Northeast Heritage Music Camp

OVERVIEW	TEACHERS	LOCATION	REGISTER	LINKS	INDEX

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	2008 Weekly and Evening Schedules 2008 Daily Schedule NHMC 2007 was a blast! What attendees say about NHMC

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Located in the heart of northern Vermont's Green Mountains, the Northeast Heritage Music Camp celebrates the acoustic music and folk dance traditions of New England and eastern Canada, along with related traditions from Scotland, Ireland, and the southeastern United States. Come join us next June for a week of music instruction by world class players from these great traditions, dance to their music at our nightly contras, hear them in concert, and -- if you're so inclined -- jam with them or fellow tunes-aficionados into the wee hours.

Sun. June 15 -- Sat. June 21, 2008

Directors: Ken Perlman & Peter Langston

NHMC offers a highly diverse musical experience. We're a fiddle camp, but you can also study fretted instruments like guitar, banjo, and mandolin, not to mention flute, whistle, piano, piano accordion, and voice. We started out with a focus on Québecois music, Cape Breton music, New England music and other northeastern styles, but we soon broadened our scope to include such other traditional music styles as Irish music, Scottish music, old-timey (Appalachian) music, and Swedish music. What's more, if you enjoy ensemble work, we offer band classes, singing classes, and choruses.

For fiddlers, our format offers students the opportunity to study with four different teachers per day, each of whom is an expert in a different style of playing. Many students have informed us that by comparing differences among these various classes in bowing technique, ornamentation, and musical emphases, they have been able to substantially deepen their general understanding of how to express musical style on their instruments.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to study with world-famous teachers in a group small enough to guarantee personal attention.

Teaching Staff: We are proud to announce the following instructors for 2008 (our fourth year):
· Irish Fiddle: Seamus Connolly
· Appalachian Fiddle: Alan Jabbour
· Québecois Fiddle: Daniel Lemieux
· Cape Breton Fiddle: Dwayne Cote
· Yankee Chorus & Southern Fiddle: Pete Sutherland
· Flute, Whistle, Piano: Grey Larsen
· Fingerstyle Guitar, New England Folksongs Cindy Kallet
· Contra-dance Caller, Swedish fiddle: David Kaynor
· Piano Accordion: Jeremiah McLane
· Novice Fiddle, Music Theory Sarah Hotchkiss
· French Canadian Step-Dancing Alice Bérubé
· Flatpick Guitar, Mandolin Peter Langston
· Clawhammer Banjo: Ken Perlman

Instructors in prior years: Short bios are on-line for the slate of teachers in our first year (2005), our second year (2006), and last year (2007). Click on any of the years to see the line-ups for those past camps.

A note on our instructors: All of our teachers are extraordinary musicians who either grew up within their musical traditions, or have devoted a major proportion of their lives to learning it and understanding its subtleties. They are also highly gifted teachers who are eager to pass on their technical skills and lore to students. This being said, they don't think of themselves as "stars" they are approachable, personable, and prepared to deal with students' questions and concerns.

	Photos and biographic information for all our instructors can be found on the NHMC bios page.

General Program: NHMC features five class sessions per day, each one hour and fifteen minutes long. Classes start at approximately 9 AM and continue until about 5:30 PM. Our evening program (Monday through Thursday) features staff concerts, followed by contra-dancing, with music provided by our staff. The Friday evening program features a class-recital, followed by contra-dancing. Over the course of the week, you'll have the opportunity to hear in concert, and dance to the music of all of our staff members.

The Schedule: There are three kinds of schedule...
· The "Daily Schedule" shows all the classes that are the same each day through the week.
· The "Special Classes Schedule" gives details for the events that change from day to day, such as concert and dance band lineups.
· Finally, the "Week-at-a-Glance Schedule" gives an overview of the week, showing all the class periods, meals, concerts, dances, & jams throughout the entire camp session.
Note that you are free to attend any of the classes on these schedules, and to switch classes from day to day, if you wish. The preferences you indicate on your registration form do not determine or limit your choices.

YEAR		DAILY	SPECIAL	WEEK
Next June	2008	2008 Daily Schedule 2008 Class Lists	2008 Evening Events	2008 Week-at-a-Glance
Prior Years	2007	2007 Daily Schedule	2007 Special Classes	2007 Week-at-a-Glance
	2006	2006 Daily Schedule	2006 Special Classes	2006 Week-at-a-Glance
	2005	2005 Daily Schedule	2005 Special Classes	Not available

There will no doubt be revisions and updates to the latest schedules from time to time, so check back here.

Opening Night: Following dinner on Sunday night, we will hold a general orientation followed by a "Meet the Faculty" event.

Jamming: Each evening immediately following dinner we schedule a period of faculty-led jams at three levels -- "Slow jams" for those who are just beginning to grow on their instruments, "Up-to-Speed" jams for advanced or adventurous players, and "Intermediate" jams for tweeners. Alternatively, there is plenty of space for small or medium sized groups to organize their own jams during an afternoon free period, or after the conclusion of the evening program.

Beginners We firmly believe that having the opportunity to hear and observe world-renowned masters at close quarters provides sufficient inspiration to keep beginners firmly committed to progressing on the instrument for months or even years to come!

Novice Fiddle Program: NHMC offers a novice program aimed at both entry level and budding fiddlers, taught by Montpelier's own Sarah Hotchkiss of Woodbury Strings.

French Canadian Step-Dancing: A new step-dancing class teaches a blend of steps from several francophone traditions, including Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and the Metis culture of Manitoba.

Public Concert: If you want to extend your NHMC musical experience by one more event, be aware that River Arts Council is hosting a special concert to take place at the Hyde Park Opera House featuring many members of our staff. The concert will take place on the Saturday evening just after Camp. This event is not part of the NHMC program, however, so you'll need to contact the River Arts Council or the Hyde Park Opera House (phone 802-888-4507) for tickets.

Directors: Northeast Heritage Music Camp is headed up by two established musicians with extensive experience in working at and running similar events in other parts of the US. Ken Perlman, who doubles as clawhammer banjo instructor, has helped design and operate the Maryland Banjo Academy, Banjo Camp North (Groton, Mass.), the Suwannee Banjo Camp (White Springs, Florida), the Midwest Banjo Camp, and is co-director of the American Banjo Camp (Seattle area). Peter Langston, who doubles as guitar instructor, has been a director of the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop for over ten years, and he co-directs the American Banjo Camp. Among the many other camps at which Ken or Peter have served on staff are the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the California Coast Music Camp, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Alta Sierra Dance Camp, Common Ground on the Hill, the Tennessee Banjo Institute, Sierra Swing Dance Camp, the Santa Barbara Harvest Festival, and Lark in the Morning Music Camp.

Location: Johnson State College Campus, Johnson, Vermont. Johnson is not far from Stowe, the famous ski resort -- roughly thirty miles northeast of Burlington, and about the same distance northwest of the state capital, Montpelier. Travel directions and other information about JSC are on their website, http://www.jsc.vsc.edu/.

MySpace: Are you on MySpace? If you are, why not visit our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/NortheastHeritageMusicCamp and befriend us?

Air Travel: The nearest airport of any size is at Burlington, Vermont; the two nearest major airports are at Manchester, New Hampshire (less than a three-hour trip away by car) and Montreal (roughly two hours or less by via car, but there is the border crossing to be taken into account).

Arrival Time: Registration/check-in begins on Sunday at 2 PM. Try to arrive by 4 p.m at the latest. This will give you plenty of time to register, get set up in your dorm space, and be ready for dinner and the orientation events that follow.

Departure Time: JSC asks that students vacate their dorm rooms by 11 a.m. on Saturday. A final breakfast is available at Stearns Hall.

Lodging: Lodging is in the JSC dormitories. We assign the single dorm rooms first, so if you want a room to yourself you should register as early as possible. Dorm rooms at JSC feature desks, closets/wardrobes, phone (and possibly internet) connections, lights, doors that lock, and electrical outlets (in addition to beds and windows). Some of those things may seem obvious, but we've attended camps that didn't have them...

Email and Cell Phones: Email can be checked on JSC library computers, 24 hours a day. Some cell-phone services are operative in the Johnson area.

Dining: All meals are served at the Stearns Hall dining facility, and feature omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan options. These meals have been better than typical college fare. They offer, in addition to main courses, such things as salad bars, desert bars, soft drinks/coffee-tea stations, tofu stir-fry prepared to order, roast beef carved to order, etc. Our experience has been that the food quality all across the board (no pun intended) is exceptionally good.

Other Camp Info: The "Student Letter," containing practical information such as a weather profile for the area and lists of what to bring and what to leave home, can be found online here.

Photos from prior years: There are pages of photos taken at NHMC in our first year (2005), our second year (2006), and last year (2007). Click on any of the years to see the pictures taken at those past camps.

Registration: To attend Northeast Heritage Music Camp you must preregister. Space is allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. (And the earlier you register, the better chance you have of getting the kind of room you want.)

You can register right up until camp starts (depending on space), but
you must register and tell us your T-shirt size before May 15th
to get a free commemorative NHMC 2008 T-shirt!

To register, print out the registration form, fill it in, and send it with your Tuition payment to the address indicated. You are always welcome to send the full amount, but early in the year a deposit can hold your place (see the section on Tuition below). Registrations are possible right up until the start of camp, if there's still space.

	NHMC REGISTRATION FORM Click here to get a printable registration form.

Ages: Northeast Heritage Music Camp is designed and outfitted for adults, but we know that adults come in a wide range of ages. If you wish to register a particularly young adult (i.e. younger than 18) please discuss it with us first. The best way to reach us is by email.

Tuition: $700 (in US funds) covers room, board, and tuition. Vermont residents have an option to forego lodging costs (room and board) and commute to the event; The "commuter" option costs $500. There is also an option for a spouse (or parent, or inseparable partner) who wants to go to the evening events, stay on campus, and eat the meals, but not attend classes and other daytime events; the "Spouse Rate" is $350.

You can send the full amount at any time, but a deposit of $200 will hold your place until April 15th, when all outstanding tuition balances must be paid up. After that date, all new registrations must be accompanied by full tuition payment.

Meals may be purchased individually in the dining hall, but JSC regulations require that all students in residence must sign up for the meal plan.

Refunds and Cancellations: If camp is full we can place your name on the waiting list. If for any reason we can't fit you into camp, or you don't want to go on the waiting list, your entire payment will be returned to you. Also if you get into camp but then cancel before June 1st, all but $100 of your payment will be returned. If you cancel on June 1st or after, up until camp starts, all but $200 will be returned. After that there's no refund -- so don't DO that!

On-line Payment: We have no provision for paying on-line, but if you intend to pay by credit card, you can register by email.

E-Mail Payment: To register by email, display the registration form; use cut-and-paste to copy it into your text editor (e.g. NotePad, Emacs, ConTEXT, vi, or SimpleEdit); and then edit your answers into the form. Answer everything EXCEPT the question about your credit card number; go ahead and include the expiration date, but not the number. E-mail the edited registration form to <Registration@NortheastHeritageMusicCamp.com> with a Subject: line of "NHMC Registration." Then, send a separate email message to <Registration@NortheastHeritageMusicCamp.com> with the same Subject line, containing just your credit card number with no other explanation (we'll figure it out). That's all there is to it!

Of course, if you paid by credit card last year and your credit card number has not changed, you can just say "Same as last year" in place of the number.

Gift Registrations: If you want to give a session of camp as a gift for Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, a special birthday, Father's Day, Mother's Day, or even April Fool's Day, and you'd like to surprise the recipient, you can send us the payment with a minimally filled-out registration form showing the recipient's name and address as well as your email address and phone number, and a note saying it's to be a surprise. We'll reserve a place at camp and keep the secret until the time you've specified, at which point we'll collect the other registration information.

NHMC Flyer You can print out your own copies of the NHMC flyer to give to friends, to pass out at a jam or dance, or to leave at a local music store. Help us get the word out -- the more the merrier! You can download the front and back pages either as a PDF document or as a jpeg image.

Entire Flyer as a PDF (~1MB)

Front/outside as a JPEG (~101KB)

Back/inside as a JPEG (~116KB)>

Set the orientation to Landscape. Set the margins to 0.5 inch. (To set print orientation and margins in most versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Netscape, click on "Page Setup..." in the "File" menu.)

NHMC Posters We have a letter-size (8.5" x 11") NHMC 2008 poster that you can print out and post anywhere that other musicians might see it - a local music store, a dance, a neighborhood bulletin board, etc. For this poster you should set the orientation to Portrait, set the print margins to 0.5", and enable Fit To Page, if you have it. (To set print margins and Orientation in most versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Netscape, click on "Page Setup..." in the "File" menu.)

Email Problems: If you're having trouble with email to us bouncing back to you, please send a copy of the bounce message (with all the headers left intact) to psl@acm.org and we'll get it working again.

IMPORTANT! If you or your Internet service provider are using a "whitelist" or a list of approved senders to block unwanted email, be sure to add psl@acm.org, info@northeastheritagemusiccamp.com, and KenPerlman@aol.com to your list when you register or write to us, otherwise you won't be able to receive acknowledgements for payments, directions to camp, answers to your questions, or other emailings from us.