A weekend for playing and socializing with fellow fiddle (and non-fiddle) students. Nightly sessions and Ceili dance! The camp starts Friday evening on the 20th of August and ends that following Sunday the 22nd. All ages and levels welcome. Classes/
Lessons will include:
Cost: $150 for four classes or $135 if registered and paid before May 1st Family members of registered students can take individual classes at the rate of $40 per class. Registered students can also add classes to their required number, at the rate of $40 per class. Due to fewer Banjo class options, banjo students' registration fee is $115 for three class Registration fee is $115 for students age 12 and under taking only the three required "Ensemble" classes General Schedule: Proposed Class Schedule:
Sunday August 22nd
A note on the schedule: Fiddle or Banjo I---Beginner to Intermediate Fiddle or Banjo II--Intermediate to Advanced Feel free to ask Alex or any of the teachers what level you may be considered. Schedule is based on class size and interest and may be subject to change. OTHER INFORMATION:
Testimonials from Mountain Road Fiddle Camp 2007 "This is my third year in a row and it just keeps getting better and better! The Brazenhead Inn is the perfect venue to host fiddle camp...The teachers are exceptional too! The Ceili (Dance) Sat. night is a great way to wrap up the experience." "Fabulous! We will come back if at all possible. The place is lovely. The music is beautiful. A lot of thought went in to designing it and we are so grateful!" "We love fiddle camp. It's great to be immersed in music for a weekend, and it's a good social scene for the kids, beautiful setting. We always look forward to it." Teacher Biographies Alex Caton founded the Mountain Road Fiddle Camp in 2005 after she fell in love with the Brazenhead Inn in West Virginia. Her aim was to create a musically productive and fun atmosphere for her fiddle students to learn new material and jam on familiar tunes, plus try their hands at something new--such as dance, drum or guitar. The camp has outgrown her wishes to become an annual event that teachers, family members and students (fiddle as well as singers, dancers, guitarists, bassists, Irish drummers and banjo players) all look forward to with excitement. Alex has been teaching fiddle privately for 12 years and is currently a board member of the Blue Ridge Irish Music School. When Alex is not teaching or planning for fiddle camp, she is playing Irish and Old Time music across the country and globe as a solo artist. She also loves playing with Odd Legged Jenny, with partners Pat Egan and Sabra Guzman, and also gypsy music with various musicians. Alex also enjoys singing and performing on guitar, banjo and bass. For Mountain Road Fiddle Camp she teaches primarily Irish, Old Time and often Gypsy fiddle.Lori Madden is the Director, Dance Instructor and a founding member of BRIMS (the Blue Ridge Irish Music School located in Charlottesville, Virginia), as well as Executive Director for the 214 Community Arts Center. Lori has been teaching dance and leading BRIMS Trad Ensemble since 2000. She is also a member of the dance troupe Humorous Abandon , and has taught and performed at the Lake Eden Arts Festival near Asheville, NC. Lori has taught beginner through advanced dance at Mountain Road Fiddle Camp every year since 2005. Peter Winne spent most of his life in Connecticut and New York until the music lured him down to Charlottesville, VA about two years ago. Several years performing experience has taken him to venues and festivals around the country and provided him the opportunity to appear on A Prairie Home Companion. Recently, he has happily found himself in the role of Alex Caton's musical partner with whom he sings and plays guitar and banjo. Earlier this year he was awarded an Appalachian Music Fellowship at Berea College in Kentucky where he has been doing research on Appalachian sacred music. His favorite musicians are Doc Watson, Hank Williams, and Roscoe Holcomb to name a few as well as the great friends and contemporary players he has the privilege of getting together with every festival season. This is his first year teaching at Mountain Road Fiddle Camp. Sophie Johnston grew up on a farm in southwestern Virginia, surrounded by Old-time music and a household of bagpipes. She spent her early years playing violin in the community orchestra and Scottish snare drum for the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders. Travels to Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Cape Breton after college piqued her interest in traditional music which has since become a vital part of her life. She has since studied with Martin Hayes, Liz Carroll, Jerry Holland, Kimberly Fraser, Buddy McMaster, John Turner and others. She is currently a board member of the Blue Ridge Irish Music School and continues to be involved in the local Charlottesville music scene, playing both in Irish sessions and for Scottish dances. This is her first year teaching at Mountain Road Fiddle Camp. Kent Dougherty began accompanying Irish music some years ago after he got jealous of everyone else having a good time. He has studied Irish-style guitar with such legendary players as Pat Egan, John Doyle and Robin Bullock, as well as with our local Virginia-based DADGAD players Phil Audibert and Jay Pun. When accompanying Irish musicians, Kent plays primarily in DADGAD tuning and this will be his first year teaching DADGAD theory and techniques at Mountain Road Fiddle Camp. |
