Join Laurel Swift for this Fiddleheads Fall Ensemble for intermediate to advanced players of all instruments at the Brattleboro Music Center.

We had such a brilliant group of young people in the spring that Fiddleheads is back for another season! This band is open to players of all instruments and is aimed at teens, although younger applicants will be considered. If you want to play by ear (without notation), if you love rhythm, if you like the sound of folk music, then come and join Fiddleheads!    

The focus is on exploring ensemble playing and developing creativity in folk music. Learn great tunes and how to accompany them, make harmonies and build a groove! We'll work in both small and large groups, and there are simpler and more complex lines accommodating a range of abilities. 

Open to all instruments regardless of whether it is traditionally a folk instrument. You don't need any experience playing traditional music, or playing by ear. You DO need reasonable proficiency on your instrument (able to play concert pitch scales of D, G, C or play chords C, G, D, A, Em, Am, Bm). We will have parts working at a variety of levels, suiting a mixture of abilities. Between sessions there are resources: recordings and notation to help you remember and practise the material at home.

Dates: Sundays, Sept. 15 & 22; Oct 6 & 20; Nov 3 & 17; and Dec 1, 2024.

Time: 3:00-4:30pm

Location: Brattleboro Music Center, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, Brattleboro, VT

Ages: 12-18

Cost: $220. This registration fee pays for entire semester.

About the Instructor: Laurel Swift plays fiddle and double bass and dances Clog and Morris. Laurel is a musician and composer, an inspiring instigator of creative new projects and performances rooted in the folk arts. She also teaches folk music, with particular focus on helping people find their own ownership of our shared traditions through creative approaches to variation, ensemble skills and simply having a good time!