Me Folklore Society of Greater Washington
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me Fol kl ore Soci et y | B ox 19114,20th Street Station, Washington, DC 20036 of Greater Washi ngt on NEHNHIHt VOLUME XVI I I , NO. 7 MA RCH 1 9 8 2 PHONE: ( 7 0 3 ) 2 8 1 - 2 2 2 8 Jean R itchie on M arch 14th Reserve Sunday, March 14, for a very speci al concert by a ver y speci al l ady. Jean Rit chi e, cal l ed by t he New Yor k Ti mes "one of the fi nest authenti c traditi onal folksingers in the U.S. today," will be performing her first concert ever for FSGW. The concer t wil l be hel d at Geor get own Uni ver si t y' s Gast on Hal l , begi nni ng at 8: 00 p. m., and wi l l be a r ar e oppor t uni t y t o hear an ext raordi nary si nger, songwri ter, and mount ai n dul ci mer pl ayer. Jean Rit chi e was bor n and r ai sed i n Viper, Kent ucky, wher e musi c was a part of her family' s everyday life. She sings play part y songs, bal l ads, and l ove songs handed down f rom her Scot tish, Irish, and English ancestors, as well as powerful topical and l yri c songs she' s wri tten hersel f. Jean has been an i mpor tant part of the U.S. folk scene since the I950s--as a performer, cr edi t ed wi t h hel pi ng t o i nt r oduce and popul ar i ze t he mount ai n dul ci mer; as a recordi ng arti st, wi th records too numerous to list here; as an author of numerous books, including Singing Fami l y of the Cumberl ands, The Dul ci mer Book, and A Cel ebrat i on of Li f e; and as a col l ector of fol ksongs, both i n the U.S. and in the British Isles. Her clear, sweet voice; her lovely mountai n dul ci mer pl ayi ng; and her warm, personal way of shari ng her songs wi t h an audi ence promise to make thi s concert one that is not to be missed. Be there Sunday, March 14, at 8:00 p.m., at Georget own Uni versi ty' s Gaston Hall (on the 3rd floor of the Heal y Bldg., 37th & 0 Sts. N.W.)• There shoul d be pl ent y of on- campus par ki ng t hat ni ght , si nce G.U. st udent s wil l be on spr i ng break. Admissi on i s $4. 00 for FSGW members and G.U. students; admissi on for al l ot hers is $5.00. Tickets will be available at the door, or pick yours up at the FSGW program on March 12. (See below. Don' t miss that one, either!) March 12 Program Features Music of Indiana The FSGW mont hl y pr ogr am on Fri day, Mar ch 12, wi l l feature Lotus Dickey, Di l l on Bustin, and Li nda Handel sman i n concert. Lotus Di ckey was born i n 1912 and r ai sed on a f ar m near Paol i , I ndi ana. He has spent hi s l i f e wor ki ng t he f amil y f ar m and al so wor k ing in factories and as a construction worker. He inherited a large repertoire of traditional and popu lar songs from his parents and grew up playing guitar and f i ddl e duet s wi t h hi s br ot her . A gi f t ed composer , Lot us has been maki ng up hi (continued on page,2) FSGW M a r ch Pr o g r a m The March 12 concert will feature folksongs and fiddle tunes of Indiana, as well as original songs and tunes by the group. The (continued from page 1) program begins at 8:30 p.m. at the W.E.S. auditorium, years, and is a very popular singer and musician in his 7750 16th Street, N.W. (at home area. In the past year, he has begun to perform Kalmia Road). Admission is for a wider--and equally appreciative--audience. fr ee for FSGW members and Dillon Bustin plays guitar, banjo, and flute. He $4.00 for nonmembers. has an excellent knowledge of Ohio River Valley songs, NOTE: Lotus Dickey and as well as a broad range of homemade songs. He has Dillon Bustin also will be studied folklore and ethnomusicology at Indiana Univer appearing at the Library of sity, and is an active writer, musician, filmmaker, and Congress’ Whittall Pavilion museum consultant in Bloomington, Indiana. at noon on Thursday, March 11. Linda Handelsman is a founding member of "Scotch on Featured on the program will the Rocks," an excellent Scottish country dance band. be a film (co-produced by Bustin) on Lotus Dickey's life, She is active in the Bloomington music scene, playing followed by a short performance by the two musicians. hammered dulcimer and con certin a . For more information, see the item on page 4. Battlefield Band To Present Concert Mar ch 27 They brought down the house when they performed for FSGW last April, and they're coming back for a repeat performance on Saturday, March 27. They're the Battle field Band, an energetic group of Scottish musicians who play Scottish, Irish, and English music with unbridled enthusiasm on a mind-boggling array of instruments. The members of the group are Duncan MacGillivray, who plays Highland bagpipes, whistle, mouth organ, and guitar; Brian McNeill, playing fiddle, banjo, mandolin, cittern , and concertina; Alan Reid on keyboards and guitar; and Ged Foley playing mandolin, guitar, and the Northumbrian small pipes. All the members of the group sing (a real treat to hear!). Scottish reviewer Alistaire Clark says of the group: "What is so marvelous about them is that they can tackle the most complex of interwoven instrumentalsequences without sounding like a bunch of drawing-room pansies, and when they let their hair down, they show they can take on any foot-tapping ceili band at their own game--and win." Be there Saturday, March 27. The concert begins at 8:30 p.m. at the W.E.S. auditorium, 7750 16th St., N.W. Last spring's concert was standing room only, so come early to get a good seat. Admission is $4.00 for FSGW members and $5.00 for nonmembers. Alistair Ander son on Ma r c h 2 0 On Saturday, March 20, FSGW will eagerly welcome back the "king of the concertina," Alistair Anderson. Alistair, who comes from Northumberland (in the northernmost part of England), also sings, and is a master of the delicately beautiful Northumbrian small pipes. Many of the tunes he plays on t h e p ip e s were learned from the great Northumbrian piper, Billy Pigg. Alistair's starting point is the instrumental music heritage of the British Isles--the jigs, rants, reels, and airs of Northumberland, Scot land, and Ireland. Of these tunes, which he plays on the pipes and on the English concertina, he speaks knowingly and lovingly, adding an understanding of the music's sources and contexts to his inspired renditions. But dance tunes of the British Isles are only the beginning. A typical Alistair Anderson concert also includes a few well-chosen traditional songs, a lit t le American ragtime music played on the concertina, some 17th century jigs and hornpipes, and maybe even a Baroque partita. His amazing ability to improvise on and ornament the tunes he plays is, in fact, reminiscent of the improvisatory techniques used in Baroque violin, keyboard, and lu te music. The concert will begin at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, March 20, at the W.E.S. auditorium, 7750 16th St., N.W. (at Kalmia Road). Admission is $3.00 for FSGW members and $4.00 for nonmembers. Once again, come early to get a good seat! ** -2- \j \ d1 \a , 7 p ______ Mo r e F S G W Ne ws BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS DEADLINE FOR APRIL NEWSLETTER The Folklore Society Board met on Wednesday, Feb. 3, The deadline for the April FSGW Newsletter is Monday, at the home of Treasurer David Olive in the District. March 15. All copy must be received by 5:00 p.m. that Among the Board's major actions at the meeting were: day to be included. If you intend to mail your copy, • passage of a motion that the FSGW Board reserves the do it early--local mail can take up to a week, no matter right to decide when it is in the best interests of the what the Post Office says. Send copy to Kathy Hickerson, Society to admit members of the press to FSGW events P.O. Box 9062, Washington, D.C. 20003. without fee; • approval of a motion that At-Large Board member Dwain HELP NEEDED AT GLEN ECHO Winters represent the FSGW Board in pursuit of a generic cooperative agreement with Glen Echo Park covering all Plans are now under way for the Sixth Annual Wash ington Folk Festival at Glen Echo Park, to be held FSGW events to be held at the park; Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6, 1982. • approval of a motion that FSGW agree to cosponsor with Glen Echo Park a series of Saturday night dances to Volunteers are needed on weekends in March and April be held this summer at the park; and to help repair and rebuild the portable stage equipment Glen Echo has inherited.