Date: January 25th 2012

Joanie Blanton
Upper Potomac Music Weekends, director
http://upmw.smad.us
(304)263-2531

Dear Upper Potomac Students and Friends:

We now have our full web information up on our Spring Music Weekend featuring classes for the hammered dulcimer with Cindy Ribet, Patti Amelotte, Sam Rizetta, and Andy Young, and a mixed-instrument Social Ochestra class with Paul Oorts. I've attached a PDF of the brochure, and all the information is live on the web.

We had wonderful weekends with pipers and fiddlers in January! Soon concert videos will be up on the Shepherdstown Music and Dance Concerts YouTube site, but many past concerts are there for your enjoyment as well. http://www.youtube.com/user/akaelainesk?blend=1&ob=video-mustangbase

Peter Escherick took some nice photos of the Fiddle Retreat, these are posted here: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=pesherick&target=ALBUM&id=5699506125927506417&authkey=Gv1sRgCKyW5fKKyYjyCg&feat=email

I took a few photos, some of those will also go up on my facebook albums, or those of the Upper Potomac Weekends. Look for them there soon.

I also took two videos during the fiddle retreat of Cleek Schrey and Stuart Jackson that I think many of you would enjoy. They said it was OK for me to share with friends, but not to make them public or searchable... so you'll need the links in order to listen to them. These are just cuts from an unrehearsed jam session (2AM at my kitchen table), but I think you'll agree they are pretty nice. Cleek is playing a new (only owned it a month) hardingfele and Stuart plays uilleann pipes. Enjoy. We might to a special house concert this year sometime. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-EQJuO2Tyo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dFawrws5Y0

The Upper Potomac Board of Directors meets next month to decide next year's programs. If you have any ideas, thoughts or feedback that we might want to consider, send us an email at updf@earthlink.net. We want to have our programs reflect your wishes.

Some things that will be under consideration are: Switching the dates of the Fiddle Retreat and Pipers Weekend (first two January weekends), so that we don't have conflicting events on the first Saturday of January and that we have more dancers for the Fiddle Retreat dance. What our "Celtic Music Weekend" theme will be.

Possible dates are October 19-21 or November 16-18. Whether we run any other shorter programs (one day workshop with a concert). Who our special guest teachers might include. Fundraising ideas or a special event.
Theme or Special guests for the Spring Music Weekend 2013.

That's all for now!

Cheers,

Joanie Blanton
and the Upper Potomac Board of Directors