June Instructors
Darol Anger, Rachel Barton, Fred Carpenter, Sara
Caswell, Vassar Clements, Bobby Hicks, Hans Holzen, Diane
Monroe, Dale Morris, Jr., Mark O'Connor, Crystal Plohman,
Buddy Spicher
August Instructors
Darol Anger, Fred Carpenter, Randy Elmore, Johnny Frigo,
Matt Glaser, Hans Holzen, Natalie MacMaster, Mark O'Connor,
Crystal Plohman, Buddy Spicher, Arnold Steinhardt, Claude
Williams, Mark Wood
Just looking at the list of
instructors should tell you why there were 96 happy fiddlers
in June, and 114 happy fiddlers in August! Who
could resist being excited about five days of instruction and
four nights of entertainment from these masters? The
weather was beautiful, and the meals were delicious -- again,
superbly catered by The Mad Platter from Nashville.
In June, I spent the bulk of
my time with Dale Morris, Jr., and Mark O'Connor. Dale
broke his 3 days of teaching into a contest format. Day
One he taught Dusty Miller; Day Two he taught Kelly's Waltz;
and, Day Three he taught Dill Pickle Rag. This was a
different format than he used last year, and it seemed to work
quite well. Mark handed out excerpts from his soon-to-be
published sheet music, and we were able to take turns playing
them, alternating between his playing a phrase, and our
repeating it, as we strived to duplicate his phrasing and
technical skills! Included in the music were excerpts
from Appalachia Waltz, Pickin' Parlor Rag, Sweet Suzanne,
Fiddle Concerto, three of his caprices, and his Fiddle Sonata.
The classes were conducted in such a way that the tapes I made
will be good practice tapes.
In August, I spent most of my
time with Randy Elmore, and Mark. In Randy's class we
learned many tunes, including 50 Year Ago Waltz (which I
requested), and Sally Goodin. If I could just learn to
imitate Randy's smooth style, I would be set. Mark again
handed out excerpts of his sheet music, including his Double
Violin Concerto!
