Calendar

The Nettles

Laura Brophy – fiddle;
Kevin Johnsrude – guitars;
Michael Proctor – bass;
Brian Bucolo – percussion;

The Nettles are well-known on the West Coast for their original approach to contra dance music. Playing traditional music from all over the world, The Nettles create a strong rhythmic groove under soaring improvisations. Rhythmic drive and melodic fluidity allow The Nettles to propel contra dances into the stratosphere.

Kelsey Hartman

Since I am a “contraholic,” I can often be found any given weekend dancing or calling a contra dance. My inspiration for calling comes from Frannie Marr, who got me thinking that there was life in contra off the dance floor, and Nils Fredland, whose callers’ workshop at American Week (BACDS) in 2012 spurred me down the caller’s path.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

LOCAL FOLK

the collaborative open stage program of CFS and The Arts Center is starting again after a nearly ten year hiatus. The venue, as in the past, is The Corvallis Arts Center and stage. Free and open to all, the stage is open to individual musicians and groups presenting a variety of music under the large “folk” umbrella.

Sign up for a set of two or three songs for a total time of 10-15 minutes in a rotating format. Or, just come to be part of an audience appreciative of local performers.

Local Folk will convene monthly, on second Tuesdays, from 7-10 pm, starting APRIL 9, 2019.

Songwriters in the Round

Songwriters and those who aspire to be songwriters: join us for an informal evening of sharing songs and learning about songwriting greats. Bring your instrument, your songs and your enthusiasm. Hosted by Bob Santelli. Free. All welcome.

Note: for those of you who have been coming, we’ll be discussing the GRAMMY Museum Affiliate Songwriting competition, but first timers are welcome, too!

NOTE: Different location – Methodist Church Community Hall

Campaign for Reel Time
From Portland

• Betsy Branch – fiddle
• Mark Douglas – piano
• Bill Tomczak – reeds, percussion

Campaign for Reel Time is an exciting Northwest band featuring Betsy Branch on fiddle and guitar, Bill Tomczak on clarinet, saxophone and percussion, and Mark Douglas (tonight) on piano.    With their mix of instruments and improvisatory natures, plus their deft interweaving of dance-music genres, you never know what to expect from this trio, other than stimulating and inventive dance music.  Their delight in playing together translates to the dance floor, and you are likely to hear plenty of laughter from the stage.

Isaac Banner

A long-time contra dancer and Seattle transplant, I’ve worked for several years to become known in the Pacific Northwest for my particular blend of humor and dance instruction. With contagious excitement, a warm cadence, and a cheerful personality, I strive to bring moments of magic into the lives of newcomers and veteran dancers alike. Contra has always held a special place in my heart and I try to share that love with every dance I visit.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

Woodstock, Revisited: A conversation with
publicist Rona Elliot
and official Woodstock photographer Henry Diltz

7:30 Chuva Boa

Colleen Kitchen and Laura Zaerr have been collaborating since the 90’s. Laura’s diatonic lever harp was a natural fit for Celtic music, and Colleen had spent three years in Ireland with no piano, so she had gotten a pennywhistle and learned Irish music for lack of other options. Their first Celtic band, “Heather Breeze,” was active doing dances and festivals including the inaugural daVinci days, until other competing interests such as the birth of Colleen’s daughter put a crimp in that. The two collaborated on a number of classical endeavors in the ensuing decades. Laura put together “Village Green”in the oughts, and Colleen was part of that ensemble for a while. But meanwhile the jazz roots were beckoning. While Colleen crashed Neal Grandstaff’s jazz improv class at Oregon State, Laura had been sitting in with Winston McCullough’s jazz ensemble and discovering ways to make the big harp work for jazz. It’s NOT easy. Only the best harpists can do it. With a natural gift for improvisation, and inspired by Dorothy Ashby Colleen and Laura developed ways to tag team each other, and the bright brilliant choros and bossa novas of Brazil seemed especially suited to the sound of the harp. You can’t have a Brasil band without percussion, and when expert percussionist Kevin Ronkko joined the group, it was just the ticket to make manifest the groove that was driving the music only in their imagination.

The group played for a while with no name, and everyone was telling them they needed a name. It was the drought year of 2015, not only dry, but very hot. The band was rehearsing the song “Chovendo na Roseira” and all the references to good nurturing rain were making everyone thirsty. Someone remarked that we could use a dose of “Chuva Boa” (good rain) right about now, and the name stuck. Below is a video of Brazilian icon Gal Costa performing “Chovendo na Roseira” (to be replaced with our own when we get a nice clean one.)

8:30 The Lucky In Love String Band

Pete Kozak, Jeff Hino, Ron Green, and Mark Weiss

Bluegrass with a twist. Well, maybe a few twists. Hot instrumental work and three part harmony.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodis Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

Note different location: OSU MU Ballroom

Countercurrent

From Seattle:

• Brian Lindsay – fiddle
• Alex Sturbaum – guitar

Countercurrent is a contra dance and folk music band in western Washington, featuring driving guitar, foot percussion, lyrical fiddle, and harmony vocals.

Tarka Ayres

Tarka Ayres credits contra dance with helping keep her mental stability through school. She started dancing in 2004 and has called dances in Oregon and Washington since 2012. Dancers appreciate her ability to integrate new dancers into the community, her clear teaching and succinct calling, and her choices of challenging dances.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

Corvallis Guitar Society

The goal of the Corvallis Guitar Society is to act as a catalyst to bring local guitarists out of the woodwork and provide an opportunity to perform and enjoy guitar music in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The accent here is on participation and we hope people will want to participate in the open stage section also – no piece of music is too short or simple (though there is a five minute limit if we have a full sign-up sheet) and you are guaranteed a warm round of applause for showing us what you can do! We do have a limited number of open stage slots so be sure to sign up early at the front desk on the way in.

Our Mission

To promote classical and related guitar styles by providing a supportive performance environment for people of all ages and ability.

We seek to achieve this through a monthly meeting that provides an opportunity to discuss, listen to, and play solo guitar music including classical, flamenco, finger-style, jazz, as well as classical guitar ensemble styles.

Sophie & Fiachra Trio

The Sophie & Fiachra Trio are a group of musicians sans frontières who refuse to let the Atlantic sunder their love of their own and other’s Irish and Québecois musical traditions.
Comprising of Irish uilleann piper Fiachra ORegan, Québec fiddler/singer Sophie Lavoie, and guitarist André Marchand, the trio take traditional Irish and Québécois traditional music, blended with Lavoies lithe and masterful compositions. Their choice of songs will “captivate the most casual listener”.
“Its refreshing to hear a traditional band reference the present with such subtlety and finesse”

-Quotes from Siobhán Long, of The Irish Times

Released in 2016, Un canadien errant features a mixture of Irish & French-Canadian traditional music and song. It has been nominated for Traditional Album of the Year for the ADISQ awards in Quebec and Traditional Album of the Year in the Canadian Folk Music awards. In the latter, the album also gets Sophie Lavoie a nomination for Best Trad. singer of the year for her vocal tracks.

The 3^rd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival is just around the corner and will provide a bumper crop of talent, entertainment, and participation in the world of classical guitar and ukulele! The three concerts, workshop, lecture and Master Class will all be taking place at the 1^st Presbyterian Church on 8^th St downtown Corvallis on Saturday May 11^th starting at 10:00am in the morning through 9:30pm in the evening.

The concerts feature Ian O’Sullivan, a great Hawaiian classical guitarist and ukulele musician, and Grammy Award winning classical guitarist Bill Kanengiser. Also, in line with our goal to bring local guitarists out of the woodwork, there will be a short concert performed by the Corvallis Guitar Ensemble led by Cameron O’Connor.

Tickets for the concerts are now available downtown at Grassroots Books and Music store on 2^nd St, Corvallis; tickets are also available online at Brownpaper Tickets: https://cgf2019.brownpapertickets.com/.

More information is available on the Guitar Society website: www.corvallisguitarsociety.org

It’s going to be an inspiring and hugely enjoyable event with a wide variety of guitar (and ukulele) music styles so mark your calendars, and here’s the schedule:

10:00am – 12:00pm Masterclass with Bill Kanengiser: 4 students, 30 mins each    free

1:00 – 2:00pm            Featuring James Bishop Edwards, Cameron O’Connor & Tom Strini     free
Discussion and music performance from the period 1750-1800 when the newly developing early Classical six single string guitar and the traditional five and six course Baroque double string guitar were contemporary. The lecture includes two historical instruments: a 1798 Italian guitar (Fabricatore) and an 1800 Spanish guitar (Benedid).

2:30 – 3:30pm            Hawaiian Guitar and Ukulele Concert featuring Ian O’Sullivan    ticketed

4:00 – 5:00pm            Ukulele and Hawaiian Music Workshop with Ian O’Sullivan     free
A brief history of the ‘ukulele, prominent players and style, strumming and picking techniques, chord melody, and arranging for ‘ukulele as a solo instrument vs ensemble.

7:00pm- 7:30pm            Corvallis Guitar Ensemble Concert Directed by Cameron O’Connor    ticketed

7:30pm – 10:00pm         Closing Concert: Classical Guitarist Bill Kanengiser    ticketed

LOCAL FOLK

the collaborative open stage program of CFS and The Arts Center has started again after a nearly ten year hiatus. The venue, as in the past, is The Corvallis Arts Center and stage. Free and open to all, the stage is open to individual musicians and groups presenting a variety of music under the large “folk” umbrella.

Sign up for a set of two or three songs for a total time of 10-15 minutes in a rotating format. Or, just come to be part of an audience appreciative of local performers.

This month featuring Lorraine Anderson, singer-guitarist.

Local Folk convenes monthly, on second Tuesdays, from 7-10 pm.

Corvallis Folklore Society 2019 Annual Meeting

3:15 to 5:15 PRE-POTLUCK MUSIC JAM in the Fireplace Room. Bring musical instruments, voices, songs & stories. We have 2 hours to socialize, jam, play music & share songs before the potluck.  Enter the church from usual parking lot entry doors for the Dances. A map/sign will show how to get to the Fireplace room.

5:30 POTLUCK:  Please bring salads, casseroles, pizza and other substantial snacks & finger foods. Coffee, tea and water will be provided.  Other beverages welcome.

6:00 MEMBER MEETING:  Meeting will start when folks have gotten food & a place to sit. During the next hour or so CFS Board officers will present a review of CFS activities, give a current financial report and propose a slate of candidates to serve on the Board for next year. Members may propose additional candidates to this list & here will be time for questions, comments and suggestions from the community.   Approval of candidates will be decided by voice vote.

7:00 Regular CFS Contradance (optional):  The last dance of the season with Treehouse playing and William Watson calling.

PLEASE NOTE: The regular Monthly Board Meeting will take place one week prior to the Annual Meeting. All are welcome to observe and/or join this Board discussion.

Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 1:00 at Bill Pfender & Anne Smith’s house:

3704 NW Jameson Dr. in Corvallis.”