Gillian’s Winter Recital

Posted by Jenny

Our niece, Gillian, played her first solo pieces on violin at her recent Winter Recital. She played a piece called Rigaudon and a French traditional song. Bravo!

April Verch Concert and Canadian Fiddle Workshop

Posted by Jenny

After hammering away together for two solid weeks on a multimedia project, David and I knew we wanted to do a little something extra special for our nice, long, 3-day weekend as a way to reward all the extra effort we exerted. I checked around online, especially with Our State magazine and discovered that the April Verch Band would be in Oriental, NC on Saturday the 15^th. We put that on our list of ideas, thinking it could include a stopover in New Bern.

Then, on my way to Suzuki class, I saw a beautiful, lush green poster that caught my eye on a bulletin board in the music building. Lo and behold, April and her band were scheduled to play at the Turnage Theatre in Washington on Friday night, which made it convenient for us to go there after we got off of work; And, to make things even more special, they advertised that she would be presenting a Canadian fiddle workshop the next morning. Right then I knew what our plans for the weekend would entail and I ordered tickets as soon as I had the chance.

It was a great show, and we both highly recommend that you see them if you ever have the opportunity. April is a super nice person with a sugary sweet voice and she’s very enthusiastic about sharing her music, dancing, and culture; she’s a fantastic fiddler, and the guys playing with her, Cody Walters on bass and Clay Ross on guitar, are awesome, too.

The guitarist brought out a curious percussion instrument- a set of kosikas- which look like two egg shakers connected by a rope. I think some of the folks in the audience weren’t quite sure what to think of those- but I think they were quickly won over by his skill and intricate rhythms. Even David had never seen those before and he’s seen some really strange instruments given his Latin percussion background. Needless to say he’s got a new item on his wish list.

Here’s a brief clip of April’s Ottawa Valley Step Dancing combined with Clay’s kosikas set to Cody’s claw-hammer banjo.

After the show we got autographs on our poster as well as the CD and songbook we bought and headed out on our long journey home. Our late night was followed by an early morning so we could get back to Washington on time for the fiddle workshop. I wondered how many people would attend since I don’t always see a lot of fiddlers around at jams, but there actually were several fiddlers and violinists there of various skill levels.

During the first part of the workshop, April talked a bit about the regional styles of Canadian fiddling. Having been introduced to Natalie MacMaster’s music by David’s uncle Duane, I was pretty familiar with the Cape Breton style (which sounds much like Scottish music because the area was settled primarily by Scottish immigrants) but I knew nothing of French-Canadian or Métis style fiddling. And, interestingly enough, the Old Time music of Canada is not quite as old as the American Old Time music. It was all really quite interesting. I found an article in The Canadian Encyclopedia which explains a bit about Canadian regional fiddle styles if you’re interested in further reading. (I’m not going to spoil it for anyone else who wants to go to one of her workshops).

After that, she taught us all a tune called Jonah’s First Change. I learned that in dancing, the first change (or set of steps) is always a jig, so the tune could also be called Jonah’s Jig. I really enjoyed the workshop because I learned a bit of history, I learned a new tune, and April was a very kind, positive, and knowledgeable person to learn from. I highly recommend it to anyone else interested in fiddling!

Ringing in the New Year

Posted by Jenny

We rang in the 2011 in a very special way this year. It all started with surprising my Dad with an unexpected visit from my sister Trish a few days after Christmas. Immediately after The Great Elvis Sing-Along, David and I arranged to meet my parents at a local restaurant for dinner on the spur of the moment since we were “out driving around to look at all the beautiful snow” which we got about a foot of the day after Christmas and lingered around for several days. He and I were to entertain Mom and Dad until Trish and my other sister Sherri could arrive at the restaurant.

Just as we see Trish’s van pull up in the parking lot and the two of them get out, Dad suddenly stands up and turns around. Worried that the whole thing is about to be botched, suddenly a car alarm goes off adding to the melee. Dad fumbled in his pocket, turned off his car alarm which had gone off as he stood up, and then reached for the ketchup on the adjacent table. Meanwhile Trish and Sherri are already in the restaurant trying not to laugh as they waited for him to turn around. Trish walked up to him and the shock was all over his face. It was one of those priceless moments as the shock turned to joy and I think he might’ve even got a little teary-eyed.

Trish, being from Florida and never seeing something so ridiculous, was excited about going to the Mount Olive Pickle Drop for New Year’s Eve so the whole family went out and enjoyed free pickles, cocoa, and music by Samantha Casey and the Bluegrass Jam. At the dropping of the pickle at 7pm (Midnight, Greenwich Mean Time), a bagpiper piped Auld Lang Syne. After sharing dinner together, we parted ways as Trish had to “return to Florida” early the next morning.

Or so Dad thought. In reality, she was heading to the VFW hall in Mount Olive to get ready for Dad’s 75^th Birthday Surprise Party. It was the plan all along, and even amid several near-misses, somehow the secret managed to stay secret and Dad didn’t have a clue about the party. In fact, that became quite obvious as all the guests were gathered for the party and the guest of honor didn’t arrive on time. Finally I called Mom after they were several minutes late and here is how the conversation went:

Ring, Ring, Ring.
Mom: A scratchy voice whispers “Hello?”
Jenny: “Mom, what’s wrong with your voice? Are you sick?”
Mom: “No, it does that of a morning.”
Jenny: “Huh? Are you still in bed? You need to get out here, everybody’s waiting. You were supposed to get Dad here at 12:30!”
Mom: “Oh God I set the alarm and it didn’t go off! Barney, get up and get dressed, we’ve got to go to that luncheon!”
Click.

See, Dad was under the impression he was going to a free New Year’s Day luncheon for veterans at the VFW and had to provide proof of his veteran status. Mom had to figure a way to get him inside first- he’s such a gentleman that he always opens the door for her. She said, “You go first, I might not know any of those people.” It ended up being quite a joke later on since every one there was a dear friend. And when he finally arrived, wearing his VFW cap, boy was he surprised when everyone there started singing, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow!” as he walked in the door.

He was in such a state of shock that he went around shaking hands with all the guests, including Trish who he shook hands with and didn’t even recognize. It wasn’t until he met up with his cousin and sister that he finally realized the party must actually be for him. After he had greeted everyone, I walked up to him to give him a hug and ask if he was surprised. He said, “Yeah. Boy it’s too bad Trish had to leave this morning, it would have been nice if she could have stayed.” I was so startled that he had missed her and I exclaimed, “Dad, she’s right over there! This is the whole reason she came up here at all!” Once it dawned on him and he saw her across the room he went right over for a hug.

After that, we had a delicious traditional New Year’s Day meal of ham, collards, and black eyed peas (made by my fantastic mother in law who can cook anything well even if she’s never done it before) and after lunch, all the friends gathered in a circle to play bluegrass and gospel tunes.

Above: The Infamous Davids

Above: The Lovely Mandolin Section: Wanda Tatum and Deborah Owen



Above: Millard Owen- Bass Player, Singer, and Comic Relief :)