Mandolin & Guitar Residential Weekend
6th to 8th May 2011
Wiston Lodge, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Course Outline | Meet the Tutors | Workshops | Accommodation | Price | Booking
Now in its 8th year the residential is a weekend of workshops and tuition, ensemble and sessions aimed at anyone wishing to improve their mandolin and guitar skills, from beginners to advanced players.
Course Outline
- Individual or small group tuition (30 minutes daily) Instrumental technique class - this will introduce the participants to a technique programme that will help you to continue your technical progress beyond the weekend.
- Specialist tutors
- Workshops in various styles of music (see page 2 and 3 for details)
- Ensemble - parts of various difficulty will enable everyone to join in at their own level. The ensemble will play pieces from different styles.
- Introduction to the topic of the weekend
- Evening get-together / session. This led session gives people an opportunity to perform their "party piece" or join in one of the pieces for which music (in tab and standard notation) will be provided.
Venue
The weekend takes place at Wiston Lodge (Near Biggar, South Lanarkshire). A former Victorian Hunting Lodge built in the 1850s Wiston is located within the beautiful surroundings of the Upper Clyde Valley and offers the perfect setting for a music weekend.
Although only about 10 minutes from the M74 (J13) the venue offers a quiet environment with space were everyone can relax, practice and jam to their hearts content. There are great rooms for group work and a 52-acre estate to walk around with a rich mixture of woodlands.
Wiston Lodge staff pride themselves on providing delicious, homemade food. Their cooks are well versed in preparing meals for groups or individuals with special dietary requirements.
Meet the Tutors
Barbara Pommerenke-Steel is the co-founder the Lanarkshire Guitar and Mandolin Association (LGMA). She has designed, developed and delivered a wide range of music courses for young people, adults and professional musicians and tutors. Through her work with the British Banjo Mandolin and Guitar Federation (The BMG) she has become involved in the development of the new syllabus for mandolin, which has been published by Victoria College of Music.
As Chairperson of the British BMG Federation and President of EGMA (European Guitar and Mandolin Association) Barbara strives to improve the standard of teaching and playing. She publishes compositions with Astute Music. In her day job she teaches music at a secondary ASN school and is mandolin tutor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Nigel Gatherer is one of the UKs leading Celtic mandolin tutors, having spent twenty five years performing, collecting, publishing and teaching in the field. Nominated as Traditional Tutor of the Year in 2009, his classes and workshops are popular throughout the UK, not least for the sense of ease and fun he instills in his students. Nigel is a tutor with the LGMA, lead mandolin tutor with Glasgow Fiddle Workshops and is the founder and conductor of EMGO the Edinburgh mandolin and guitar orchestra ... and apart from all that, he's a really nice guy!
Dr. Stefanie Rauch "Steffi" is a first class mandolinist and teacher, a concert performer in numerous European countries both as soloist and chamber musician, with ensembles like the Hessian State Plucked String Orchestra and the prestigious folklore ensemble Vinorosso. She has taught on courses in Scotland, Austria and Germany, and is vice-president of the German Association of Plucked String Musicians (BDZ).
Since gaining her doctorate she has held several teaching commissions, e.g. at the Music University of Cologne (Wuppertal branch) for mandolin, and is assistant professor for music history at the University of Paderborn and the Music University of Detmold.
Adele Neilson has become one of Scotland's vibrant young performers. Adele gained a distinction at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for her Post-Graduate Diploma in July 2009 and as a solo guitarist she has played many recitals in various important venues such as Bolivar Hall, London; Rosslyn Chapel. Adele currently teaches at St George's School For Girls, Edinburgh and with the Lanarkshire Guitar and Mandolin Association where she is also the leader of the LGMA Classical Guitar Circle. In 2010 she became the Director of the Strathclyde University Guitar Ensemble.
Keith Harris Our good friend Keith is one of the most highly respected players and teachers in the mandolin world. Germany has been his base since 1979, but he has taught, played and conducted almost wherever in the world the mandolin is played. He is very involved in the German mandolin scene and from 1986- 1998 he was the conductor of a state mandolin & guitar orchestra which toured Australia, Canada and the USA as well as numerous European countries and recorded 4 CDs.
From 1990 to 1998 he was lecturer in Mandolin at the Music University in Heidelberg. A chronic illness stopped his playing career in 1989, but despite this he continues to conduct and teach.
Workshop details
Theme For each residential we have a special theme to our workshops and this weekend's topic will be "Making up Music" which ranges from writing your own "traditional" tune to jamming.Styles "La Folia" is a chord sequence which has been used since the 16th century as a basic for compositions from all sorts of styles.
Choice During the workshops participants will have the chance to play and explore music in your preferred style. Participants can choose 2 workshops (on the course application you will ask you to indicate your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice).
Workshop 1 with Nigel
Nigel Gatherer will offer a two-fold approach to the weekend's topic. Firstly, the group will play an existing tune and explore its relation to La Folia then; using the knowledge gained, use our own imaginations to create a new piece at once true to Celtic idioms and based on the La Folia structure.
Workshop 2 with Steffi
La Folia perhaps originated in Spain since it is found in early song collection from the 16th century. Using this idea as an inspiration we are going to apply various elements of Spanish music, like the well-known rasgueado-technique or special rhythms to the tune to explore the idea of national elements in music.
Workshop 3 with Adele
"My workshop will focus on composing an original variation of the famous Baroque melody and theme La Folia. By working with me and in small groups you will learn different composition techniques with the aim of being able to create a melody over an existing chord sequence. This workshop welcomes any plucked string players with varying abilities who would like to have a greater understanding of what it takes to arrange music or simply to learn more about the harmonic and melodic qualities of their instrument and general music theory."
Workshop 4 with Keith
When people "jam", they improvise around a predictable harmonic sequence. If they don't all change from C to G7 at roughly the same time, it sounds more or less chaotic. A bit of chaos can be fun and interesting - but ... The Follia chord sequence is one such basic foundation around which thousands of pieces have been written. There are lots of others, and this workshop will look at the way the improvisation process works.
Orchestra with Barbara
Never played as part of an orchestra?... now's your chance. All participants from beginners to advanced levels will join to form one big group to learn and play three pieces from different styles. Each player will be issued with parts at their own level. All music will be supplied in both tab and standard notation and those who prefer to learn music by ear can ask for a midi or wav file to be sent to them.
Some Comments from Participants
"What a weekend! I've learned more in a couple of days than I have all year... exhausted but very happy, many thanks to everyone""As a beginner I was a bit worried about how I would get on... but it was superb, I learned lots, the tutors were great and everyone was so friendly... I'll be back!"
"I've never taken part in a weekend which was so jam packed with activity and the level of tuition was simply first class (so was the food!). Although I consider myself an advanced payer I had never before had the opportunity to play as part of a large group and the orchestra workshop was a brilliant experience, how you get all these people including beginners playing together to make such a great sound is just amazing."
Wiston Lodge www.wistonlodge.co.uk
Wiston is a superb place to hold a residential. The staff are very friendly, the food is outstanding and the scenery is stunning. It is important that participants are aware that Wiston is not a hotel, and accommodation is a mainly in dormitories... so you will get a great opportunity to get to know your fellow participants, but no fighting over who gets the top bunk!
The Price
The inclusive price of the weekend, full board and all tuition is: LGMA members £200 (This includes LGMA orchestra and class members) and for non LGMA members £220
Booking Your Place
To book a place on the course please complete the course application form and return it with a non refundable deposit of £50 by 31st March 2011 to: The LGMA Administrator, 1 Fraser Crescent, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, ML3 8LG (Please make cheques payable to the LGMA)
Questions etc
Once we have received your application and you are registered as a participant we will issue you with further details, the course timetable and travel directions etc. It is planned to send out the orchestra music prior to the course. In the meantime if you have any questions or need any advice please contact our Administrator Ian or the Course Co-ordinator Barbara. Tel: 01698 457518 or Email: secretary@mandolinscotland.org
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