songs and tunes, percussive dance, banjo, guitar, fiddles, harp, and much more!

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House Concert :: Lisa Ornstein, Dan Compton, Johnny Connolly
When :: Sat May 9, 2015 (7:30 PM Performance / 6:30 Potluck)
Where :: Inner SE Portland.  RSVP to abbiew@froggie.com for directions and to RESERVE!
Cost :: Suggested donation $15-20, $10 students … or what you can. All proceeds go to the artists!
Contact :: Abbie Weisenbloom, (503) : 233-4945 / abbiew@froggie.com  / www.froggie.com  (CALENDAR listing all shows!)

Johnny, Dan, and I have been playing together whenever we get the chance (trust me, finding a time when we are all in Portland at the same time is a challenge!). But when we get together, the click is so instantaneous and the synergy is so powerful that we’re instantly on the same page. It’s an amazing conversation, filled with humor and ease, combining seamlessly blended unison and innovative harmonies, with great classics and off-the-beaten-track tunes from Appalachia, Quebec, and Ireland, served up with a side of song. We will have a buncha new material to share and will be officially unveiling our band name (at last! at last!).

Also, Abbie will be live streaming the show on Concert Window – Here is her channel –> https://www.concertwindow.com/abbiewpresents.  Tell your friends, wherever they may live. This is a great way to help support the artists & the venue while enjoying the show remotely!) 

This summer, I’ll be on staff at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (with Le Bruit), Northern Roots Weekend, the Swannanoa Gathering, and Souches a l’Oreille in Quebec (also with Le Bruit). See calendar for details about these camps.

Quebec Tune of the Month for January 2015: Le petit mouchoir

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Bonne et heureuse année! Here is a charming fiddle tune I learned from Quebec City fiddler Viateur Garneau in the 1980s. I was a volunteer administrator at a local folk arts organization at that time and one of the activities we sponsored was a monthly jam at a rather shabby community center in a Quebec City blue-collar neighborhood known as the Basse-ville. I think Mr. Garneau lived in the neighborhood–he was an older gentleman at the time, very courtly and kind, and always delighted at the chance to play tunes.

The full title of this tune is actually “Le petit mouchoir que tu m’a donné, je l’ai mis dans ma poche” (The Little Hanky You Gave Me, I Put it in My Pocket”). The title has the distinction of possibly being longer than the tune itself! I would guess that the title might be a line to a verse sung to the first part of the tune…perhaps “Le petit mouchoir” started out as a song. In any case, I’ve spread it around wherever I could, so here you go!

Le petit mouchoir (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=435]
Le petit mouchoir (sheet music, pdf) [wpdm_file id=436]

Old-Time Tune of the Month for January 2015: Bonaparte’s Retreat

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William Hamilton Stepp was a great Kentucky fiddler whose version of “Bonaparte’s Retreat” recorded by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in 1937 transformed a stately march into a barn-burning hoedown. How about starting off 2015 by learning this cross-tuned classic (Ddad tuning) which American classical composer Aaron Copland incorporated into his famous ballet, Rodeo. In 2013, Bill Stepp’s version of “Bonaparte’s Retreat” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Famed as a recording of lasting significance–let’s celebrate!

You can learn more about Mr. Stepp and “Bonaparte’s Retreat” and hear his 1937 performance on the Library of Congress’s Folklife Today Blog.

Here’s my transcription of Mr. Stepp’s version:
Bonaparte’s Retreat (sheet music, pdf) [wpdm_file id=433]

And here’s a recording of myself doing my best to honor that version at learning speed:
Bonaparte’s Retreat (learning-speed version, mp3) [wpdm_file id=434]

December 2014 News: Jams and contras

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December is here. How did that happen so quickly?! Hope you are staying warm and dry and enjoying the wonders that the seasons bring. Well, some rain is really wonderful…

carl_lisa.jpg

Carl Thor and yours truly talking tunes for Contra in the Couve!

I want to invite you to come shake a leg at the Contra in the Couve! on December 12th. I don’t often play for contras, but how could I resist the opportunity to play for old buddy David Kaynor at the 4th anniversary of this community dance, backed up by the charming and able Carl Thor on the pianola? Check out the calendar for details. And come play some Quebec or Cajun music at the jam sessions (Quebec Dec. 2nd, Cajun Dec. 21st). Look on the home page for more information about these events, and in the resources for some great Quebecois tunes.

I’m in prep mode right now, gearing up for recording a new album with Johnny Connolly and Dan Compton, tearing a tonsil with new band Dejolis (Dejah Leger and Josie Mendelsohn), woodshedding my Cajun repertory for playing with Suzy Thompson and Port de Berk, and raising some musical hell with Crankset String Band (both in preparation for next month’s Portland Old Time Music Gathering).

News Flash: Le Bruit Court Dans la Ville (with guitar and vocal wizard André Marchand and harmonica, accordion, vocal master and Life of the Party Normand Miron) have been hired to staff at the 2015 Festival of American Folklife! More on that later.

Here’s wishing you all the best for a peaceful and festive end of year,

Lisa

Old-Time Tune of the Month for October 2014: Puncheon on the Floor

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Here’s a great tune from the playing of Esker Hutchins of Dobson, North Carolina, about 10 miles from Mt. Airy, home to fiddle legend Tommy Jarrell. Ray Alden recorded Esker Hutchins in 1972 and you can hear him play this tune on Ray’s 1982 album Visits, produced on the Heritage label in 1982.

 

Puncheon on the Floor (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=431]

Puncheon on the floor (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=432]

Quebec Tune of the Month for October 2014: Reel Antoinette

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Here’s a classic Quebec session tune from the repertory of fiddler Jos Bouchard, who named it in honor of his sister (though chances are he is not the composer). In Quebec, each part of the tune is repeated before moving on to the next part, but if you are playing this tune for a contra, you’ll want to just play each part once through.  I just taught this tune for the Quebec Session Class #7 (Contra-Friendly Tunes). We’ll be playing it at this month’s 5th Annual Quebec House Party.

Joe or Jos (Joseph) Bouchard 9 (b Pointe-au-Pic, near La Malbaie, Quebec, 6 May 1905, d Île d’Orléans, Quebec, 12 Jun 1979). Jos Bouchard started on the violin at the age of 8, probably with some classical training, as well as coaching from Huron fiddler Élie Sioué; by 14 he was playing dance. Fiddling was a sideline for Jos, who worked for the CNR railroad for 32 years, but he participated in local festivals and was also part of the legendary radio band, Les Montagnards Laurentiens. Bouchard recorded 13 78 rpm records starting in the late 1930s, and followed these with a couple of LPs in later years. His playing style, characterized by a powerful bow arm, quick tempos, use of vibrato, and melodic variations, earned him a following which continues to this day. You can hear a lovely duet recording of brothers Gabriel and Jean-Louis Labbé playing “Reel Antoinette” on Youtube.

“Reel Antoinette” (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=398]

“Reel Antoinette” (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=392]

Quebec Tune of the Month for September 2014: La valse du coq

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By popular request, here is (yet another!) version of a tune most closely associated with the dance, the varsovienne (a type of waltz, also called varsoviana and varsouvienne) which took western Europe and North America by storm in the the mid-1800s. The melody is eminently singable and associated sets of lyrics (and parodies) have circulated widely in Ireland (Shoe the Donkey), France and Quebec (Votre petit chien, madame) and the United States (Put your Little Foot). There are as many variants of the dance as there are tune variants. Generally, the A part tends to be the more stable of the two-part version of this tune, while there are many different melodies played for the B part.

“La valse du coq” (The Rooster’s Waltz) is a Quebec version. I can’t even remember where I first heard “La valse du coq” in Quebec; 78 rpm recording artist Joseph Allard recorded a fiddle version under this title (complete with bird calls) in 1930; my version is a bit different from his. Because there are so many different B parts, I’ve included a second B part (from the Montmagny region). For yet another Quebec variant of this melody, check out the Quebec Tune of the Month for Dec. 2012 (a lovely version from Isidore Soucy in the key of G). 

La valse du coq (dance speed, mp3) [wpdm_file id=421]

La valse du coq (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=422]

Old Time Tune of the Month for September 2014: Hell Up Cole Holler

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Here’s a great tune from Glen Lynn, Virginia fiddler Henry Reed (1884-1968). Alan Jabbour did a great deal of visiting with and recording of Henry Reed in the 1960s and his field recordings, notes, and transcriptions are now published on a wonderful website.  When I was seventeen, I spent a happy summer transcribing Henry Reed tunes for Alan as an intern at the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song, and have been a fan of Henry Reed’s eclectic grab bag of tunes and his inventive renditions ever since. Here is what Alan has to say about “Hell up Cole Holler”:
“Hell up Cole Holler” is a local favorite of the last generation in Monroe County and environs. Ross Miller of Monroe County played a similar tune called “Devil up a Stump,” which was recorded by the Hollow Rock String Band (Kanawha 311). The tune may have wider ramifications, but none can be shown here. It is of a type that sounds like a breakdown, but also has a touch of the country rag in it, underscored by its choice of the key of C and its alternations between (implied) tonic and dominant chords. A fragment of this tune appears again on AFS 13705b14, followed by a full performance of “Fiddler’s Drunk and the Fun’s All Over.”

Hell up Cole Holler (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=418]

Hell up Cole Holler (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=419]

Quebec Tune of the Month for August 2014: La Grondeuse

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Here’s a tune from Franco-American fiddler Wilfred Guillette (1913-2004). Born in Massachusetts, Wilfred lived most of his life in Vermont. He began playing fiddle at the age of thirteen, inspired by his father’s playing. By the age of sixteen, Wilfred and his father were twin fiddling and “clogging” their feet. Wilfred played his whole life and was a favorite at the contest scene in northeast New England, often backed up on piano by his wife Aline.

“La Grondeuse” is a family of fiddle tunes most commonly played in the key of D with the fiddle tuned ADAE. There are generally two or more parts, one of which starts on the upper octave of the scale and winds it way down to the open D, the other of which is pitched on the lower octave, and prominently features the use of the low open-A string, often in 3/2 meter or mixed 2/2 and 3/2 meters.

You can hear Wilfred Guillette playing “La Grondeuse” on the Green Mountain Records LP Wilfred Guillette,Old Time Fiddlin’ (GMS 1061–out of print, I fear) and on the Media Generation documentary, New England Fiddles.

La Grondeuse (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=387]

La Grondeuse (sheet music, pdf) [wpdm_file id=387]

Fall 2014 News: New Album, Classes, Tours, etc.

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September greetings! Summer seems to be lingering here in the Pacific Northwest–it’s a gift in the form of beautifully sunny warm weather and abundant garden produce. It’s been that kind of summer musically as well. The parenting years of being a largely stay-at-home musician are just about done, so I stuck a toe back in the water in June, July, and August to celebrate and tour Le Bruit Court Dans la Ville’s new album, Les vents qui ventent. André, Normand and I played 19 festivals, concerts, and workshops in British Columbia, Québec, and France. 

The Fall is lining up to be pretty bountiful as well: a Contradance-Friendly Quebec Session Class started September 14th, and I’m taking new students as well for private lessons. In October 10-12, Le Bruit has concerts and workshops at the Rendez-Vous ès TRAD 2014 in Quebec City, as well as a few side concerts in Montreal and the Joliette region. Also in October, the 5th Annual Quebec House Party in Portland (a free, DYI evening of dancing, music, and good times) with caller Suzanne Girardot). 

November 5-12, I’ll be hitting the road for a concert tour in California and Oregon, this time with Johnny B. Connolly and Dan Compton–touring a blend of Québécois, Irish, and honking old-time tunes, served up with a side of original compositions and songs.

Add into the mix monthly Quebec and Cajun jams here in Portland. Hope you can make some of these events! Read on for details, and all the best,

Lisa

October 2014:  Quebec Concerts,
5th Annual Quebecois House Party in Portland
If you happen to be in Quebec Oct. 10-12, you can catch Le Bruit court dans la ville in concert. We’ll be celebrating our new album (Les vents qui ventent–-more about that below). For concert details, check:
Oct. 10: Centre régional d’animation du patrimoine oral (St-Jean-Matha)
Oct. 12: SPTDQ (Montreal)
Please note that at the time of this newsletter, there are no details posted for the Oct. 10 and 12 dates. Check back soon!
If you can’t make it to Quebec, here’s the next best thing!
SATURDAY, October 18, 2014 at 8pm:

The 5th Annual Quebecois House Party & Dance Party!   

Based on the informal DYI kitchen tonks I used to go to in Quebec, we’ll be in party mode, with potluck food, snacks, and drink, and visits with good friends. Of course, music is bound to break out of such convivial surroundings, and the dancing is not far behind. We’ll get going at 8pm.

Dancing! Ace callers Suzanne Girardot and Carol Piening will be on hand to guide dancers through the joys of traditional Quebecois quadrilles, squares, reels, brandies and more. Step dancing is welcome and heartily encouraged (please bring your dance board).

Music!  You are invited to join in an open band to play for dancing.   Bring your instrument along with your dancing shoes!  If you are planning to join the band, could you drop me a line to say so? Thanks so much!

NEWS: Suzanne plans to call the 5th and 6th parts of the Valcartier Set. That means reels. Some good reels for those parts of the quadrille would be Wind that Shook the Barley, Sheepskin and Beeswax, Reel St-Joseph, Reel St-Antoine, etc.

Food/Drink  It wouldn’t be a party without potluck snacks and drinks, so please bring your special Quebecois dish, or any finger food or drink.

Location!  SE Portland. Please contact me for details. 

Cost: Free! Tips are happily accepted for the callers, who are traveling from Seattle and Olympia. 

Questions: Contact me!

November 2014: Oregon, California Tour
with Johnny Connolly and Dan Compton

 In November, I’ll be heading out for some house concerts in the Bay area and southern Oregon with musical partners-in-crime Dan Compton and Johnny Connolly. Dan and I have been playing together off and on for the past six years. Johnny is an outstanding Irish accordion virtuoso who also plays honkin’ old-time music (he cut his old-time musical teeth playing with Foghorn). When Johnny, Dan, and I sat down for the first time to have a few tunes, we experienced that incredibly rare musical chemistry which produces a kind of instant ease, liveliness, seamless unison and innovative harmonies that usually take years to develop. Playing with Johnny is like gliding on thermals.


Johnny’s been sharing from his vast trove of amazing Irish music, and we’ve been swapping him French-Canadian tunes in return. He has this great Quebecois single-row which he recently got back from its maker in Montmagny (Quebec’s button accordion capital city!) totally refurbished and with a new set of reeds. It’s killer! 
This tour is still in the building phase, but here’s what we have so far:

Wednesday, Nov 5: Eugene, OR
Thursday, Nov 6: Ashland, OR
Friday, Nov 7: Berkeley. CA
Saturday, Nov. 8: Santa Cruz, CA
Sunday, Nov 9, San Luis Obispo. CA
Monday, Nov 10: Chico, CA

 

Old Time Tune of the Month for July 2014: Sally Ann Johnson

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Here’s a lilting old-time fiddle tune from Henry Reed (1884-1968) of Glen Lyn, Virginia. Mr. Reed was in his 80s when Alan Jabbour recorded himas part of a series of recordings he made as a graduate student at Duke University. Alan’s recordings, field notes, musical transcriptions, and photographs are now available on line in a wonderful website called Fiddle Tunes of the Old Frontier: The Henry Reed Collection. When I was seventeen, I spent a happy summer transcribing Henry Reed tunes at the Library of Congress as an intern with Alan Jabbour.

Sally Ann Johnson (dance speed, mp3) [wpdm_file id=385]
Sally Ann Johnson (sheet music, pdf) [wpdm_file id=386]

Here are notes about the tune from Alan:

Henry Reed’s “Sally Ann Johnson” in D is another tune that is widespread in British and American instrumental tradition. Irish variants appear with some regularity as “The Boys of Bluehill”; see O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, #1700, Roche, Collection of Irish Airs, Marches, and Dance Tunes, vol. 3, 64 (#183). A related Irish piece is O’Neill’s Music of Ireland #1815 “Freedom for Ireland”; Roche, vol. 3, 74 (#196) “Nights of Gladness Quadrille.” Compare also “Banks of Inverness” (One Thousand Fiddle Tunes, p. 11, and other titles and versions). American variants include “Beaus of Oake Hill” in Howe, Musician’s Companion (1844), vol. 3, p. 54; “The Beaux of Oak Hill Reel,” One Thousand Fiddle Tunes p. 28; Knauff, Virginia Reels (1839), “The Two Sisters”; Ford, Traditional Music of America, p. 57, “Lonesome Katy.” A cognate Blue Ridge tune is Taylor Kimble’s “Old Ark A-Moving” (Blue Ridge Barn Dance, County 746).Many printed sets are cast as hornpipes with the characteristic three eighth notes ending each strain. Henry Reed’s tune has the feel of an American breakdown, but its circular structure for the melody leading from the second strain back to the first is unusual.

Quebec Tune of the Month for July 2014: Patrick at Perley Brook

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Here is a tune of my own making. Patrick Ouellet was a dear friend from Fort Kent, Maine who lived on a homestead of his own building close to Perley Brook with his beloved wife, Julia Bayly. Pat was a quiet, gentle, kind, unprepossessing guy who, when not working in the Napa Auto Parts store, could be found at home, stewarding the woods and lands around his property, adding outbuildings, and happily restoring great old rusty pieces of farm machinery which would have otherwise made their way to the scrapheap. He was suddenly and very prematurely cut down by brain cancer in 2008. His last wish was to spend his final days at home, where he passed away peacefully. Patrick, his beautiful homestead, and the comfort that many of us find associated with some special place, either real or imagined, were much on my mind when I made this tune and played it to him over the phone shortly before his death.

Valse pour Patrick; Patrick at Perley Brook (fiddle and piano, mp3)[wpdm_file id=383]

Valse pour Patrick; Patrick at Perley Brook (sheet music, mp30[wpdm_file id=384]

Quebec Tune of the Month for March 2014: Reel Béatrice

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“Reel Béatrice” is actually an Italian polka titled “Oggi nevica” or “Quando nevica” (“Today it is Snowing” or “When it Snows”) which is still popular in the northeastern region of Italy known as Emilia Romagna, where the “liscio” (ballroom dancing) repertory includes polkas and mazurkas. You can see Italian piano accordionist Sebastaino Barbagalla playing a version of “Quando nevica”  on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKQQqeyY78

How Quebec City-region fiddle player Jos Bouchard came across this tune is a matter of speculation, but I would venture to guess that he might have heard it either on the radio or on a 78rpm recording. In any case, its structure (three parts, two in minor keys, with a contrasting trio section in the major) is very much in keeping with the 19th century quadrille repertory which was in circulation in the Quebec City region in the first half of the 20th century, and its rhythms are similar to those of a reel. Jos Bouchard apparently found the combination irresistible and added the tune to his repertory, recording it in 1938 under the title “Reel p’tit Charles” on the Bluebird label, and later as “Reel Béatrice” (which was the flip-side of the 1928 78rpm recording–he apparently got the titles confused).

“Reel Béatrice” is widely played as a session tune in Quebec and has made the rounds in Irish circles in the U.S. and Ireland (as well as fiddle communities across Canada) thanks in part to Liz Carroll, who recorded it a brilliant up-tempo take in G minor and B-flat major on her eponymous album a few decades back. Nowadays  some musicians open this tune with schmaltzy Romany-wannabe introduction–under the romantic but misbegotten notion that it is a “Gypsy melody.”

The version I play here is fairly on the straight and narrow and straightforward as played by Jos Bouchard (actually, Jos Bouchard changed it up on his various recordings over the years)–so just take this as a starting point.

Reel Béatrice (dance speed, mp3) [wpdm_file id=381]

Reel Béatrice (sheet music, basic version, pdf)[wpdm_file id=382]

 

 

Old Time Tune for the Month of March 2014: Polly Put the Kettle On

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Here is a wonderful tune from outstanding North Carolina fiddler, ballad singer, and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Martin. He wa born in the Aquone community of Macon County in 1881.  He learned many of his tunes from his father, Rowan Martin. Martin was a jack-of-all-trades who lived most of his adult life in Swannanoa where he raised a family and played for local dances and festivals until his death in 1974.

“Polly Put the Kettle On” is a beautiful and unusual tune, completely unrelated to the major-key tune which shares its name. Manco Sneed of Jackson County, NC recorded a variant of Martin’s “Polly Put the Kettle On;” I know of no other versions of this tune.

Polly Put the Kettle On (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=379]

Polly Put the Kettle On (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=380]

Quebec Tune of the Month for February 2014: La Marche Pomerleau

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When I lived in Quebec, I used to go visit Henri Landry (1923-2001), a wonderful fiddler living in Pontbriand (near Thetford-Mines). He was a spirited player whose brisk, rock-steady tempos reflected his long career as a dance musician. Henri played fiddle for community dances and house parties for most of his life. After a long career as a truck driver in the mines, he spent an incredibly joyful retirement playing fiddle at local galas, contests, and house parties. He and his wife Fernande were immensely hospitable and kind, and they hosted many the memorable party, where good food and music and company filled the house to overflowing.

In addition to playing the standard local repertory, Henri had a repertory of tunes which he learned as a young boy from left-handed fiddler Thomas Pomerleau, a poor, reclusive and eccentric old man who lived in a tiny hut  abutting the Pomerleau family farm. Although Thomas Pomerleau was known locally as “Quêteux” (beggar) Pomerleau and lived a marginal, hand-to-mouth existence, his fiddle playing was in demand at local weddings and dances.

Thomas Pomerleau’s repertory included a number of truly beautiful and very singular  tunes. Henri only recorded one of them and never played them in public settings like galas and contests–my sense is that he felt that they were just  too “out of the box.” But whenever I’d visit Henri, I’d ask for these tunes, and he was always happy to share them. We had our own Thomas Pomerleau Secret Society.

I  learned this particular march in the early 1980s one afternoon when I went to watch a competition organized by the local chapter of the provincial fiddling association in the Thetford Mines region. Henri waved hello as I entered the school building and beckoned me over with a broad, crinkly-eyed smile, reporting that he’d just remembered an old Pomerleau march. Say no more! We immediately wandered off to the basement to find a quiet place for a TPSS meeting. I learned the march on the spot and have been playing it “out” ever since. It delights me that this once-obscure, lovely old tune has become a standard session tune and is making the rounds not only in Quebec, but in the States and parts of Europe. I hope you enjoy it too!

La Marche Pomerleau (mp3)[wpdm_file id=376]

La Marche Pomerleau (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=377]

September, October, and November 2013 News

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Hello all! It’s been a great Fall season to date beginning with a great Cajun session class in September, Celtic Colours International Festival and studio sessions with Le Bruit court dans la ville in October, and coming up shortly, a November 7-13 tour down to the California Bay area with Dan Compton. Read on for details on upcoming events!

September got off to a rousing start with a great Cajun session class. The studio was jam-packed with fiddles, mandolin, banjos, accordions, and guitars and we sang and played up a storm. Looks like we’ll have to do that one again. Meanwhile, there’s the monthly Cajun jam.

In October, André Marchand, Normand Miron and I returned for the third time as guest artists at Celtic Colours International Festival. This nine-day festival in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia presents dozens of concerts and workshops all over the island, an extensive line-up of community events, and a nightly Festival Club. It is without a doubt one of Canada’s premier music events, combining outstanding artists, great staff and volunteers, and wonderful venues–from a reconstructed 300-year old French fortress to community theaters and parish halls–all over the beautiful island of Cape Breton at the height of leaf season.

We got to play wonderful concerts with friends old and new, including Dave Greely, Dirk Powell, Riley Baugus, Mairi MacInnes, Rona Lightfoot, J.P. Cormier, and Colin Grant. Highlights included an amazing Thanksgiving feast and session hosted by luthier Otis Thomas and music with Paul Cranford, Sarah Beck, Frode Haltli and Vegar Vårdal, plus tunes all night long with Riley Baugus (with some wicked local moonshine thanks to Paul MacDonald). To cap it off, we returned to Joliette, QC for session work on a new CD which we hope to have ready to go by next Spring.

Coming up in November, I’ll hit the road for one last tour this year with Portland musical partner-in-crime Dan Compton down to sunny California. We will play house concerts in Arcata, Mountain View, Bonny Doon, and Grass Valley, plus a concert in Ashland, OR on the way home. I’ll be doing fiddle workshops in Los Altos, CA and Ashland, OR. Dan and I will also be doing a week-end of concerts, workshops, and a contradance in Eugene, OR (Nov. 22-23). See the calendar for details.

Old Time Tune for the Month of July 2013: Lazy Kate

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Here’s a great old Mississippi fiddle tune for those lazy summer days in July. The Leake County Revelers were the best-known Mississippi band of their era, hailing from Sebastopol, MS, with Will Gilmer on fiddle, Dallas Jones on guitar and most lead vocals, R.O.Moseley on banjo-mandolin, and Jim Wolverton on banjo. They had a widely heard Saturday night radio show and cut 44 diverse instrumental and vocal sides for Columbia and Okeh Records between 1927 and 1930. Their biggest hit, “Wednesday Night Waltz,” was among early country music’s biggest sellers. The Revelers often played at a relaxed, easy-does-it pace which set them apart from hell-for-leather string bands such as The Skillet Lickers.

Lazy Kate (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=294]
Lazy Kate (slow, mp3)[wpdm_file id=295]
Lazy Kate (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=296]

Quebecois Tune of the Month for July 2013: Hommage à Adrien Alain

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In honor of this year’s featured Quebecois fiddler at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Yvon Mimeault, here is one of his tunes. Yvon learned “Hommage à Adrien Alain” from Mr. Alain, a local fiddler whose playing Yvon admired. And here’s a bit more about Yvon:

Born in 1928 in Mont-Louise, Quebec, Yvon is the seventh of a dozen children. A “preemie” baby, Yovn’s small stature precluded his following his family farming practice. Yvon discovered his passion for fiddling at the age of 21 while working as a handyman in a lumber camp. When he came home eight months later, he put his woodworking and creative skills to work and made himself a fiddle. At the same time, he went to school to become an électricien. A few months later, Yvon was playing in a radio band in Matane; from 1949 to 1954 he played for local dances on the week-ends after a 60 hour work week.

Yvon married in 1956 and he and his wife raised six children. Music went on the back burner for the next 20 years or so, but in 1977, Yvon dusted off his fiddle and started playing again. He has a huge repertory of tunes learned from family, from the radio, and from recordings, as well as a number of his own compositions. Yvon is an immensely sociable musician who loves a good laugh. He is also a very skillful woodcarver who makes wonderful animal sculptures. Look for him this summer at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (and if you find him, please give my regards!).

Hommage à Adrien Alain (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=297]

Hommage à Adrien Alain (slow, mp3)[wpdm_file id=298]

Hommage à Adrien Alain (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=299]

 

Pinot, Pie, Camps, and Discount Fiddle Lessons!

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It’s July! In the Pacific Northwest, that means gardens full of vegetables, raspberries and marionberries and blueberries, sunshine, clear skies galore, and lots of music.  Festival of American Fiddle Tunes starts today, the Waterfront Blues Festival is coming right up. What could be better?

Here in Fiddleville, July also means pinot, pie, camps, and special prices on private lessons.

On July 4th, I’m gigging with Marionberry Jam at the

Pinot and Pie on the 4th of July, an afternoon of old-time music, pie, and wine tasting at the beautiful Bethel Heights Winery just outside of Salem, OR.  Mmmmmmm!

Then it’s camp time!  I’m on staff at two camps here in Oregon:
the Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp out in Wallowa (July 7-12) and the West Cascades Fiddle Camp & Workshop down in Oakridge (July 22-25). There is still room at West Cascades, and it’s a steal of a deal, so check it out!

Here in Portland,  I’ll be offering discount lesson packages for the months of July and August. It’s a great way to invest in  your fiddle chops, polish up the tunes you love and/ or learn some new ones, at bargain rates.

News for June 2013

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It’s June, it’s June, it’s June! Here in Bridgetown, that means gardens full of snow peas, greens, and strawberries, and enough sunshine to play outdoors! What could be nicer?

It’s going to be a great month in Fiddleville. For starters, on Sunday, June 2nd, I’ll be playing for the Every Sunday Square Dance with Crankset: Scott Killops on banjo, Joe Moore on guitar, and Robin Wilcox on bass. Straight-at-you, gotta-dance old-time music is what we do. I can’t wait! Put on your dancing shoes and catch us at the Village Ballroom, 700 NE Dekum St., 7-9pm.

Then on Friday, June 14, it’s a house concert in SE Portland at the home of Abbie and Harold Weisenbloom. It’s their (drumroll, please) 100th house concert! What an incredible, generous gift. Over the past three years, Abbie and her family have given thousands of Portlanders an opportunity to hear some of the very best traditional musicians in an intimate living room setting. Thank you, Abbie & Cie.! To celebrate, I’ll be teaming up with Johnny Connolly (Irish button accordionist extraordinaire) and Dan Compton (ace guitarist and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist–it’s our newly formed trio’s debut concert!

Johnny, Dan, and I got together a few months back to kick around a few tunes just for fun and poof! instant musical chemistry. Turns out that Johnny, in addition to being one of the best Irish button accordionists on the planet, is an accomplished old-time musician in love with crookedy, honking old-time fiddle tunes (wait til you hear his killer take on “John Brown’s Dream”). It’s been pure joy working up duets of old mountain tunes. As if that weren’t enough, we’re now deep, deep into tune-swapping Irish and French-Canadian repertories. The synergy has been amazing. Dan, Johnny, and I are clearly on the same musical page–it feels like we’ve been playing together for years. Please join us for this debut concert of fresh takes on time-honored tunes and songs from Appalachia, Quebec, and Ireland (see calendar for details).

Old-Time Tune of the Month for June 2013: Feather Bed

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Here’s a classic Kentucky fiddle tune from the repertory of the legendary Magoffin County fiddler John Salyer (1882-1952). This tune comes down to us thanks to Salyer’s sons Grover and Glen, who made a home recording of him in the early 1940’s.

Feather Bed (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=291]

Feather Bed (moderate speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=292]

Feather Bed (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=293]

Quebec Tune of the Month for June 2013: Quadrille de l’oncle Ti-Bé

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In anticipation of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, which will feature Gaspé fiddler Yvon Mimeault, here is one of his tunes. Yvon learned “Quadrille à Ti-Bé” from his uncle Antoine (Ti-Bé”) Mimeault, who played dances in Ruisseaux-des-Olives in the 1940s. And here’s a bit more about Yvon:

Born in 1928 in Mont-Louise, Quebec, Yvon is the seventh of a dozen children. A “preemie” baby, Yovn’s small stature precluded his following his family farming practice. Yvon discovered his passion for fiddling at the age of 21 while working as a handyman in a lumber camp. When he came home eight months later, he put his woodworking and creative skills to work and made himself a fiddle. At the same time, he went to school to become an électricien. A few months later, Yvon was playing in a radio band in Matane; from 1949 to 1954 he played for local dances on the week-ends after a 60 hour work week.

Yvon married in 1956 and he and his wife raised six children. Music went on the back burner for the next 20 years or so, but in 1977, Yvon dusted off his fiddle and started playing again. He has a huge repertory of tunes learned from family, from the radio, and from recordings, as well as a number of his own compositions. Yvon is an immensely sociable musician who loves a good laugh. He is also a very skillful woodcarver who makes wonderful animal sculptures. Look for him this summer at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (and if you find him, please give my regards!).

Quadrille de l’oncle Ti-Bé (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=262]

Quadrille de l’oncle Ti-Bé (slow, mp3)[wpdm_file id=263]

Quadrille de l’oncle Ti-Bé (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=264]

Quebec Tune of the Month for March 2013: Tommy Rooney’s Jig

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Here is a lighter-than-air step dance tune from the extraordinary Gaspé coast fiddler Erskine Morris of Douglastown, Quebec. I am indebted to Erskine Morris’s son Brian and to Glen Patterson for their permission to share one of the best tunes I have ever heard.

Mine is a pretty rough take on Mr. Morris’s elegant playing of this tune–it is one of those tunes that needs to be thoroughly “played in.” I recommend you go visit the website Erskine Morris: Old-Time Fiddle Music from the Gaspé Coast and check out this fabulous resource, which includes several recordings of this tune by Mr. Morris (as well as many other recordings, videos, and all kinds of information about Mr. Morris and other fiddlers from the Gaspé coast).

Tommy Rooney’s Jig (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=243]
Tommy Rooney’s Jig (sheet music, pdf)[wpdm_file id=244]