[Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 3rd Sunday Session Invitation - Slow - November 16 - at The Buttery

[Tane' Tachyon]

Fáilte (welcome) to this month's 3rd Sunday Session. 3rd Sunday of
the month, 2 - 4 p.m. on November 16, at The Buttery bakery and cafe,
at 702 Soquel Avenue close to downtown 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 Buttery is a bakery and cafe, there are
   drinks and treats there for purchase. In fact, Janet (Buttery
   owner and concertina player) has been setting out amazing trays of
   cookies.
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) Copies of the tuneset books generally used at slow session are
   sold for $15. And if anyone wants a copy of the big (over 1000
   tunes) "King Street Sessions" tunebook some people bring to the
   sessions, you can get one from Michael D. Long (the compiler and
   editor of both tunebooks) at mikelong at cruzio.com

In July we played out on The Buttery's patio -- you can see two
photos of this in Nick's blog entry
http://quantumtantra.blogspot.com/2008/07/santa-cruz-session-relocates.html
-- and then since then we've been playing upstairs in an office,
which you can see in these two photos
http://flickr.com/photos/tachyon/2956709828/
http://flickr.com/photos/tachyon/2955870083/
though some people have expressed interest in playing on the patio
again. Basically, if you don't see anyone on the patio (which,
again, has been the case in recent months), go up the stairs on the
left outside wall of the Buttery, and you'll find us in a room down
the hall on the left.

*********************************************************************

Also, passing on some upcoming concert/workshop harp/bodhran info
from Community Music School:

> Community Music School of Santa Cruz presents
> 
> A Living History Concert: Chris Caswell, Harp Without Borders
> 
> A Magical Evening of Music & Song & a Little Too Much Talk
> with one of the masters of the modern Celtic harp.
> 
> "a true Celtic bard, weaving a fierce beauty through intense playing  
> and delight.  His music is informed by the Middle East, Latin  
> America, the French countryside – anywhere from which his deep  
> experience can move the listener towards the realm of resonance  
> wherein our true hearts abide."
> 
> Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8 PM
> 
> St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church
> 
> 216 Oakland Ave., Capitola, on Depot Hill off Escalona
> 
> Hear the ethereal tones of the wire strung harp as well as the earthy  
> tones of the pipes and drums in an intimate concert by this  
> California bard.  Chris Caswell has been one of the mainstays of the  
> California Celtic music scene since the 70's, and is considered one  
> of the foremost Celtic harp makers, teachers and players.  He is  
> equally fluent on Scottish pipes and bodhran, the Celtic frame drum,  
> and is a brilliant singer of sea shanties.  His partnership with  
> singer/fiddler Danny Carnahan has produced some of our most beloved  
> albums, such as the classic Borderlands.  Chris also worked with  
> Robin Williamson and his band.
> 
> Join us for an intimate concert at the historic redwood church of St.  
> John the Baptist in Capitola on Saturday, November 22 at 8 PM.   
> Tickets are $10 in advance by calling (831) 426-9155, or $15 at the  
> door.  For more information call the Community Music School at  
> 426-9155.  This concert is made possible by a grant from the Capitola  
> Arts Commission.
> 
> An intermediate harp workshop on world music on folk harp will be  
> held on the Westside from 3-5 PM preceding the concert.  Cost is  
> $20.  On Sunday the 23rd, Chris will be holding a bodhran (Irish  
> drum) workshop and beginning harp workshop at Rhythm Fusion in  
> downtown Santa Cruz.  E-mail or call (831) 426-9155 for information  
> and to register.
> 
> As a harp maker, Chris is known for blending tradition and  
> innovation.  Caswell Harps has made over 650 high-end harps since  
> 1977. Also an engineer, his Gargoyle Recordings currently boasts ten  
> ethnic titles.  He has produced and composed for film and broadcast  
> video.  He has held harp retreats throughout the country, and taught  
> at numerous music camps.  He has a popular instructional bodhran video.
> Chris is co-founder of the Sebastopol Celtic Festival. He has been  
> National Chairman of the Scottish Harp Society of America, and a  
> member of the Judges Panel of the Western United States Pipe Band  
> Association.  He studied pipes with Donald MacPherson at the College  
> of Piping in Glasgow and later with Donald Shaw Ramsay.  He was Pipe  
> Major of the City of Petaluma Pipe Band for many years.  He studied  
> harp with Allison Kinnaird in Edinburgh, and worked with folklorist  
> Peter Kennedy in Devon, England.  He was a music composition major at  
> San Francisco State and more recently studied composition with  
> Allaudin Mathieu.

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