Fall Fiddle Festival Workshops and Concert

featuring fiddle faculty
Hanneke Cassel, Don Roy, Audrey Budington, & Liz Faiella
with musical collaborators Cindy Roy, piano & Dan Faiella, guitar

Saturday, October 5, 2024
Concord Community Music School, Concord NH
Festival 9:30am-5pm, Concert 7:30pm
Workshops + Concert: $120
Concert only: $25 / $20 students & seniors

Fiddlers from the Celtic, New England, and Franco-American fiddling traditions will join forces in Concord for the sixth Fall Fiddle Festival, a day packed with workshops and group playing for fiddlers (and violinists who are interested in learning to fiddle!). The Festival, open to teens and adults, will include workshops on a variety of topics at the novice, intermediate, and advanced levels. In the evening, all four fiddle faculty members, along with their musical collaborators, will present a toe-tapping evening concert of fiddle music open to the public. 

The Festival will feature guest faculty members Hanneke Cassel and Don Roy, alongside two of New Hampshire’s own fiddling favorites, Audrey Budington and Liz Faiella. They’ll be joined for the evening concert by accompanists Dan Faiella, guitar and Cindy Roy, piano.

Fiddling champion Hanneke Cassel blends originality and innovation with the spirit of Scottish traditional fiddle. Fusing musical roots from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with Americana stylings, Hanneke’s playing has been described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.” National Heritage Fellowship recipient Don Roy is a virtuosic fiddler whose music is deeply rooted in the Franco-American tradition. He actively fosters community music-making and appreciation of traditional music through his unique fiddle orchestra, Fiddle-icious, and performs and records using his own violins.

From the Music School’s faculty, Audrey Budington is fluent in various fiddling styles and has performed with Rosanne Cash, Darol Anger, and Bruce Molsky among others. Liz Faiella, chair of the Folk Department at the Music School, brings flair and sensitivity to the traditional Celtic and New England folk music she loves. For fiddlers participating in the daytime workshops, keep an eye out for award-winning New Hampshire-based fiddler and Music School faculty member Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki, who will join the fiddle team in leading group tunes after lunch!

In the evening concert, the fiddlers will share the stage with two masterful accompanists. Cindy Roy, also a National Heritage Fellowship recipient, grew up immersed in the melodies and rhythms of Franco-American music. Her piano accompaniment is fluid and rhythmic and provides a perfect foil to the virtuosic fiddling of her husband and musical partner, Don Roy. Guitarist Dan Faiella specializes in traditional Celtic music. Trained as an accompanist through years of playing for New England contra dances and alongside Irish fiddlers, he has performed at venues and festivals around the country with numerous traditional music groups.

SCHEDULE – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5

Fall Fiddle Festival Workshops: 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(Doors open at 9:30 a.m., orientation at 9:45)
Space is limited and pre-registration is required
$120, includes full day of workshops & group playing plus an evening concert ticket

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Please note: This is a tentative schedule and may be subject to change!

9:30 Doors open, coffee and tea available
9:45-10:00 Orientation
10:00-11:15 Workshop Session 1
11:30-12:45 Workshop Session 2
12:45-1:45 Lunch*
1:45-2:15 Group Tunes
2:30-3:45 Workshop Session 3
4:00-5:00 Grand finale jam 
5:00-7:00 Dinner break*
7:30 Fall Fiddle Festival concert

*A note about food: Coffee, tea, and cookies will be provided! Lunch and dinner are not included in the cost of registration, but you are welcome to bring your own meals or head to downtown Concord. For lunch, you are also welcome to order (for an additional fee) from a list of options provided by the Music School in advance. Pre-ordered lunches will be offered on-site at lunchtime on Festival day.
 
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE (subject to change!)
Workshop session 1
Novice: Dance Tune Workshop with Don Roy
Intermediate: Ear Training and Improvisation with Audrey Budington
Intermediate: Reel Bowing Patterns with Liz Faiella
Advanced: Contemporary Scottish Fiddle Tune with Hanneke Cassel
 
Workshop Session 2
Novice: Ornamentation 101 with Liz Faiella
Novice/Intermediate: Slow Jam with Audrey Budington & Dan Faiella
Intermediate: All About Strathspeys with Hanneke Cassel
Advanced: Variation and Dynamics with Don Roy
 
Workshop Session 3
Novice: Scottish Session Tune with Hanneke Cassel
Intermediate: Phrasing and Tone Production with Don Roy
Intermediate/Advanced: Fast Jam with Liz & Dan Faiella
Advanced: The Wonderful World of 7/8 with Audrey Budington
 

Fall Fiddle Festival Concert: 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $25/adults, $20 students & seniors
Open to the public. Purchase Tickets Online Here.

REGISTRATION for the fiddle festival workshops is available online by clicking the button below, or by calling 603-228-1196. For questions regarding registration, please contact Registrar Nicole Laurin at nlaurin@ccmusicschool.org