(update 4/12/2020) Not all of our events are canceled, some are changing to an online format using conferencing and live streaming tools.
The FSGW Calendar can be viewed two ways:
Thanks to Fred Stollnitz for hosting the March Open Sing at 7:30PM on Friday, 3/5/21
Topic: Women's history
If you wish to put your name on the list for singing, go to the signup list by clicking here.
(If you just want to listen, no need to sign up)
Not sure if you've signed up already? See who's signed up by clicking here.
The Zoom link will be sent the afternoon of 3/5 to the Open Sing Mailing List If you're not on the mailing list, join by going clicking here.
Doors open at 7:00, concert starts at 7:30
Music rooted in Native American traditions
With Jamie Fox, Joanne Shenandoah, and Robert Mirabal
Kicking off a week celebrating the culture of Native Americans (see in the FSGW calendar the Orpheus workshop with Ty Ellis on and the Grapevine storytelling event with Gayle Ross and Joseph Bruchac), FSGW presents a concert program featuring the Metis fiddling of Jamie Fox, the guitar and songs of Joanne Shenandoah, and the flutes and stories of Robert Mirabal. These musicians take their Native American traditions and combine them with American folk culture to produce unique and fascinating sounds.
Jamie Fox is a Métis fiddler of the Aaniih and Nakoda tribes. She grew up on the Fort Belknap Reservation of Northern Montana where she was immersed in a lively fiddle and dance tradition in the community. The tunes and dancing played there derive from a mixture of Celtic, French, and Native American cultures – local Saturday night dances were a positive bridge in the racial divide of what it meant to grow up on the reservation and be mixed blood. Métis means “mix race” – not only does Jamie have native and European heritage, but her fiddle music is a melding of cultures, as you will hear.
Joanne Shenandoah is one of America’s most celebrated and critically acclaimed Native American musicians. A Grammy Award winner with over 40 music awards for her 18 recordings, her music ranges from acapella to full symphony and has been heard on hundreds of documentaries, films and music videos. In 2014 she served as Co-Chair to the Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. With a deep sense of passion and profound messages she is considered an Ambassador of Peace and has brought audiences together from all over the world, every race, religion and age.
"She weaves you into a trance with her beautiful Iroquois chants and wraps her voice around you like a warm blanket on a cool winter's night," --Robbie Robertson.
Robert Mirabal is a Pueblo musician and Native American flute player and maker from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. His flutes are world-renowned and have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of the American Indian. An award-winning musician and leading proponent of world music, Mirabal performs worldwide, sharing flute songs, tribal rock, dance, and storytelling. Mirabal was twice named the Native American Music Awards’ Artist of the Year, and received the Songwriter of the Year award three times. He was featured in Grammy Award winning album, Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth in 2006 for Best Native American Music Album. Mirabal also published a book of storytelling poetry and prose in 1994 entitled Skeletons of a Bridge and is currently writing a second book, Running Alone in Photographs. Aside from his artistic talents, Mirabal is a father and a farmer, living in Taos Pueblo and participating in the traditional ways and rituals of his people.
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At the beginning of the evening (at approximately 7:25 pm), there will be a brief meeting of FSGW for the purpose of taking nominations from the floor (or, this year, from Zoom boxes) for folks who are willing to serve on the 2021–2022 FSGW Board, which guides the running and work of the society. All are welcome to attend, but only FSGW members may nominate or become candidates for the Board. (Suggestion: Renew your membership or join FSGW now so you can participate fully.)
Register by clicking on the registration button, and we'll give you the Zoom link.
Cost to register: free; Suggested donation: $20 per listener. (If you feel generous and can afford it, a higher amount will help support the performers.)
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General information on the 2020/2021 Sunday evening concert series is on the Concerts page.
Bone Jewelry, most commonly seen in the form of a Choker/Necklace, is an essential part of indigenous culture native to what is now known as America. The art of threading this jewelry is applicable to many desired results; be it a necklace, bracelet, choker with or without a pendant, breastplate, and more. This class with Ty "Dancing Wolf" Ellis from the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, will demonstrate the techniques used to string a choker together.
Skill Level: Beginner
Suggested Materials:
spool
optional materials: smaller hairpipes, charms, a pendent such as a shell with small holes drilled into them
Supplies Needed: Hole Punch, Scissors
About the Artist: Tyrone "Dancing Wolf" Ellis is a Wolf Clan member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of New Jersey. He practices many cultural arts, such as rattle making, drum making, singing & drumming, regalia making, and beadwork. He was a recipient of the New Jersey Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant, working under the tribe’s Chief to learn the creation of both Pow-Wow Drums and Water Drums and gained a residency from the Wheaton Arts to teach the younger generation of tribal youth. Tyrone has learned from numerous respected elders and knowledge holders amongst the tribe, including well known people such as Chief Mark “Quiet Hawk” Gould, Co- Chief Lewis “Grey Squirrel” Sonny Pierce, late grandmother Lorraine “Rainbow Walker” Gregg, Urie Ridgeway, and Will Mosley Sr. As his tribe’s Annual Pow-Wow and Program Coordinator he demonstrates the bulk of these arts to the public to promote healthy relationships while reducing stereotypes and ignorance of Native American Culture. More about the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation at https://nlltribe.com/
Questions? Contact Amanda Muir at orpheus@fsgw.org
General Information about The Orpheus Workshop Series
Our featured tellers this month are the northern Joseph Bruchac and the southern Gayle Ross.
Please register FOR FREE. You will get an email with the necessary Zoom information. We ask for donations to support our tellers, suggested $15 per person. Donations can be made online before, during, or after the event.
The Grapevine is spoken word performance for adults and teens, celebrating the timeless art of the story, hosted by storytellers Noa Baum, Renée Brachfeld, and Tim Livengood.
For more information go to The Grapevine (Storytelling)
Join us online for an evening of English Country Dancing.
Our talented caller has put together a program of dances adapted for one or two dancers.
We will be using Zoom video conference. To get details on how to attend, visit the English Country Dance page
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Each week we will be collecting contributions to the caller (turns out it is more work to prepare an evening of dances for people dancing solo, or in pairs, in their homes). To contribute to this week's caller, please use the link below:
Online ECD caller contribution
The monthly Schweinhaut Song Circle provides a daytime opportunity to enjoy delightful songs, old or new, humorous or serious, timeless or topical.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of age or experience. Come for informal group singing or just to listen. Free!
While Montgomery County senior centers are closed, join us using Zoom with any Internet-connected device--computer, tablet, or smartphone--or you can join by dialing a phone number.
March is Women's History month, and March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, so bring or request your favorite Irish or Irish-American songs and songs about women's history. We'll go around the virtual room as many times as we can, giving everyone a chance to request a song (or just pass) during each round.
If you wish to request particular songs, it's helpful if you let us know in advance using the registration form linked above.
Wendy Lanxner will lead songs with guitar accompaniment until 2 p.m., after which any participant may lead any song, a cappella or self-accompanied.
If this will be your first use of Zoom, go to https://zoom.us, click on " Sign Up, It's Free " and follow the prompts (entering your email address when asked for "your work email"). Do this ahead of time so that you'll be all set to "join the meeting" when it's time to do so. Information about getting started with Zoom is at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697.
If you installed Zoom on your computer before March 1, go to https://zoom.us/download to download and install Version 5.5.4 of Zoom Client for Meetings before you want to join any Zoom session. For a smartphone or tablet, update the Zoom app from your App Store or equivalent source.
Join us on March 17 via Zoom. Especially if you're just getting started with Zoom, please try to join the Zoom session 5 or 10 minutes before 1 p.m. so that we can help with any technical issues before the session begins.
For more information see the Song Circles page.
Concert (online): Irish music for a belated St. Patrick's Day
(You’ll have to bring your own Guinness or Bushmills.)
With Peter Brice and Brian Ó hAirt
Brian Ó hAirt is an accomplished musician on concertina, accordion, and tin whistle, and he sings in both the Irish and English languages. Also a dancer and Irish Gaelic speaker, his artistry draws from his many experiences growing up among the Irish diaspora of the upper Midwest and his coming of age in the vibrant Gaelic communities of Ireland’s west coast. An All-Ireland champion singer since 2002, Brian has since gone on to collaborate and record with Chicago-based ensemble Bua and singing legend Len Graham of Co. Antrim. His understated musical style is full of lift and subtlety. Brian lived in the DC area for a while, but he has returned to Portland, Oregon during the pandemic.
Peter Brice plays Irish Traditional music on the button accordion and sings old songs in a traditional style. A native of Annapolis and an exponent of Baltimore, Maryland's Irish traditional music community, Peter's work blends singing and musicianship with musicology and history, humor and colorful design, and a vision for traditional culture as a foundation for an intellectual life. His playing reflects his admiration for Galway accordionists such as Joe Cooley, Kevin Keegan, and Raymond Roland—a style into which he was initiated by Brooklyn-born accordionist and National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey. A lifelong singer, Peter has married a repertoire of American historical songs with a wide-ranging English-language style that he gleaned from his teachers Dónal Maguire and the late Louisa Jo Killen. As an adolescent, he was educated in the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory program, and he holds a BA in Irish Traditional Music and Dance from the University of Limerick.
Singing and seisiún to follow.
Support your favorite pizzaria with this drumming class! Accomplished linguist and musician Scott Morrison will explain the inherent rhythms within the Scottish Gaelic language and how they are represented on the bodhrán (Gaelic drum) through jigs and reels. Participants will learn how to play different strokes on their pizza box bodhrán, including the roll technique.
Materials Needed: a pizza box and a thick and straight piece of wood- popsicle sticks/ BBQ skewers rubber banded together, a piece of bamboo, or a really thick pencil.
About the Artist: Scott Morrison is co-founder and Head Teacher of Sgoil Gàidhlig Bhaile an Taigh Mhóir, and has been studying the Gaelic language for over 16 years. He earned a B.A. in Gaelic Language and Culture from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye in December 2018. An accomplished musician as well as a linguist, Mr. Morrison teaches percussion and Celtic Traditional music in his studio called Rimshots. In particular, he teaches the Bodhràn, the Tin Whistle, the Bones, and the Spoons. Mr. Morrison also sings many Gaelic songs (learned from Gillebride) and won the men’s traditional singing contest in the US National Mòd in 2011. Mr. Morrison has also won numerous awards at previous Mòds for Gaelic poetry writing, poetry recitation, and storytelling including the coveted Argyll Cup for outstanding scholarship three times. More about Scott at https://sgoilgaidhlig.org/about-the-instructor/
On Tuesday, <month> <day>, <year>, the FSGW Board will meet from 8pm to 10pm in a video conference meeting. Please contact the FGSW President via this link or the FSGW WebMaster via this link to get the video conference information if you wish to attend.
Board meetings are open to members. If you have agenda items you wish to have considered, please contact the FSGW President at: president@fsgw.org
Our featured tellers this month are the wonderful Emily Lansana and the awesome Noa Baum.
For more information and to register, go to The Grapevine (Storytelling)
Our featured tellers this month are the exuberant Queen Nur and the vivid Simon Brooks.
Our featured tellers this month are Nancy Wang and Renée Brachfeld
The FSGW Getaway will be online again this year via Zoom from Friday, October 8 through Monday, October 11.
Enjoy four days of singing circles, concerts, instructional workshops, and presentations.
Admission to the Getaway will be free again this year! A donation of $25 (or any amount) is suggested, but not required. Donations will support the FSGW Getaway scholarship fund and FSGW's programming. Donate to Getaway
Registration, which will be available by early summer, will allow you to attend all the sessions and to receive the final schedule with Zoom links and other information. Zoom has evolved a lot since we did this last year, and our tech skills have gotten better!
Details are on the Getaway page.