Join Celtic Calamity! (Thursday night Celtic Music Group Class) 7-9pm

Scottish Country Dance

Every three months the group learns a new "set" of traditional Celtic music.  At the end of that time, the group performs the set in front of a live audience.  The latest concert was held at Mill 180 Park on Thursday, December 19th.  The group played and sang traditional music from Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Cape Breton and New England.  It was a lot of fun and well attended.

The next project will be very interesting.  One of our members, Karen P., is a Scottish Dance instructor in Connecticut.  She is enthusiastically participating in a program to teach us five traditional Scottish dances and the group will learn the tunes to play for each dance.  At the end of the semester, the group will perform the dances for the Northampton Scottish Dance at the end of March. 

In addition, the group will be learning traditional Irish tunes for a St Patrick's Day celebration on March 19th.

PLEASE JOIN US!

The group class meets Thursday evenings from 7-9pm.  We have plenty of openings and will accept all types of musicians, singers and dancers!  Learn more about the class here!

If you can't attend the class in person, you can participate remotely using our Slack platform.  Please ask how to set that up.

It's too hot to be outside! Why don't you cool down at the Sweet Music Studio with a Celtic Music Group Class?

Celtic Music Group Class - Thursdays 7-9pm

The Bodhran (rhymes with moron)

This group is a lot of fun!  Open to any musical instrument and voice, the group is studying traditional Dance music of Ireland, Scotland, England, Cape Breton, Canada and New England!  

Because we play from sheet music out of books or downloaded off the internet, students should be able to sight-read music, and know the basics of music theory including counting various meters, playing chords and harmonizing.  If you would like to learn more about these subjects, register for private lessons.

The class meets Thursdays from 7-9pm in Granby, MA.  The group decides what folk music it wants to learn, votes on the new material, and works on approximately 10-15 new tunes/melodies per semester.  A semester is approximately 3 months.  Any folk or roots music genre is acceptable.  Some of the tunes we have been working on can be found in the Fiddler's Fakebook by Dan Brody, the Portland Collection by Susan Songer, and the Waltz Books.  

Once the group is comfortable with the "new" set, arrangements are made to put on a free concert at any local venue that allows free use.  Venues included are The Holyoke Rehab Center (on Rte 141), The Hobbit House (inside Mill 180 Park in Easthampton), The Loomis Villiage (South Hadley), The Arbors (Amherst), The Soldier's Home (Holyoke), The South Hadley Library and the Granby Library.  

Group classes are two hours (120 minutes).  You must be a private lesson student in good standing to attend any of the group classes. The fee is $20 per person, per class.  You may attend one of the group classes without taking lessons. 

Updates & General Information

Every so often I will update my readers with studio information, event listings and other topics I feel might be relevant. 

Firstly, please come to see the Celtic Group Class Thursday,  June 20th at 7pm performing 90 minutes of music including some of our favorite sing-alongs: "The Parting Glass", Brennan on the Moor and the Gypsy Rover!  The group will be performing in the Hobbit House within The Park at Mill 180 in Easthampton, MA.  This is a free concert.  There are drinks and food at the bar, so you don't need to byob!  I hope you can come.  This will be a lot of fun. 

Secondly, put this date in your calendar: Sunday, July 28th, the Classical Group Class will be performing Bach and Mozart at the Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in Hadley.  The group will be performing the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 for 2 Mandolas and continuo (a world premier!), and Mozart's "Dissonance" String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 (also a world premier AFAWK).

Finally, Summer is almost here and that means some students go away, leaving gaps in my schedule.  The following slots will be open this week:

Tuesday 11am-12pm
Wednesday 11am-12pm, 7pm-8pm
Friday 5-6pm, 6-7pm

If you are a current student who would like to switch to another day/time, please let me know through Slack and I'll do my best to make arrangements.  If you've been thinking about taking lessons with me, now's the time to register for classes as these slots (especially the early ones) will fill up quickly.

Thank you!

The Celtic Group Holyoke Rehab Center Concert

The Celtic Group will be performing a selection of traditional Celtic dances and singing songs at The Holyoke Rehabilitation Center this Sunday, May 10th, 2015.

Performing will be:

• Mary Jennings
• James Gullberg
• Ben Levy
• Joanna Vaughn
• Jaya Reddy
• Adam Sweet

The concert is NOT open to the public.

If you would like to find out more about the Celtic Group class, visit our website at www.sweetmusicstudio.net.  Thank you!


Holyoke Rehabilitation Center is a 164-bed skilled nursing facility nestled in a wooded area in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts.  Specializing in the sustained care and NeuroRehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injuries, neurodegenerative syndromes and other neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

The unique treatment program addresses the specific rehabilitative needs of individuals with cognitive, behavioral, psychiatric, and functional issues that have proven difficult to treat in other settings.  Our Residents are best served through interactions with structured, supportive environments that promote improved social relationships.  Our strong interdisciplinary clinical orientation ensures your loved one will receive superior levels of medical, nursing, psychological and rehabilitative care.  Treatment programs focus on meaningful individual goals that enable Residents to recover to their fullest levels of functionality and independence given their organic limitations.

Holyoke Rehabilitation Center is licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).