Rolland Fiddle Camp 2013

The Third Annual Rolland fiddle camp (old-time banjo, mandolin & guitar too) will be held June 23-29, 2013 at the Hermit Basin Conference Center, which is located at 9000′ elevation in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains about 7 miles west of Westcliffe, Colorado.  It’s a beautiful secluded spot, ideal for total immersion into the study of fiddling and old-time music.  The small camp setting makes for great camaraderie among participants and insures small group classes and lots of 1-on-1 interaction with the teachers.

We are offering tuition waivers to two Colorado students & their teacher or guardian.
The scholarship value is $335 each, so the recipients only have to pay for room and board & a small processing fee.

The camp serves students ranging from novices to those with professional level skills on the instrument and quite a large age spread.  The scholarships are for Colorado residents enrolled in a string class or taking private lessons, at least 11 and no more than 23 years of age.  It’s a great opportunity for students & teachers.  What goes on at the camp seems almost magical.  There are many video testimonials from participants at our earlier camps at the website.

Full details about the camp and the teachers are at the camp pages within my website www.peterrolland.com.  Anyone with questions or commentary can contact me at [email protected], at 480-969-9744 (home) or 602-618-6285 (cell) after June 7, or at www.peterrolland.com.

Here’s a bit of info about the faculty.  You can read full bios at the TEACHERS page of the website.

Dan Levenson (www.clawdan.com), a nationally known claw-hammer banjo teacher and performer, author of many books on banjo and fiddle playing (Mel Bay) is on staff to teach old-time banjo & fiddle & help with the jam sessions.

Mike Cirillo (www.fiddlermike.com) teaches jazz, swing and improvisatory violin; he has a performance degree in Jazz Violin from ASU.

Mike Rolland (www.fiddlinmike.com) is the current & 3-time consecutive Arizona State Fiddle Champion, and a super-picker on fiddle, mandolin and guitar.  He posts weekly lessons at his on-line teaching website where he teaches fiddle, mandolin & guitar to students around the world.

Grace and Matt Rolland have a band called RUN BOY RUN (www.runboyrunband.com) that was featured on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” twice this spring.  In case you aren’t familiar with the show, it goes out to over 4 million listeners in a weekly radio broadcast on National Public Radio.  Matt teaches mostly old-time fiddle, and Grace teaches singing, cello and calls the evening square dance.  Run Boy Run, 2011 winner of the Telluride Bluegrass Band contest, has a busy 3-month touring schedule this summer that includes some stops at Colorado music venues.  Check their website for developing details which are posted as soon as they are confirmed.

Gail Rolland, a public school orchestra teacher with 35 years experience, directs the Folk Orchestra (I write the arrangements) – this is a great and fun daily activity where participants of all skill levels play together.  Gail also helps out with the novice students.  I direct the camp and teach everything as needed – I also work with teachers and advanced players.

Finally, I bring in Lynne Denig (www.chinrests.com), director of the annual Paul Rolland String Pedagogy Workshop , as our resident master violin teacher.  She’s an excellent diagnostician and a great addition to the faculty, helps me with master classes for players needing to improve basic techniques, directs camp warm-ups, gives a workshop on Paul Rolland pedagogy and works 1-on-1 with certain musicians looking to fix problems in their playing fundamentals.

Students work daily in small groups and 1-on-1 with a couple of core teachers and have their pick of daily workshops in various subjects according to their interests.  We all spend an hour each day playing together in Folk Orchestra where players learn and practice scripted ensemble techniques, including melody, harmony, chordal and backup skills, etc.  The dining room is an enjoyable time for a relaxing and well prepared meal and visiting with new friends, and evenings are a real hoot with concerts, jamming and dancing.  This year there will be both square dancing and contra-dancing, with all moves clearly explained and taught by Grace and Eden Rolland, and done to live music.

Rolland Fiddle Camp 2013 Scholarship Letter | Rolland Fiddle Camp brochure 2013