Ninth Annual Festival April 9-10, 2016 The Evergreen State College Olympia, Washington www.seannos.org 2 Welcome to the Ninth Annual Sean-nós NW Festival! Greetings Everyone, On behalf of the Sean-nós NW Festival, I am pleased to welcome you all to Olympia! Our mission is to teach and promote the performance of Irish sean-nós (“old style”) singing and dancing, and to celebrate aspects of Irish culture, including traditional instrumental music and the use of the Irish language (Gaeilge). To that end, we produce this festival each year to help sustain a vibrant community of sean-nós dancers and musicians across the Pacific Northwest, with strong connections to the musicians, singers, and dancers in Ireland. This weekend we again offer two full days of workshops that will serve to introduce each of you to the artistry of sean-nós singing, conversations in the Irish language, dancing reels and jigs, the art of drawing Celtic knots, and instruction on fiddle, Irish flute, and Irish whistle. Saturday also features a concert presenting the festival’s instructors and our evening session at the Cooper Point Public House on Sunday night features not only all the teachers but all of you as well! Join us! You are welcome to join any of the regular program workshops; your greatest challenge will be selecting which aspect to explore: the Irish language? Dancing a jig? Drawing a Celtic knot? Good luck making your choices, and please enjoy yourselves. Sincerely, Seán Williams Irish Cultural Society of the Pacific Northwest 2016 Sean-nós NW Festival 3 Special Acknowledgement We would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks and appreciation to Glór na nGael for their generous financial support of our organization. Last fall, Glór na nGael provided a grant for our 2015 Féile Portland na Samhna Irish language weekend. This grant allowed us to bring sean-nós singer and Gaeilge teacher Máirín Uí Chéide to Portland for the weekend. Using song as a method to teach Gaeilge is a special interest to our organization, and receiving this grant allowed us to put this method to work with Féile Portland attendees. This spring, Glór na nGael is providing a grant through its “Global Gaeilge” program to help pay for bringing Sean-nós Northwest guest instructors to the festival. This grant will help defray our expenses and ensure we can recruit great instructors for our festival! We are very grateful for Glór na nGael’s help. Go raibh maith agaibh! 4 Campus Map and Café Locations A close-up map of the relevant part of campus is below. We recommend you park in Lot C, as it is closest to the festival. All classes are held in the Communications Building. For on-campus meal options: The Greenery offers full meals including gluten-free and vegan options Brunch hours 11 am – 2 pm and dinner hours 5 – 8 pm Einstein Bros Bagels is open for coffee, bagels, and sandwiches for breakfast and lunch only Hours 8:30 am – 2:30 pm All other campus eateries are closed on weekends Vending machines are available in both the Communications Building and Seminar II Building 5 SEAN-NÓS NORTHWEST SCHEDULE – SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016 Singing Language Dance Music Culture Room 110 Room 323 Room 210 Room 117 Room 320 9:00-9:30 am Registration opens. Coffee and tea available -- come mingle! 9:30-10:00 Welcome and orientation briefing 10:00-11:00 Intro to Sean-nos Singing Intro to Gaeilge with Intro to Sean-nos So Many Tunes: Film: Kings, with Bridget Fitzgerald Bairbre Ní Chiardha Dance with Kieran Building a Repertoire, introduced by Seán Jordan (flute music by Part 1 with Randal Williams Suzanne Taylor) Bays 11:00-Noon Songs in English with Bridget Continued Intro to Beginner & Irish Flute and Fitzgerald Gaeilge with Bairbre Ní Intermediate Sean-nos Whistle: How to Chiardha Jigs with Kieran Jordan Practice; How to (flute music by Listen with Hanz Araki Suzanne Taylor) Noon-1:30 Lunch – Room 308 1:30-3:00 Song Circle -- bring a song to Intermediate Gaeilge Practice and Personal Irish Fiddle: Inspiring Celtic Knot Work with share! with Bairbre Ní Style with Alicia Guinn the Dance, Part 1 with Jill Sattler Chiardha (flute music by Hanz Randal Bays Araki) 3:00-3:30 Tea and Treats! Come mingle and meet fellow attendees 3:30-5:00 Songs in Gaeilge with Bridget Gaeilge Games with Old Style Step Dancing The Meat and Cooking with Seán Fitzgerald Bob Burke for All with Kieran Potatoes 1: A Jig, with Williams – HELD IN Jordan (fiddle music Hanz Araki LOUNGE ROOM 307 by Randal Bays) 5:00-7:30 Free time/dinner 7:30-10:00 Concert – Recital Hall, Room 107 6 SEAN-NÓS NORTHWEST SCHEDULE – SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2016 Singing Language Dance Music Culture Room 110 Room 323 Room 210 Room 117 Room 320 9:30-10:00 Registration for Sunday-only attendees 10:00-11:00 Bridget's Favorite Songs in The 1916 Proclamation Get Your Groove On - So Many Tunes: The Irish Storytelling Irish and English with Bridget as Gaeilge with Bairbre Less Is More in Sean- Building a Repertoire, Tradition with Fitzgerald Ní Chiardha nós Dance with Kieran Part 2 with Randal Kimberly Goetz Jordan (flute music by Bays Hanz Araki) 11:00-Noon “Óró, sé do bheatha 'bhaile” Intermediate/ Advanced Intermediate Sean- The Meat and Zoomorphic (Celtic -- Singing and independence Gaeilge with Bairbre Ní nós Reels with Alicia Potatoes 2: A Reel, Animals) Art with Jill with Bridget Fitzgerald Chiardha Guinn (flute music by with Hanz Sattler Suzanne Taylor) Noon-1:30 Lunch 1:30-3:00 Humorous / Silly / Children’s Advanced Gaeilge with Spice Up Your Steps Eat Your Vegetables: Film: "Patrick Pearse: Songs with Bridget Fitzgerald Bairbre Ní Chiardha with Kieran Jordan (Irish music is so much Fanatic Heart" (fiddle music by more than jigs and introduced by Seán Randal Bays) reels!) Slides, Polkas, Williams Hornpipes, Waltzes, and Slip-Jigs, with Hanz 3:00-3:30 Tea and Treats! Come mingle and meet fellow attendees 3:30-5:00 Collecting Songs -- a First- Using Ordinals with Bob Seminar for Musicians and Dancers: Tunes for Hurling hand Account with David Burke Dancing, Dancing for Tunes - with Alicia Guinn, Demonstration by the Ingerson Kieran Jordan, Randal Bays, and Suzanne Taylor Tacoma Rangers 5:30-9:00ish No-host Session at Cooper Point Public House 7 Are you new to the whole “Irish thing”? Welcome! We’re especially glad you joined us! Here is some helpful information and a few answers to common questions we are asked. Our Session and Concert If you’ve never been to an Irish session, you’re in for a treat! These are casual get-togethers that are common in Ireland. A session is kind of like a no-host party at the local pub. Musicians will play tunes, dancers might get up and show off their steps, and singers will entertain those in attendance with their melodies. If you’re lucky, you might even get to hear a famous poem or funny story. Our festival session will be held at Cooper Point Public House. There is no cover charge for this get together, but food and drinks are on your own. The Sean-nós NW Festival is also proud to offer a concert as part of our festival, featuring each of our instructors demonstrating their craft. You’ll be able to hear and see some of the best traditional singing and dancing around! Tickets to the concert are included in the full-weekend pass. A limited number of tickets are also be available separately for those who can’t come to both days of workshops. What should I bring and what should I wear? Our festival is very casual. Jeans are completely appropriate. Since it is April in the Pacific Northwest, we recommend you wear layers to account for our ever-changing weather. We recommend that you bring a notepad. If you’re going to take one or more dance classes, you should bring a water bottle and appropriate shoes (character shoes, ballroom dance shoes, penny loafers, or men’s leather dress shoes are good choices if you don’t have dedicated dance shoes). NO METAL TAPS, PLEASE! Wood taps are fine. If you did not select the catered lunch option when you registered, lunch is on your own. Please feel free to bring a lunch, but be aware we don’t have refrigerators or microwaves available. There are not any chain-type restaurants within walking distance, but there are café options available on campus if you don’t want to drive into town. Please feel free to ask us questions! We’re here to share knowledge – don’t be afraid to ask! 8 CLASS DESCRIPTIONS We’re pleased to once again offer classes from outstanding teachers on Irish singing, dancing, language, and traditional cultural arts. In response to suggestions, we’ve again made some changes to our program. We hope you find the workshops interesting and informative. Singing Workshops This year, our singing workshops provide a variety of options to allow attendees to focus on their own goals, whether that is building a repertoire or focusing on technique. Introduction to Sean-nós Singing This introductory-level course will provide participants with an overview of sean-nós singing and singing in the Irish language. No singing or Irish-language skills or prior experience is needed, and handouts will be provided. Songs in English The English-language counterpart to sean-nós singing is frequently referred to as “traditional” singing and is similar in style and structure.