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10 December 2009

Winter 2009 Newsletter

Dear friends,

2009 has flown by in a whirlwind of tunes, lessons, performances and projects, with lots of music, great times and new friends to be thankful for. 

Willie Beaudoin, guitar; Lillian Beaudoin, singer; Glenn Bombardier, behind Willie. 2006 Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Beaudoin Legacy Concert. Bill Spence photo.

Sadly, we have also lost some wonderful folks this year, including Cape Breton fiddler Jerry Holland, contradance fiddler Kerry Elkin and Old-Time banjo player and scholar Ray Alden. We also lost Willie Beaudoin, Louis’ brother and guitarist. I’m grateful for the times I had with each of them, especially Willie, a dear friend and inspiration. Thirty years after his brother Louis’ death, I can still feel his presence in the room when I play his music, so I know their music lives on in us. It’s a small comfort for their loss, but a comfort nonetheless.

Big news on several fronts – Irish accordion legend John Whelan and I have an exciting new group exploring the Irish-French music connection. Joining us are fingerstyle guitarist & singer Max Cohen, flatpick guitarist & singer Flynn Cohen and singer Molly Hebert-Wilson. Based in New England, we have two October weekends in NYC, Albany, Boston and RI and are booking 2010-11 concerts, festivals and schools. Contact me: donna@fiddlingdemystified.com or John Whelan: whelanbx1@aol.com to book this new supergroup that fiddler Jane Rothfield calls “The perfect storm!”

For years, I’ve heard, “If I only lived closer to you I could come for lessons . . .” Well, like the song says, “AT LAST!” I’m now offering online lessons through Gmail video chat. (Download PDF with all the details). My local students commit for a semester at a time, but with online lessons, you can book individual lessons or block book and prepay for a series of 30 and 60 minute lessons. Single lessons are $30 for a half hour, $60 for an hour. You can prepay blocks of six 30 minute lessons for $150, six 60-minute lessons for $275. I’ve tested the Gmail video delivery and Paypal payment method and both work. Call 413-230-3107 or email donna@fiddlingdemystified.com – I’m happy to discuss your learning goals and how to achieve them.

Last winter in Québec, I recorded a new French-Canandian fiddling CD, In Full Bloom / En pleine floraison, released in July. I was very fortunate to have fiddler Pascal Gemme of Genticorum as producer. With Pascal, guitarist Max Cohen, fiddler André Brunet, pianist Rachel Aucoin and accordionist Sabin Jacques, choreographer and stepdancer Marie-Soleil Pilette, bassman Stuart Kenney and guitarist Liza Constable as well as the late Québecois pianist, Dénis Fréchette, I was able to fully express my French heritage’s joie de vivre! Merci bien à tout – many thanks to all of you!

I’ve also just completed the companion“In Full Bloom” tunebook with all 18 tunes from the CD fully transcribed in French-Canadian style, with chords, bowings and accents noted. Includes seven tunes from the repertoire of Louis Beaudoin, with a free sample tune transcription. For the holidays, I offer both book and CD together for only $20 – a $5 savings! Offer good through 1/15/10.


Pascal Gemme (fiddle, songs, podorhythmie) and Marie-Soleil Pilette (stepdance, social dances) are also joining us August 16-20 at

Pascal Gemme
our second annual French Camp at Old Songs in Voorheesville NY. Other staff members (besides me) are pianist, accordionist, singer and wild man Steve Normandin, Yann Falquet (guitar, songs, gimbarde) and Daniel Boucher (fiddle, songs). Only 30 campers admitted to this week, so sign up early! A $50 deposit to Old Songs holds your place! Check out our camp page on Facebook and become a fan! (Staff photos at right, YouTube: vignettes from 2009 camp: Bill Spence video)

Our Fiddle and Strings Camp at Old Songs for ages 6-18 runs July 5-9, continuing the Great Groove Band experience from the festival June 25-27. I teach here with fiddler and banjo player Jane Rothfield and guitarist Max Cohen. Great Groove Band clips are on the new Fiddling Demystified YouTube Channel.

My Fiddling Demystified for Strings books have now been redesigned and updated for print-on-demand distribution through my online store on fiddlingdemystified.com and soon on MyStore on Facebook. Both stores are powered by NIMBIT.COM’s direct-to-fan software and distribution system. Never again will a book be out of print! When you order one of my books, NIMBIT prints the book for you and inserts CDs and mails them out within 24 hours (Mon-Fri). All orders received by Dec. 21st are guaranteed for Christmas delivery in U.S.String teachers save $25 – get three editions – fiddle, viola and cello, with 6 teaching CDs and one copy of the companion Fiddlejam CD. I’m offering a substantial discount on single book copies – save $5 for the Fiddling Demystified book and three companion CDs.

Saving the best news for last, my daughter, Molly Hebert-Wilson,has begun performing with me in several ensembles, much to my delight! A junior in Irish Studies and Musical Theater at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Molly brings a dozen years of theater and vocal experience to the stage and can wear both comedy and tragedy masks well. Her
songs in Gaelic are a highlight of our trio with Molly, me and Max as well as in the Celtic music quartet Mist Covered Mountains with Katherine First. Molly sings with Mist at my faculty recital at Amherst College Sun Feb 28 and at Old Songs Festival in June. She also sings with my new group, John Whelan/Donna Hébert: The Irish-French Connection.
Please let me know if I can answer any of your fiddling questions – and check out the links in this newsletter for lots of fiddling information! The site has a lot of free material for fiddlers and string teachers, so please pass this newsletter on to your friends.

Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year, full of joy and music!

À la prochaine . . . ’till next time!
Donna Hébert
December 2009
Amherst MA
CONCERTS • RESIDENCIES • TEACHER TRAINING IN FIDDLING

donna@fiddlingdemystified,com

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