This is the last ever Blowzabella Workshop Festival. Special guests La Chavannée (Fr). Friday night concert with Blowzabella 20:30. Saturday workshops 10:00-17:00. Saturday night dance with La Chavannée and Blowzabella. Sunday workshops and "Meet La Chavannée " 10:00-12:30. Jam session, bal and concert by the workshop participants and Blowzabella 14:00-16:30.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

DANCE WORKSHOP. JO FREYA – with the rest of the band providing the music. Saturday morning. Learn some of the great English and European traditional dances that Blowzabella have popularised over the last 30+ years. The aim of the workshop is to help people get the most from a Blowzabella dance/bal. All ages and abilities welcome. There’s plenty for experienced dancers to learn too.

BAND WORKSHOP – MUSIC FOR FILM. PAUL JAMES. Together we will compose and arrange the musical accompaniment to a short animated film made especially for this workshop. Suitable for all ages, all abilities and any instrument. The aim is to use our imaginations to tell a story through sound and perform it with the film at the evening bal.

BAGPIPE WORKSHOP. JON SWAYNE. Suitable for intermediate and more advanced players. Introducing participants to English bagpipe repertoire, both traditional and recently composed, working mostly by ear, but music is available at the end. Work on technique and ornamentation relevant to that repertoire can be included. If time allows and the appropriate instruments are available, the workshop can enjoy playing polyphony with two, three or more lines, a form with which Jon has considerable experience. Suitable for conical bore mouth or bellows blown bagpipes in G (for example, border, Flemish and French pipes). Bring pipes in low D and/or C if you have them.

DIATONIC BUTTON ACCORDION & MELODEON (G/D). ANDY CUTTING. Suitable for intermediate and more advanced players. The basic standard required to get the most from this workshop is to be able to learn a simple folk dance tune by ear and play it at the right tempo with others.

HURDY-GURDY 1. BENOIT MICHAUD. During this workshop we'll work around different small pieces, we will tackle technical aspects of the hurdy-gurdy : the rhythmic equivalences of the "coup de poignet" (right hand), the dissociation between right hand and left hand, melodic ornamentation and instrument settings (cotton, string support, keyboard).

HURDY-GURDY 2. PATRICK BOUFFARD & MAXOU HEINTZEN. Tunes and techniques from the repertoire of La Chavannée and the Bourbonnais region of central France.

HURDY-GURDY 3. MASTERCLASS WITH PATRICK BOUFFARD, MAXOU HEINTZEN & BENOIT MICHAUD. Sunday morning. Three masters of the hurdy-gurdy share their music and techniques. Not only for hurdy-gurdy players - anyone can attend to watch and listen.

VOICE/SINGING. JO FREYA. Taking traditional and contemporary folk songs and singing them in harmony as a group. All ages and abilities welcome. No need to be able to read music. The emphasis is on creating a great sound by arranging beautiful songs for the voices there.

MEET THE BAND. LA CHAVANNEE. Sunday morning. The band share their experiences of promoting the popular traditions of the Bourbonnais region of central France. Come and listen and ask questions if you want.

FOLLOW THE TICKETS LINK FOR BOOKING, PRICES, TIMES AND AND OTHER INFO. QUESTIONS? pauljames.be@gmail.com