World Music Drumming Class

I will be teaching a drumming class in July and August on Thursdays, 10:45-11:30. Kids are welcome if accompanied by an adult. No experience is necessary as the classes are designed to make West African and Caribbean drumming traditions accessible to beginners of all ages.  Suggested donation is $5.00/class to help with material costs. The location is Plantation Estates Retirement Community (map) in the auditorium.  Please let me know if you plan to come so that I will have enough drums and so that I can let you know of any schedule changes.  Here is a video from a workshop I went to last summer that gives you an idea of what we will be doing.

Old Time Fiddle for Beginners

I made this video so that my students could jam along at home.  It is designed for beginners who want simple versions of songs played up to tempo.  Songs include: Bile Them Cabbage Down (with harmonies), Liza Jane, Shortnin' Bread, Buffalo Gals, Shady Grove, Old Joe Clark, Sandy Boys, Gray Cat on an Old Tennessee Farm, Angeline the Baker, Oh Susanna

Square Dance

Join my fiddle students and and me for a square dance on Saturday, Feb. 8th from 1:30 to 2:30 at Plantation Estates Retirement community (733 Plantation Estates Drive, Matthews, NC 28105). My fiddle students will be playing the music. I will teach each dance and we will walk through it slowly before dancing with the fiddle music. If you plan to come just tell the person at the entrance gate that you are there for the fiddle jam and square dance in the auditorium. This event is for all ages. The fiddlers will gather at 1 to warm up and run through some of the songs for the dance.

Holiday Jam and Square Dance

Holiday Music Jam and Square Dance

Saturday, December 14th, 1-2:30 PM

Plantation Estates Retirement Community in the auditorium

733 Plantation Estates Drive, Matthews, NC 28105

Join my students and me for a holiday jam and square dance. We will play and sing holiday tunes together until about 1:45 and then I will teach some square dances with my fiddle students playing the dance tunes. All ages are invited to participate.  If you'd like to play along with us, click here for a link to the music.

International day of peace

This is my all time favorite peace song.  It speaks of the common bonds that can unite us all if we will open our heart.

Song of Peace (Finlandia) Sibelius/Stone
Click here to listen

This is my song, o God of all the nations

A song of peace for lands afar and mine

This is my home the country where my heart is

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean

And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine

But other lands have sunlight too, and clover

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine

Oh hear my song, thou god of all the nation

A song of peace for their land and for mine

Friday fun at camp

We shared our songs with family and friends.
Click here to hear us singing.

We made kaleidiscopes...

Can you see Anna?

 
...and geometric bubbles.

 Click here for more pictures.

More Music Fun