 |
| Late night outdoor session behind the Icehouse pub. |
Highlights
Small, intimate classes
meant the teacher-to-student ratio was very good, sometimes 1:1! This was a transition year for the event (out with the old, in with the new) and that along with the economy and competition could have contributed to the lower than normal attendance. While perhaps not what Augusta would have wanted, for students this meant more personal attention.
Quality of the
instructors. New coordinator Dan
Neely did a fine job assembling the team of Patrick Ourceau, Mick Conneely,
Pauline Conneely, Cillian Vallely, Ivan Goff, Mairtin de Cogain, Brian Holleran,
Dennis Cahill, Dan Gurney, Dylan Foley, Donna Long, Troy MacGillivray, Jimmy
Crowley, and Brian O hAirt. These are not just top notch players but great
teachers as well. All that was missing
was a bouzouki class from what I could tell.
Sessions in the Icehouse
pub. The Icehouse is a really cool,
three-story dive bar smack dab in the middle of campus. It was a fun place to hang each evening and
socialize with the other students. On
most nights a mighty, advanced-level session would develop there.
Daily open sessions: 9:00-9:45am slow sessions at Gribble Hall and
4:30-5:30pm instructor led moderate sessions on the Halliehurst Porch. It was nice to have these two times each day
set aside for open sessions, although it was sometimes tough to make the 9am one when you had been up until 3am the night before! It was a thrill getting to lead on the tunes Road to Lisdoonvarna and Star Above the Garter on the first day with Dennis Cahill providing the guitar backup!
Accessibility of the
instructors. The majority of the
teachers could be found each late evening playing in sessions in the Icehouse
pub. Not only that, but the small,
condensed campus size meant that you were bound to run into and interact with
the teachers many times throughout the day. For the most part, these
superstars are just regular folks ready to share their expertise or just have a
chat.
The lunch-time interviews/discussions
between Dan Neely and the instructors on various topics such as the singing tradition, East Galway music, Uillieann
Pipes and playing backup were very interesting and informative. I enjoyed every one.
The evening concerts
on Tuesday and Thursday were a good opportunity for the instructors to strut
their stuff in front of the general public.
Pickin’ in the Park. On Wednesdays there are bluegrass and old-time
jams in the Elkins City Park adjacent to campus. I went over there and got in about 5 or 6 “D”
tunes during an old-time jam. I believe the
tunes were Mississippi Sawyer, Grasshopper Sitting on a Sweet Potato Vine, St.
Anne’s Reel, Arkansas Traveler, Angeline the Baker and Fly Around My Pretty
Little Miss. Not too bad for an Irish
tenor banjo player!
Setting and Facilities – Davis and Elkins is
a beautiful, hilly, walkable campus set in the mountains of West Virginia (one
of my favorite states to visit). The
view from the Halliehurst porch is awesome!
Dining – It’s
worth mentioning that the campus cafeteria offered fairly decent food. However, we didn’t purchase the meal plan
which gave us the opportunity to explore some off-campus dining in the town
itself. I especially like the Venezuelan
restaurant ElGran Sabor, CJ Maggie’s and the Graceland Inn Restaurant.
Student Showcase. On Friday each class got to demonstrate what they learned by playing a set of tunes or a song. My banjo class played two reels: Wind that Shakes the Barley > Mountain Road. We were joined by the bodhran class and the impressive Troy MacGillivray on piano!
Other Comments
The light attendance
this year compared to years past, while conducive to small class sizes, meant
that some things that should happen naturally – such as impromptu sessions –
never really materialized, unless I just missed them. I was expecting lots of opportunities to jam,
but besides the twice daily scheduled open sessions at 9am and 4:30pm there
really weren’t any other beginner/intermediate friendly sessions that a student of
my ability could participate in. I
really hope they fix this for next year. If not, I may take it upon myself
to organize something.
Contra dances and
Ceilis every night. Dancing is a big
part of the tradition at Augusta and it’s a way to engage the dance students
and appeal to the local population. However,
I’m not really into step dancing and although I liked listening to the musicians
playing for these events it would have been cool to have other options during
those points in the evening. Or maybe I should just learn how to dance
next time. It does look like fun.
I signed up for an evening
mini-course on Irish-Appalachian fiddle tunes that I only ended up going to
twice out of the four times it met. The
class was pretty advanced for me and I found that I preferred to use the time
between 6:30 and 7:45pm for other purposes like decompressing or napping. I may try the Ceili Band mini-course next
year though!
We didn’t stay in the dorms or conference center so I can’t comment
on those accommodations. We brought our
two 14 year old dogs for the week so we stayed off campus at the nearby Elkins Motor Lodge
since it allowed pets. I would stay
there again if need be. It was cheap and a good place to stay with dogs.
All in all it was a great week. It went by like a blink. The fastest 6 days I’ve ever spent. I can’t wait to go back!
All in all it was a great week. It went by like a blink. The fastest 6 days I’ve ever spent. I can’t wait to go back!
 |
| Afternoon session on the Halliehurst porch |
 |
| Laura (bodhran) and me (lefty banjo, middle) in the student showcase. Joined by instructors Troy MacGillivray (piano) and Pauline Conneely (banjo), and fellow students Gene Thorn (bodhran), Randy Powell (banjo) and Dave (mandolin/right). Photo by Rosemarie Vincent. |
 |
| Lunchtime Uillieann Pipes Extravaganza with Cillian Vallely (L) and Ivan Goff. Photo by Dan Neely. |
All of your commentary is 'spot on' as the Irish say. This was also my first year and I am already making plans to return next summer if this same caliber of instructors holds. Dan Neely did a great job as coordinator and the Ice House seisún that went to the wee hours were nothing short of phenomenal!
ReplyDelete