[Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 3rd Sunday Session Invitation - Slow - September 16 - Windmill Coffee Spot

[Tane' Tachyon]

Note -- I heard from someone who had a frustrating time at a recent
slow session, with tunes that were started at a slow tempo quickly
getting faster and faster and faster rather than maintaining the
chosen tempo. I know it's not deliberate, but it definitely seemed
like something to address, so I added item #5 to Winona's original
etiquette guidelines list below. Let me know if you think the text
should be phrased differently, if anything else should be done to
address this, etc.

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Fáilte (welcome) to this month's 3rd Sunday Session. 3rd Sunday of
the month, 2 - 4 p.m. on September 16, at the Windmill Coffee Spot,
Santa Cruz. This is a slow session. Bain sult as! (enjoy)

Etiquette guidelines:
1) Session starts promptly so we don't lag into the whole day.
2) Please save the socializing for the break so we have lots of
   playing time.
3) 3:15 - 3:30 break:  As the Windmill Coffee Spot is a coffee shop,
   there will be drinks and treats there for purchase.
4) Going around in a circle, everyone has a turn to choose a tune and
   the tempo.
5) Try to maintain the tempo set by the person who chose the tune.
   Conversely, if you choose a tune and tempo and find that the tempo
   gets sped up too much while playing, don't be shy about asking that
   it be immediately played again sticking to the slower tempo -- it's
   good practice for everyone.
6) A single tune is played 3 times. In a set, each tune is played
   twice.
7) If needed, bring your music stand and tuneset book. Here's a
   website with tips on playing by ear:
   http://www.slowplayers.org/SCTLS/learn.html
8) Tuneset books are sold for $15 exactly or check.

The address of the Windmill Coffee Spot is 2-1231 East Cliff Drive.
I guess one easy way to get there would be to go down 17th Ave.
toward the ocean, then turn right on East Cliff, and in a few blocks
you should see the Windmill on your right.

The manager of the Windmill Coffee Spot has requested that we somehow
try not to use up all the parking, or be willing to move, if asked.
Carpooling encouraged!

Even though the location has some shelter, breezes can still
occasionally flip pages or tunebooks, so you may want to bring some
clothespins or other clips. Also, as the sun and the shade from the
umbrellas move through the afternoon, you may start out in sun and
wind up in shadow or vice-versa -- you might want sunscreen.

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p.s. Passing on some info from two mailings I received:

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Irish traditional music house concert at Tom & Ellen's house
Thursday, September 20, 2007; 7:30 pm

This is Irish traditional music at its best! A Santa Cruz house
concert featuring two guest musicians from Ireland.
   From the Dingle peninsula in West Kerry, native son Brendan Begley
(Breandán Ó Beaglaoich) is one of Ireland's most renowned button
accordionists, melodeon players and singers. Brendan plays the slides
and polkas beloved by dancers with unequalled energy and flair, but
can also entrance an audience with soulfully delicate renditions of
classic songs in Irish or English. He is a an integral part of the
well known bands Boys of the Lough and Beginish and also records and
performs as a solo artist.
For this concert, he has joined forces with one of the most
impressive young fiddlers in Ireland, Dublin-born Caoimhín Ó
Raghallaigh. Caoimhin drew rave reviews for his debut solo CD Turas
go Tir na nÓg and for his more recent collaboration with piping great
Mick O'Brien. Caoimhín is noted for his use of non-standard tunings
and the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle to bring unusual harmonies and
drones into Irish traditional music. He is considered by many to be
one of the foremost fiddle virtuosos in Irish music today.

Ellen McCarthy and Tom McKoy’s house, near Shoppers’ Corner in Santa
Cruz (full directions provided with reservation)
Admission: $15 or $13 to Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann members
For reservations, e mail mccarthymckoy at sbcglobal.net or call 423-8654

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Irish Gaelic Christmas Choir starting - Santa Cruz

CALL FOR SINGERS!!!

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann “COAL-tuss Cyol-TOR-y Air-un”
(Irish Musician's Association of Monterey Bay, or “CCE”) presents

An Irish Gaelic Christmas Choir with Mary Mc Laughlin
September 23-December 9, 2007
Weekly rehearsals on Sundays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm,
Calvary Episcopal Church, 532 Center St., downtown Santa Cruz
Cost: $120 for the course ($100 for members of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann).

Due to popular demand, internationally renowned Irish singer,
composer, and educator Mary Mc Laughlin is offering a choral course
in Irish Gaelic Christmas Song for the second holiday season in a
row.  Sopranos and basses are especially encouraged to attend.

The Irish Choir will rehearse this fall and perform in a Christmas
concert in December. Choir members should be able to hold a vocal
part and blend in a choral setting, but do not need to be able to
speak or read Irish Gaelic, as the material will be presented
phonetically.

To register, or for more information, contact Mary at
mary at marymclaughlin.com or 831-588-2842.

Mary Mc Laughlin has three solo albums to her credit, appears on
several Celtic music compilations, and is author of Singing in Irish
Gaelic from Mel Bay Publications. In a review of her latest album,
Crystal Shoe, Brad Kava of the San Jose Mercury News calls her music
“breathtaking.”

Mary has a website at www.marymclaughlin.com

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-- 
Tane' Tachyon = tachyon at tachyonlabs.com = http://www.tachyonlabs.com/