Moments & Memories (7 of 8): Fiddle Lab

As graduates this month of CMW's Fellowship Program, Rachel
and Arlyn were asked to provide several memorable
moments or anecdotes that would shed light on their favorite experiences over
the past two years spent at Community MusicWorks. Their responses are
posted as a series on this blog throughout the month of June.

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Without realizing it at first, Fiddle Lab has been a testing ground for my next project. The trust and expectations we’ve built have been strong enough to get everyone not just playing, but singing and dancing regularly.

Here’s how I know the tunes are taking hold as a blossoming part of students’ musicianship:

• I hear snippets of them being played in the hallways before lessons and workshops.
• I challenged students to “prank fiddle call” me over April vacation and one day was greeted by the sound of two celli and a viola playing Roddy McCorley together on my voice mail.
• The tunes we’ve learned this year have been from Old-time, Celtic, French-Canadian and Cajun styles, and everyone has a different favorite tune.
• After the success of the Dancing Concert Trip, I went out on a limb and taught two introductory dances to the types of music we’re learning. Each week since, I’ve been asked “are we dancing today?”

-Rachel Panitch, Fellow (07-09)