Workshops
Workshops, dances, jams, and daytime performances will be held during the day on Saturday and Sunday in Ida Noyes Hall (address and map below).
All workshops and other daytime activities are completely free and open to the public. Water, soda, fruit, baked goods, and other snacks will be for sale. There will also be numerous craft vendors and a huge collection of traditional music CDs for sale.
To download the most up-to-date version of the workshop schedule as a PDF, click here.
Saturday, February 11
Scandinavian Dance Workshop with Mary Allsopp & Friends
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, Cloister Club
Get your day started moving to the lively tunes of Scandinavia. We have playful party dances, gentle waltzes and lively set dances. Traditionally, the morning wraps up with a Grand March. Partners optional, all ages welcome. Walk-through instruction by John Parrish, and live music throughout.
Songwriting with Carl Jones
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
Join Carl Jones for a talk about songwriting, and tackle the process of finding creative inspiration.
Love and Death in Multi-Voice Harmony with Kate Early and the Malone Women
12:00 - 1:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
Traditional songs began as the equivalent of the news or even the National Inquirer in lower-tech days of old. Ballads commemorating historic events and interesting local stories have remained in the minds and on the lips of singers for generations, often leafing out into dozens of variants.
Cajun Dance featuring Bonsoir, Catin
12:00 - 2:30 PM, Cloister Club
Join the ladies of Bonsoir, Catin for an afternoon dance to traditional Cajun tunes! A half-hour lesson will be provided at the beginning.
Hurdy Gurdy
12:00 - 1:00 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
The Midwest Hurdy Gurdy Association will present an overview of this unusual instrument. We'll talk about the hurdy gurdy (sometimes described as a cranked mechanical violin with a keyboard), show how it is played, and perform a variety of music on hurdy gurdies, both alone and in combination with other instruments."
Beginning Harmonica Workshop with Joe Filisko
12:00 - 1:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Free harmonica workshops will be offered for total beginners with world-renowned teacher, player, historian and builder, Joe Filisko. Joe's motto is, "If you can breathe, you can play the harmonica!" Absolutely no experience necessary! Please bring a diatonic harmonica in the key of "C". Inexpensive Hohner harps will be available for purchase.
Fiddle Styles
1:00 - 2:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
Join some of this year's performers for a discussion and demonstration of traditional fiddle styles, featuring James Bryan, The Kentucky Clodhoppers, and friends of the Festival. Moderated by Charlie Walden.
Georgian Folk Songs with Alioni
1:00 - 2:00 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
Ensemble Alioni was founded in Chicago in 2008 out of love and dedication for Georgian traditional polyphonic folk singing. The group is led by Clayton Parr, Director of Choral Activities at DePaul University, who lived, taught and studied in Georgia for a year as a Fulbright scholar. The ensemble meets about three times a month on Saturday afternoons in Lincoln Park. Ensemble Alioni will lead workshop participants in learning traditional Georgian three-part songs. Alioni was founded in 2008 out of love for Georgian polyphonic singing. Their first CD, "Colorful Characters," has just been released and will be available at the workshop. Find out more at www.alioni.org.
Blues Workshop with Billy Flynn
1:00 - 2:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Billy Flynn will demonstrate a number of different postwar blues guitar styles.
Old-time Fiddle with James Bryan
2:00 - 3:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
James Bryan will demonstrate his traditional Southern fiddle style in this intimate workshop.
Harmony Singing with Barb Silverman
2:00 - 3:00 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
Join Barb and the throngs who love singing together. We'll start with simple 2-part songs and work our way to rollicking and haunting 3-part chestnuts in styles from country to blues to swing and novelty. Barb brings decades of acclaimed performing and teaching experience to our fest.
Bhangra Blast with Shamila Khetarpal
2:00 - 3:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Balle balle! Let's Bhangra! Learn this energetic and graceful dance from Punjab, which overlaps the border of India and Pakistan. Shamila Khetarpal from the Old Town School of Folk Music will cover traditional and modern steps from this lively dance. The infectious beat of Bhangra will get you moving!
Dance with the Quebe Sisters Band
2:30 - 3:30 PM, Cloister Club
Bring your dancing shoes for a session of Texas fiddle and swing with the Quebe Sisters!
Meet the Kentucky Clodhoppers
3:00 - 4:30 PM, Ida Noyes Library
An afternoon of old-time dance music and stories from Kentucky, with fiddlers Billy Don Stamper and John Harrod, banjo player Earl Thomas, Jr., and mandolinist Donnie Rogers.
Sea Shanties with Tom Kastle
3:00 - 4:30 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
Join Tom Kastle for a look at traditional sea songs and a capella shanties based on research and his years of being a touring maritime musician and professional tall ship sailor and captain. Tom also teaches the sea music class at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
Beginning Oriental (Middle Eastern) Dance with Gwyn Aubrey
3:00 - 4:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
This class will explore the common movements between traditional Arabic and Turkish styles of solo dance (Raks Sharki, Raks Baladi, and Tansu Orientale), as well as distinct rhythmical differences between the two, and finish with some of the Western influences introduced in the 1900's.
Russian Folk Songs with Golosa
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Golosa is a Russian folk choir founded in 1997 at the University of Chicago with the mission of preserving and promoting the rich tradition of Russian folk singing—in particular, the polyphonic songs of the Semeiskie Old Believers from the Siberian Transbaikal region. Members of Golosa have recorded many of these songs in their native context and then transcribed, translated, and edited them so that they may be heard outside of Siberia for years to come.
Sunday, February 12
Banjo Styles
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
A demonstration of traditional banjo styles, featuring members of The Kentucky Clodhoppers and The Wildwood Valley Boys. Moderated by Ezra Deutsch-Feldman.
English Country Dancing From Jane Austen to Contra
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, Cloister Club
Join Tom Senior and friends as they lead you step by step through the history of English Country Dances.
Irish Folk Music in Chicago with the Bua Boys and Kevin Henry
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
Bua's Sean Gavin, Brían Ó hAirt and Brian Miller will be joined by
special guest Kevin Henry for a discussion of the history of Irish
traditional music in Chicago. Together, they will tell the colorful
stories of musicians who have kept the music alive here for more than
a century.
With a selection of photos of prominent Chicago musicians and live
performances by Kevin and the guys.
Beginning Oldtime Fiddle with Jordan Wankoff
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
Never had a fiddle in your hands but want to try? Do you know a few tunes but want a couple more? This class will take all comers and try to move them forward. Just bring a fiddle and a willingness to learn. Jordan Wankoff got inspired to learn the fiddle at the U. of C. Folk Festival and has been teaching and playing around town since the mid 1990s.
Beware: Dulcimers are Addictive
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Discover the sounds, origins and evolution of dulcimers, both hammered and mountain, with dulcimer teacher Dona Berkert. After a brief demonstration, you'll experience the beautiful dulcet tones -hands on- as you play easy traditional melodies. Some mountain dulcimers will be available for use during the workshop, or bring your own (hammered or mountain).
Irish Social Dance with Ed Heffernan and the Murphy Roche Ceili
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM, Cloister Club
Ed Heffernan leads an Irish Social Dance Workshop. No partner required! After some basic instruction, we will be dancing a few minutes after the session starts.
Jug Band with Strictly Jug Nuts
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
Armed with washboard, washtub bass, kitchenware, kazoos, a string section and -- of course -- the eponymous jub -- Strictly Jug Nuts will provide a tactical demonstration of the music assault with which they won the Chicago Battle of the Jug Bands in 2011, their second annual victory. The audience will be given a chance to participate.
Shape Note Singing
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Ida Noyes West Lounge
Please join us for a few hours of robust four-part harmony singing from the Sacred Harp! First composed by itinerant New England singing masters in the eighteenth century, then nurtured and developed in the South in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these hymns have been a part of American traditional culture since before the Revolutionary War. From the mountains of Alabama to the urban environment of Chicago, this style of singing attracts devotees who form powerful bonds across space and time. This workshop is fully participatory. Come in, grab a loaner book, and join in the singing! Members of Chicago's shape-note singing communities will be happy to assist you as you become acquainted with our energetic and communal singing style.
Guitar Styles
1:00 - 2:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
Join Carl Jones, Brian Miller of Bua, and John Hatton of the Kentucky Clodhoppers for a demonstration of traditional guitar styles.
The Legacy of Mike Seeger
2:00 - 3:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
This workshop will explore the musical and cultural legacy of Mike Seeger (1933-2009). As a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers, an independent artist, and a collector of traditional music, Seeger's contributions to the preservation of folk music are immeasurable. Greg Reish, who knew Seeger and worked with him toward the end of his life, will offer personal reminiscences, an overview of Seeger's vast career and its importance, and live performance of music inspired by Seeger's example.
Greg Reish is an Associate Professor of music history at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts. He is also a singer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in old-time music and other traditional American styles.
http://www.oldtimestrings.com
Barn Dance featuring the Kentucky Clodhoppers
2:00 - 4:30 PM, Cloister Club
Join The Kentucky Clodhoppers for an old-fashioned barn dance! A half-hour lesson will be provided at the beginning.
Bluegrass Workshop with the Wildwood Valley Boys
2:00 - 3:00 PM, 3rd Floor Theater
The Wildwood Valley Boys demonstrate their Indiana bluegrass stylings.
Kentucky Fiddle Tunes with Matt Brown (Intermediate/Advanced)
3:00 - 4:00 PM, Ida Noyes Library
The old-time fiddle tunes of Kentucky run the gamut from slow and mournful solo pieces to sprightly square dance breakdowns. Bring your instrument and a recording device to this demonstration and lesson to get a sampling of Kentucky's incredible repertoire.
Ida Noyes Hall
1212 E. 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
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News article about the first annual U of C Folk Festival describing the genres of music performed and the goals of the festival with quotes from Mike Fleischer, past Folklore Society president.
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