Stuart’s Opera House is excited to present the return of Old Time Music Week this August!

Registration for this year’s event is in two parts:

First, fill out the registration form at the link below:
Old Time Music Week Registration Form

Second pay, the registration fee* at the link below:
Old Time Music Week Payment

Your registration is not complete until you have done both pieces of the sign up process.

*Scholarships and payment plan options are available first-come-first-serve upon request. Please contact Stuart’s Education Director, Devin Sudman at devin@stuartsoperahouse.org for more information.

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Old Time Music Week is a part of the Arts Education program at Stuart’s Opera House which reflects the rich traditions of music and storytelling of our Appalachian Foothills Region. Classes are offered in some of the common Appalachian instruments, and students can participate in an old-time string-band ensemble as well as learn about the historical development of the music and culture.

Classes in banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, and guitar will be available. Masterclasses and workshops include flatfooting, Appalachian foodways, quilting in the Appalachian tradition, storytelling, instrument repair, Appalachian herbalism, and more!

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Daily Schedule:

9 AM-12 PM:
Instrument Lessons (fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass)

12 PM-1 PM:

Lunch (on your own)

1 PM-2 PM:

Afternoon Concert

2 PM-3 PM:

Jam Sessions

3 PM-4:30 PM:

Workshops and Masterclasses

4:30 PM-6:30 PM:

Dinner (on your own)

7 PM-9 PM:

Evening Concert

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Free Evening Event Schedule:

We invite the public to join us for our free evening concert series every night at 7 pm during Old Time Music Week. Evening events Monday-Thursday will take place in the historic Stuart’s Opera House theatre. Friday’s final celebration will take place at Little Fish Brewing Company in Athens.

Monday:

Youth Showcase and Square Dancing called by Charmaine Slaven

Tuesday:

Golden Shoals

Wednesday:

Jesse Milnes

Thursday:

TBA

Friday:

Old Time Celebration at Little Fish Brewing Company featuring The Possum Queens and The New Beckham Country Ramblers.

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Workshops and Masterclasses:

Monday:

Flatfooting

Instructor: Charmaine Slaven

String Band

Instructor: Nick Weiland and Paul Brown

Tuesday:

Appalachian Folk Remedies

Instructor: Talcon Quinn

In this workshop, Appalachian Ohio Native Talcon Quinn, will lead you through how to make an herbal salve while sharing a wide array of historical uses for numerous Appalachian medicinal plants. Talcon Quinn is the 8th generation of her fathers family to be raised here in Southeastern Ohio. Her interaction with plants for food and medicine began as a small child being sent to collect dandelion and red clover for her great grandmother. Talcon has continued her education with herbalism by completing multiple herbalist courses, such as Rosemary Gladstar’s The Science & Art of Herbalism and the Columbine School of Botanical Studies 1st Year Apprenticeship. Beyond these formal courses, Talcon has spent time in the woods with many excellent herbalists and folklorists such as Doug Elliot, Rebecca Beyer, and Marc
Williams. Talcon has also sat at the foot of many regional elders prying their memories for stories of how their people interacted with plants and the natural world around them. Join Talcon for this special workshop, blending hands on skills, with sustainable harvesting techniques and oral stories rich in this region’s traditions and lure.

Square Dance Calling 101

Instructor: Charmain Slaven

Wednesday:

West Virginia Fiddle Tunes and Styles

Instructor: Jesse Milnes

“I’ll teach one or two tunes from WV fiddlers like Melvin Wine and Ernie Carpenter. I try to put an emphasis on learning the timing and syncopation, and focus less on specific bowing.” Jesse Milnes grew up surrounded by West Virginia’s old-time music and began playing fiddle and guitar as a teenager. For six years he toured with the Sweetback Sisters, a retro-country band co-fronted by his wife Emily MIller, and now performs in a duo with Emily and as the leader of his own country band. He lives in Randolph County, WV.

Honey Suckle Basket Weaving

Instructor: Talcon Quinn

Talcon Quinn’s honeysuckle basket class will instruct participants how to weave a basket from start to finish. Beyond weaving students will also learn how to properly harvest, store, and prepare honeysuckle for weaving. The style of weaving that will be covered in this class is Anglo-Saxon in origin and traditionally would have been woven from willow.

A defining characteristic of Appalachian basketry is multiculturalism which is expressed in the fusion of materials and weaves that was birthed from the various cultures that suddenly found themselves residing together in these mountains as a result of colonialism. Honeysuckle arrived in the States from Asia in the early 1800’s, and quickly became utilized to weave styles of baskets from all over the world. This is a great example of how folk art expanded through these multicultural communities of Appalachia.

Talcon has been weaving and studying basketry for over twenty years. In her workshop she will share not only the style of basket the class is weaving, but she will also share visual examples of other types of baskets that were commonly woven throughout Appalachia and around the world.

Thursday:

African Drumming

Instructor: Dr. Paschal Younge

Dr. Paschal Yao Younge is the Ohio Arts Council, 2020 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Awardee and Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, 2019. The sights and sounds of Africa fill the air. Dr. Younge, a multi-talented and interdisciplinary musician, scholar, composer, author, and performer, presents world music and dance forms internationally, focusing on African and African Diaspora styles. Dr. Younge, Professor of Music at Ohio University, is the Executive and Music Director of Azaguno, Inc., a multi-ethnic ensemble based in Athens, Ohio, that focuses on research, preservation, and performance of African, African American, Caribbean, and Latin American Music and Dance.

Kentucky Fiddler

Instructor: John Harrod

Friday:

Square Dance Calling 102

Instructor: Joe Burdock

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Old Time Music Week Instructors

John Harrod

Advanced Fiddle Instructor

John has been documenting, playing, and teaching Kentucky music for 45 years. He performs with Kentucky Wild Horse, a band that connects many strands of Kentucky music including old time songs and fiddle tunes, bluegrass, original songs, and hillbilly swing.

 

Matthew McElroy

Fiddle Instructor

Matthew McElroy has been playing fiddle, banjo and guitar for over 20 years now. He was initially drawn to traditional music through recordings of West Virginia musicians. Over the last decade he has spent too much time listening to, learning from and collecting 78 rpm records.

Zeke Hutchison

Mandolin Instructor

Zeke grew up with music all around, both his grandfathers played the fiddle and his father and uncle performed nationally as the Hutchison Brothers. Zeke recently recorded with Tim O’Brien on his Short Order Sessions.

Jeanie Thieken Creame

Beginner Guitar Instructor

Jeanie Thieken Creamer grew up in a musical family including fiddle music and songs in old time and bluegrass traditions as well as other popular music of the day. She began performing during highschool and never looked back. Jeanie recorded three CD’s with Home Remedy, a band composed of family and friends which vigorously toured regionally for over 15 years. More recently she is writing her own songs and preparing to record her first solo project. A lifelong teacher, Jeanie’s beginner old time guitar class will include learning basic chords, simple strums, and techniques for accompanying fiddle tunes and songs. Beginner guitar will include small group instruction, experience and practice combined with Nick’s upright bass class, and individual instruction as needed.

Hilarie Burhans

Beginner Banjo Instructor

Hilarie Burhans has been playing and teaching her driving clawhammer banjo style for more than 40 years. She’s the co-founder of the nationally-touring Hotpoint Stringband, with whom she’s recorded five albums!

Nick Weiland

Stand up Bass Instructor

Nick has taught beginning bass to a number of students over the years including Old Time Week for the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia. He is looking forward to a room full of bassists playing low-tones all together! He fell into old time music when he picked up a bass that the Hotpoint Stringband had onstage at the Mayapple Stomp Contra Dance. He has since founded three touring contra dance bands, ReelBop, Zeke’s Fancy and Jeanie and the Dreamers. His current passion is Hillbilly Chic an eclectic old time group based out of Chillicothe.

Hannah Johnson

Beginner Fiddle Instructor

Hannah hails from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She became interested in old time music as a teenager attending fiddlers’ conventions in the region, and promptly took up the fiddle, banjo, and guitar, learning from local old timers and musicians near and far. Her passion for music and longtime love of dancing led Hannah to start calling square dances. Though she still lives in her same old home town and remains dedicated to her local traditions, Hannah has traveled the world playing in old time bands, swapping tunes, dances, and songs along the way.