Music Workshop with Hickory Strings

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

We hope to provide a fun, hands-on musical experience that culminates in an ensemble performance by all workshop members, and invite people at all skill levels to join us. No instruments are necessary, but musicians are encouraged to bring their own instruments to play (and share, if willing).

Encouraging exploration, we demonstrate how to make creative use of the environment. While participants tap their feet, clap hands, sing, play an instrument or tap rhythms on a cardboard box, they explore different musical voices and how they can contribute to the music. What’s more, by guiding participants through the process of creating music together, we learn the usefulness of simplicity, the power of silence, the importance of listening, and the joy that comes from being part of a group performance.

INSTRUCTORS

Boston-born Geoff is an eclectic multi-instrumentalist and composer trained on both mandolin and guitar. His playing ranges from funk and rock to bluegrass, Celtic, folk, jazz, and classical. Geoff attended California’s Guitar Institute of Technology and earned his B.A. from Tufts University, studying all aspects of music including ethnomusicology, theory, composition, orchestration, and conducting. Geoff is on the faculty at both the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Belmont’s Powers Music School. He lives in Cambridge, MA.

Mark, a Boston-based banjoist, has performed throughout New England. Originally from Maryland, he developed his strong music foundation through years of classical piano studies. While earning his B.A. in Philosophy at Earlham College, Mark also began studying bass. His eclectic musical interests and talents have inspired him to perform with a 7-piece funk band, a jazz quartet, and numerous folk/rock groups.

www.myspace.com/hickorystrings