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