Granite Skyes
Volume 16 No. 6, February 2004

February Gathering
Sunday, February 29, 2004
1-5 pm, Annicchiaricco Theater
Concord, NH

March Gathering
Sunday, March 21, 2004
1-5 pm, Annicchiaricco Theater
Concord, NH

May Gathering
Sunday, May 30, 2004
1-5 pm, Annicchiaricco Theater
Concord, NH

June Gathering
Sunday, June 27, 2004
1-5 pm, Annicchiaricco Theater
Concord, NH

NOTES FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR
-by Sylvia Miskoe                 

This month we will explore some tunes in a different time signature. The
majority of the tunes in the Scottish repertoire and therefore the SRS
collection, are 2/4, 4/4, 6/8 and 3/4.  Occasionally one will find a tune in
9/8 or 3/2. 9/8 tunes are also called slip jigs and the Irish repertoire has
lots of them.  They are fun to play, once you get the rhythm. They never seem
to have an ending so you play them over and over.. And over....and over!

Unfortunately, the Scottish dances, both country and highland, do not use 9/8
with one or two exceptions. Strip the Willow and Hebredian Weaving Dance are
country dances; The Lilt is a highland dance. I could find no 3/2 dances. You
must go back to the 18th century to find anything in 3/2. However, English
Country Dances still use this rhythm.  There are two 9/8 jigs, Who Will Dandle
my Mary and A Highland Bumpkin. There are three 3/2 tunes. I first heard Ann
Leslie from Washington DC playing them. Now You're Gone Awa' is listed as an
aire. And the last tune, The Shepherdess, is in 12/8.  I think we'll have a
good time playing them all, getting their feel, deciding if they are aires, or
dances.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATE
-by Cindy Blaine, Secretary

Your secretary was not present at the last Board of Director's meeting and the
minutes were not prepared at the time of printing; therefore, if you would like
a copy of the minutes, please contact me at cmbfiddler @ yahoo.com.

The next Board of Director's meeting is scheduled on March 9, 2004 beginning at
7:30 p.m. at the NH School of Scottish Arts in Manchester, and is open to all
members.  Please contact me if you need directions.

SUMMER WORKSHOPS

Although it may be below zero outside, now is the time to start thinking about
taking a summer music workshop.  The following are a few suggestions for those
of you who are interested:

Boston Harbor Second Year
- by Barbara McOwen

The Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School is back for the second year! 


The dates are August 7 - 14, the location is, yes, on an island in Boston
Harbor. It is a residential week, with tuition, room and board provided. The
fiddle teachers are:

Hanneke Cassel, Boston, Mass - Scottish fiddle
Pete Clark, Perthshire, Scotland - Music of Niel Gow
Jerry Holland, Cape Breton - Cape Breton fiddle
Laura Risk, Montreal, Que - Scottish fiddle

Morning classes are divided by level -- Advanced, Advanced Intermediate, Early
Intermediate, and Beginner. A few Very Beginner Fiddle students can also be
accommodated. All ages are welcome!

The brochure / application will be out momentarily. Spaces are limited. If
you'd like to be sure that you're on the mailing list, contact the Folk Arts
Center, 781-662-7475, fac @ facone.org. The website is www.mcowen.net/fiddleschool
The School is sponsored by the Folk Arts Center, and the directors are Barbara
McOwen, Hanneke Cassel and Marcie VanCleave.

Hope to see you there!

Gaelic College - Vermont

In addition to their school on Cape Breton, the Gaelic College will produce its
first annual Summer School Session in Vermont beginning August 23 through
August 28, 2004 at The Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms, which is located seven
miles south of Burlington on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Tutors for the session will come from the Gaelic College faculty in Cape Breton
and the disciplines will be beginner and intermediate

Highland Dance, Highland and Small Pipes, Celtic Harp, Fiddle, Step Dance, Pipe
Band Drumming and Bodhran, Gaelic and Gaelic Song.

This will be a Com session [youth and adults]. All students will be day
students and lunch will be provided for all. Plenty of activities including
concerts and ceilidhs during after-class hours will keep everyone busy and
involved.

For additional information, please visit their website at www.gaeliccollege.edu
or call 902-295-3411.

SRSNH OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, COMMITTEES, & VOLUNTEERS
Music Director:  Sylvia Miskoe
Board of Directors: 
Sandy Lafleur, President
Bob Reed, Vice President 
Ed Los, Treasurer 
Cindy Blaine, Secretary 
Bruce Cobb, Frank Woodward & Marianne Taylor, Members at Large 
Scholarship Committee: Gary Hume, Chair;  Susan Willoughby & Elly Abelson
Memberships, Email Newsletters: Barbara McOwen
Webmaster: Terry Traub
Mailings; Denise and Jim Robinson
Back Music: Allen Brown; 
Newsletter Editor: Cindy Blaine 
Photographer: Evelyn Roberts
T-shirts: Bruce Cobb 
Refreshments: Calvin Gardner, Christina Brown 

SRSNH EVENTS

Gatherings on Sunday afternoons, 1-5 pm, Annicchiarico Music Theater, Thompson
& S. Main Sts, Concord, N.H. All ages, all instruments, all levels welcome;
free, with potluck refreshments.  Next gathering Sunday, February 29, 2004.

Merrimack Valley Scottish Country Dance W inter Dance - Saturday, February 21,
2004, 7:30 p.m. Bedford, New Hampshire Town Hall

CALENDAR

Monday, February 16, 2004 The Quebec supergroup 'Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer'
will make their US at 7pm at FlynnSpace in the Flynn Center for the Performing
Arts in Burlington, Vermont. Tickets ($20 advance, $23 day of show) are
available by calling 802-863-5966 or on-line at
http://www.flynncenter.org/regional/sustic.html.

A portion of proceeds from the concert will benefit the Tom Sustic
Fund. Contributions to the fund, including donated ticket purchases, can be
sent to: Tom Sustic Fund, PO Box 163, Fairfax, VT 05454. For more general
information about the concert series and the Tom Sustic Fund, contact Mark
Sustic at 802-849-6968 or mrksustc @ together.net or visit
http://home.together.net/~mrksustc/.

Saturday, March 27, 2004 -Tom Lewis 8:00 PM Masonic Hall, 1950 Mass, Ave,
Cambridge, MA. Info: (781) 862-7837 http://music-for-robin.org bhockett @ music-
-for-robin.org
Tickets: $14 in advance, $16 at the door CD release, "360°".
Tom, a 24-year veteran of the British Submarine Service brings an authenticity
to his sea chanties.

Saturday, May 8, 2004 - Niamh Parsons and Andy Irvine 8:00 PM First Baptist
Church, 1580 Mass. Ave, Lexington, MA Info: (781) 862-7837
http://music-for-robin.org bhockett @ music-for-robin.org General Amission: $18
in advance, $20 at the door Reserved Seats: $25

Niamh has one of the most distinctive voices in Irish music.

Andy blends his Irish musical heritage Eastern and Western traditions
-- 
Billie Hockett
Robin Blecher Celtic Arts, Inc 501(c)(3)
(a.k.a. Music for Robin)
535 Concord Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421
Phone: (781) 862-7837 FAX: (425) 650-9584
http://music-for-robin.org

SESSIONS, JAMS, DANCES

2nd Sundays - English dancing, 6:30-9:30 pm., Presidential Oaks,  Pleasant Street, 
Concord, N.H. $6, or $5 for ECDSNH members. Judith Ackerson 603-934-2543, or 
jnoska @ cyberportal.net; http://people.star.net/blw/dance/english.html  
3rd Sundays - Gaelic Club, 3-7 pm., Canadian American Club, Watertown,Mass. Peggy 
Morrison, 978-858-3792.
Mondays - Contra dance, 8 - 10:30, callers & musicians welcome to take a turn.  Nelson, 
N.H. Town Hall, $3 827-3732.
Tuesdays - Irish/Celtic Sessions at The Barley House Restaurant and Tavern, 132 North 
Main Street, Concord, N.H. 7:00 to 10:00 pm.  603-229-0083.
Wednesdays -Canadian Jam Session: We play a mixture of French and English Canadian fiddle 
tunes as well as some New England tunes and tunes of other origins.
$2 donation requested to cover the rent. Every Wednesday from 7:30 - 10:30 at the Durham, 
NH Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (corner of Madbury Rd. and Woodman Ave.). For more 
information call 603-664-2513 or or peter.yarensky @ unh.edu.
1st Wednesdays - Jam session, 7 pm, Foodee's, in the Milford Oval, Milford, N.H. Sandy 
Lafleur 603-673-8497.
Wed or Thurs - Scottish Country Dance, 7-9 pm., Chandler Library, Nashua, N.H. Loren 
Wright 603-891-2331.
1st Thursdays  - of every month Country Dance: Dover, NH City Hall - Upcoming dates Feb. 
5 with Peter Yarensky & Sarah Mason calling and teaching, music by the Lamprey River 
Band. Guest musicians and callers welcome. 8:00  10:40, $6. 603-664-2513.
2nd and 4th Thursdays - Beginner jam, 7-9pm, Fiddler's Loft (see Monday's info), free.
Fridays - Seacoast Scottish Country Dance class, Greenland Parish Hall on Rte 151, 
Greenland, N.H., 7:30-9:30 pm,  through end of June, Laurie Stevens 603-773-9795.
1st Fridays: Contra dance, Windham, N.H. Town Hall, 1/2 mi. W of exit 3,I-93; Neil Harvey 
603-890-8907.
2nd Fridays: Contra dance, Kittery, Me. Grange Hall (now called the Left Banke), 8 pm - 
various bands. $6.
3rd Fridays - Square and Contra Dances. Roaring Jelly, Lexington, Mass. Susan Elberger, 
Caller, and Debby Knight, Music Director. To dance or join band, call 781-944-3544, 
www.toc.lcs.mit.edu/~slonim/rjelly.html.
4th Fridays - Contra dance, 8-11 pm, Town Hall, Milford, N.H. Open band. Frank Woodward  
603-487-2480
1st Saturdays - Contra dance 8-11pm, Town Hall Petrborough, N.H. For more information: 
(phone): (603) 525-3883, (603) 525-4432; Email: fiddleheads @ adelphia.net
Saturday afternoon - play fiddle with John Campbell at his home in Maynard, Mass. For 
specifics, John 978-897-7031.
Saturday Afternoons, Arlington Comm. Traditional Music Sessions,  All sessions are on 
Saturday afternoons from 3:00 to 6:30 pm at the Fox Library, corner of Mass Ave and 
Cleveland St in East Arlington, Ma. Admission is $1 per person.  Call 781-643-3603 for further 
information and upcoming dates.
2nd Saturdays,  Contra dance, 8-11 pm, Town Hall, Gilmanton, N.H., $5 per person, $10 
family
2nd Saturdays - Contra dance, 8-11, Francestown, N.H. Town Hall.  Frank Woodward, 
603-487-2480, pygarus @ aol.com
3rd Saturdays - Contra dance, 8 pm, East Concord Community Center, $5
4th Saturdays - Contra dance, Kingston, NH, 8:30 pm - various bands. $7, 603-750-7506.

A REMINDER: Deadline for March articles is March 1, 2004.  No calendar dates
before March 16 will be included.

Granite Skyes is published monthly (10 issues) between September and June by
the Strathspey & Reel Society of New Hampshire. Subscription $8/yr ($18
overseas). Individual domestic memberships cost $20/yr; please inquire about
other rates. Edited by Cindy Blaine. All items welcome, depending on space
available; e-mail by the 1st of the month for inclusion in the mid-month
mailing to cmbfiddler @ yahoo.com in text only format. Email subscription is
free; send request to bmcowen @ world.std.com.  The SRSNH Web Page is maintained
by Terry Traub, http://www.srsnh.org