New Mexico Folk Music & Dance Society

FolkMADS Calendar and Notes

September - October 2003 Volume 6, Issue 5

P.O. Box 40421, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87196-0421

The FolkMADS Calendar and Notes are published bimonthly by the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society, a nonprofit organization.

FolkMADS sponsors Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos contra dances, concerts, camps, and other special events. "Contra" dances include contras, squares, mixers, and couple dances. Unless noted on the calendar otherwise, admission is $5 for members, $6 for nonmembers, $3 for children. You need not come with a partner. Free instruction for beginners starts at 7:30 p.m. Most dances begin at 8 p.m. and are smoke-free and alcohol-free. Children and teens are encouraged to participate if supervised by an adult.

Albuquerque Dances 1st and 3rd Saturdays. Heights Community Center, 823 Buena Vista SE, Albuquerque.

Occasionally dances are held at the Lloyd Shaw Dance Center; watch the calendar for details.
The Lloyd Shaw Dance Center is located at 5506 Coal SE in Albuquerque (2 blocks south of Central and 2 blocks east of San Mateo).

Santa Fe Dances 2nd and 4th Saturdays. Odd Fellows Hall, 1125 Cerrillos Road (south of Cordova Drive on the western side of Cerrillos).

Taos Dances 3rd Saturdays, Holy Trinity Parish Hall, Arroyo Seco.

Megaband Practices All musicians welcome.

ABQ Megaband Practices Albuquerque Megaband practice is held at the Blue Dragon Coffee House, 1517 Girard NE,Albuquerque, the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dance. Bruce Thomson, 277-4729, or email Jane Phillips for more info or to be added to the listserv.

Santa Fe Megaband Practices Second Tuesday of even months, 7:30 p.m. Call Anna Richards for information, 983-8363.

Acoustic Jam 7 p.m. before the Albuquerque dances. All acoustic musicians are welcome and all types of music are played. Call Jay Cutts for more information, 281-0684.

2003 Officers/Directors

Ongoing Events

The Albuquerque Dance Committee Interim Chairman Reports:

A big thank you goes out to all the folks who help make the Albuquerque dances happen. Greg Shaw teaches beginners with help from David Bryant, Dick Riger, Bob Cornish, and Linda Starr. Steve Thornton and Trish Woodall have been staffing the admissions table where the money is collected and global dance information is distributed. The hall gets cleared and swept by people like Dick, Tim, and Will who come early to help. Behind the scenes, Nancy Ford schedules bands and callers and reserves the hall in addition to keeping track of finances, helping with sound, and editing the newsletter. Merri Rudd coordinates bimonthly mailing parties for the newsletter, trains new callers, and reminds us of folk events by email. Steve Mills and Artie Walsh help with sound. Tom Hunter, Dick, and others often help us wind down the evening by moving chairs, closing windows, and packing up the equipment. Of course the dances couldn't happen without musicians and callers, and we thank them all here publicly and individually at dances by our applause.

We've been doing this in Albuquerque for more than 20 years, and it wouldn't happen without the coordinated support of our active folk community. If you would like to become more involved, make more friends, learn new skills, we invite your participation. Ask any of the folks mentioned above how you can help. Right now, we could use some help with sound, newsletter preparation, and publicity. If you're interested in any of these opportunities, let me know. You can usually find me hovering around the black mixing board near the band at dances. Otherwise, try catching me by e-mail or by phone, 281-7837.

The New Land  

One of my favorite waltzes is The New Land by Otis Tomas. This was the title tune for an album (Green Linnet SIF 1040) by Touchstone, an American-Celtic-Old Time Band that was based in North Carolina in the mid-1980's. This waltz starts in the key of F major but descends to D minor, the relative minor, which is a very clever and beautiful progression. F/Dm is one of my favorite keys, but is generally avoided by old time musicians in part because it's hard to play a clear and sustaining Bb chord on the guitar. One possible solution is to slide the old Arthur Godfrey Chord Selector (i.e. capo) up to the third fret & play in the key of D. Of course then you have to struggle with a B minor chord. Oh well….  

ABC Notation  

X:31

T:New Land, The

R:Waltz

M:3/4

L:1/8

H:Composed by Otis Tomas

N:Recording by Touchstone, The New Land (Green Linnet SIF1040)

N:Transcribed by Bruce Thomson

K:F

|z3CDE|:F4FG|Ac3d2|c3AG2|F3G(3AGF|B3AGA|Bd3f2|d3BG2|G3G(3AGF|

A3FAF|A2c2f2|a3gf2|d3efg|a3gf2|ge3c2|

d4-de|[1d3cAG:|[2d3efg|

|:a3gab|a2g2f2|B4Bc|B2d2f2|g3fga|g2f2e2|A4AB|A2c2e2|f3efg|f2e2d2|

G4GA|G2F2D2|cA3F2|GE3C2|D4-DE|D6:|

 

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FolkMADS thanks The Blue Dragon Coffeehouse, 1517 Girard NE, Albuquerque, for generously hosting the Albuquerque Megaband practices.

For more information about Megaband, contact Bruce Thomson, 277-4729, or Jane Phillips. Email Jane to be added to the Megaband listserv (automatic e-mail reminders).
The Albuquerque Megaband donates its services each month at the 3rd Saturday dances in ABQ, helping to keep FolkMADS going.

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Other Events of Interest

 

Balkan Dance Party!

with Goddess of Arno, Balkan-Roma (Gypsy) Dance Band

Saturday, September 6th

7:30PM beginner's dance session, 8PM Party begins

at R.B. Winning Coffee Company,

111 Harvard SE (just south of Central Avenue) in ABQ

$5.00 at the door - kids under 12 are free

Kitchen open with limited menu

Information: (505) 243-6276 (Goddess of Arno)

(505) 266-0000 (R.B. Winning's)

Goddess of Arno performs hot Balkan-Roma (Gypsy) music from Albania, Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria. This 2002 New Mexico Mic Award winning quartet of women sing and accompany themselves on traditional ethnic string and percussion instruments as well as accordion, violin, guitar and electric bass. Once you hear them, you won't stop dancing. Special guest musicians add to the fun. Dance your own dance or learn simple ethnic line dances with ABQ veteran folk dancer, Patsy Gregory.

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Goddess of Arno is a quartet of talented women who have been involved with Balkan folk music for over 20 years. The group focuses on the music of the southern Balkans &endash; Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, with an emphasis on the music and styling of the Rom (Gypsy) people of these areas. The musicians of Goddess of Arno love the exotic rhythms and scales, which the southern Balkans absorbed from the Ottoman Empire, and the passion of the Rom music, which also offers opportunities for instrumental improvisation. Goddess of Arno was originally formed as accompaniment to Svirka, women's Balkan Chorus and later developed its own identity (around 1994), known for exciting dance parties and concerts. The group has performed throughout the southwest and has recently released their full-length CD, Balkan Dance Party! The CD was nominated for 2 New Mexico Music Industry awards (2002) in the categories of "best production" and "best instrumental" and won the "best instrumental" category for their recording of "Beranche."

Goddess of Arno's musicians are:

Barbara Basinger - accordion, daire and vocals, has been studying and performing Eastern European, Balkan and Middle-Eastern music extensively since the late 1970's. She has studied accordion with Raif Hyseni (Albania), Simeon Atanasov (Macedonia-Rom), Joshua Horowitz (Klezmer) and many other world-renowned ethnic accordionists. Classically trained on the piano as a child, Barbara brings a technically polished sound to the band, which is complimented by her intricate improvisational style. With her in-depth knowledge of music, she contributes much to the band in the way of arranging, transcribing and harmonizing. Barbara teaches piano and accordion to over 20 private students in her studio in Albuquerque, and she has also taught chorus in the public schools. Ms. Basinger is a member of the accordion club of New Mexico, which was begun by two of her students. Barbara also plays with The Rebbe's Orkestra Klezmer and Judaic band and she is a founding member of the popular Svirka, Women's Balkan Chorus, begun in 1979.

Beth Cohen - violin, guitar, tambura and vocals, is well known as a vocalist, string musician and music teacher in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area. Ms. Cohen is the string orchestra teacher at The Public Academy for the Performing Arts in ABQ and she teaches violin at The Santa Fe School for the Arts. She has been running her own music studio in Albuquerque since 1983, where she teaches voice, guitar and violin to students of all ages. Since 1995, Beth has been the musical director and cantorial soloist at Congregation Nahalat Shalom where she also directs their intergenerational Community Klezmer Band and teaches Bar/Bat Mitzvah classes. In 1991, Beth received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of New Mexico, where she has also completed some graduate work. Singing and accompanying herself with the guitar since she was seven, Beth's life has been a continuous adventure in the realm of music: from The Middle East to the Southern U.S., opera to the blues, and The Red Elvises to Vivaldi. Beth performs with the two Barbaras in The Rebbe's Orkestra, and from 1984 -1999 she was a member of Svirka , with whom she often performs as a guest artist. She is also plays in the vocal trio Earth Angels and the eclectic ethnic music trio Village Idioms. Ms. Cohen has performed with all kinds of bands including Celtic, cowboy/western, classical, reggae, international folk, blues and Middle-Eastern.

Barbara Friedman - Bulgarian and Macedonian tamburas, electric bass and vocals, successfully combines expertise in Balkan singing, experience in instrumental music and undying enthusiasm. She supplies the band with source material, ideas, talent and excitement. For over 20 years Barbara has been singing and playing music professionally as a member of Svirka and many other Middle-Eastern and Balkan groups. An avid collector, student and performer of Eastern European music, she regularly attends workshops and studies with the top musicians and ethnomusicologists from Europe and the USA, as well as Esma, the Queen of Macedonian Gypsy singers. Ms. Friedman contributes much to her bands with her knowledge of languages, vocal styles and ornamentation, as well as instrumental styles and techniques. Barbara is also a member of The Rebbe's Orkestra and she is a special guest member of The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezband. Barbara is skilled on the baglama (Turkish stringed-instrument), which she occasionally plays in Svirka and Goddess of Arno, and played for many years in the Middle-Eastern ensemble Erenler. During the day, Barbara is in charge of the public health nursing department in Los Lunas.

Leanne Mennin -percussion and vocals, has been involved with Balkan music and dance since the 1960's. She was a dance director for eight years with the renowned, Los-Angeles-based, Aman Folk Ensemble, and has taught and performed extensively in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Leanne is a respected teacher of Balkan music who has taught workshops throughout the Western U.S. Here in Albuquerque, she is the director of the popular Svirka, Women's Balkan chorus. With her special gifts and knowledge of Balkan folklore and culture, Leanne has influenced and inspired a Balkan micro-culture to develop here in the Southwest; joining Balkan and non-Balkan Americans together through their enjoyment of music and dance. As a performing musician, Leanne's rich voice and her skills as a percussionist provide a strong foundation for the group's tight sound. Leanne is the director of Senior Arts, Inc. and she also works for APS as a substitute teacher.