Fiddle Tunes at Centrum

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys

Centrum partner Seattle Theatre Group (STG) will present Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys on Saturday, October 18, at 7:30 pm at the Moore Theater in Seattle.

And, although Ralph Stanley needs no introduction, we'll go ahead and give him one anyway.

Ralph Edmond Stanley was born, grew up, and lives today in rural southwestern Virginia, in a little town called McClure at a place called Big Spraddle. Growing up, Ralph would listen to his father singing songs like "Man of Constant Sorrow," "Pretty Polly" and "Omie Wise."

He got his first banjoy as a teenager, bought from his aunt for $5 ("Which back then was probably like $5,000," Stanley says.) His parents owned a small store, and his aunt took the payment out in groceries.

Ralph was born in Dickenson County, Virginia, where he still resides when he's not on the road. After 55 years in the business, he's still the best banjo picker and tenor singer in bluegrass music. As a recording artist, he has performed on more than 170 albums, tapes, and CDs. He won a Grammy Award in 2002. 

But the success hasn't led him away from his roots. In addition to the many honors Ralph has received as a bluegrass musician, including membership on the Grand Ole Opry, he remains active in his local community; indeed, he sees his music as only one part of his life. Ralph is married to Jimmi Stanley, and they have three children: Lisa, Tonya, and Ralph II. 

The Clinch Mountain Boys currently live in scattered communities in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. They meet up in Coeburn, where their tour bus is parked and head out on the road. Their typical work week starts on Wednesday or Thursday and wraps up on Sunday, when they normally head in home for a couple days of well-deserved rest before starting out all over again. 

The Seattle Theater Group is the non-profit arts organization that operates The Historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in downtown Seattle. STG's mission is to make diverse dance, music, film, theatre and arts education an integral part of our rich cultural identity while keeping Seattle's historic Paramount and Moore Theatres alive and vibrant.

In August, 2010, STG and Centrum will co-present Dance This! at Fort Worden State Park, a residential opportunity for young dancers to learn and perform diverse dance styles from around the world.

Tickets are $33.00 or $23.00, not including applicable fees. Tickets are available Friday, August 22, at 10:00 am at all Ticketmaster outlets, at the Moore Theatre box office, or online at www.TheMoore.com. 

Darol Anger and Friends

[Darol Anger onstage]

Darol Anger and friends will be in residence at Centrum November 13-16, 2008, giving workshops as well as a special public performance. For more information, including registration information, follow this link.

Dirk's Reflections on the 2008 Festival

"You know, time stops when you pick!"
Chester MacMillan, Fiddle Tunes 2008

Of the many great quotes that surfaced during Fiddle Tunes 2008, this is perhaps my favorite.

Chester hit the nail on the head with this one! We are all chained to time in various ways, worrying about schedules, trying to make deadlines, wishing we were older or younger, resisting the imposition of time or succumbing to it, often missing the things that matter while focusing on the moments in which they are about to happen or just happened, ignoring the essential reality that each moment itself exists outside of time, in a permanent ever-happening now.

Music is an instant ticket to the present, to a place where time, as Chester says, simply stops. Get out your fiddle and wave it goodbye. You can always invite it back on your own terms when you're good and ready. And it will always serve you, rather than you serving it, if you allow music a central place in your life.

This year at Fiddle Tunes we saw the illusion of time exposed. The 80 - 90 year old set played some of the most spirited music of the week while the award for least sleep/most music, including full tuition for next year, went to 13-year-old fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves, whose playing comes from a deep well that can only be described as timeless.

Fiddle Tunes founder Bertram Levy described the phenomenon as older players (such as Earl Murphy, 91, and Harold Luce, 89) reaching towards modernity while younger players (such as De Temps Antan and The Pine Leaf Boys) reached towards antiquity. There were bridges being built everywhere and crossings happening at all hours of the day and night. We all made it to the same place, regardless.

Reluctantly, I will make one mention of actual time. The last jam session I know of started at 6:30 AM on Sunday morning (by players for whom it was still Saturday night) and went for about an hour or so before everyone involved went to the beach. During this session a person showed up whom several people called "the best dancer I've ever seen."

I don't know who he was. It remains a mystery, a wonderful mystery that on the last day of the event a person would show up and dance for an hour that has burned itself into the minds of those present as the pinnacle of one means of expression.

The memories of those moments, when forces converge and timeless experiences surface, will still be there when we're 90, and may inspire us then, like Earl and Harold, to get out the fiddle and give it another good lash. And, if things keep going like they did at Fiddle Tunes 2008, there'll be quite a few members of 13-year-old set there to hear it.

Announcing the Contemporary Stringband Workshop

We've just opened registration on an exciting new workshop here at Centrum.

Somewhere beyond or behind all musical borders lies a creative terrain where bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop, and various world musics mingle, played by musicians who care more for inspiration than they do for genre.

Our Contemporary Stringband Workshop is designed to take you there, and there is no better guide than Darol Anger, along with his fellow faculty members Scott Nygaard, Tristan Clarridge, and Matt Flinner.

Visit our CSW page for complete information on this premium experience taking place November 13-16, 2008 here at Fort Worden State Park.

Showtime at Fiddle Tunes

Happy Independence Day! The next two days--July 4 and July 5 (2008) are filled with public performances at Fort Worden State Park.

We hope you can join us for amazing performances featuring musicians and music from across the continent and beyond.

Complete program schedules and ticket information are available on our 2008 performance page.

Taste of Fiddle Tunes

Hello there. My name is Kristina and I spent the afternoon walking around to the various Fiddle Tunes workshops, taking in all the sights and sounds.  This is my fifth year coming to Fiddle Tunes and what always impresses me is that there are people of all ages here - truly a family friendly festival.  This afternoon was a series of workshops called Band Labs where participants have the opportunity to learn and perform group pieces. Below are a few of the photos from this afternoon.   Hope to see you at the concerts this weekend!

 

Fiddle Tunes Performances Coming Up!

[The Pine Leaf Boys in onstage performance]

Led by the incomparable Wilson Savoy, the Pine Leaf Boys--a Cajun/Creole band that is rising so fast they're scorching--will be leading a Cajun dance on Friday, July 4, at 7:30 pm at the Fort Worden Mule Barn Tent. Yes, there will be a bonfire and, yes, gumbo'll be for sale onsite. Tickets are ten bucks; youth eighteen and under get in free.

Information and tickets for this--and all--weekend Festival of American Fiddle Tunes shows are available by visiting our Fiddle Tunes performance page. (Watch for a Santa Claus appearance in this video at 2:48.)