Today's the day!

Today's the day for our Community Dance  at Everett!  Come join us at our all-ages dance from 2-4pm.  All dances will be called by Sue Rosen. Our dance band includes all piano, cello, fiddles, percussion & didgeridoo! 

9 Duncan Ave, by Action Auto Parts, off North Main Street, Providence, RI.

My visit to Rhode Island Fiddle Project

Jessie Berne, a multi-instrumentalist and Sistema Fellow at New England Conservatory, spent some time with us this month getting to know RI Fiddle Project, and sharing her love of music and dance, as well.  Here she is joining in on guitar -- and here are her thoughts on her visits!

After spending several days at Woodlawn Community Center meeting all the members of Rhode Island Fiddle Project, the teachers, the kids, and a few of the center's staff, I am filled to the brim with enthusiasm and inspiration to enter this same field of work!

Since September, I have been attending New England Conservatory as a Sistema Fellow, part of a post graduate program that is designed to teach us (there are 10 of us total) the ins and outs of developing non-profit programs that provide free after school music education specifically in regions where it's lacking.

Because of my background in folk music, I was especially drawn to Rachel's program and eager to see first hand how she has been so successful in maintaining her members (with the intent of growing the program to include the 35 students already on the waiting list), and inspiring youth to love playing the fiddle.

My first day in Pawtucket, I met Fiddler-in-Residence and teacher, Michelle Kaminsky, and had the pleasure of sitting in on her lessons with the kids. This was a real treat. I got to see her encouraging the more experienced kids in helping the newer ones, and noticed they were already comfortable with peer teaching. This was evident throughout my entire time there, and is an approach to teaching that we all believe is incredibly valuable for building leadership skills.

Because that day was unique with another Fellow visiting from Community MusicWorks in Providence, we were able to spontaneously form a real jam circle where the kids had the chance to play a critical role in the band setting, complete with guitar accompaniment and two other lead fiddle parts. There were smiles and excitement going around as we threw a couple new upbeat tunes at them. After hearing a particular melody and rhythm, these two astute young girls picked out the part they wanted to learn, and in just a blink of an eye, they were playing along and not wanting to stop! What fun we had!

I then saw Rachel lead a group class where she taught the beginning of a fiddle tune. They all were focused and able to pick up the tune with ease. The more time I spent with the kids, the more I was impressed by the amount and variety of tunes they knew. They were learning classical, pop, old-time, and Cajun melodies, and were quick to learn new ones.

I quickly realized that because the teachers have such passion for sharing their love of music, and folk music specifically, the students are engaged, determined, excited, and always wanting to come back for more. The Fiddle Project provides a supportive environment with teachers who have a true love of the kids.

I felt a very warm welcome from everyone there, and that they are open to meeting new people, learning from them, and flexible in trying new things. I can't wait to come back and visit again, hopefully for the next big dance event!

Thank you to the Fiddle Project for having me as your guest and teaching me so much. We will see each other soon!

With love,

Jessie Rose Berne

NEC Sistema Fellow

Inspired!

"Inspired" was a word we heard a lot from students as we were getting ready to leave Common Fence Music after a fabulous concert by April Verch and her band. 






That, along with:
 "I liked everything! The dancing, the playing, the singing..."
"How does she remember all those things?"




We had a packed afternoon which started with a workshop with April, a walk down to the water at Common Fence Point, lots of group games, and concluding with the best seats in the house for her concert (front row on the floor!)

Thanks to April and her Band, to everyone at Common Fence who helped to make this happen, and to those who helped us get to Portsmouth and back again!

Didgeridoo Day

Registration day was filled with more than paperwork once again...this time it was a chance to hear how the didgeridoo and the fiddle could work together!

We got to see how Stuart's Australian didgeridoo worked...

And the PVC Pipe one he brought, too!

-Thanks to Stu W. for working with us, and to Stew S. for sharing some photos from the afternoon-

Today we begin

Today our 4th Year of RI Fiddle Project begins!

Last year's registration day was filled with harmonicas.  This year we'll be introduced to the didgeridoo in between filling out our contracts and forms.  Our guest, Stuart (not in this video), will be sharing with us how a didgeridoo can be created from PVC pipe, and we'll have a chance to try it out...like this guy, perhaps? 

I'm pleased to announce:

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is generously supporting RI Fiddle Project this year with a $5000 grant.  Through Woodlawn CDC, this grant will help the project continue to offer high-quality lessons and group classes with our Fiddlers-in-Residence as well as visits by great guest musicians.

RISCA also facilitated a RISCAfolk Gathering this year: gathering musicians, festival coordinators, venue managers, arts writers, and project managers in one place.  Here's to more gathering!

Funding provided in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private funders.

And that's not all!!  Rhode Island Fiddle Project will continue to receive generous funding this year from the Carter Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation.

And now that we are ready to roll for 2012-13, our goal this year is to meet and get to know more people like you so that we can continue our fiddling and leadership work with kids and community beyond this year!  Why do you think supporting this work is important?  And how can we best share what we're doing so that more people find out about it?

This calls for some "foot stomping!"

 

Funding support: Great News, part 1 of 3!

We are pleased to announce that Rhode Island Fiddle Project is the recipient of a grant of more than $9,000 from the Jubilation Foundation Fund of the Tides Foundation towards our 2012-2013 season.

Here are some of the reasons why RI Fiddle Project is a great fit with the Jubilation Foundation's work.

The Jubilation Foundation values organizations committed to:

• on-going skill building
•  overcoming barriers related to race and class
• building community
• creating a ripple effect
• creating foot stomping public performances in a party-like atmosphere
• engendering flat out joy