I am pleased to announce that the Northern California Chapter of the Lute Society of America is sponsoring a Renaissance and Baroque lute seminar and concert series during the weekend of November 5-7 2004, featuring Ronn McFarlane.
The Seminar will open Friday with a concert of solo Renaissance and Baroque lute music of the 16th through the 20th century featuring Mr. McFarlane. The concert will be held Friday November 5, at 7:30 pm at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA. Admission will be $20.00 at the door. Party to follow the concert. A second concert will be held on Sunday, November 7, at St. James� Episcopal Church, 37051 Cabrillo Terrace (one-half mile east on Thornton Avenue from the I-880/Thornton Avenue interchange), Fremont at 7:30pm, and will feature Mr. McFarlane and members of the Northern California Chapter of the Lute Society of America. Information: Mike Peterson (510) 784-4412 or (510) 792-9146. The Seminar will be held at St. James� Episcopal Church in Fremont on Saturday, November 6, from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm, in the Guild Hall. This site was chosen on the basis of feedback and comments requested from the general membership, since our Berkeley venue was not available. Also, parking is free. Based on past suggestions from other seminars, I am proposing a "split" seminar, with beginner-intermediates with Mr. McFarlane on Saturday morning from 9 am until 12 noon, and more advanced students on Saturday afternoon from 1pm until 4:30pm. Also, I am encouraging anyone attending to audit the other session for a small fee. Costs for the seminar will be $25 for the primary seminar and a $5 audit fee for the other session. All groups can meet and go out for sandwiches, and have lunch together at noon. At the end of the day, everyone is invited to go out for food to share and meet at my house for a pot-luck and lute party! Ron has given me a list of topics for intermediate and advanced lute technique playing which he will cover in both seminars (only some of which was presented at the last national LSA Summer Seminar this last summer), which he will adapt for whichever group he is working with. He would also like attendees to bring music they have been working on for a master class format, especially for the intermediate-advanced afternoon. Bring copies of music to share with others and be prepared to ask questions! Also, unique in this seminar (and suggested by other seminar attendees in the past) will be a chance for all members of the Northern California Chapter of the Lute Society of America (and seminar attendees) to perform at a Sunday night benefit concert at St. James. Mr. McFarlane will perform half a concert and volunteers will play the other half. This is your chance to get experience playing in front of a friendly audience, and thank the St James parish for letting us use their facilities for the seminar. All are invited to meet at my house Sunday afternoon to rehearse before the concert. Mr. McFarlane will also be available for private lessons at my house Sunday afternoon. Upon receipt of this notice, please contact me ASAP and let me know if you will be attending and which classes you will be attending. Assignment in a beginning or advanced class is self-assigned, but you are welcome to stay for more! All of the money paid will go to support the artist! Please send me a check for $25 or $30 to reserve your space and send me your address so I can mail out packets of information. Please let me know if you are interested in a private lesson on Sunday with Mr. McFarlane (rates will be $50.00 an hour). Let me know if you will be playing in the concert Sunday night and whether you will be coming over to rehearse on Sunday. Mike Peterson 4617 Mayfield Drive Fremont, CA 94536 USA 510 792-9146 One of the most outstanding lutenists performing today. Ronn McFarlane is largely responsible for bringing the transcendent charm and timeless quality of the lute into the musical mainstream and making it accessible to a larger audience. Mr. McFarlane graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The following year, Mr. McFarlane performed his first solo recitals on the lute and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since that time, he has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Baltimore Consort and as a soloist. Mr. McFarlane was a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory from 1984 to 1995, teaching lute and lute-related subjects. In 1996, Mr. McFarlane was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world. He has numerous recordings on the Dorian label including six solo recordings, four lute song recordings with Julianne Baird, soprano and Frederick Urrey, tenor, ten CDs with the Baltimore Consort and three ballad recordings with Custer LaRue and members of the Baltimore Consort. Recently, Ronn McFarlane has been engaged in composing new music for the lute, building on the tradition of the lutenist/composers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This new music will be the focus of his next solo CD. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
