The famous Kitchen Jam on the final night of the 2010 School
Music
Under the Southern Cross
Celtic Southern Cross Summer School
The famous Kitchen Jam on the final
night of the 2010 School
Jan 9th - 14th 2011
Campaspe Downs Victoria
(Google
map)
(once was Music Not Under the
Mountains and before that, Music Under the Mountains since 1999)
All bookings for the Celtic Music School must be
made through Celtic Southern Cross
Application form etc is a word file - let us know if you can't read it or download it.
More Photos of the School
2009,
2008,
2007,
2006,
2005,
2004, 2003,
2002
and
2001 back to
Celtic Southern Cross
Beth's pick of Melinda's
2008 photos (word
document)
Melinda's photos for 2009
| Electives - free for all present | |
| Slow Jam - every evening before main session at night | Variety of musicians |
| Swimming in the pool | |
Morning Walk every morning 7.30 - 8am
 |
Lynda Purcell |
| Dancing - Scottish and Ceilidh, with a chance for some musicians to play for the real thing and a chance for the rest to get fit and to let off steam after a day of solid concentration in class. | Matthew Robertson and any schoolie
available.
 Thanks to Cathy Hutchinson for some great dances as well in 2009 and 2010 Photo right shows one of the dances taught in 2009 |
Costs
| Class | Accommodation | Total | |
| Adult | $300 ( $270 if paid before Nov. 30th) |
$380 |
$680 |
| Adult Accomm. only | $400 | $400 | |
| Under 16 accomm. only | $400 | $400 | |
| Under 16 (if in a class) | $230 ( $200 if paid before Nov. 30th) |
$380 |
$610 |
| A limited number of double bed cabins with ensuite are available if you do not wish to be in a group cabin | Extra $80 per cabin per
week Sorry, all booked out already |
Students are requested to provide a $100
semi-refundable deposit to ensure
their place in classes.
I cannot guarantee a place if you do not send in your
deposit.
Application form etc is a word file
Full payment to be made by December 30th 2010 please. Early birds to be fully paid by Nov. 30th, 2010
2011 Sunday
9th Jan - Friday 14th
January
The tutors are
Mike Watts - English Concertina (for people who can play a bit or a lot - not total beginners please)
Mike will take the student through the concertina basics including scales, tunes and chords, and repair and maintenance
Mike recently returned from a successful musical trip around England and Scotland, where he conducted an English Concertina workshop at the Bromyard Folk Festival. His 2008 class saw our first UK student fly out for the class! A 300% increase in 2009 has led to this class already filling up rapidly for 2011
Chris Duncan - Scottish Fiddle
Advanced
- winner of the The National Film and Sound
Archive award for Best Folk Recording of 2007: The Red House
Matthew Robertson - Scottish Fiddle Advanced - AssistantChris
is Australia's favourite Scottish fiddler with a fun approach to teaching, placing great emphasis on rhythm and lilt in the playing of Scottish tunes.
In great demand around the world as a musician and teacher, we are privileged to be able to offer Chris' talents once again. In fact, the School was first started as a result of Chris' desire to teach Scottish fiddle in a dedicated and welcoming manner. With three CDs out now, Chris is demonstrating world status in Scottish fiddling.This class requires a very high degree of playing ability, and a high ability to pick up tunes by ear. To register for this class you should have either done Chris' class previously, been invited by Chris into the class or have attended the Intermediate Scottish Fiddle class with Emma Nixon. (photo right, Emma and Chris in the session at 2009 School)
Matthew has been involved with the Celtic Summer School since it's inception in 1999 and has become a most valued member of the team. He has been assisting Chris with the advanced fiddle class for several years now, and the session's just wouldn't be the same without him.
Matthew was our leader in the slow jam session for several years, before handing over to Lachlan Green and Jack Wilson. He co-ordinated the several electives of dancing this year, and we are extremely privileged to be able to call on his expertise and his wonderfully warm manner in teaching and playing.
In January 2010 Matthew, with Pria Schwall-Kearney and Judy Turner were awarded a Tamworth Golden Fiddle Award for best set on a CD, plus this CD Gates of Gold by the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club won the best fiddle CD award
Emma Nixon - Scottish Fiddle Intermediate - this class is a pre-requisite for the Advanced Scottish Fiddle Class
Emma has been a student at the Celtic Summer School for several years, and a highly qualified and respected violin teacher in Brisbane. She has founded the Scottish Fiddle Club in Brisbane and has completed folk music degree in Newcastle, UK in 2008.
In January 2010 Emma was awarded the Tamworth Golden
Fiddle Award for best fiddle teacher.
Emma also is one of our fiddlers on the
Begged Borrowed and Stolen Sets CD.
Emma was a most welcome addition to our tutoring team in 2009, and will be teaching the rhythms and nuances which make Scottish fiddling so exciting. The standard for this class will be quite high and will not be suitable for beginner or novice players. Learning by ear is essential.
http://www.myspace.com/emmanixonscottishfiddle
Lachlan Green -
Scottish Fiddle Intermediate
Assistant
Lachlan has been a student at every Summer School since 2002. Lachlan has studied Scottish fiddle with some of the world's best teachers in Australia, Scotland, New Zealand and the United States. Lachlan is also the musical co-director of the Canberra Scottish Fiddlers.
Catherine Strutt -
Keyboards Intermediate
- one place remaining
Catherine is returning by popular demand, and the class only has one place remaining. Catherine will be teaching the nuances of playing for Scottish dance, for Scottish music in general, and will include harmony, accompaniment, solo work and chord structures.
Traditional Singing - with Nicole Murray and John Thompson (cloudstreet)
-
congratulations go to cloudstreet on being selected to perform at the Folk
Alliance Convention in New Orleans in February, 2009. What an achievement.
A week of technical skill development, individual coaching and ensemble work.
warming up the voice for maximum results;
traditional singing - techniques and approaches;
harmony singing, - both part singing and techniques to develop your own harmonies;
singing with others, blending voices together to create more than the sum of the parts;
an opportunity for each participant to have some individual coaching;
performance skills development
By the end of the week, we will have two choral pieces ready for performance, as well as other repertoire for you to take away and share. We are planning this series of workshop sessions for intermediate singers who are at least confident in holding a tune and wish to further their skills.
cloudstreet’s
John
Thompson and Nicole Murray are teachers and performers who tour
internationally. Their music is based around the dynamic use of inventive and
exciting vocal harmonies, backed by guitar, flutes, concertina and percussion.
John and Nicole's magnificent harmony skills have quickly made them favourites
on the folk music circuits in Australia and the United Kingdom and they bring
all of their wonderful skills to their workshops and coaching sessions. From
their base on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, they take their music around the
world, breathing new life into some of the great songs of the folk tradition.
Nicole Murray is a singer, songwriter, musician and visual artist. A passionate, thoughtful and empathetic teacher (B.Ed), Nicole has a joyful enthusiasm for encouraging others to develop their vocal, musical and performance skills.
John Thompson is a singer, musician and songwriter. As well as working with cloudstreet, John is a regular performer in his own right at major Australian festivals. A barrister in a (recent) past life, John has an exquisite understanding of the tension between artist and “day job”, and how to nurture the one to benefit both.
"…a delightful duo who not only inspire one another but put an indelible smile on the faces of their audiences. Strong harmonies, side-splitting stories and ballads brought to life in a way we hadn't seen before. Heartily recommended." - James Fagan and Nancy Kerr
“...I was impressed by the meticulous preparation!” “...the singing was like a shaft of sunlight through the grey clouds.”
Link to Cloudstreet website
Luke Plumb - Celtic Mandolin Intermediate
to Advanced - This is now
confirmed and class is filling rapidly
Luke is
proudly Tasmanian and currently a member of the Scottish band
Shooglenifty and the
Funky String Band. While Luke's
main instrument is the mandolin, he is a fine fiddler, guitarist and a superb teacher.
We were privileged to have him join our elite team of tutors in 2009 as the
Irish Fiddle tutor, and welcome him back in 2010 as the Mandolin tutor.
All tunes are taught by ear, so an ability to pick up tunes easily is essential. This assists players to join in the Irish sessions, where reading from music is not always appreciated. This is an Intermediate to Advanced class so you will be expected to be able to play some tunes such as you would expect in an Irish session, or be relatively competent on the mandolin with a good
ability to learn by ear.
Luke will be pulling several tunes apart to teach varied ornamentations and interpretations. This class is filling up fast so it is recommended that you get your deposit in soon.
Thanks to Michael Patrick (hidden by a mandolin) for the photo
Dave O'Neill -
Intermediate Irish Fiddle - tutor, with Bridget Hickey assistant tutor.
All tunes are taught by ear, so an ability to pick up tunes easily is essential. This assists players to join in the Irish sessions, where reading from music is not always appreciated. This is an Intermediate to Advanced class so you will be expected to be able to play tunes such as you would expect in an Irish session, or be competent on the fiddle with a good ability to learn by ear.
Dave O'Neill is currently the National Folk Festival
Artistic Director, but in his previous life he was, and still is, one of Australia's top
instrumentalists on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, touring with Eric Bogle for
some years. Dave taught at the Celtic Summer School when it resided in Tasmania,
and we welcome him back as our Irish fiddle tutor. Dave spent some years in
Ireland before taking up the NFF position, and has a sound knowledge of the
Irish music, plus is one of the finest tutors we've had at the School.
Bridget Hickey, like her mother before her, has won the Westbury Traditional Irish Music Award, and is a member of The Wheels, and The Fooks which successfully play in Hobart and elsewhere - featuring at Port Fairy in 2010
Bridget has been teaching Irish and Scottish fiddle privately and is a most welcome addition to the teaching team, having spent a great deal of her life at past Celtic Summer Schools as a student. Her fluid style and lovely bowing technique will impress.
Pria Schwall-Kearney and Sarah Davies - Intermediate Canadian Fiddle.
The Canadian Fiddle Styles class was so successful in 2010
that we bowed down to the demand (easy to do) and asked Pria and Sarah to return
in 2011
Left: Sarah Davies
This class will combine the French-Canadian music of Québec, and the Scottish-derived music of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, taught by Pria Schwall-Kearney and Sarah Davies respectively.
Québecois music is distinctively rhythmic, drawing on its French, Scots and Irish roots whilst remaining a unique style best known to Australian audiences through the playing of Genticorum and superband La Bottine Souriante. We’ll learn some of the history, bowings, grooves and of course foot tapping and crooked tunes. You might even learn some French!
Cape Breton fiddle music is highly
energetic, having its roots in 18th and 19th Century
Scotland, but preserving elements of Scottish music and dance that give it a
unique sound, distinct from traditional Scottish music today. In this class
we’ll learn some fun tunes, explore some of the distinctive rhythms, bowings and
ornaments that give Cape Breton music its drive, and look at the links between
Cape Breton music and dance.
Sarah and Pria are wildly enthusiastic about their chosen fiddle styles, and share an infectious energy that pervades any class they teach. As well as being fine fiddlers, Pria and Sarah are also fabulous step-dancers and foot-stompers, and this class will explore the rhythmic links between music, dance and foot percussion in Eastern Canada (non-dancers never fear, it’s not compulsory!). Students will be encouraged and assisted to learn tunes by ear, and depending on the needs of class members, the class may split into two groups at times to concentrate on specific skills. Right: Pria Schwall-Kearney
About the tutors
Pria Schwall-Kearney is one of Australia’s most exciting young fiddle players, most known as a member of the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club, which she helps teach. Having recently returned from a year in Québec and Appalachia studying (and teaching) fiddle and banjo, she’s come back freshly inspired with a heap of new ideas. Pria has played and taught fiddle and stepdance at most festivals around Australia, and in the second half of 2009 toured Australia and New Zealand with the Old Time duo Pigeonwing Strings (www.myspace.com/pigeonwingstrings). To find out more you can go to www.myspace.com/priaschwallkearney
Sarah Davies has taught fiddle and step-dance at workshops and festivals throughout eastern Australia, and has taught music privately to people of all ages, always with an emphasis on helping students to learn by ear, and to enjoy themselves! Sarah’s favourite music is Cape Breton fiddle music, but she also loves Scottish music, being a regular student in Chris Duncan’s class at Music Under the Southern Cross in past years. Sarah has performed and recorded with the groups Spoot o’ Skerry and Old King Cole, currently plays with Contratemps dance band, and recently composed and recorded the soundtrack for a short film. Sarah greatly enjoys passing on the wonderful tunes, steps and knowledge she has picked up on her travels to fiddle schools and festivals in Cape Breton and California.
Pria and Sarah are both currently recording teaching CDs, Pria focusing on Québecois and Old Time music, and Sarah on Cape Breton, Scottish and Contra dance tunes.
Patrick Lyons - Advanced Uilleann Pipes - Full, sorry, put your name down for 2020 and get lucky
Teachers of the uilleann pipes are rather thin on the ground but this is not a problem for Music Not Under the Mountains summer school. Here, we have Patrick Lyons to run our piping classes. Pat, who has been playing uilleann pipes for over twenty years, will be teaching intermediate to advanced pipers.
This class has advanced over the years from beginner to Intermediate-Advanced, so if you have the jigs and reels and you want to improve your technique and come to grips with some of the classic traditional tunes, this is the class for you.
Particular attention will be paid to improving tone, getting around the tricky bits, and understanding how piping relates to other aspects of traditional Irish music, especially sean-nós singing. Pat will also cover aspects of pipes maintenance, reed making, and getting the best from your instrument.
Damien Hingston - a.k.a Spud Gun O'Hara
Damien has been playing Irish Music for the last 10 years or so. Initially playing Tin Whistle, that all changed when he chanced upon a recording of piper Willie Clancy. From the moment he heard the sound of a full set of pipes being played in all its glory he was hooked. After some research, he discovered the Music Under the Mountains beginner pipe class. Pausing only to order a set of pipes, he signed up, and hasn't looked back since.
Kathy Hickey - Tin Whistle - Intermediate.
Kathy is a past winner of the Westbury Irish Traditional Music Award, and has played in many and varied bands in Tasmania, including the exciting Bandecoute. She is currently playing fabulous music with her family in a Hobart band called The Wheels.
This class will be an Intermediate class so it is essential that you can play some jigs, reels and the occasional polka and slow air. You will be taught by ear, and will be given the ornaments and skills to make the tunes dance and sound really Irish. Kathy will also teach low whistle to those who wish to learn this instrument.
David Alleway - Folk Harp This class is already booked out, sorry.
As a prime mover in Moving Harps David is well known for his enthusiastic approach to this instrument. This is a great opportunity for harpists to develop a closer relationship with celtic and folk rhythms and ornamentation. Plus it will be a great deal of fun. David is able to provide harps for several students if you do not have your own as yet.
Depending upon the level at which the participants are already playing the following areas will be covered.
1 Basic harp technique, tuning, finger placement & posture
2 History of Celtic Harp in Celtic music
3 Playing melody lines, tune decoration in different styles
4. Accompanying other melody players: working out chords and how to play them in different styles
5. Tuning to play with bagpipes, Irish and Scottish and chordal accompaniment styles
6. Accompanying singers
7 Accompanying yourself singing
8 Arranging tunes from basic melody lines
TOP
Synchronized Singing at the Summer School - sea shanties in the swimming pool. Well it was 39o
All bed linen and doonas are provided - you do not need to bring bedding
What to bring
The essentials to remember to bring are: mozzie zapper that plugs in, fan (it can get hot), towels, soap, swimming gear etc.
A recorder will also be a good idea to record the tunes as you will be learning by ear. You might like to bring your own coffee plunger. David Alleway will be selling organic, fair trade coffee at a Schoolie price.
The nearest shops are 7kms away in Kyneton. Someone will make daily trips to Kyneton.
Anyone wishing to sleep outside at night will need to bring their own bedding as no cabin bedding may be removed from cabins.
The THEME for 2011 again is HATS as they were such fun in 2010
Just for fun and because Shirley and Elly (left) set such a benchmark in 2009 with their hats.
Check out the photos of some of the weird and wonderful HATS that appeared at dinner time each night. If any student has a photo I'd love to see them please.
The way the School works
Classes run from 9am - 4pm Mon, Tues and Thurs and from 9am - 12.30pm on Wednesday. The Wednesday afternoon is free for practice, swimming, walking, sightseeing whatever.
The classes are dedicated, meaning that students don't move between different classes during the week. The tutors plan the week to develop skills, once a tune has been learnt by ear. Emphasis is on playing by ear, where ornamentation, rhythm, lilt, harmonies etc are all added as the week progresses.
All classes are of an Intermediate to Advanced standard. Students are expected to be able to play their chosen instrument well enough to be able to capitalize on learning the ornamentation etc, rather than just learning to cope with their instrument. Students are encouraged to learn by ear to help them join in sessions more easily. Sheet music is usually not given out until the end of the School, if at all.
We have a slow jam session every evening before the main sessions, to allow players to pick up some of the more commonly played session tunes, and to reinforce tunes learned in past years at the School.
The School is for the students, so "drop ins" are not encouraged, as the sessions are an integral part of the students' training within the School setting. All ex-schoolies are always welcome however, just let Beth know if you'd like to visit
Travelling to Campaspe Downs
Trains
The trains run regularly from Southern Cross Station to Bendigo and stops at Kyneton. Someone will pick you up from the Kyneton station after 2.30pm on the Sunday - let Beth know your times please.
Bus
The shuttle bus from the airport leaves at 9.30, 11.00, 1.30 to Bendigo stops at Kyneton. It is essential you book this bus before hand.
