December 1, 2010

Dear Autoharp Lover and Discriminating Festival Enthusiast:

On behalf of the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering (MLAG), I am pleased to announce that the 2011 Gathering will be held Wednesday, June 22 through Sun-day, June 26, 2011 at the Little Buffalo State Campground in Newport, PA. As we enter our 21st year, the Gathering is bigger and better than ever. 2011 will be a good one and we hope you will join us!

We again have a great lineup of performers: Bryan Bowers, Jo Ann Smith, Karla Armstrong, Mountain Fling with John Hollandsworth, Cathy Britell, Bob Zentz and Friends, and Lucille Reilly, our 2010 contest cham-pion. As usual, we have a great lineup of workshop leaders and the contest should again be very exciting and memorable.

The Little Buffalo State Park “Rules and Regulations” will apply to us and you will find them attached. As part of the registration process, we ask for your signed agreement to abide by all of the campground rules and to indemnify both the state and the all-volunteer MLAG Board against claims for damage to property or personal injury while attending the Gathering. This signed agreement should be returned with your registration materials.

We will have use of the park from the Monday check-in preceding the Gathering through check-out on Monday following the Gathering (June 20–27). If you wish to arrive prior to or stay after those dates you will need to make regular reservations through the State Park reservation system (see Atch 3, page 5). We cannot guarantee that the State will assign you to the site you’ll have during the Gathering. Though we will do our best to avoid unnecessary moves, you may have to move if you do arrive prior to Monday.

As we did last year, we are also planning some pre-Gathering workshop options for early arrivals. Cathy Britell (beginners) and JoAnn Smith (intermediate/advanced) will each present nine hours of small group instruction on Tuesday and Wednesday. As an added bonus, MLAG and Winfield champ, Lucille Reilly, will present a special 9-hour workshop on Jamming Skills. A full schedule, pricing and additional information is also included in this packet.The details are also posted on the MLAG Web site (www.mlag.org).

If you can, please use our on-line registration; it makes our job ever so much easier! This is available at http://www.mlag.org. Of course, if you have any questions at all, please contact me at 717-593-0962 or E-Mail me at coleen@doofusmusic.com.

I hope to see everybody at Little Buffalo next June.

Sincerely,

Coleen WaltersMLAG Registrar 8 Attachments:

1. Directions & Motel List - Page 2 2. Featured Performers - Pages 3 and 4 3. General Information - Pages 5 and 6 4. Registration Form - Pages 7 and 8 5. Assumption of Risk Agreement - Page 9 6. Campsite Map - Page 10 7. Campground Rules - Pages 11 and 12 8. Pre-MLAG Workshop Info - Pages 13 and 14.

Directions to Little Buffalo State Park

From Harrisburg: Take Route 322 West, go until the Newport/New Bloomfield Exit, and at the stop sign go left. This puts you on Route 34 South; follow this over the bridge into Newport. At the next stop sign, make a left onto 4th Street, still on Route 34. Continue on and watch for an Agway on your left and Smith’s Auto Parts on your right, make the next right (there is a sign for the State Park). Go 3 miles, passing the main entrance to the State Park (which is on your left across the lake) and turn right at Black Hill Road (look for the MLAG sign) into the campground.

From Carlisle: Take Route 34 North, follow through New Bloomfield and go approximately 4 miles. There will be a car wash on your right. Make the next left (there is a sign for the State Park) and follow the directions above.

Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering - Nearby Motels1. Mountain View Bed & Breakfast: 200 Orchard Road, Newport, PA 17074 (717-567-9417) 10 min.

2. The Tressler House, A Bed & Breakfast Inn: 41 W. Main Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068 (717-582-2914) 10 min.

3. Motel Stardust: 3418 Susquehanna Trail, Duncannon PA 17020 (717-834-9883) 20 min.

4. Red Carpet Inn/Park: Route 4 Box 4913, Duncannon, PA 17020 (717-834-3320) 20 min.

5. Tuscarora Motor Inn: 142 Wm Penn Hwy, RR4 Box 142, Mifflintown, PA 17059 (717-436-2127) 30 min.

6. Econo Lodge: US 322/22 & SR35, Mifflintown, PA 17059 (717-436-5981) 30 min.

7. Days Inn: 3919 N Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110 (717-233-3100) 35 min.

8. Quality Inn: 501 N Enola Road, Enola, PA 17025 (717-732-0785) 40 min.

9. AJ RV Rentals, 7760 Allentown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112 (717-909-RVRV) ajrvrentals@comcast.net

Attachment 1 - Page 2

Bryan Bowers - For nearly three decades, Bryan Bowers has been to the autoharp what Earl Scruggs was to the five-string banjo. He presents instrumental virtuosity combined with warmth, eloquence, expression and professionalism. From his rather unglamorous beginning as a street singer, Bryan Bowers has become a major artist on the traditional music circuit. He has redefined the autoharp and is also well known as a singer-songwriter. Bryan has a dynamic outgoing personality and an uncanny ability to enchant a crowd in practically any situation. His towering six foot four inch frame can be wild and zany on stage while playing a song like `Dixie’ and five minutes later he can have the same audience singing `Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ in quiet reverence and delight. Bryan’s creativity and talent have won him induction into Frets Magazine’s First Gallery of the Greats after five years of winning the stringed instrument, open category of the magazine’s readers’ poll. This distinction put Bowers alongside other luminaries, such as Chet Atkins, David Grisman, Stephan Grappelli, Itzhak Perlman, Tony Rice, Rob

Wasserman and Mark O’Connor, recognized for their personal accomplishments. In 1993, Bryan was inducted into the Auto-harp Hall of Fame to stand only with Maybelle Carter, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter.

Jo Ann Smith - From Bartlesville, OK, Jo Ann began playing the autoharp in 1995, and has since made her mark in the autoharp world by winning both the International Autoharp Championship in Winfield, KS and the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Champi-onship. Although Jo Ann plays both chromatic and diatonic instruments, she is best known for her diatonic repertoire featuring exquisite arrangements and tasteful use of non-standard chords. Her broad range of styles, exquisite arrangments and drop-dead technical abilities are a delight to experience. From stunningly beautiful ballads to lightning-fast bluegrass fiddle tunes, you won’t believe your ears. Jo Ann performs regularly throughout her local area at various church and community functions, as well as weekly open-mike venues. Jo Ann has performed on the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour in Lexington, KY and the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS and also performs with the acoustic group, Pocket Change.

Cathy Britell, Bob Zentz & Friends - Cathy is a Seattle au-toharp teacher and performer and 2005 International Autoharp Champion. She has been described as “a unique and impressive stylist” and “the most lyrical autoharp player ever.” Bob is a singer, tunesmith and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and teacher from Norfolk, VA, who has crafted some of the autoharp world’s favorite songs and tunes. Cathy has taught and performed at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering, Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering, Sore Fingers Week in England, Northwest Folklife Festival, Ozark Folk Center Autoharp Jamboree, and California Autoharp Gather-ing. She co-founded and teaches at the successful Seattle Auto-harp Week, now in its 5th year. Bob is a prolific musician, play-ing several dozen instruments in a repertoire of more than 2,000

songs. His albums span the genres of folk, traditional, Celtic and maritime music and beyond, and his recordings also appear on other artist compilations. As a songwriter, he is celebrated by fans and peers alike; dozens of performers have covered his original compositions, three of which have been published in “Rise Up Singing,” Sing Out Magazine’s award-winning commu-nity songbook. We’re delighted that Cathy and Bob are returning to Mountain Laurel. They will be accompanied by friends William Limbach and Jeanne MacDougall in various combinations of solo, duet, and quartet configurations.

MLAG 2011 - Featured Performers

Attachment 2 - Page 3

Karla Armstrong - Karla Armstrong received her first autoharp in 1996, a surprise gift from her husband, Mark. Just four years later, she won the Mountain Laurel Auto-harp Championship and was runner up for the International Autoharp Championship that same year. For the past nine years, she has co-authored “Colorfully Chromatic,” a column featuring challenging autoharp arrangements in the Autoharp Quarterly. Her travels as a ladies’ devotional speaker as well as music performer and workshop leader have taken her all over the country, but there’s no place like home! A former Russian linguist, Karla now homeschools her younger son (her older son is a senior in college) and offers music lessons and hosts gospel jams in Hanover, PA, her home for the past twenty years. She has been a regular workshop leader at Mountain Laurel and her nightly gospel jam is a perennial favorite.

Mountain Fling with John Hollandsworth - Mountain Fling is a four-piece band based in Southwest Virginia that relies heavily on traditional material and delves into the recent past for variety. They bring freshness to their sound by playing instruments that were an im-

portant part of the pre-WWII mix but are now a little “to one side” of the usual old-time string band. John Hollandsworth, a 2010 inductee into the Autoharp Hall of Fame for his unique accomplishments as a performer, teacher, and luthier, is joined by his wife Kathie on bass, Jim Lloyd on banjo and guitar, and Ed Ogle on harmonica and guitar. Kathie, Ed, and Jim pro-vide the group’s vocals. John is a perennial autoharp teacher at the Camp-bell Folk School and the Swannanoa Gathering, both in North Carolina, and has performed and taught at other festivals from California to the UK. All the members have performed, taught, and recorded in various ensembles through the years, as well as in Mountain Fling, and enjoy bringing their Appalachian culture to varied audiences. They were last at Mountain Laurel in 2000 but have been featured several times at the Mini-Mountain Laurel Series in Newport, PA, every other year or so. They also invaded Pennsylvania twice for the Chestnut Ridge Dulcimer Festival in Greensburg. Mountain Fling enjoys playing in their region at annual town concert series, coffee houses, music series on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in various private settings.

Lucille Reilly - Lucille Reilly’s earliest fans dubbed her The Dulcimer Lady® a few decades ago, is our reigning Mountain Laurel Champion and she also won in 1995. Ad-ditionally, she is a three-time winner of the International Autoharp Championship at Winfield (1995, 2003 & 2010). She continues to win many new converts to the auto-harp, mainly classical-music colleagues who “never knew an autoharp could sound like that.” Lucille specializes in diatonic autoharp, using “pumping felt” techniques all over the strings to color and orchestrate the tunes she interprets. As a concert artist, Lu-cille has appeared as part of numerous classical-music concert series throughout the United States. Her musicianship and understanding of melody, harmony, technique, extemporization, arranging and body mapping in the teaching arena have taken her to Sore Fingers Summer School in England, Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering, Califor-nia Autoharp Gathering, Ozark Folk Center, and John C. Campbell Folk School, among others. This Autoharp Quarterly columnist (“The Diatonic Corner”), whom Autoharp

Hall-of-Famer Mike Fenton praises as “the best autoharp teacher in the world,” teaches local private students on a weekly basis, “B&B” lessons and contest coaching to out-of-area musicians (who stay in her home in Colorado for a week and enjoy her from-scratch cooking) and “roll your own” classes to small groups of emerging autoharpists desiring to soar in their play-ing. Lucille is in the midst of writing a series of monographs, as well as two instruction books, to help diatonic autoharpists become good musicians. Look for a new recording in 2011 to join Thus Sings My Soul (1998). And oh yes, as 1997 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion and author of the best-selling dulcimer instruction book, Striking Out and Winning!, she still plays and performs on the dulcimer with mastery and passion. (We know she will treat us to some dulcimer playing during the Gathering.)

Attachment 2 - Page 4

MOUNTAIN LAUREL AUTOHARP GATHERINGGENERAL INFORMATION – 2011

REGISTRATION PROCESS/FEES/CAMPINGIncluded in this packet you will find everything you need to register for the Gathering.

A full-time ticket includes all workshops and concerts from Wed, June 22 through Sun, June 26. A non-participating spouse ticket does not include the workshops. Tenting (or no connection) and water/ electric connections have an additional fee and you will need to fill out the Camping Registration section of the form. Please indicate the size of your camper and select your preferred sites (there are no guarantees but we will do our best). If you are tenting or don’t wish any hookups, you will be assigned to a general area upon arrival.

Included in this packet is a site map with numbers and information relating to the services on each site. If attendance in previous years is any indication, all sites will be shared. Experience has taught us that we can’t guarantee any of the sites so you won’t be informed in advance of your site number.

MLAG has arranged for the use of the campground from check-in on Monday, June 20 through check out on Monday, June 27. If you wish to arrive and set up before the Gathering officially begins (Wednesday, June 22), or stay on your site after the Gathering officially ends (after the concert on Sunday, June 26), please ensure that you fill in the arrival/departure dates section on our camping registration form to reflect the full time you’ll be on site. Camping charges are on a per night basis.

If you wish to arrive prior to check-in on Monday or stay past check-out on the following Monday, you will have to arrange that directly with the Pennsylvania State Park reservation system (888-727-2757) or www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/. We cannot guarantee that the State will assign you to the site you’ll have during the Gathering. Though we will do our best to avoid unnecessary moves, you may have to move if you arrive prior to Monday. Also, keep in mind that, while we do have the campground starting on Monday, June 20, the Gathering does not officially begin until Wednesday, June 22. You can expect plenty of jamming though if you do decide to arrive early. Our cancellation policy is as follows:

1. Full refund available until April 15, 2011.2. Full refund available minus a $15 administration fee after April 15, 2011.3. Emergency refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

PRE-GATHERING WORKSHOPSThere will be three 9-hour sessions of pre-Gathering workshops (for beginners with Cathy Britell, for interme-diate/advanced players with Jo Ann Smith, and a special workshop on Jamming Skills from Lucille Reilly) on Tuesday, June 21, and Wednesday, June 22. The fee for these workshops is in addition to the normal Gathering registration fee. Workshop topics, pricing information and registration procedures are included as Attachment 8 and are also available at www.mlag.org.

MARY LOU ORTHEY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIPThe Mary Lou Orthey Memorial Scholarship Fund promotes the development and growth of the autoharp by providing financial assistance to people who would otherwise not be able to afford to come to the Gathering. Awards are focused on, but not limited to, first time attendees. Those interested in applying for a scholarship must complete an application form which is available on the MLAG website or by mailing a request to Carole Outwater, 1319 Greylyn Dr., Charlotte, NC 28226. The completed form must be postmarked by April 1, 2011.

VOLUNTEERSOur thanks go to all of you who help out on-site each year; you make the Gathering work! It would be great if everyone volunteered at least one hour during the course of the Gathering. The work would be shared and no one would miss out on his or her favorite workshop. There will be a sign-up sheet at Registration.

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATIONBe sure to leave this emergency contact information with your family: other than personal cell phones, there is no phone available at the Gathering site to receive calls. There is an emergency phone outside the Rec Hall that is available to make outgoing emergency calls, i.e. 911, etc. During business hours (9 am to 4 pm, M-F), your family may call Park HQ at 717-567-9255 and a ranger will be dispatched to the campground. If the emergency is after hours, they should contact the PA State Police at 717-567-3110. There is a barracks about four miles from the campground. They should use these numbers during the Gathering only in the event of an actual emergency. Do call your family to let them know you arrived at the site; they should not need to call to check on you! The State’s office phone is not available for our use.

Attachment 3 - Page 5

You will also notice that there is space on the registration form for you to provide names and numbers for us to call in the event of an emergency at the festival. PLEASE FILL THIS OUT.ON – SITE FOODMeal plan tickets need to be ordered in advance. You may purchase a Full Meal Plan (Wed dinner through Sun-day lunch) or purchase meals individually. Our caterer, Robyn Green, will be back again by popular demand and promises equally wonderful food this year. THE DEADLINE FOR ORDERING MEALS IS MAY 25. There is a pos-sibility that a few individual meals will be available for purchase on-site, but to ensure that you have meals, include your meal order with your registration.

Tentative Sample Menu Wednesday Dinner – Stuffed Shells with Sauce - Vegetable - Italian Bread - Salad Bar

Thursday Lunch – Tuna Salad Sandwich on Pretzel Roll - Chips - Fruit - WaterThursday Dinner – Mexican Theme Main Course - Vegetable - Bread - Salad Bar

Friday Lunch – Chicken Salad Wrap - Chips - Fruit - WaterFriday Dinner – Island Theme Main Course - Vegetable - Bread - Salad Bar

Saturday Lunch – Assorted Subs - Chips - Fruit - WaterSaturday Dinner – BBQ Chicken - Potato Salad - Salad Bar

Sunday Lunch - Salad w/ Grilled Chicken

FESTIVAL MEMORABILIADesigned by Ivan Stiles, we think MLAG T-Shirts are always special and this year’s will be no exception. We are offering a woman’s model this year too. To order your shirt(s), please complete the appropriate section of the registration form. We only make a few extras so, to guarantee that you get one, be sure to order by June 1, 2011. Your shirts will be waiting for you at the festival.

BAZAAR AUTOHARPThe Bazaar Autoharp is a free forum for Gathering attendees to buy and sell their autoharp-related materials only. Space is limited and there are some necessary restrictions in place to protect our vendors. Rules for the bazaar are printed prominently in the Gathering program and also on the Gathering WEB site. Please note that you may have a maximum of three autoharps to sell.

VENDINGThe vending area in the air-conditioned main hall will feature the largest assemblage of the foremost auto-harp luthiers, service, and accessory providers to be found anywhere. One may be assured of one-on-one con-sultation with the best custom harp builders around, ready to take your order for a tailor-made instrument. Additionally, OS dealers are available with new and rebuilt harps. Expertise is on hand to perform conversions or repairs, or guide you in your own work. Almost all accessories and harp supplies are either available or can be ordered and an extensive collection of books and recorded music will be for sale.

SILENT AUCTIONThis event helps raise the needed funds for the Gathering and allows us to keep our reasonable registration fees in place. Don’t forget to bring your creative items to add to the auction this year. Remember, services are always welcome. Thanks to all who contribute, either as donors or bidders.

VIDEO/AUDIO TAPING POLICYVideo or audio taping of MLAG concerts is not allowed. Workshop attendees may tape workshops with the explicit permission of the workshop leader.

SEE YOU IN JUNEWhile we realize there is a lot of information included here, we hope it makes all of the processes crystal clear. Please share this information with others who may be interested. Additional copies of the registration forms are available at our WEB site (http://www.MLAG.org) or you may copy the forms to share with others. We do encourage use of the on-line registration process as this makes it easier for us and you and also ensures that the registration information is as accurate as it can be.

Attachment 3 - Page 6

Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering2011 Registration Form

Date: ____________

Last Name First Name Name or Nickname for Nametag

1. ________________________2. ________________________3. ________________________4. ________________________

Please list all members of your party and print clearly (especially your E-Mail)!

Street Address:

City: State: Postal Code or ZIP:Country:

Daytime Phone Evening Phone

E-Mail

Emergency Contact Info for MLAG to use if it is needed while you are on site

Name Phone

Registration FeesFull Gathering Pass Includes all workshops and concerts between 6/22 and 6/26

Single Day tickets include workshops and concert(s) for that day onlyThese fees do not include camping

Description Number of Tickets Price Per Ticket Totals

“Early Bird” Full Adult (Prior to February 1) _____ $120.00 _____________

“Early Bird” Full Non-Participating Spouse _____ $75.00 _____________

Full Adult After February 1 _____ $135.00 _____________

Full Adult Non-Participating Spouse _____ $90.00 _____________

Adult Wednesday Only _____ $25.00 _____________

Adult Thursday Only _____ $40.00 _____________

Adult Friday Only _____ $40.00 _____________

Adult Saturday Only _____ $40.00 _____________

Adult Sunday Only _____ $20.00 _____________

Children 16 and Under _____ $0.00 _____________

Total Gathering Registration Fees _____________

T-Shirt Orders (deadline June 1) Size Man/Woman Number of Shirts Price Per Shirt Totals

3XL _____/_____ _____ $17.00 _____________ 2XL _____/_____ _____ $17.00 _____________ XL _____/_____ _____ $15.00 _____________ L _____/_____ _____ $15.00 _____________ Med _____/_____ _____ $15.00 _____________ Small _____/_____ _____ $15.00 _____________ Total T-Shirt Fees _____________

1. ________________________2. ________________________3. ________________________4. ________________________

1. ________________________2. ________________________3. ________________________4. ________________________

Attachment 4 - Page 7

Meals (deadline May 25)A tentative menu is a part of this registration packet.

Description Number of Nights Price Per Night Totals

Basic Tenting (or no connections) _____ $10.00 _____________

Water/Electric Hookup _____ $20.00 _____________

Remember, this is a State Park, not a level RV Campground. We do put 2 units on each site. Each electric site has a 20 and a 30-amp outlet. You may need to work out a sharing option with your site neighbor if both units need or want a 30-amp connection. On-site pumpouts will be available, information and instructions will be available at check-in.

On-Site Camping FeesArrival Date: ____________ Departure Date: ___________ (must be completed!)

Please indicate camping details (must be completed if camping)

Tent c Van c Pop-up c Truck Camper c Detached Trailer c Motor Home c

Length of Unit: ___________ Slide Outs: Yes c Campsite Preferences: #1 ______ #2 _______

If possible, I would like to camp with or near _______________________________________

Total Registration, T-Shirt, Meals and Camping Fees ___________

Total Camping Fees ___________

Please read the information on camping in the General Information section of the Registration Packet before completing this form.

Other Information

Special Physical Needs: ___________________________________________________________________

Volunteering: the Gathering is completely run by volunteers, we need and appreciate your help!

Please mail form and check (made out to MLAG) to: Coleen Walters, MLAG Registrar, 12228 Hollowell Church Road, Greencastle, PA 17225.

Description # of People Price Per Person Totals

Full Meals _____ $74.00 _____________

Lunches

Thursday _____ $ 7.00 _____________

Friday _____ $ 7.00 _____________

Saturday _____ $ 7.00 _____________

Sunday _____ $ 7.00 _____________

Dinners

Wednesday _____ $11.50 _____________

Thursday _____ $11.50 _____________

Friday _____ $11.50 _____________

Saturday _____ $11.50 _____________

Total Meal Fees _____________

Attachment 4 - Page 8

Attachment 5 - Page 9

Mountain Laurel Autoharp GatheringAssumption of Risk Agreement and Release

As most of you know, Mountain Laurel is run by a volunteer Board of Directors who provide their services and efforts for the benefit of us all. For obvious reasons, these volunteers cannot be held personally liable for damages to property or injuries to participants during the Gathering. For this reason, we require all participants to indicate their understanding and agreement with this principle by completing the following form. Please sign it and mail it with all completed MLAG registration forms and your check or money order (made payable to MLAG) to: Coleen Walters, MLAG Registrar, 12228 Hollowell Church Rd, Greencastle, PA 17225

ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT AND RELEASEIn consideration of the undersigned Attendee(s) being allowed to participate in the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering (“MLAG”), Attendee(s) releases MLAG, Inc., its directors, agents, and employees, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, DCNR, (“Releasees”) from any liability for all claims, including claims for the negligence of Releasees, whether known or unknown, anticipated or unanticipated, which may result or arise out of Attendee(s) attending and traveling to and from the MLAG. Attendee(s) give up all rights to sue or make a claim against releasees. I/we recog-nize this is a rustic camping experience, with risks of damage to property or injury to person that may occur while traveling to and from, and participating in activities at the MLAG. I/we will indemnify Releasees from claims of others against Releasees regarding any damage or injury that I/we either cause or receive. With regard to ___________________________________ who is/are under 18 years of age (“Child”), the undersigned adult Attendees certify that they are the parents of Child, sign this Agreement and Release on behalf of Child, and assume all responsibility for the su-pervision of and all risk of damage or injury that may occur to or be caused by Child while attending, participating in, and while traveling to and from MLAG, and I/we will indemnify Releasees from any claims made by or on behalf of Child or others arising out of such damage or inury, including claims for contribution and indemni-fication.

The undersigned, intending to be legally bound, has/have read this release and has/have executed it with full understanding of its meaning.

Date:_______________________ Attendee_____________________________

Attendee_____________________________

™

Attachment 6 - Page 10

Attachment 7 - Page 11

Attachment 7 - Page 12

MLAG is pleased to present three Pre-Gathering workshops. Though the Gathering proper does not begin until Wednesday, these Pre-MLAG workshops will provide some wonderful options for early arrivals. Cathy Britell (beginners), JoAnn Smith (intermediate/advanced - diatonic only) and Lucille Reilly (Jamming By Ear for Dum-mies) will each present nine hours of small group instruction on Tuesday and Wednesday. The workshops will cost $100 per person, payable to the instructor. You will be not be able to register on-line for these workshops but will have to use the form below. Please send your check (remember, made out to the instructor) and regis-tration form to MLAG, c/o Neal and Coleen Walters, 12228 Hollowell Church Road, Greencastle, PA 17225. We will be limiting the maximum number of students in each workshop to twenty so, if you’re considering taking one of these workshops, you should register as soon as you can.

The workshops will be conducted in three 3-hour sessions beginning at 9 am on Tuesday, June 21, locations to be determined at this point. Of course, the campground will be open but no support is available for meals or snacks until Wednesday evening. In the past, workshop attendees have made their own arrangements to go out for meals or to prepare something in the campgound. MLAG will not assist with these arrangements; however, we will provide a listing of local restaurants.

These workshops provide a great opportunity for some hands-on training with three of the best autoharp play-ers and teachers in the world.

MLAG Pre-Gathering Workshops Registration FormI’d like to register for:

c Int/Adv - JoAnn Smith c Beginning - Cathy Britell c Jamming By Ear - Lucille Reilly

Name: Address:City:State:ZIP Code:

Telephone Number:E-Mail Address:

c I’m enclosing a check post-dated June 1, 2011 in the amount of $100.00 made out to:

c JoAnn Smith c Cathy Britell c Lucille Reilly

c I’m sending the check and this registration form to:

MLAG, c/o Neal and Coleen Walters12228 Hollowell Church Road, Greencastle, PA 17225

MLAG 2011 Pre-Gathering Workshops

Attachment 8 - Page 13

Pre-MLAG Workshops • Tuesday 9-12 & 1-4 • Wednesday 9-12

Beginning (Cathy Britell)Come join me for nine hours of autoharping fun! We’ll start at the very beginning, make sure you’re holding and playing your autoharp comfortably, tune up, get your picks on, and PLAY! We’ll be approaching the autoharp through songs, learning to produce solid and fun rhythms and sweet chord changes to go with simple, beautiful songs. We’ll start with one chord and one strum, and add more chords and more rhythmic variations as you get comfortable playing. Then, watch out! You’re likely to find yourself coaxing some melodies out of your ‘harp as early as the end of the first day, and also doing a little playing by ear and improvisation in spite of yourself!

We will be concentrating on making the most simple tunes and songs beautiful and musically pleasing, playing some songs you know and love, and learning some beautiful new ones that I think you’ll also love. As an added treat, we will be joined by my friend William Limbach with his Gibson guitar, his amazing voice, and his gentle spirit. We’ll be working together with you on techniques for playing and singing with others, and we’ll help you find the wide range of musical possibilities in the songs that we will work on together. We think you will be delighted with your progress over these two intense days of learning! We KNOW you’ll have fun! A booklet will be provided with all the learning materials, and also you will receive a CD of the songs we work on in class.

Intermediate/Advanced (Jo Ann Smith) — Note: for Diatonic Players only!

Beautiful, flowing melodies are one of the hallmarks of the diatonic autoharp. Playing tunes with fewer chord changes while utilizing open-noting techniques eliminates choppiness and lets the music flow with unrivaled smoothness . Are you taking FULL advantage of your diatonic autoharp, or are you a little afraid to “let go”? Join me If you have a diatonic autoharp and want to explore a realm of beautiful music where your ‘harp will sing like never before. In our nine hours together, we will learn several tunes that lend themselves beautifully to open-noting.

We will also concentrate on paring down and simplifying our arrangements so that the music (and we) have time to breathe. We will also work on producing pure, clear, clean melody notes that can stand easily on their own. When it comes to beautiful arrangements, sometimes less is definitely more. For those who are dyed-in-the-cloth risk takers, I will be bringing enough felt to help you convert one or two of your chordbars to some really cool color chords. This is optional, but highly recommended.

For this class you will need a one- or two-key autoharp in the key(s) of F and/or C and/or G. (If you have an FC and a GD, bring both.) If you have only one single-key, bring that -- no matter what key. No chromatics, please. You will also need to have at least a passing knowledge of how to play a scale using open-noting technique. If you want to do the chord bar conversion part, bring a small craft knife (the kind with the snap-off blade).

Jamming By Ear for Dummies (Lucille Reilly)

How is it that some jammers just know what the next chord is? In this extended class, you can learn how they do it. Lucille Reilly will teach you to hear the right chord to strum at the right time with confidence, whether you know the tune or not. You do not have to be able to chord by ear beforehand (the point of this class is to teach you just that!) and you do not have to be able to play melodies on the autoharp; all you need is moderate strumming and picking autoharp experience and be familiar with your autoharp’s chord-bar set-up.

We will begin by chording simple two-chord songs by ear before expanding into a variety of three-chord songs and backing up familiar fiddle tunes. We will also lend an ear to songs and tunes having “trick” chords (minors and the like). All along, you’ll increase your ability to hear where the current chord is headed to next. Also addressed will be appropriate strumming/picking styles to match a tune, strumming at any tempo, how to adjust volume when playing lead and back-up, what to do when the tune’s key isn’t on your autoharp, jamming-etiquette tips and more.

We will close with an almost real-life jam session much like those found at festivals (this session, however, will include occasional training moments to further prepare you “for the field”). Oh, and your homework? Get out there and jam all weekend!

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