PLAYERS AT FOLK EVENT SHOW PLENTY OF PLUCK.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer CALABASAS - On a bridge over Swan Lake Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро, Lebedinoye Ozero, Swan Lake , the banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. picker, his wife the banjo ukulele ukulele (y  kəlā`lē), Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. player, and their friend the fiddler performed a traditional folk instrumental. But it was more than just an idyllic jam session - it was a reunion. The three once played in a band called Rugged But Right. But, like many good things, the partnership ended. ``It's kind of like the Beatles,'' said banjo player Rob Hoyte, 47, who works as a cabinet maker. On Saturday, Hoyte, wife Meg Hoffman and friend Alan Davis, a fiddler who works as a teacher, rekindled their band memories at the 23rd annual Summer Solstice solstice (sŏl`stĭs) [Lat.,=sun stands still], in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°). Folk Music folk music: see folk song. folk music Music held to be typical of a nation or ethnic group, known to all segments of its society, and preserved usually by oral tradition. Knowledge of the history and development of folk music is largely conjectural. , Dance & Storytelling Festival A storytelling festival is often an annual event that features local, regional and/or nationally known oral storytellers. Each storyteller will have a scheduled amount of time(s) to share a story (or stories) with an audience. . Even as they jammed together, other musicians strolled along the bucolic campus of Soka University, learning new techniques on their favorite old-time musical instruments. Under the shade of canvas tents or trees with the university's Swan Lake nearby, teachers led workshops in instruments including the mandolin mandolin (măn'dəlĭn`, măn`dəlĭn'), musical instrument of the lute family, with a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. , dulcimer dulcimer (dŭl`sĭmər), stringed musical instrument. It is a wooden box with strings stretched over it that are struck with small mallets. The number of strings may vary. The dulcimer is related to the psaltery and modern zither. , banjo, guitar, harp and fiddle. At one tent, children learned how to bang rhythms on pizza boxes. Leah and Geoffrey Levitt of Lancaster had their dulcimers in cases by their side as they listened to performers on the festival's main stage. The dulcimer is one of the few instruments that is native to America, and the couple has traveled to the Ozark Mountains to take lessons on the instrument. ``It has a sweet sound; in fact, 'dulcimer' refers to the sweet sound,'' said Geoffrey Levitt, who works as a legal assistant. Banjo maker Okie Adams, 82, sat in a wheelchair listening to a banjo lesson with a few of his banjos nearby. But despite loving the sound of the banjo - and making banjos good enough for the likes of folk musician Doc Watson - Adams never learned to play himself. ``I liked the sound of them, and I listened to different people play,'' Adams said. The festival was organized by the California Traditional Music Society. It continues today, with workshops in a variety of instruments. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com IF YOU GO The 23rd annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance & Storytelling Festival continues from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today at Soka University, 26800 W. Mulholland Highway, Calabasas. Tickets are $30 at the gate and free for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult. CAPTION(S): box Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion