Friday & Saturday
August 8-9, 2008
August 8-9, 2008
RBFF News 2003
FIDDLE FEST FUN
BLUEBERRY FUND-RAISER A SUCCESS
August 10, 2003, The Sunday Sentinel, Keene, NH
By Erika Cohen, Sentinel Staff
Five fiddle bands took the stage at the Blueberry Fiddle Festival in Richmond Saturday, but IHM's Future Famous Fiddlers stole the show in their debut performance.
"This is what it's about, it's for the kids," the emcee told the crowd as he welcomed the group of more than 20 students, including about a dozen fiddlers and numerous singers. The first (and soon-to-be annual) festival was a fund-raiser for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School of Richomnd.
The students, ages 3 1/2 to 18, were dressed to impress. The girls wore blue bandanas on their heads and long jean or paisley skirts. The boys wore jeans and blue bandanas around their necks. Many of the boys also had on cowboy hats, studded belts, gun holders, and plastic guns.
The young fiddlers performed for more than an hour, playing classic songs like "Cripple Creek" and incorporating the Virginia Reel, a line dance, into their singing and playing.
More than 60 people filled the seats, some made of hay bales, to watch the show. One of them was Susan Daher and her family. The Daher family had traveled from Waltham, Mass., to see her nephew, fiddler William Daher. William, 12, of Walpole, has been playing for less than a year.
"I think the children are phenomenal," Daher said. Her family is very musical, and William came to her house recently and performed with a number of cousins.
When the singers were not singing, they clapped to the beat with the fiddlers and occasionally told jokes. And while the kids didn't always sing and play in sync, they definitely wanted to be heard.
One boy adjusted the microphone so his voice rose above the rest, and a girl standing next to him tried to pull it back toward her, prompting Sister Maria Philomena, dressed in a black habit, to tell the crowd: "They're not microphone shy."
Just after the song finished, 3 1/2-year-old Stephen Bryan pulled his plastic gun from his holster and shot it at the crowd. The crowd laughed.
Bryan is the younger brother of the sister, who organized the fund-raiser. She is the vice principal of the small Catholic school and a member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She said her goal for this year was to simply establish the event, which she hopes will become an annual festival.
The school has about 50 students from grades 1 to 12. Students currently pay 500 dollars a year, but this price will have to go up soon due to financial constraints.
"This is really good for a first year," she said, scanning the field from the tent selling food and crafts to the three-legged race in the field. She laughed as her parents, Richmond residents, crossed the finish line in second place. "I think the spirit of the people involved and what we're offering will spread."
The woman grew up in California, where she traveled with her family and performed at fiddle festivals. She has been teaching the students fiddle since last fall. She said she is not teaching them to read music but to learn by ear. And she is teaching them enjoyable tunes so they can have fun, entertain and, hopefully, stay with music.
For some students, the lessons have already paid off.
Nine-year-old Clare Margand of Richmond stood under a tree playing her fiddle with Ryan Thomson. Thomson came to the festival to perform and offer a free workshop. He was playing opposite Clare. When the song ended, he suggested she play two strings at once to get a richer sound. She did, smiling when she finished and dropped her bow.
Clare's mother, Catherine Margand, watched. She said Clare has taken lessons at the school for six months and has received a scholarship for her playing from a local folk music group.
Soon William joined the pair. The three of them, joined by another fiddler, played "Cripple Creek" in a small circle. It seemed these two students were proof that the sister's method was working.
"This is what it's about, it's for the kids," the emcee told the crowd as he welcomed the group of more than 20 students, including about a dozen fiddlers and numerous singers. The first (and soon-to-be annual) festival was a fund-raiser for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School of Richomnd.
The students, ages 3 1/2 to 18, were dressed to impress. The girls wore blue bandanas on their heads and long jean or paisley skirts. The boys wore jeans and blue bandanas around their necks. Many of the boys also had on cowboy hats, studded belts, gun holders, and plastic guns.
The young fiddlers performed for more than an hour, playing classic songs like "Cripple Creek" and incorporating the Virginia Reel, a line dance, into their singing and playing.
More than 60 people filled the seats, some made of hay bales, to watch the show. One of them was Susan Daher and her family. The Daher family had traveled from Waltham, Mass., to see her nephew, fiddler William Daher. William, 12, of Walpole, has been playing for less than a year.
"I think the children are phenomenal," Daher said. Her family is very musical, and William came to her house recently and performed with a number of cousins.
When the singers were not singing, they clapped to the beat with the fiddlers and occasionally told jokes. And while the kids didn't always sing and play in sync, they definitely wanted to be heard.
One boy adjusted the microphone so his voice rose above the rest, and a girl standing next to him tried to pull it back toward her, prompting Sister Maria Philomena, dressed in a black habit, to tell the crowd: "They're not microphone shy."
Just after the song finished, 3 1/2-year-old Stephen Bryan pulled his plastic gun from his holster and shot it at the crowd. The crowd laughed.
Bryan is the younger brother of the sister, who organized the fund-raiser. She is the vice principal of the small Catholic school and a member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She said her goal for this year was to simply establish the event, which she hopes will become an annual festival.
The school has about 50 students from grades 1 to 12. Students currently pay 500 dollars a year, but this price will have to go up soon due to financial constraints.
"This is really good for a first year," she said, scanning the field from the tent selling food and crafts to the three-legged race in the field. She laughed as her parents, Richmond residents, crossed the finish line in second place. "I think the spirit of the people involved and what we're offering will spread."
The woman grew up in California, where she traveled with her family and performed at fiddle festivals. She has been teaching the students fiddle since last fall. She said she is not teaching them to read music but to learn by ear. And she is teaching them enjoyable tunes so they can have fun, entertain and, hopefully, stay with music.
For some students, the lessons have already paid off.
Nine-year-old Clare Margand of Richmond stood under a tree playing her fiddle with Ryan Thomson. Thomson came to the festival to perform and offer a free workshop. He was playing opposite Clare. When the song ended, he suggested she play two strings at once to get a richer sound. She did, smiling when she finished and dropped her bow.
Clare's mother, Catherine Margand, watched. She said Clare has taken lessons at the school for six months and has received a scholarship for her playing from a local folk music group.
Soon William joined the pair. The three of them, joined by another fiddler, played "Cripple Creek" in a small circle. It seemed these two students were proof that the sister's method was working.
Article courtesy of The Keene Sentinel
