Volume 2017, Issue 3!!!!!!!! March 2017 THE CENTRAL INDIANA FOLK MUSIC & MOUNTAIN DULCIMER SOCIETY NEWSLETTER March 2017 Meeting Sunday, March 12, 2017 Bethlehem Lutheran Church 52nd & Central, Indianapolis, IN 1:00 Performance Hour 2:00 Guest Performer Geoff Davis! 3:00 Big Band Practice/Workshop 4:00 Sharing Circle (with Susie Kraeszig) 2017 Board Members President: Mary Sanders!!! [email protected] Vice President: Howard Detamore!! [email protected] Secretary: Melanie Blakley !!! [email protected] Treasurer: Barry Levitt!!! [email protected] Music Coordinator: Cathy Platt!! [email protected] 317-485-5010 Member-at-Large: Connie Temm!! [email protected] Past President: Dave Tucker!! ! [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Susie Kraeszig!! [email protected] Webmaster: Myrna Gray!!! [email protected] Eagle Creek Folk Fest Chair: Morgan Sanders-Jackson [email protected] March Musical Theme March Song of the Month “Celtic” “This Train” UKULELES!!! It’s all about ukuleles this month! Geoff Davis will be appearing as our guest performer at 2:00 and will present a ukulele workshop at 3:00. The Ukulele Ladies are probably busy right now in their kitchens preparing wonderful snacks for us. Mary Sanders has written her President’s Column all about the ukulele. So be sure to bring your ukulele to the meeting this month. It’ll be fun! And Geoff will have you strumming away in no time! SCHEDULE CHANGE Please note Performance Hour will be held at 1:00 pm this month, followed by Geoff Davis’ performance. His ukulele workshop will be held at 3:00, with Big Band practice in another room - your choice! Sharing Circle will be held at 4:00, as always. From Your President… by Mary Sanders “Ukulele” … this word brings up visions of Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips, Arthur Godfrey crooning “wiki waki we do” or George Harrison strumming about the devil and the deep blue sea. Or perhaps the “ukulele” evokes images of Don Ho’s tiny bubbles, Eddie Vedders (Pearl Jam), The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain’s rendition of the theme music from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly or Jake Shimabukura’s renditions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow or, in tribute to George Harrison, a weeping guitar. The ukulele, or uke, a member of the lute family, has an international history. The Portuguese machete or braguinha and its slightly larger cousin, the rajão, are considered to be the forerunners of today’s uke. During the late 19th century, the machete or braguinha arrived in Hawaii. One version of this arrival story was that when Joao Fernandes, an immigrant from Madeira, arrived in Hawaii in around 1879, he was so joyful that he started playing his braguinha, dancing his fingers up and down the strings, earning for his instrument the name “jumping flea”. The name “ukulele” derives from two Hawaiian words, uku “gift or reward” and lele “to come”. Three Madeiran cabinet makers, considered to be the first Hawaiian ukulele makers, delighted Hawaiians with their music. King Kalākaua, the last King of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and a patron of the arts, was an ardent supporter and promoter of the ukulele. Ukuleles are made from various materials, including the traditional Hawaiian koa tree, but also from mahogany, mango, cedar, redwood, spruce, carbon fiber, high-tech eco-fabric and resin, plastic, or whatever, including cigar boxes. Ukuleles typically have four strings (and sometimes five, eight, or even twelve strings). Strings are now typically made of plastic or polymer (with variations such as fluorocarbon or Nylagut) or wound strings. There are five main sizes of ukuleles. The soprano, concert, and tenor uke are most commonly tuned to G-C-E-A (my dog has fleas) with a high G, but can instead have a low G string. The baritone uke is typically tuned to D–G–B–E, like the highest four strings of a standard guitar, and the U-bass is typically tuned to E-A-D-G, like a bass guitar or the lowest four strings of a standard guitar. There is also a sopranino (tiny, tuning is D-G-B-E). Ukuleles come in all kinds of shapes. Some have electronic pickups and some don’t. Variations include, but are not limited to, the banjolele (the union of two perfect instruments), the guitalele, the harp ukulele, and the dulcilele. Ukes delight as a teaching tool for children, as an easy-to-play accompaniment for old hippies, or as a classical and lyrical instrument. GEOFF DAVIS WILL BE OUR GUEST PERFORMER IN MARCH! Growing up, Geoff was surrounded by ukulele. In an era of sing-alongs, his parents and grandmother were the life of the party. At an early age, Geoff took his place singing and playing alongside. As he progressed, he played other instruments — tenor banjo and trombone — but always returned to the ukulele. In 1999, Geoff joined the staff of the Key Learning Community, an IPS magnet program. He was tasked with teaching children to play jazz. With no budget and a handful of children, he turned to the ukulele as a means to teach syncopation, improvisation and jazz harmonies. This group - the Key Strummers - quickly gained fame as “Indiana’s Ukulele Ambassadors” and for many years played every venue imaginable. Most notable were appearances at the State House and State Fair at the request of Governor Frank O’Bannon. In 2002, Geoff wanted to expose the Key Strummers to the best ukulele players and began the MidWest UkeFest. There were few ukulele festivals at the time and UkeFest became an instant success with nationally known players including Lyle Ritz, Jim Beloff, James Hill, Joel Eckhaus and Jake Shimabukuro teaching and performing. In 2004, Geoff was awarded a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship. With this he travelled to Hawaii to study ukulele construction with Michael Chock and to study playing with Byron Yasui. He had an opportunity to meet and play with many Island greats. These players became the focus of UkeFest that year. More recently Geoff has conducted workshops and performed at a variety of Mid West gatherings. He teaches ongoing classes at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. His new band - The Hoosier Haoles - are beginning to play for regional Tiki gatherings. Geoff continues to work with children. He currently teaches 6th grade at IPS Francis W. Parker Montessori, where he holds regular rehearsals and classes for children, adults and the community. GB Davis 50 Little Birds - Indiana Artisan www.50littlebirds.com GEOFF DAVIS FREE Ukulele Performance and Workshop SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017 2:00 PM Performance, 3:00 PM Workshop Bethlehem Lutheran Church (basement) 526 E. 52nd Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46205 Sponsored By Central Indiana Folk Music & Mountain Dulcimer Society Notes from your Music Coordinator Cathy Platt [email protected]; phone: 317-485-5010 There are more gigs lining up. I will let you know about them as soon as they are finalized. Gig information (where, when, who is signed up, set list) is always available attached to the sign-up sheets and on our Society Yahoo site. If you put your email on the sign-up sheet, I will send you the set list when it becomes available. They will also show up on our website as it is updated here: http://www.indianafolkmusic.org/events.html. TAKING INVENTORY The Board would like to gather up and inventory any old records, pictures, or other Society memorabilia that you might have and that you are willing to share with the Society as a whole. If you have anything like that, please bring the items to a regular monthly meeting or contact any of the Board members to arrange for us to pick up the items. This includes any canopies or signs related to the Eagle Creek Folk Festival. Thanks in advance for your help. Money Bag$ By Barry Levitt – March 2017 Welcome new members, Elbert Davis, Leroy and Kenni Hicks. Account status for February 2017 as of this writing (prior to reconciliation): ! $ 8,431.96 => Checking balance (higher than one year ago). $ 3,550.00 => Net Gig income over the past rolling year ($1,125 above prior 12 months) $ 1,900.00 => Dues income over the past rolling year ($325 above prior 12 months) $ 6,875.86 => Total expenses over the past twelve months ($2,638.49 above prior 12 months) $ 1,830.61 => Operating surplus for the past twelve months ($678.92 better than prior 12 months) Based on the past rolling year’s experience, we have sufficient funds on hand to cover about 15 months of expenses. Membership Status: In February we had two new member households, two renewals, no reinstatements, and no dropped member. Total memberships stand at 78, vs 72 one year ago. Membership Dues: Annual individual and family membership dues are $25/year. The immediate family, living at the same address, of an individual member may be included in a family membership. If your membership is due or past due, please send a check to CIFM&MDS, P.O. Box 1503, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1503, or catch the treasurer at the next meeting. We are always happy to take your money. Songbooks: Printed versions of some songbooks are available to all members in good standing for $30 each while supplies last. Songbooks will also be available in electronic format on flash drive (memory stick/flash drive) for $10 each. Fiddle tunes are included in the Main Songbook, but a special “Fiddlers Edition” is available as a separate printed supplement for $5 each. See me at the meeting if you are in need of any of these songbooks. Jean Vance has been a great help providing treasury service assistance at our CIFM&MDS meetings the last several years.