Fiddle Tunes at Centrum

More Fiddle Tunes Faculty at the Olympics

Centrum Admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:17:46 PST

Our kind community members have also informed us that past and present faculty of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes were represented at the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Vancouver.

View the Facebook video below and you will find Eric Beaudry on the right (from our 2008 and 2009 gatherings), and David Boulanger on the left, fiddling - David's on this year's tutorial staff.

Fiddle Tunes Faculty at the Olympics

Centrum Admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:16:34 PST

We were pretty thrilled to see the amazing fiddler André Brunet, of De Temps Antan on the main stage at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. André and the lads were on faculty at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in 2008 and 09, and led our recent Québécois fiddle intensive.

You can view a video of the performance at NBC's Olympic website.

Fiddle Tunes 2010 Tutorial Staff

Centrum Admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:48:35 PST

The tutorial staff is up (on the lower half of the faculty page), and we've got some ringers this year - check it out!

Fiddle Tunes Faculty Update

Centrum Admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:49:10 PST

We've posted most of the players who will be teaching this summer, on the faculty page:

http://www.centrum.org/fiddle/ft-faculty.html

Here are some particular highlights:

Joseba Tapia is one of the world’s leading diatonic accordion players who performs traditional Basque dance music from Spain, known as Trikitixa. The rhythms of its key instruments – accordion and tambourine – are identifiable as the music of the Basque country and language. For many years Tapia, who was self taught, formed one half of the Basque accordion and tambourine duo known as Tapia ta Leturia. For Fiddle Tunes this summer, Tapia is bringing his favorite fiddler, Arkaitz Miner, as well as longtime musical partner on percussions, Xabier Berasaluze “Leturia.”

John Carty is an elite Irish fiddler who is equally gifted at banjo, flute and tenor guitar, and is considered one of Ireland’s most highly regarded traditional musicians. As 2003 winner of TG4 Traditional Musician of the Year, he joined previously acclaimed musical giants as Matt Molloy, Tommy Peoples, Mary Bergin, Máire Ní Chathasiaigh and Paddy Keenan. Born in London, by the age of 16 and already an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, John found himself playing with some of Irish music’s finest musicians and began entertaining the thought of relocating to Ireland. Soon after settling in Boyle, Co Roscommon, his 1994 debut banjo album was released and was followed quickly in 1996 by a first fiddle album which was described as a milestone in recorded fiddle music.

Laurie Lewis is the real stuff of legend, at least in the quiet corners where American roots music still thrives. One of the preeminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time, Laurie has been described by the Sacramento News “as fine a singer as anyone on the acoustic music circuit, anywhere in the world.” Twice named Female Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, Lewis also won a Grammy for “True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe”. Her 30-year career as fiddler, singer and songwriter began in her early 20s when she discovered the Bay Area bluegrass scene with its powerful mix of the region's historic progressivism and ardent devotion to musical tradition. "There weren't a lot of cutting contests; it was all about making music together, a focus on interdependency rather than individual prowess," she said. Renowned on stage for her musical virtuosity and front-porch friendliness, in everything she plays, the point is sharing, not strutting.

James Cheechoo, one of the few remaining traditional James Bay Cree fiddlers from Moose Factory, Ontario, will share his music at Fiddle Tunes this summer. Mr. Cheechoo is a member of the Moose Cree First Nation, a Native reserve community located in the island settlement of Moose Factory. Dating back to the Hudson Bay Co. in the 1670s, company ships brought Irish and Scots to the island and with them residents from the Orkneys who brought fiddle music. Mr. Cheechoo grew up listening to his father and older brothers play the Orkney based music, began playing at 12 and traded two fox pelts for his first fiddle. As one of the few remaining traditional James Bay Cree fiddlers, Mr. Cheechoo has a repertoire of about 60 traditional songs of the single fiddle tradition. He will be accompanied by his wife Daisy on spoons and his son Lawrence on the native drum.

Registration for 2010 Fiddle Tunes is Now Open

Centrum Admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:06:43 PST

Centrum is pleased to announce that registration for the 2010 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes is now OPEN!

You can register right now, online.

If you want to learn about dorms, food, and fees, visit our FAQ page.

You can also view photos and videos from the 2009 gathering, and join our Fiddle Tunes community to share, learn, and ask questions.

We look forward to having you part of the 2010 gathering - we'll be posting much more information soon.

2010 Fiddle Tunes Registration Begins Soon

Centrum Admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:30:44 PST

Registration will begin for the 2010 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes very soon. As always, it's first come, first served - and the '09 Festival sold out - so stay tuned

Please note, that the '10 gathering runs July 3-10, 2010. That's Saturday-Saturday, which is different than most years. We are doing this in order to be able to produce our usual 4th of July show for the community while assuring a premium workshop experience.

The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes provides an opportunity to be in community with the bearers of fiddle traditions.

The goals of the gathering are broader than improving your skills as a musician, and include discovering culture through music, learning music in a cultural context, and building lifelong relationships in the fiddle music community.

Now in its 34th year, “Fiddle Tunes” is a week-long, total-immersion workshop with a hallmark of presenting an expansive array of regional fiddle styles. Workshops, classes, band labs, tutorials, dances, concerts, singing, open jams, hat parties – all contribute to a week of living, learning, and jamming with masters of North American fiddling traditions

2009 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes Photos Online

Centrum Admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:10:31 PDT

A hearty thank you goes out to Al McCleese, who followed you fiddlers around the Fort on our behalf, and captured your beauty and passion.

We've posted Al's photos from the 2009 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes on Centrum's Flickr site. You can also see photos from other programs.

Don't forget, you can post on Flickr too...just be sure to tag them "fiddletunes09." We'll post a slideshow soon. And as always, we want to see your photos, hear your tunes, and learn more at our fiddle tunes community site--many of you are already busy sharing there.