Subject: Trad Irish Fiddle Club Schedule & Info for Next Gen Players….
From: "John Mitchell Fanning" <[email-masked]>
To: "Undisclosed-recipients:"
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 23:50:58 -0400

Dear Parent, Aspiring Violinist or Fiddle Player:

Hope and trust that you are well, safe and dry, that your acquaintance with Hurricane Sandy
has not grown more intimate than what you witness on television.   So far, so good here.  
The trees are all upright and I still have power.   Who woulda thunk it?

Oops.  Wrote too soon.   Looks like I'm finishing this missive on battery power and will 
send to you when Verizon Fios is back up and running....

Have tried to use this time to play ketchup.   Have been buried this Fall season with
scheduling conflicts, Bog gigs and rehearsals and unexpected family business - my brother
continues his convalescence after removal of a benign (thank God!) tumor from his lung.
Thanks all for thoughts, prayers and inquiries about his status.

Have put together a schedule for Fiddle Club this year and next, November-June as detailed
below.    My intent is to run two classes - beginning, selected Saturdays, 4-5 p.m. and intermediate,
same day, 5-6 p.m.   

Beginning classes will focus on learning tunes from the "Hedge School Tune Book", Karen Ashbrook's 
compendium of trad Irish session tunes available for free from the children's area of her website at
http://www.karenashbrook.com

The Intermediate class will introduce and tunes from repertoire of the Bog Band, a group of young
players with a passion for trad Irish music that I've directed for the last seven years or so.

It is hoped that at least some of you in the intermediate group will subsequently opt to become provisional members
of the Bog Band and be invited to join Bog Band rehearsals on first and third Sundays of each month.   
It's  not for everyone, but it's there if you're up for an additional challenge, by joining you'll have the 
chance to rehearse and perform with the Bog Band at venues of stature throughout and beyond our region.

All Fiddle Club classes, both Beginning & Intermediate, are scheduled Saturdays of weekends opposite 
the public "next-gen" sessions that I continue to lead on 2nd & 4th Sundays of each month:

2nd Sundays:  McGinty's, 911 Ellsworth Avenue, Silver Spring, 5-6:30- p.m.
4th Sundays:   The Limerick Pub, Elkins & Price Streets, Wheaton, 4-5:15 p.m.  (please note this divergence in meeting time!)

This means that you or your aspiring fiddler can enjoy learning and playing trad tunes with others four (4) times 
each month.   Think of the money you'll be saving not having to travel to Ireland!

Feel free to share this with other violinists and fiddling friends who want to learn to play trad.   
Space awarded on a first-come,  first-serve basis.    If demand is overwhelming and space becomes an issue, 
will do my best to find larger alternative space in the general vicinity.

Meanwhile, thanks for your consideration and your patience.   Post me here if you have questions
about which class would be the best fit.     I'm looking forward to another rewarding year of Trad Irish 
Fiddle Club!   

All the best to you and yours.

Slan,

Mitch Fanning
9824 Rosensteel Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
[email-masked]
m. 703.989.7369

1.0  Classes & Class Times
===========================

1.01 Fiddle Club I     -    4-4:50 p.m. 
------------------------------------------------
Designed for students of violin or fiddle who have studied for a year and have some
proficiency playing in the keys of A, D and G with good tone and intonation.    Tunes 
will be taught traditionally - by ear.   Standard musical notation and recordings wlll be
provided to facilitate learning and practicing at home.   

Primary source material:  Karen Ashbrook's "Sligo Creek Hedge School Tunebook."
http://www.bogband.com/FiddleClub
http://karenashbrook.com/children/session.html

1.02  Fiddle Club II    -    5-5:50 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------
This class is designed for students who were in Fiddle Club I last year, know a substantial
portion of the Hedge School Tunebook or who have experience with traditional Irish music.
This class will continue to learn repertoire from Hedge School Tune book as well as Bog Band 
repertoire from other sources.   Tunes will be taught traditionally - by ear.   Standard musical notation 
and recordings  will be provided to facilitate learning and practicing at home.
http://www.bogband.com/FiddleClub
http://karenashbrook.com/children/session.html

The following Bog Band recordings will also be provided:
"Got Bog"
"On Their Own Turf"
"Our Voyage with Brendan" and
"The Bogs Unleashed" (to be released in Dec/Jan timeframe)

2.0  Class Dates:  Beginning & Intermediate
========================================
Saturdays:
Nov 17
Dec 1, 29
Jan 5, 19
Feb 2, 16
Mar 2, 16*
Apr 6*, 20
May 4, 18
Jun 1, 15

*(Note:   3/17 is St. Patrick's Day.   Class scheduled for 3/16 is intended to be a performance
opportunity for both classes.   Both Fiddle Clubs will perform in conjunction with the Bog Band or
at a separate venue and date (3/16 or 3/17yet to be determined).   Please note that April 6th coincides with 
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eirann's (CCE) Annual Convention in North American which will be 
hosted by our local CCE branch at Marriott in Rockville.  It is hoped that Fiddle Club members will 
have a chance to perform or at least session at the CCE Covention.   In any case, there is no fee for either of 
these classes/performance events.

3.0  The Place
===========================

Home studio or living room of Mitch Fanning or larger area if needed.   (ever the optimist?)

9824 Rosensteel Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910

4.0   The Fine Print
==========================

4.01 Tuition
----------------------
Tuition for each class if $195 (13 x $15 per class).    

It is recommended that you do not take the class if you know you will miss more than four (4) classes throughout the term.
You may miss fewer or more, but the tuition is the same, and I will not alter the curriculum to accommodate those who 
have missed classes.   

With receipt of your check (payable to "Mitch Fanning"),   I'll send you confirmation by email along with more detailed 
instructions on what you can do to prepare for our first class 11/17.    If you or the registrant are not already a 
parent or student in my studio, please make sure to include contact information, registrants name, age, years of study and 
current violin/fiddle teacher.   It is also important that your teacher know about and approve of your participation in 
Fiddle Club.

4.02 Unforeseen Conflicts in My Schedule
-------------------------------------------------------------
My vocation and primary commitment is to teaching, and I do my best to protect my scheduled teaching 
commitments and maintain my availability to students.     Bog Band gigs sometimes interfere as does life itself.
In those instances where I have to cancel a class because of some unforeseen or unavoidable conflict, I will reimburse
each of you $15 the class at the end of each term.

4.03  Neighborhood Courtesy & Safety
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be mindful of neighborhood kids playing in the street.   I have great neighbors who are understanding
and supportive of my work - and I would like to keep it that way!    Thanks for driving slowly and being watchful for 
the wee ones and their elders playing in yards, driveways and walking in the street.    On beautiful days, please 
consider parking near the church and walking down the street.   Much appreciated!