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2008 Workshop Information
John Arcand Fiddle Fest
There will be 9 Fiddle workshops this year, up from
8 offered in 2007. These workshops will run on both Thursday and Friday during the festival. The festival will use its tried and true fiddle
instructors, who have consistently offered a high level of skill, great
patience and unshakable belief in the mission of the festival, and are pleased
to add Gord Stobbe to round out the roster this year. We have widened the scope
of instruction to include more than the Mιtis style and are extremely pleased
to offer the East Coast style lead by such a respected teacher. This offers students the opportunity to
learn and respect the various geographic influences and playing skills of Old Time
Fiddle.
The Red River Jigging workshops have really grown in popularity and it's wonderful to see the traditional method of this cultural dance preserved.
A second day of Jigging workshops was added in
2007 in hopes it would help alleviate the high numbers in the beginner and
intermediate workshops, giving each participant more room and a better overall
experience. For the most part it did but the numbers still grew, so the Red
River Jigging workshops will again run both Thursday and Friday and there will
be four instructors this year, up from three in 2007. Top quality instructors
that are skilled in the art of Traditional Jigging will lead these workshops,
as it is the Traditional style of Red River Jigging that is the focus of the
workshops and the heart of our Canadian Red River Jigging Championships. We are
pleased to report that the response to the advanced Oral Traditions workshop lead by respected Elder Kathleen Steinhauer
was great enough to offer it again this year and very proud to welcome Yvonne
Chartrand (many time champion) to fill the need in intermediate and advanced.
The Guitar and Piano workshops offer instruction on how to accompany fiddle. With the number of fiddle players on the rise, new accompanists are needed. From beginner to advanced, again we have topnotch instructors to lead you.
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FIDDLE WORKSHOPS
Thursday, August 7th & Friday, August 8th,
2008
ABSOLUTE Beginners
Instructed by Fay MacKenzie
Never picked up a fiddle? Always wanted to try it? Here’s just the workshop for you. The Absolute Beginners Workshop will have fiddles available for you to use (but bring your own if you have one), and a qualified instructor to teach you the bare necessities: how to hold the fiddle, how to hold the bow, and finger placement. Try it out - what have you got to
lose?
Beginner
Metis and Old Time - Instructed by Desmond Lagace
Metis Style – Instructed by Daniel Gervais
Intermediate - due to the volume of players in this category, we are offering three Intermediate workshops to lower the student/teacher ratio. Each instructor has their own unique style and you can choose which class you would like to be in…..
Metis Style – Instructed by John Arcand
Metis/Old Time – Instructed by Patti Kusturok/Lamoureux
Celtic and Old Time – Instructed by Shamma Sabir
French Canadian/Old Time – Instructed by Rodney Krip
East Coast Style – Instructed by Gord Stobbe
Advanced
Metis and Old Time Instructed by Calvin Vollrath
If you’re a veteran player – here’s your chance to pick up some great new skills and new tunes. Calvin is an amazing instructor and teaches in a fun and entertaining way.
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GUITAR WORKSHOPS
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Learn the basics or if you’re already playing, get some advanced instruction. The Guitar workshops are set up to meet the demand of the students registering.
Instructed by Freddie, Sheila, and Clinton Pelletier
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PIANO WORKSHOPS
Friday, August 8th, 2008
From beginner to advanced accompaniment instruction on the Piano. There will be Pianos set up in the workshop tents, but if you have one, please bring it along.
Beginner Instructed by Lionel Gilbertson
Advanced Instructed by Trent Bruner
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TRADITIONAL RED RIVER JIGGING WORKSHOPS
Thursday, August 7th & Friday, August 8th, 2008The John Arcand Fiddle Fest prides itself in it’s presentation of the Canadian Red River Jigging Championships based on “traditional” style and steps. Beginner to Advanced, these workshops will educate you on the style and steps that are considered traditional, teach you the basics if you just want to try it for the first time, or give you a refresher course if you’ve already taken some of these workshops in past years. Anyway you slice it - they’re educational and a lot of fun!
New in 2007 was the Traditional Advanced Steps, limited enrollment
class, taught be Elder Kathleen Steinhauer – we
are very pleased to let you know this will be offered
again in 2008. The students will be shown specific traditional steps, with more individual attention from the instructor, as compared with the large class sizes in the beginning and intermediate workshops. The Elder will also impart the important oral knowledge that goes along with the dance steps – history, dance, and origin of steps. In this way, the festival hopes to perpetuate a pool of talent for future festivals and to find instructors in the years to come.
Beginner Instructed by Raymond Shumi
Intermediate Instructed by Stewart Greyeyes
Advanced Instructed by Kathleen Steinhauer
Intermediate/Beginner Instructed by Yvonne Chartrand
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