CHRIS LANGAN WEEKEND AND GUESTS ARE UP!!!

Paul Reid · Post by **Paul Reid** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:26 am

There are some updates on the site, though I'd bump this up so you can pre-register -- get the form from the link on the front page.

Cheers,

PR

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:57 am

upiper71 wrote:I always tried to attend and now finally, I'm able to being from Montreal it's only a couple of hours away.
Daryl

Wow, Daryl, you must drive really, really fast!!

I think it's more like five or six hours, really.

-Brad

upiper71 · Post by **upiper71** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:15 pm

Yeah,

Hey Brad. Thanks for the reply.

What I meant in reference to the Chris Langan Weekend was that it was only a handful of hours away ( 4 or 5) - compared to where I used to live in Timmins,On which is like 8+ from T.O. I'm sure you'll agree that it's much better to travel 4.5 to 5 rather than 8 back-breaking hours of driving.

Hope to meet up with you there!

Warm regards,

Daryl

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:47 pm

I bunch of use from Montreal will be there for sure.

I complained to Debbie about the advanced whistle workshop during the festival, which ends up being crowded with people who atteneded the beginner's/intermediate workshop and just want to show up for the heck of it, and then you end with the teacher having to teach basic stuff like rolls and cuts. My suggestion was to make *sure* only advanced people showed up at the advanced workshop, but them it means less money for the organizers. Does someone have any idea if anything is going to change about that advanced workshop, or *if* there's any whistle workshop at all, and who's the teacher? I would LOVE a workshop with Debbie! Any concertina workshop?

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:06 pm

Azalin wrote: Does someone have any idea if anything is going to change about that advanced workshop, or *if* there's any whistle workshop at all, and who's the teacher? I would LOVE a workshop with Debbie! Any concertina workshop?

Kathleen Conneely will be teaching an advanced whistle workshop, according to the schedule, and it's limited to 7 people. You should take her workshop, Az...she's a brilliant whistle player (and very cute too, although she's already married, too bad for you

)

-Brad

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:38 pm

bradhurley wrote:(and very cute too, although she's already married

Details, details!

Who's that woman, was she there last year?

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 3:01 pm

Azalin wrote:
bradhurley wrote:(and very cute too, although she's already married
Details, details!

Who's that woman, was she there last year?

You're incorrigible, buddy!

No, she wasn't there last year; there are quite a few new folks coming this year.

Kathleen is one of the many excellent musicians in the Conneely family. I've played with her a few times in sessions in Boston and she's got a lovely style. She married that bouzouki player who plays on The Maple Leaf album with Jimmy Noonan et al...I'm blanking on his name and can't lay my hands on the CD right now. I think you'll love her whistle playing.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 3:31 pm

That's been one of my sore points too, Az. I go to the intermediate pipers' classes, and half the people there can hardly hold the chanter. The teacher ends up showing scales. I have yet to get through one whole tune in one of these classes.

This year is a bit different in that they're setting class limits. That should help keep the mobs down in certain classes, but still in no way ascertains if you should be in that class to begin with. A long road to go yet for CLW.

djm

vcolby · Post by **vcolby** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 5:35 pm

Azalin/DJM,

It is easy to criticize the weekend when you do not have to manage it.

I agree that it is frustrating when people attend a class level for which they are not ready. You are our paying customers, so we will not ask you to leave a session that you paid for as an organization. However, we will be asking the instructors to be more forthright if there is someone that should consider moving to a more junior class. We rely on one's judgement; for example, I may be ready for the advanced class, but would not have the audacity to put myself in a class with students playing at Deb Quigley's level.

We are considering adding more classes; perhaps a beginner whistle class is one for consideration. Please bring your ideas and concerns to us so we can attempt to balance the customer demand/timeline/resource equation.

Also keep in mind that the "mobs" you speak of are your fellow musicians; we put the weekend together to bring people together to appreciate and learn an art.

Regards,

Virgil
Board Member, Chris Langan Weekend

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 6:26 pm

At the So Cal Tionól we asked the registrants to be modest in their class assignment. We also knew most of the attendees and were able to sort out classes so that they were fairly well balanced.

Patrick.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:40 pm

Don't take it so personally, Virgil. I don't care how good the musicians attending the classes are, or how well intentioned the teachers and organizers may be. I call 40 people attending a fiddle class with Tommy Peoples a mob. I attended a fiddle class with Patrick Orceau with about 20 others, and that was not an advanced class. Sorry, but I call that a mob.

As I noted above, I think setting class sizes is a correct step as far as organizing goes. Good one!

djm

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 12:23 am

Virgil,

Don't get me wrong either. I think Chris Langan is an awesome week-end, it's gonna be my third year this time, but I was just criticizing something I didnt like last year (out of a great week-end) about the advanced workshop. I complained to Debbie herself while we were in Catskill, it's just that I'm not willing to pay 20$ to learn how to play cuts. Asking the students to play to try to sort out their skills is one good way, but then it might be a little complicated. Anyway, will go on that form and signup!

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 8:54 am

Holy cow! They've just added Emmet Gill to the UP teachers line-up. That makes piping classes available from Debbie Quigley, Jarlath Henderson, Benedict Koehler, Emmett Gill, Pat Hutchinson, plus lectures on tuning by Benedict and on pipemaking by David Quinn. There's probably enough piping stuff here for a whole week let alone one day. Who knows, I might even learn something in spite of myself.

djm

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 9:21 am

Shouldn't take too much time too grade the students should it? Teachers have them play a tune and assign them to a class. Saves loads of hassle in class with beginners/intermediates overestimating themselves clogging up progress of the others.

When I hear 'Chris Langan is awesome' I can't help thinking of the man, not the weekend. :roll:

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 10:52 am

As the teacher of the "advanced" whistle workshop last year a) I am very well placed to understand Az's frustration and b) I have to take some of the blame for how things turned out - esp. since I encouraged him, broke as he was last year, to pay up and come to the w/s.

Perhaps I should have stuck to the program and catered to advanced players only. The problem was that there were about 25 people crowded into that small room, and to ignore all but about 3 of them or talk way over their heads (and not take questions) seemed impossible. So I asked what people wanted and tried to provide something for everybody, a lot of which was indeed very basic. What the advanced players wanted to look at ended up being crammed into about 5 breathless minutes at the end.

I don't know what the solution could have been. Had people been graded as Peter suggests there would have been at most 2 people in the class - that would have been great for me but possibly not from the organizers' point of view. I think this is where the problem lies - few people who can actually play whistle at an advanced level will bother to attend a workshop. They're either at the bar in a session or they're taking classes on a "proper instrument" (to quote a flute-playing friend of mine). People like Az would get more out of a one-to-one exchange with a top player.

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CHRIS LANGAN WEEKEND AND GUESTS ARE UP!!!

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