Fall Newsletter - Nov. 2011 - Coming Next Summer...
(This is the text from our newsletter. To receive a hardcopy of our newsletter and catalog in the mail, complete with a registration form, pictures and other neat stuff, Contact Us to get on our mailing list)

Traditional Song Week, July 8-14
Celtic Week, July 15-21
Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 22-28
Contemporary Folk Week, July 29-Aug. 4
Guitar Week, July 29-Aug. 4
Fiddle Week, August 5-11
Mando & Banjo Week, August 5-11

Each year, we continue to try to fine-tune the way we do things in response to the needs of a constantly expanding program. New for 2012:

• We proudly announce our brand-new program, Mando & Banjo Week, debuting in week five. Fiddle Week moves from week one to week five to be paired with the new program.
• For those families bringing small children, we will continue to provide evening childcare at no additional cost.
•We will again offer a full Children’s Program, coordinated by Denisa Rullmoss next summer, during our Traditional Song, Celtic and Old-Time Weeks.

The Swannanoa Gathering is structured around what we call an ‘open format’, which allows students to create their own curriculum and take as many classes as there are periods in the day. We require that students register for specific classes, but allow them to switch after the first day into another, open class if they find they have made an inappropriate choice. After this ‘settling-in’ period, we expect that students will remain in those classes, and we discourage dropping in and out of classes during the week. This structure allows students considerable flexibility, and is an essential element of our program’s character and appeal. Many of our classes may include musical notation or tablature, though in general, we emphasize learning by ear.

In general, classes have a maximum of 15 students. Some may have more or less than this figure due to the nature of the subject or the discretion of the instructor, and limits for each class will be indicated in our catalog. Several of the 2011 workshops filled up early last year and we expect that trend to continue as more of our programs approach their limits, and although our schedule of classes is not currently complete, pre-registrations from this newsletter are encouraged. Folks may register with a tuition deposit of $100 and may reserve housing without a deposit. The deadline for pre-registration is Feb. 17. Pre-registrants will be sent a class schedule as soon as it is ready and given priority in class assignments. Full payment is required by June 8 to guarantee a space. After that date, class reservations will be unconfirmed until we receive the balance. If we are holding a space for a student in a class that is full, and their balance is unpaid after June 8, we may release that space to another student.

At present, we are completing our staff selections for next year, but many of our instructors have already confirmed. The online version of this newsletter will be continually updated with the most current staff roster. Here’s a peek at the 2012 lineup....

Our vocal program, Traditional Song Week, July 8-14, promotes a wide variety of traditional singing styles. This year’s program will feature a special appearance by one of the true legends of bluegrass music, Dr. Ralph Stanley. Coordinator Julee Glaub Weems and husband Mark Weems of Little Windows, are busily completing a staff that also includes legendary Scottish singer Jean Redpath, Riders in the Sky’s master of the cowboy yodel, Ranger Doug, four-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley, Irish singer Brían Ó hAirt, Bobby Horton, the man behind the music for thirteen of Ken Burns’ films including The Civil War and Baseball, multi-talented Appalachian musician Josh Goforth, Irish radio host and writer Aidan O’Hara, Gathering favorites Kim & Reggie Harris, dulcimer player and singer Anne Lough, shape-note leader Matt Wojcik, gospel singer Shirley Smith and Sing Out! Radio founder Matt Watroba.

Celtic Week, July 15-21, is shaping up to have another banner year with a staff that features a good mix of veterans and new faces including Irish fiddlers Liz Carroll, Martin Hayes, Liz & Yvonne Kane, Liz Knowles and Andrew Finn Magill, Scottish fiddlers Brian McNeill and Jeremy Kittel, Irish guitarist and singer John Doyle, Lúnasa’s piper Cillian Vallely and flute player Kevin Crawford, button accordionist Damien Connolly, Irish singer/flute player Nuala Kennedy, guitarists Eamon O’Leary and Donal Clancy, Celtic Week Host John Skelton, Scottish singers Christina Stewart and Ed Miller, harper/concertina player Gráinne Hambly, Irish singer Cathie Ryan, whistle player Kathleen Conneely, Cape Breton fiddler Kimberley Fraser, tenor banjo and mandolin player Pio Ryan, harper Billy Jackson, string wizard Robin Bullock, dancer Erin Duffy Martorano and percussionist Matthew Olwell, with more to be added.

For Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 22-28, coordinator Phil Jamison adds a few newcomers to his usual all-star lineup, which includes Bruce Molsky, Paul Brown, Carol Elizabeth Jones, Wayne Martin, Rodney Sutton, Alice Gerrard, Gordy Hinners, Paul Kovac, Ron Pen, Meredith McIntosh, Don Pedi, Joseph Decosimo, John Herrmann, Ginny Hawker, Tracy Schwarz, Mike Fenton, Lightnin' Wells, Jim Collier, Ellie Grace, Kevin Kehrberg, David Winston and Mike Bryant, with several more to be added. We will continue our tradition of visits by special Guest Master Artists from the senior generation of local traditional performers throughout the week. Classes will include fiddle, clawhammer banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, clogging, square dance, dance calling, southern harmony singing, string band, shaped-note singing and more.

Contemporary Folk Week, July 29-August 4, offers a week in artist development for all acoustic performers. Classes will include songwriting, performance, vocal coaching and more, taught by an incredible lineup of performers passionate about their art and equally passionate about inspiring others to develop their own unique gifts. Coordinator David Roth has completed this year’s staff, welcoming newcomers Cheryl Wheeler, Sally Barris, LJ Booth and Buddy Mondlock, who’ll be joining some of our favorite returnees Ellis Paul, Cliff Eberhardt, Danny Ellis, Jon Vezner, Siobhan Quinn, Cosy Sheridan and guitar theory guru Ray Chesna. Another great year is in store.

Guitar Week, July 29-August 4, offers classes in fingerstyle and flatpicking in a wide variety of styles. Coordinator Al Petteway welcomes for their first time at Guitar Week, gypsy jazz player Greg Ruby, fingerstylist Mark Hanson, former Doc Watson sideman Jack Lawrence, and jazz guitarist Sean McGowan, who join veterans Marcy Marxer, Tony McManus, Mike Dowling, Steve Baughman, Rolly Brown, Doug Smith, Adam Rafferty, Scott Ainslie, Robin Bullock and Vicki Genfan, Hawaiian slack key stylist Patrick Landeza and bluegrass guitarist Ed Dodson. Guitar tech Randy Hughes will offer maintenance tips, and this year’s Luthier’s Exhibit will once again feature the guitars of master luthiers Gerald Sheppard (www.sheppardguitars.com), John Slobod (www.circaguitars.com) Michael Bashkin (www.bashkinguitars.com), and Bill Tippin (www.tippinguitars.com) as well as amazing instruments from the inventory of Dream Guitars (www.dreamguitars.com) located in nearby Weaverville, NC.

Next year’s Fiddle Week, August 5-11, will continue to explore a variety of fiddle styles and also integrate in several ways with our new program in mandolin and banjo. Coordinator Julia Weatherford has recruited the bluegrass legend Byron Berline, the great Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet of Beausoleil, creative force-of-nature Joe Craven, Irish fiddle great Winifred Horan, gypsy jazz artist Jason Anick, Scottish fiddler Ryan McKasson, New England fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger, old-time fiddlers Rayna Gellert & Emily Schaad, Tristan & Tashina Clarridge, bassist Kevin Kehrberg, Irish fiddler Duncan Wickel, multi-instrumentalist Josh Goforth and guitarists David Surette and Roger Bellow.

Next summer, our new Mando & Banjo Week, August 5-11, will debut featuring classes in bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, swing/jazz, newgrass & more for both instruments as well as a few classes in guitar accompaniment. The program will be integrated with Fiddle Week through common jams and Band Sessions that encourage players in both programs to form bands that will work up a few tunes throughout the week. For this first year, we’ve assembled a superstar staff lineup. On the banjo side, that currently includes banjo innovator Tony Trischka, bluegrass greats Alan Munde and Pete Wernick, clawhammer experts David Holt and Ken Perlman, and Irish tenor banjo wizard Seamus Egan. The mandolin staff includes mandolin vituoso Mike Marshall, bluegrasser Mike Compton, swing player Don Stiernberg, Irish player Marla Fibish, classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, and old-time picker Adam Tanner. Bluegrass guitarist Jack Lawrence will provide accompaniment, and Joan Wernick will help teach players how to jam. We’ll be adding features as the program continues to take shape.