2008
Fall Banjo Retreat
Sonny
Osborne, Bill Evans, Alan Munde, JD
Crowe, Charlie Cushman, & Ned
Luberecki
October 17, 18, 19 2008
Instructor
bios Photos
of retreat location
The
weekend's offerings will be geared to 5-string banjo players at all
levels. Sessions will feature Sonny teamed with the other instructors
as well as sessions with Bill, Alan, JD, Charlie, and Ned.
Topics
include: tips for bluegrass banjo beginners, tone and timing, the
fine points of Earl Scruggs' style, back-up, special licks and techniques,
playing slow songs, and dissections of your favorite Osborne
solos.
Sonny
will also bring along many of his signature instruments, including
his famous prewar Gibson Granada and RB-3 as well as the new Osborne
Chief banjo.
During
an introductory "meet the teachers" session, Sonny will
discuss the early days of bluegrass and the career of the Osborne
Brothers (and just about anything else that's on his mind at the
time!).
Bill,
Alan, JD, Charlie, and Ned will offer sessions for beginning, intermediate
and advanced level players. Bill will present sessions on J.D. Crowe's
style and intermediate to advanced bluegrass back-up and lead techniques.
Master classes with the instructors will offer one-on-one attention,
which often results in noticeable, immediate improvements.
In
addition, historic bluegrass videos, including vintage performances
from Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and others, will be available.
After supper the instructors will present mini-concerts, with Bill
performing "The Banjo in America," his solo concert featuring
over 200 years of American banjo music played on a variety of historical
banjos.
The
workshop begins with lunch at noon on Friday, then your first class.
We wrap up around 4:00 pm on Sunday.
Tuition
includes all classes, concerts, meals and accommodations. Meals
provided from Friday lunch through Sunday lunch. NashCamp's site
and food are unparalleled in a workshop setting.
"The NashCamp
Fall Banjo Retreat will provide a great opportunity to learn from
one of bluegrass banjo's greatest masters - Sonny Osborne," says
Bill Evans. "But even more importantly, the retreat will help
each player, regardless of level, to become a better player."
A personal letter from Bill Evans...
Hello Banjo Camp bluegrass players (and other interested banjo
players and fans),
I hope that everyone is having a great summer and that you've
found a lot of time for picking and festivals. I wanted to
invite all of you to something that's become quite a special
event for me, the NashCamp Fall Banjo Retreat.
Sonny Osborne and I came up with the idea several years ago
to have an annual camp where we could interact closely with
banjo students in a smaller and more intimate context than
is allowed at many other gatherings.
The camp begins at noon on Friday and ends around 4 pm on Sunday.
Days are filled with small group workshops and plenty of one-on-one
interaction between students and teachers. Groups are divided
according to ability into beginning, intermediate and advanced
levels. Evening activities include concerts, watching
historic videos and lots and lots of jamming. Workshop topics
last year dealt with right hand technique, back-up, beginning
and advanced jamming techniques, as well as several sessions
discussing both Sonny Osborne's and Earl Scruggs' contributions
to the instrument.
And while I really am proud of our teaching and our programming,
perhaps the most memorable thing about this camp is the setting. You
really get the feeling that you've escaped from the outside
world and can focus on what we all really love, the banjo!
And what about that food? Well, it's just flat out great.
The Mad Platter, a well known Nashville gourmet restaurant
provides meals and I've gotten spoiled over the years by
such dishes as steak, salmon, roasted chicken, and great
salads and deserts. Forget Weight Watchers for the weekend.
This e combination of the location and the food (and the
hospitality and vivacity of camp director Cindy Sinclair)
make this simply an unparalleled experience in music camps.
You can learn more by following the links
on this Web site, or call Cindy Sinclair at 615-952-4040
(Central Time Zone).
Or, if you'd rather talk to me, give me a call at 888-599-2233
or 510-528-1924 (Pacific Time Zone).
I hope some of you will think about traveling to Nashville
and being with us this fall. Thanks for your consideration
of this post and thanks, as always for your love for the
banjo!
Sincerely,
Bill Evans |
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