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Accordions have been a part of Maine Fiddle Camp since the very beginning, but as Camp has expanded, so have the opportunities to learn accordion. As in the past, this year we still have top teachers on piano accordion for both August weeks. Sylvia Miskoe, from NH, will again be on staff for the first August week, and Jeremiah McLane, from VT, will be on staff once again for the second August week. Now for the new stuff.. In June we have added a new weekend with a multi-level and multi-faceted accordion track. Staff members Sabin Jacques from Quebec, Jim Joseph and Junior Stevens from Maine will handle button accordion in several styles including Cajun, Irish, Quebecois and New England. There will be opportunities to learn Anglo AND English concertina as well!! This weekend is the second June weekend (June 21-23). Take a look at this video of Junior Stevens playing the Galway Rambler on the Irish concertina, or this video of him playing the Collier’s Reel on button accordion. For more info on these programs and teachers… read on……

June Week

• Chris Brinn

  

  Chris Brinn came to the U. S. almost eighteen years ago from the small fishing port of Padstow on the North Cornish coast, in the South West of Great Britain. He now lives in Searsmont with his wife Carol and their son Declan. Chris, who is mostly self taught and does not read music particularly well, has been playing piano accordion for over almost thirty years specializing in Irish music, and the dance tunes and songs of his home. His connection with Ireland stems from his grandfather, born in Wicklow and raised in Dublin. Since coming to America, Chris has been able to immerse himself in traditional Irish and Irish-American music and is heavily influenced by such masters as Jimmy Keane, Phil Cunningham, Joe Derrane, and Sharon Shannon, to name a few. Before moving to Maine, he spent four years on the West Coast living in Seattle and Spokane, and gaining valuable experience in the traditional music scene within those cities. Since taking up residence on the East Coast, Chris has placed first in the All Ireland qualifier in NY, and been a part of a number of locally based Irish- American bands.

June Weekend II

• Jim Joseph

  

  Jim Joseph, from Phippsburg,ME, was actually on staff a couple years ago for the inaugural June week. That was before we had an actual accordion track, and now he is back as an accordion teacher. Jim plays button accordion in the Quebecois, New England, and Cajun styles and also plays 5 string banjo, mandolin, fiddle, percussion (foot and otherwise) and is a member of several Maine bands including, T-Acadie, Scrod Pudding, and JimmyJo and the Jumbol’ayuhs, with Fiddle Camp staffers Pam Weeks and Bill Olson. Jim plays single row Cajun accordions (built by Marc Savoy and Junior Martin) and a 2 row Saltarelle D/G box. Here are some videos of Jim in action: A Cajun song with the Jumbol’Ayuhs, and a set of Quebecois reels with T-Acadie.

August Week I

• Nicholas Williams

  

  Nicholas Williams is a multi-instrumentalist (flutes, accordion, piano) and singer, who has been immersed in the traditional music of Québec, Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden for over 20 years.  He has toured and recorded extensively as a member of the bands Genticorum, Crowfoot, and the Kehler-Williams duo.   He has also, on more that one occasion, solicited the following compliment :  “Wow, I didn’t think that the accordion could sound that…. nice.’  Nicholas now lives in the Eastern Townships of Québec.

August Week II

• Jeremiah McLane

  

  The music of composer, accordionist, and pianist Jeremiah McLane is a unique blend of Franco-American, Celtic, jazz, and roots influenced music. In 1980 Jeremiah started studying Celtic music and began playing the accordion, influenced largely by the Bothy Band and Dedanann. He studied with Chicago accordionist Jimmy Keane and Cape Breton pianist Doug McPhee. In the early 1990s he helped start two bands with strong traditional New England roots: The Clayfoot Strutters and Nightingale, both of which are active today. In 2003 he formed Le Bon Vent, a sextet specializing in Breton and French music. He has recorded nine CDs with these and other musicians.
  www.jeremiahmclane.com

• Julie Vallimont

  

  Julie Vallimont performs nationwide on piano and accordion with the bands Buddy System and Nor’easter and other collaborations.  She plays for contra, English, and French dancing.   A former classical pianist and organist, she fell in love with traditional music and dance, and since then has gone on to perform at numerous festivals and music camps.  Drawing on teaching skills developed over fifteen years as a natural science educator, Julie enjoys teaching and leading workshops. 

Sign up now!

Here’s the link to the Maine Fiddle Camp page which has more general information and, most importantly, information on how to sign up!