Victoria Fiddle Society- Jam Reports

 

  DID YOU KNOW ...White distilled vinegar is an effective earth-friendly herbicide. Use it full strength to kill weeds, especially in crevices and cracks of walkways and driveways.
 

June 2010 - (Last Jam until September)

 

About 100 people came to the last Jam of the season, with the June evening sun streaming through the hall windows. Daniel Lapp led the first half, starting off at breakneck speed which shocked everyone into laughter and set a festive tone for the evening! After that he followed the more usual path of starting slowly and speeding up so everyone could learn
new tunes. Thank you Daniel, it was great fun!


During the Break, Marie Bachand presented the Awards for the Fiddling Section of the Victoria Performing Arts Festival in May. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who took part, making it such a great event this year.


About 30 people stayed for the second half, led by Sarah and Patrick, with Quinn on guitar and Brooke on piano, and lots of tunes started by others who stayed----it was a good end to a great season.


Have a great summer everyone---see you at summer events and then in September!

 

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

 

June 12th - Year End Barn Dance, with our favourites: Calvin Cairns, Quinn Bachand and Jeremy Walsh.  St. Matthias Hall, 7 pm

 

June 20th - VFS 8th Annual Father's Day Ceilidh in the Park

 

July 1st Sidney Parade.  The Victoria Fiddle Society will be taking part in the Sidney Parade again this year on July 1st from 10:00 am till Noon!  All Are Welcome!

Please email Ann Gower at agower@uvic.ca to be put on the list

 


May 2010

 

Great jam, led by one of our favourite fiddlers, Louise Dechamps.  Louise's enthusiasm and driving energy always inspires the group present, and this time was no different.  Thank you Louise!!  The Bursary Awards were handed out before the break - congratulations to the four winners.  Daniel Lapp's BC Fiddle Orchestra conducted a silent auction during the jam to raise funds for SEVEC - the youth exchange program being held with a group of young fiddlers from Whitehorse, Yukon.  Funds raised will help pay for the week's activities when the Whitehorse fiddle kids are here (May 19-25).


A small group of enthusiastic fiddlers started the second half (after a long break to complete the silent auction). Others joined in, the volume grew, and after a while the teens joined us and led us in a wide variety of tunes including some of Oliver Schroer's (see announcements below). With Louisa on the piano, the Jam, though fairly small (30 to 40 people), continued  enthusiastically till the last chair was stacked! Thanks, teens!

Announcements:    

Oliver Schroer – Silence at the Heart of Things  - Movie Monday Theatre – Eric Martin Pavilion.  Performances 6:30 pm and 8:20 pm, Monday May 17, 2010  72 minutes. 
Email
stamura@shaw.ca for more information.

Jamie Laval and Zac Leger  House Concert June 2nd  Fiddle & Guitar workshop June 1st.

Saturday, June 12 - 7 pm - VFS Year End Dance & major fundraising event  St. Matthews Hall  Hosted by Calvin Cairns & friends - grab your family and friends and join us for a great evening.
 


April 2010

 

The April jam was much more subdued than usual.  It was a smaller crowd due to the change in date from our usual first Friday of the month.  Ann Gower led the first half, and most of the tunes were our usual favourites.  Thanks Ann, for your great leadership - it was a very enjoyable first half.  At break, the concession was given over to the kids participating in a fiddle exchange between Victoria and Whitehorse, Yukon as a fundraiser for the exchange. 

The advanced teens were eager to get going in the last half,  and it moved along nicely.   Those who stayed where glad they did!

 

Announcements:

  • The Bursary Application date has closed, and the applications are now being considered by the Bursary Committee. 

  • Calvin VOLLRATH and Patti LAMOUREUX Victoria House Concert Sunday April 18th -
    1335 Roy Road  Phone Dan at 250 479 4568 to reserve a spot. 

     


March 2010

 

Enthusiastic crowd, good selection of instruments, great music, the main jam was led by our own Calvin Cairns – always a pleasure!  Thanks Calvin -  It was refreshing to see our President Daniel Lapp helping in the kitchen during the first half.  Quite a change of venue for our Olympic Fiddle Champion, fresh from that mind blowing performance at the opening of the Olympics!

 

The second half of the jam got off to a slow start and quite a number of people had drifted away before teens came and led us all in some fast tunes, lively piano accompaniment, and contributions from the rest of the jam players.  The evening ending rather earlier than usual.
 

 Announcements: 

  1. The next jam will be April 9th – NOT April 2rd as originally planned.  (That’s Good Friday).
  2. The Bursary Application deadline has been extended to April 9th.  Get them in, guys!!
  3. Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas workshop, March 26th and 27th
  4. Fiddlefest 2010 is in the works!!  Keep the dates November 26th and 27th free.

 


February 2010

The evening began with a lively performance on stage by about 20 of the BC Fiddle Orchestra students, who are planning an exchange with Whitehorse fiddle students in May. After an introduction read by one of the students, they played a set of tunes with an interesting arrangement.  One student played piano.


Calvin then led the first half of the jam with his inspiring energy--he's so good at starting each piece slowly and encouraging everyone to stay with it as he increases the speed.   About 120 people of all ages played and loved it!

 

In the intermission the BCFO fiddlers ran the concession and the 50/50 draw, with all proceeds going to the exchange fund. Calvin also generously donated all proceeds from his book sales that evening --thanks Calvin!  A total of more than $600 was raised for the trip. Thanks to everyone!


The teens then led the second half of the Jam in an energetic way -- about 100 people stayed for it, and the session went on till the last possible minute! It was a great evening!

Announcements:

Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival has extended it's deadline for entries to Feb 8---please consider signing up.


Ashley MacIsaac
Concert -- Sat Feb 20, 7.30pm St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, (corner of Douglas and Broughton).
Ashley MacIsaac
Workshop -- Sat, Feb 20, 10:00 am to 11:30 am, Esquimalt Rec Centre – Pioneer Room. 

For more information email or phone Marie  marie@abachand.ca  250-472-0999


January 2010

This very first jam of 2010 was an unqualified success.  The main jam was lead by the vivacious and entertaining Louise Deschamps, who got everybody involved in some slower tunes as well as sneaking in a few fast ones.  Working with a nearly standing room only crowd, Louise managed to hold everybody together throughout the hour, and the tunes just kept coming.  Great job, Louise!! 

The teen advanced jam was led by Daniel Lapp, and although we could not hear what was happening in that room, everybody emerged with grins on their faces, so I think we can assume the best.

After the break, Daniel, his guests, and the teens joined the main jam, challenging most of us with some much more advanced tunes.   The group was enjoying themselves so much that the 'clean up crew' was forced to practically pull the chairs out from under our bottoms to encourage us to pack up and go home!

An old friend of VFS, Ivonne Hernandez also joined us during the last half.  It was great to see her again - fresh from Boston with a brand new music diploma in her fiddle case.  Sounds like great things are in store for Ivonne, who will be rubbing elBOWS with some of the fiddle greats, including Mark O'Connor in near future.  Good on you, Ivonne, we are all very proud of you.

Announcements: 


December Jam
Our 2009 Christmas Jam started with a lively group led by Daniel Lapp, playing a selection of popular favourites and Christmas Carols.  After the break  we had a visit from Santa, and then Calvin Cairns assumed the leadership baton (or in this case bow) and we got seriously into Christmas Carols.  Everybody had a great time, and we collected some donations the Food Bank.   A BIG thanks to Daniel and Calvin for a great job.

Announcements:
Concert Reminders:  Nellie Quinn's Across the Pond and Back HomeWednesday December 16th

                                              Home for Christmas with Daniel Lapp and Friends December 19th
                                A Celtic Christmas with Qristina and Quinn December 21st.

Everybody is reminded that the registration for the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival  is coming up in January - be sure to check the website and get your applications in before the deadline.


October Jam
Louisa DesChamps led the first half of the jam with her wonderful energy--- she was her customarily lively self, and managed to project her voice loud enough for everyone to hear and get the beat!
Thank you Louisa
- we LOVE you!!!-- Also, Brook Maxwell played piano for us, which was a real treat. 

The teens led the second half with a great mixture of old and  new tunes. 

Thanks to everybody who turned out and helped make it another great jam.

Announcements:
FIDDLE FEST 2009!!! If you have not already signed up, better get a move on.  Its only a couple of weeks away.

Next Jam December 4th.  Remember NO JAM IN NOVEMBER - its FIDDLE FEST!!!

September 11 Jam

This marked the first jam of the 2009/10 season, and predictably it was a little slow getting started. At times it seemed folks were more interested in catching up after a summer's absence from each other than actually jamming.  Ann Gower did an excellent job of settling things down, and it was fun to go over some of our old favourites.   This might however, be a good time to remind people about Jam Etiquette.   The second half of the jam was self-directed, with the advanced teens keeping things together nicely. 

Announcements:
Patti Lamoureux once a month fiddle classes - please contact Patti if you are interested.  This is an excellent opportunity for Victoria fiddlers to learn some some of our very own Canadian Fiddle Tunes.  Since Canadian fiddlers have composed, and continue to compose, some of the greatest fiddle tunes in the world, we can be proud of our fiddle tune heritage. 

On October 3rd Qristina & Quinn Bachand invite you to join them as they participate in the 8th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days International "Harmony For Humanity" Concert Network.

Your 2009/10 Membership is due.
 
Everybody is reminded that our Second Annual Fiddle Fest is coming up in November.  The Fiddle Fest committee is working hard to finalize schedules and events  - so please keep a close watch on the Fiddle Fest link.

A big thanks to Ann Gower for leading the first half of the jam.  Our next jam is October 2nd.