Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
Song Circle
Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate. Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.
Join us for a free one-day DIY gathering
of ukulele players to Converge in Corvallis. Our goal is to play music and have fun at all levels of experience as we play the ukulele. Share in the joy of playing music; connect with other musicians in the region; learn new songs, and advance your ukulele skills.
Take free classes, teach a free session.
This will be a Do-It-Yourself event. When you arrive you can simply take a class at your skill level, or you can teach a song, a skill or a theory to others. It’s as simple as signing up on a volunteer board.It’s all free!
No registration. Just show up.
This event will be free and open to the public. Help us invite and spread the word by emailing friends and the many ukulele groups in Corvallis, Eugene, Salem, Portland and other neighboring communities.
Volunteers interested in leading a session are requested to bring extra music sheets or educational material to share. There is a copy center right across the street from our venue if you should need it.
A quadrant of skill levels:
- Beginners
- Beginner-Intermediate
- Intermediate
- Intermediate-Advanced
Learn at your appropriate skill level.
The Convergence will feature a quadrant of areas for beginners, beginner-intermediate, intermediate, intermediate-advance skill levels. Each quadrant will have sign-up area for volunteers to lead a 40-minute session teaching a song or a skill or a concept.
There will be a time allotted for a children’s circle.
Location:
We will meet in Central Park in downtown Corvallis, which will give participants close access to restaurants, music stores, copy stores and other businesses. We are looking at alternate venues nearby in the event of rain, and will announce those if necessary. Refer back to this website for that information as needed later on.
Parking:
Free Parking Area is located in the heart of downtown and limited to 3 hours per block. Metered parking is available adjacent to the Free Customer Parking Area and free unrestricted parking in the areas beyond that. The Free Customer Parking Area and metered spaces are enforced daily between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. except Sundays and holidays.
Ralph Penunuri
Folksinger
Played in Marin County bands Fairfax Street Choir (Gospel Rock), Happy Valley (Progressive Folk); and in Corvallis, Oregon, played in Two Hits & a Ms. (Orig. Roots & Swing), Bon Ton Roulet (Cajun-Zydeco) and Inner Strength Gospel Quartet (Black Congregational style covers — Blind Boys of Alabama, Dixie Hummingbirds, etc…).
Played in front of thousands at UC Berkeley Amphitheater, San Francisco Cow Palace & Golden Gate Park Festivals. Played for just a handful too. Most memorable was SF Cow Palace with Fairfax Street Choir, opening for Crosby-Stills-Nash & Young.
Currently write, play, sit in with friends and host a monthly vocal jam in Corvallis, OR.
All levels Welcome!
Visit the Imagine Coffee Facebook
First Sunday Vocal Jam Circle
Vocal improv singing for all skill levels and ages.
Ralph Penunuri
Folksinger
Played in Marin County bands Fairfax Street Choir (Gospel Rock), Happy Valley (Progressive Folk); and in Corvallis, Oregon, played in Two Hits & a Ms. (Orig. Roots & Swing), Bon Ton Roulet (Cajun-Zydeco) and Inner Strength Gospel Quartet (Black Congregational style covers — Blind Boys of Alabama, Dixie Hummingbirds, etc…).
Played in front of thousands at UC Berkeley Amphitheater, San Francisco Cow Palace & Golden Gate Park Festivals. Played for just a handful too. Most memorable was SF Cow Palace with Fairfax Street Choir, opening for Crosby-Stills-Nash & Young.
Currently write, play, sit in with friends and host a monthly vocal jam in Corvallis, OR.
All levels Welcome!
Visit the Imagine Coffee Facebook
First Sunday Vocal Jam Circle
Vocal improv singing for all skill levels and ages.
Multiple Grammy-nominee John McCutcheon charms audiences with “story telling that has the richness of fine literature” (Washington Post) and his mastery of a stage full of folk instruments is simply amazing. He plays guitar, fiddle, autoharp, banjo, jaw harp, (hambone if we are lucky) and is best known for his hammered dulcimer playing. A John McCutcheon concert is always energizing, fun, uplifting, community building, and his audiences leave with a renewed sense of hope for humanity. “This notion of telling stories of ordinary people who have done great things, and carrying those stories from one place to another, of telling people ‘this is where I’ve been, these are the stories I can bring you,’ is the heart of what I do,” McCutcheon sums up. “That’s my goal. If you can recognize yourself in my songs, then I’ve done my job.” He lives in Georgia but keeps moving, toward wherever he senses there’s still a story yet to be told.
His 30 recordings have gathered many honors including 7 Grammy nominations. His most recent honors the centenary of Joe Hill’s death on November 19th, 1915. John McCutcheon brings Joe Hill’s music to a whole new audience. With fresh arrangements, stunning musicianship, and released on a palette that makes these songs feel as though they were written today rather than a century ago, there is a life and vitality that is both rare and refreshing. In honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday John recorded THIS LAND: Woody Guthrie’s America. He assembled an all-star cast of songs and musicians to honor America’s most enduring folksong writer: Willie Nelson, Tommy Emmanuel, Kathy Mattea, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, Maria Muldaur and more. McCutcheon offers fresh new arrangements and exciting new interpretations of many of Woody’s most well-known songs. He has so much material we never know what he might perform, and of course he gives the audience a chance to request their favorites so plan ahead!
But it is in live performance that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed. People of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when John McCutcheon takes the stage, with what critics describe as “little feats of magic,” “breathtaking in their ease and grace…,” and “like a conversation with an illuminating old friend.”
So if you want to laugh, cry, be inspired, and feel like you are a part of a big community, then don’t miss this concert. More information about John McCutcheon his website is at www.folkmusic.com For info or to volunteer, call Chere Pereira 541-753-9224.
Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon.
Tom Rawson
Witty, energetic, and armed with banjo, lap dulcimer, and guitar, he takes the stage to warm applause from the crowd who has turned out to see him. Tom leads them in several classic folk singalongs—his grin broadens as the harmonies swell. He teases them singing one called “This is NOT a Sing-along!” You got it: they sing along anyway, getting louder and fuller as Tom more stridently insists that this is NOT a singalong! His wry humor continues with his rendition of “Key of R”. In between the humor, Tom weaves thoughtful serious messages on topics like racism and war. Most touching was a monologue about the last e-mail messages sent from the World Trade Center by the victims of the September 11 attacks. When the show is over Tom responds to thunderous applause by performing not one, not two, but three encore songs. Hearing a great performer play at a great acoustic venue is a double treat. If you have a chance to hear Tom Rawson, DO IT! And sing along, even if he tells you not to.
Song Circle
Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate. Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.
Ralph Penunuri
Folksinger
Played in Marin County bands Fairfax Street Choir (Gospel Rock), Happy Valley (Progressive Folk); and in Corvallis, Oregon, played in Two Hits & a Ms. (Orig. Roots & Swing), Bon Ton Roulet (Cajun-Zydeco) and Inner Strength Gospel Quartet (Black Congregational style covers — Blind Boys of Alabama, Dixie Hummingbirds, etc…).
Played in front of thousands at UC Berkeley Amphitheater, San Francisco Cow Palace & Golden Gate Park Festivals. Played for just a handful too. Most memorable was SF Cow Palace with Fairfax Street Choir, opening for Crosby-Stills-Nash & Young.
Currently write, play, sit in with friends and host a monthly vocal jam in Corvallis, OR.