KIDS! JOIN THE GREAT GROOVE BAND!
Be part of an exciting new program at the festival this year where you will learn fiddle tunes with the ensemble and perform on stage for family and friends!
The Great Groove Band is the Philly Festival Kids Band coached by members of contemporary stringband Groovemama: Fiddlers Donna Hebert and Jane Rothfield, Guitarist Liza Constable, and bassist, banjo player Stuart Kenney.
IF YOU:
Want to learn and play fiddle tunes
Be in a band with other kids
Can read music (we have beginner versions of all the tunes)
Play fiddle, viola, cello, bass, flute/whistle, harp, guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, percussion or clarinet
Age 6-17 (we can work with beginners so don't be shy!)
THEN THE GREAT GROOVE BAND IS FOR YOU!
REQUIREMENTS
Rehearsals: These are important! We will learn and arrange the tunes at the rehearsals where we will break into small groups according to ability to learn the tunes with our wonderful instructors and then rehearse together with the whole group. The 1st rehearsal is on Friday afternoon for 2 hours. If you can't make the 1st rehearsal please try to pre-order your book so you can be familiar with the music for the Saturday rehearsal. If possible PLEASE try to make the Friday rehearsal! Rehearsals for 1 hour on Saturday and Sunday morning, and a performance on Sunday afternoon. TIMES AND LOCATIONS TO BE DETERMINED
Instruments: Bring your own instruments ready to play
Instrument Stand: Bring instrument stand please!
Great Groove Band Music Book/CD purchase: Purchase the Groove Band MUSIC BOOK and CD (includes 16 tunes and music CD with tunes played slowly and up to speed): COST $25 plus $4.50 (shipping). The packet must be ordered by August 10th. Order from Donna Hebert, PO Box 2632, Amherst MA 01004 OR at the Groove Band rehearsals at the festival. The Great Groove Band music books includes sheet music for 16 tunes, for one instrument AND a play-and-learn CD. Includes the melody music for violin/flute, viola, cello and clarinet, chord charts for backup players, and extremely basic half-note settings of each tune for new players. The repertoire ranges from Amazing Grace to Norwegian waltzes to Irish jigs and Scottish marches and French-Canadian, New England and Appalachian reels and songs.
PRE-REGISTERY: We will need to know how many kids will be there so if possible Pre-register online at www.dhebert.com
What instrument do you play? Be sure to let us know your 1). Instrument, 2). skill level/how long played, and 3) have you been in the band before? 4) parent email address 5) music reader or not?
The Great Groove band was inaugurated at the Old Songs Festival in 2000 by Donna Hebert, Massachussetts fiddler, performer and educator to provide an opportunity for school age musicians to actively learn fiddle music and have a real band experience! Over the past 6 years, the average number of young musicians has been 40 with instruments ranging from violins, cellos, basses, harps, electric guitar and even diggery doo! As a member of the Great Groove Band, kids will rehearse throughout the weekend working with Groovemama bandmembers as well as our volunteer staff of parents and teachers, culminating in an exciting concert on stage at the festival!
TESTIMONIALS:
Fourteen-year-old Albany area fiddler (And Old Songs Great Groove Band Alumni) Colleen Holyroyd says, "The Great Groove Band has shown me how to play, perform, and pass it on, opening windows and doors of opportunity." Says her mother, Nancy Holroyd, "Not only is Colleen learning to make the kind of music that she loves, she's learning to pass it on at her after-school traditional strings program. Particularly valuable is the Groove Band experience of turning a tune into a performance."
Old Songs Festival director Andy Spence is an enthusiastic supporter of the Great Groove Band, observing that, "Fiddle tunes provide an opportunity for the players to share the thrill of making music with friends, playing for dancing and just for fun! In the relaxed atmosphere of the Festival, Groove Band members keep the traditions alive, meet new friends from distant places, and begin the process of passing the music on."
