(Photo | Courtesy of Sisters Folk Festival)
Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) has a new session of winter classes and workshops starting this week and next, all designed to take place virtually for both adults and youth during COVID-19. Registration is now open for Dynamics in Performance, Fundamentals of Bluegrass Guitar, Americana Song Share and Sisters Songworks 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 — all taught by nationally recognized instructors and musicians.
Beginning Thursday, January 21, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenner Fox is offering a four-week Americana Song Share for high school students (grades 9-12) on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8pm, January 21-February 11. Participants will listen together to their favorite songs and talk about what makes them so lovable, then make up their own songs in a supportive environment. All musical styles and ability levels are welcome and there will be no homework, as the writing will be done as a group. Class size is limited to 12 students and cost is $50, with scholarship support available through SFF.
Beginning Monday, January 25, Pete Kartsounes, known to many as the hardest-working musician in Central Oregon, will teach Fundamentals of Bluegrass Guitar. This class will dive into different techniques of playing bluegrass guitar as well as the etiquette of the jam and the songs. Participants will learn a variety of bluegrass-specific skills including flatpicking and cross-picking, in addition to learning a variety of traditional fiddle tunes to use as a basis for honing bluegrass guitar skills. This class is geared towards advanced-beginner or solid intermediate guitar players of all genres, who are interested in learning or developing more with bluegrass guitar. Cost is $150 for all six weeks. The course takes place from 6:30-8pm (Pacific Time) on Monday evenings, and will run from January 25-March 1.
Beginning Thursday, January 28, Dynamics in Performance is a four-week course taught by Beth Wood taking place on Thursday evenings from 7-8:30pm (Pacific Time) January 28-February 18. This course is geared towards musicians of all levels who are interested in improving their performance skills, whether their intentions are playing open mics, improving their professional stagecraft or simply improving the delivery of their songs. Cost is $100 for all four weeks.
Three Weekends of Sisters Songworks to Choose From!
Sisters Songworks is an intimate and intensive virtual writing retreat celebrating and exploring the art of songwriting in community. The weekend workshops will bring in noted songwriters and poets, facilitated by Beth Wood, to delve into the magic of songwriting. Sisters Songworks is an opportunity to learn from professional singer-songwriters, connect with others who share a love of songwriting and poetry and share your work in a non-performance focused, supportive environment. Cost is $175 per session and class size is limited.
Sisters Songworks 2.0 — February 5-7
Feb 5-7, 2021 — North Carolina Songwriter Jonathan Byrd and the SFF veteran teaching artist Ellis Delaney, with a masterclass offered by award-winning songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman.
Sisters Songworks 3.0 — March 5-7
March 5-7, 2021— Sisters Folk Festival longtime friend Johnsmith and acclaimed songwriter Susan Gibson will serve as instructors with a masterclass session with multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Susan Werner.
Sisters Songworks 4.0 — April 9-11
April 9-11, 2021 — Tom Prasada-Rao plus one more instructor (TBA), will serve as the core instructors, with Martyn Joseph teaching a masterclass from Wales in the UK.