Hie Folklore Society
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Volume 28, No. 1 Hie September 1991 Folklore HOTLINE: 703-281-2228 iHENEWSLETlHtSociety BRENDAN MULVIHILL & DONNA LONG WITH CONNEMARA Friday, September 13, 8 pm Former all-Ireland fiddle champion Brendan Mulvihill, accompanied by Donna Long on piano, will headline the FSGW’s first monthly program of the 1991-1992 season. This double concert (FREE to FSGW members) will open with the Celtic music group Connemara at 8 p.m. Friday Sept. 13 at the Silver Spring Unitarian-Universalist Church, 10309 New Hampshire Ave. (just outside Beltway off Exit 28A). Brendan Mulvihill’s remarkable intonations and innovative bowing have long impressed the followers of traditional Irish music. The son of the late fiddle master Martin Mulvihill, Brendan began playing at age 13, shortly after the family migrated to America from Limerick in Western Ireland. He has recorded both solo albums and with his former group, the Irish Tradition. Donna Long is a classically trained pianist whose accompaniment ranges from the subtleties of slow O’Carolan airs to the stirring, foot-stomping rhythms of reels and jigs. Both she and Brendan now live in Baltimore. Connemara is the confluence of four talented area musicians. The purity of Grace Griffith’s voice is well known from her singing with Hazlewood, The Hags and The Celtic Connection. Cathy Palmer’s classic violin training is evident in her elegant playing style. She was a finalist in last year’s National Scottish Fiddling Championships and also plays with the Annapolis-based band Lark in the Morning. Don Stallone (concertina, penny whistle, bodhran) drives the rhythm for Connemara. He specializes in ballads, sea chanteys and historic songs. Tracie Brown (harp) is a former U. S. National Champion of the Scottish Harp and bronze medalist in the All Ireland Harp Competition. She is also a veteran performer at Celtic music festivals. All regular FSGW monthly programs are FREE to members, including those who join at this event. Admission for non-members is $6. Upcoming concerts will feature Cajun music, old-time fiddle and banjo, swing and other ingredients that make up the melting pot of America’s folk music heritage. For more information, call 301-270-2770. FSGW ANNUAL PICNIC On Saturday, Sept. 7, FSGW will say good-bye to summer at the annual picnic in Clifton, Virginia. Enjoy a relaxing day with other music and dance lovers--this is a great opportunity to meet your fellow and sister FSGW members in a friendly atmosphere, and everyone is welcome! We will begin to gather at 12:30 pm. Please bring a dish to share, something to drink, a blanket or lawn chair(s), and musical instruments. While there is no formal schedule, lots of singing and picking usually take place as well as plenty of socializing, (cont. on p. 3) «■ INSID E!!! Sunday Night Dances, p. 2....Ganga House Concert, p. 3...FSGW Getaway, p. 5 FSGW Newsletter, Volume 28, No. 1 September 1991 FSGW Sunday Night Dances September 1st at Takoma Park Intermediate School, 7-10pm All Other September Dances at Glen Echo Park, 7:30-10:30pm The dance on September 1st will be held at Takoma Park Intermediate School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, MD, 7-10 pm. The dances on September 8, 15, 22 and 29 will be held at Glen Echo Park in the Spanish Ballroom, 7:30-10:30 pm. Our dances at Glen Echo are held in cooperation with the National Park Service. The weekly dances are aimed at intermediate to advanced dancers (i.e., little teaching, short walk-throughs, lots of music & dancing). Dances start & end promptly. Admission: $4 FSGW, BFMS, ATDS, and CDSS members, NPS Golden Eagle Pass Holders and Senior Citizens; $6 non-members. Please continue to carpool to Glen Echo--the parking lot is not yet completed. Sept. 1 A T T A K O M A P A R K ! Dance to Claudio Sept. 15 Robbin Schaffer will call a mix of squares Buchwald calling & playing piano with Eve and contras to the tunes of the Porcupine ning Star: Steve Hickman on fiddle & har Chasers. Andy Porter will play fiddle, Alan monica, John Devine on guitar & David Leader guitar, Doc Rosenstock banjo and our Crandall playing saxes and flute. This will own Tom Hinds piano in their Sunday night be a night of eclectic sounds. dance debut. Sept. 8 Bob Dalsemer with call a mix of contras Sept. 22 Tuppence Blackwell will call to Devil and squares to Cathy Whitesides playing a Among the Taylors with Marty Taylor, flute hot fiddle (or is that hotly playing a fiddle) and concertina; Wayne Taylor, fiddle; and and Brad Foster on the keyboard. Cathy will Jonathon Jensen, piano. An evening of con join us from the San Francisco area and Brad tras to elegant New England-style music. from N. Massachusetts--they’ll play a mix of northern and southern tunes. This will be Sept. 29 Larry Edelman will call an evening of Bob Dalsemer’s last dance as a local before mostly contras to tunes of Ireland from he departs for a year at the John C. Campbell Brendan Mulvihill on fiddle and Donna Long Folk School in Brasstown, NC. on piano. Dancers and Callers Picnic, Sunday, Sept. 8, 5-7 pm. Contra and square callers (and dancers) are invited to picnic and powwow prior to the dance at Glen Echo Park, Sept. 8. Bring a picnic and ideas for improving the quality of dancing in the area. We’ll eat, talk and maybe try out a few new dances. This will be the Dance Callers Association’s farewell toast to its founder, Bob Dalsemer, who will be guest of honor with visiting caller Brad Foster. Meet at 5 pm at picnic tables by dance hall. Info: 301-270-2770 (D.C.), 301-268-0231 (Annapolis). Upcoming Events I Nov.8: [Monthly Program] Marley’s Ghost (eclectic Seattle folk-country band), at WES jJ l Nov. 15: Ira Bernstein with Evo and Jemmy Bluestein (dance and string band), location TBA 22: John Roberts and Tony Barrand (English folk), Il\ Nov Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring j# Dec. 13: Margaret MacArthur (traditional New England songs), at WES Late Dec Anne Dodson (Maine folksinger), exact date and house concert location TBA 2 Deadline for October Issue: 9pm, Thursday, September 12. FSGW Newsletter, Volume 28, No. 1 September 1991 (Picnic, cont. from p. 1) To reach the picnic, which will be held at the home of FSGW President Dean Clamons, Member-at-Large Carly Gewirz, and their son Sam, take Route 66 from Washington or the Beltway as far as the exit for Rt. 50 west. You will be on Rt. 50 for only a short distance. Take West Ox Road heading south to Rt. 29. Turn right and go to the light for Clifton Road, then turn left. Follow Clifton Road past Braddock Road until you come to a T intersection. Turn right into the Town of Clifton. Immediately before the railroad tracks (how many railroad songs do you know?), turn right onto Richards Lane. At the end of the road past the church you will be at 12800 Richards Lane, the picnic site. For more information, call the picnic coordinator, Dolores Nichols, at 703-938-4564 evenings and weekends, or Dean & Carly at 703-631-9655. GANGA House Concert, Saturday, September 28, 8:30 pm The folk ensemble Ganga represents a family heritage of music. The group performs songs of Bengal, which reflect the history and continuity of many regional folk traditions in India which in turn are part of an extraordinary oral tradition preserved for several thousand years. Founded by the Roy family, known for their commitment to the music of Bengal, the performers include Hita Brata Roy (pictured at left), Minati Roy, Sanjay Mishra, Krishnakali Roy, and Broto Roy. Ganga plays authentic and traditional instruments which include dotara, sitar, tabla, tanpura, anandalhari, mandira, ghungur and harmonium. Ganga has represented India at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; participated in the inaugural festival of the Sackler Gallery; and played an important part in the Washington Folk Festival for over 10 years. Ganga will also be appearing at the 53rd National Folk Festival in Johnstown, Pennsylvania this Labor Day weekend. This concert will take place at the home of Mike Rivers in Falls Church, Virginia. Admission is $5 FSGW, $6 nonmembers. For more informa tion/directions call Mike at 703-241-7445. Linda Fallon It is with great sorrow that we mourn the passing of Linda Fallon, who died on August 11, 1991 at the age of 39 after battling inflammatory breast cancer for over a year. Linda is known to the folk music and dance community for her work with the Hudson Clearwater Project in New York, Augusta Heritage workshops and the Morgan Arts Council in West Virginia. She is survived by her husband Joe (a member of the Critton Hollow String Band), two wonderful children, Katie and Monika, her parents, Gloria and Jim Mitchell, brother Bill Mitchell, and hundreds of friends. Linda was a person who did everything she could to help other people. Her generosity, patience, and strong sense of community made her a valued friend and a loving parent. Her enthusiasm for music and dance spilled over to her children and friends through her work with dance camps and concerts. She was a gentle but powerful organizer who knew that life, love, community and the arts all belonged in the same world. Linda received exceptionally good care and treatment from the National Cancer Institute at NIH, and her family would appreciate any actions or contributions toward helping others who suffer from the same condition.