AUGUST 2014 31 YEARS SHARING ACOUSTIC MUSIC Aug 1983-2014 Issue 352Website : www.silverstrings.org

PRESIDENTS CORNER_____________________________________________________Marsha Kozlowski

Can one look at the past and the future at the same time? I wonder. As I am writing this, we just finished the EvartFestival. It was a grand time but it is now part of the past and the future is ahead of us. To make the most of life, oneneeds to appreciate the experience and lessons of the past but take that which is learned and use it in successfullynavigating the future. With the Evart experience fresh in my mind – here is what I hope we as a club will take with us aswe move forward into the future (while we still remember it – LOL). Expand our playing. Some tried out new instruments at Evart. So if there are those who are experienced in an

instrument – please offer to do a workshop at our club to help those who are just new at that instrument to keep goingwith it. It would be nice to have workshops on the Harmonica, Mountain dulcimer, Penny Whistle, Fiddle. All theseinstruments play so nice together. Workshops help keep the momentum going.

Share a tune. It is sad when we pick up a tune somewhere that we really love, but don’t get to share it or play it withanyone. So perhaps we could have a “share a tune” night where people who have gone to Festivals – play and sharea tune they picked up so we can play it together.

School Assembly Project- at one of the jams, there were several young teens who stopped to play with us. We triedto pick tunes with melodies they would recognize. They played with us and Ernie was gracious in mentoring them forthat short time. I had a chance to see a couple of them later and they told me how much they enjoyed that time. Thismonth we will start working again on our School Assembly Project so we are ready when school starts to take ourmusic to young people. If you have a personal connection with a school – see what you can do to set that up for us.This is a work in progress, so there are no “mistakes” – it will evolve as it is meant to. I hope you will be a part of it ifyou can and we are able to connect with the musicians to come. This would enrich the students as well as us andbring the treasures of our musical past to the future.

Volunteerism – The unique thing about Evart is that nobody gets paid, including the performers. Everything is doneon a volunteer basis. Whether it is being an instructor, working the gates to sell the admission ribbons, helping withsetting up the stage – all are done by people who want to help keep the Festival going. Our club is the same. It needsa little effort from everyone to make it what it is and could be. Being an active member, whether signing up for aplaydate, helping with coffee, bringing a snack, teaching a workshop, mentoring a new player, helping with an event orproject all adds up. The variety of talent, the willingness to give your time, the spirit of cooperation and collaborationare needed and appreciated. As we look ahead, please reflect on what you can do. Only you know and it is a secretuntil you share it. Can you play at gigs? Can you give some time to being an officer? There will be positions openthat need to be filled. Can you teach a workshop? Can you help with upcoming events – picnic and banquet?

Friendship – Evart is like a family reunion where you greet old friends and meet new ones. This year I met severalnew friends and was delighted to see familiar faces as well. Like the song says, one is silver and the other gold. Ourclub is like that – some wonderful friendships have been made and new people become part of that circle of friendship.I notice that unlike many senior clubs, people sit in different places to play which encourages new friendships. I hopeyou get acquainted with the people that are sitting around you. Introduce yourself and make a new friend. While Ihaven’t connected all the faces to names yet, I am working on this so that I can introduce everyone as “my musicalfriend……” Our events give opportunity to get to know each other better. Ernie’s articles help with that, too. And ourphoto gallery in the website aids in connecting name to face. (By the way, if your photo is not in there, see KarenTurner so that you can be in our “family album.”) Like most families, I hope ours continues to grow.

Go with the Flow Because It will All work Out – have you ever tried to herd cats? That is what I felt was happeningas we prepared for the Thurs. pre-show club performance. To begin with, I was unsure how many people planned toplay. I knew 15 had signed up but that was certainly not a “for-sure” count. Secondly, people were coming up different

Continued

days and times, workshops were happening and figuring how when we could rehearse was a challenge. Finally we seta time, passed the word and about 15 people did make it to rehearse. Then there was the challenge of the music.One tune was not working, so we had to change it and make sure it was something those not present at the rehearsalwould be very familiar and comfortable with (turned out to be Westphalia Waltz). Then the concern about getting onand off the stage. I was advised to make a seating plan. Well – that was a hoot. The new stage was square. Stilldidn’t know how many people were playing and so the seating plan became –“if you sit, go to the front. Make 3 rowsand don’t fall off the back of the stage.” (Are you getting the picture?) I was advised that once on stage all I had to dowas announce my name and title and the 3 tunes we were to play. Easy, peasy, right? Except that the Emcee’s stylewas to have a dialogue with the group leader. Regardless of all that:

It all did work out. We got 22 people on the stage. Nobody fell off. I managed to remember my name and the pieceswe were playing. We were told just before we went on we would need to do 4 numbers, not 3, Luckily we happenedto play Festival Rag at our “rehearsal” and so that tune became the 4th. Theresa Smith got the crowd clapping. Wehad 2 encores and ended up playing 6 tunes. Since the stage was square, we were clustered very close whichenabled us to stay together. Bob N. reluctantly was our bass, but they miked his instrument so we all could hear thebass and stay in tempo (not to mention he started grooving on that after a couple of tunes.) Afterwards I was blessedto get feedback from three people not affiliated with our club: One said we engaged with the audience very well,looking up and making eye contact. Some of us even smiled. Another one who sat near us at the eveningperformance recognized our shirts and said, “We heard you guys - you were Good!” And I got an e-mail the next dayfrom Gail Perna, the ODPC Stage manager, “I just wanted to let you know that your club played very well tonight! Ihope they enjoyed being on the new stage. What a great evening for a concert!” Yep – it all worked out. Amen.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

AUGUST

7....SSDS CLUB PICNICand all day jam at Garden City Park.

12...PLAYDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . BC . . . . . .3:00-4:00Heartland Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Canton

21-24...MIDLAND FOLK MUSIC FESTIVALMidland County Fairgrounds

SEPTEMBER

13...OSGOOD JAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:00 till...?Details to come

C=Casual, BC=Business Casual

IT’S AUGUST...LET’S CELEBRATE !

BIRTHDAYS3....George Gonyo8....Carole Mueller

21...Michael Hurt23...Linda Osgood28...Christopher Larue30...Bob Hlavacek30...Frank Duffey31...Mary Edgerton

ANNIVERSARIES1....Dave & Carol Ann Matthews.....51

st

5....Frank and Judy Surhigh30...Terry & Marsha Kozlowski........46

th

FROM THE TREASURER’S DESK__Terry Koslowski"Monies are coming in as people are purchasing hats

and shirts. There are sufficient funds for our upcomingevents: Club Picnic, Club Banquet and the next VarietyNite. If you would like to see the monthly financialstatement, please see me at club. You are welcome toreview it."

SECRETARY_______________________Mick Mastal

Stylish T-shirts and hats areavailable from the Silver StringsMercantile and ClothingEmporium at a mere $10each. They also make greatgifts for those with discriminatingtaste. See any board member toget yours.

PLAYDATE CHATTER___________VP BUSINESSThe performing side of the club only had one gig in

July but it was 4 hours long so maybe I should say wehad 4 gigs? We played for the Northville County GardenClub Walk at the Northville Mill Race on July 9th. It wasexciting to have 2 newbie performers at this gig--GloriaTaper and Chris Hurt. Congrats and please come toother gigs!

For those of you already anticipating the Holidayperforming season, we have 11 gigs scheduled inDecember. Some new tunes will probably be on ourHoliday playlist as well as some of our old standards.Ho-ho-ho. It's only 4 months away!

For a complete listing of our upcoming playdates,please see the Events Calendar in this newsletter. If youare unable to attend a club meeting and would like tosign up for this playdate, please emailkarenturner@comcast.net or call (734) 678-7405.

Rick Thum Workshop/ConcertRick Thum will be having an all day workshop/concert

at Good Hope November 15. SSDS is not sponsoringthis, but should support it in whatever way we can -attend one of the workshops or enjoy the concert in theevening.

To print the August play list,please click on our website or this link :

http://www.silverstrings.org/sections/tunes/PDF/2014/aug14.pdf

Silver Strings August 2014 PlaylistKey Tune Play

D Whiskey Before Breakfast 3D Over The Waterfall / Mississippi Sawyer 3/3G Westphalia Waltz 2G Red Wing 3*G Maggie 3*G Southwind 3*Em Road to Lisdoonvarna / Riding Load Hay 3/3Am Cold Frosty Morn 3D John Ryan’s Polka 3D Peek-A-Boo Waltz 3G March of St Timothy 3Em Tamlin 3Em Missouri 3G/D Jamie Allen / Road To Boston 3/3D Coleman’s March 3*D/D Bonnaparte Crossing Rhine/Flop Eared 3/3D Snake River Reel 3Em Dancing Bear 3C Tennessee Waltz 3*D Simple Gifts 3*G Down Yonder 3

ExtrasG You Are My Sunshine 5D Hey Polka 5

*2nd

time: If instruments are available--Fiddles, MD, Harmonicas or Whistletake it with backup; HD’s softly.

Silver Strings Dulcimer Society Music:We have been given permission, by several composers, to play their

music in our club. We also pay for a license that allows us to playsome of our favorite tunes. We want to protect our Silver Stringsmembers and respect the composers who have generously sharedtheir music with us. In consideration of the composers and SSDS, donot sell, copy, give away or share any of our Silver Strings music.

Dulcimer for SaleI have a hammered dulcimer which I want to sell. The

dulcimer was made in Wilmington, KY between 1975and 1980. It is in good condition and is very resonant. Ilive in Chelsea, Michigan. If anyone in your society mighthave an interest please let me know.

Martha Folts: mfolts@umich.edu

FESTIVALS-WORKSHOPS-JAMS__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UNCLE CARL’S DULCIMER CLUB2

ndSaturday of month, Sept thru May, 12:30-4:30pm

(next is Sept 13th)For info. call Pennye 517-547-7448

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NETTLE LAKE MUSIC JAMFirst Saturday of Month Sept thru May – 6pm

(next is Oct 4th)For info contact Jack & Marilyn Mullins 517-270-2870

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MAUMEE STREET MUSIC JAM(formerly called West Adrian Jam)

Forth Saturday of the month – 6pm (next is Sept 27th)For info. Contact:

Jack & Marilyn Mullins 517-270-2870Or Larry Roper 248-437-5403

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUGAR (Saginaw Ukulele Gurus and Rookies)First Saturday of the month 10:30-Noon (Aug 2

nd)

Now at Sullivan's Restaurant on Gratiot in Saginaw, MISongs are posted beforehand on the internetFor info email: muzyka2007@yahoo.com

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MT. HALEY JAMBOREELast Friday of every month (Aug 29

th)

Mt. Haley Township Hall, Midland County1:00-4:00-Folk and Traditional Music Jam

Admission is free but donations to the Metamora HistoricalSociety are appreciated. Metamora’s 1888 Old Town Hall is

part of an historic community.For info. Call Alice Gajewski at 248-628-5287

mthaleyfmsm@gmail.com__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GREAT LAKES UKULELE GATHERINGFirst Wednesday of the month 7:00 (Aug 6

th)

Good Hope Lutheran Church,28680 Cherry Hill, Garden City

A donation of $3.00 is requested for the church.Contact: Bob at bsnemo@yahoo.com or

David at musicalcraft@yahoo.com__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PITTSFIELD OPEN BANDPittsfield Grange 3337 Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Ann

Arbor, First and third Saturday from 3-6pm.http://www.aactmad.org/sa/pob.html

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LAMS - Livingston Acoustic Musical Society3

rdSaturday of the month 7-11pm (Aug 16

th)

Fowlerville Church of the Nazarene8040 Country Corner Drive, FowlervilleContact: Tony Miceli 517-223-9590

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FARMINGTON JAMUniversalist Unitarian Church

25301 Halsted Rd. Farmington Hills 48335This is a fun jam - Second Tuesday of each month from

Sept - June at 7pmMany players come to play dulcimers, fiddles, guitars...

so come on out. Even if you don't play, or are just abeginner, you’re welcome.

And -if you ARE a beginner, this is a good placeto meet people and get involved.

CLUB HATS AND SHIRTS

Club hats and shirts are in. Bothwill be available at Variety Night

and the Club Picnic. If you ordered a hat and haven’tpicked it up, please do so. (Those who had them worethem for the club performance in Evart. It looked goodso have so many wearing the shirt, it added to the senseof uniformity.) The cost for each is $10.00

SUMMERTIME>>>>> and the living is ?

Hope you are all having greatsummers and that music is somehowpart of that. Just wanted to share atidbit about DeeDee Tibbets. Many ofyou know her as a great instructor andwonderful performer. Her daughterhas been competing on a new realitymusic show this summer on ABCnetwork called “Rising Star.” The goalof these performers is to get a recording contract.Megan has progressed through two rounds. During thelast one, she sang “Summertime” and accompaniedherself on guitar showing the wonderful range andquality of her voice and her ability to sing and play.DeeDee and her husband Russ were there to supporther. The next round will take place the first Sunday inAugust (the show airs at 9:00 on Sunday night). I hopeyou will have a chance to see this wonderfully talentedwoman sing. Marsha

WANTED:

(1) Someone who was “Part 2” in the Steve Eulbergworkshop “Playing Well Together” on Friday that did thefinale of Beethoven’s “5

thSymphony.”

(2) People interested in learning this and performingas the Michigan Dulcimer Philharmonic Ensemble. Themusic is set up as an orchestral ensemble meant forhammered dulcimers and mountain dulcimers. We have3 tunes we could work up and perform. It was very coolto do this music with the mountain dulcimers. It wouldbe great if we had a mix of mountain and hammereddulcimers, at least 4 of each. We went through Vivaldi’s

“Spring” as well. And there is a 3rd

piece that one of our members gotthat we could add.

Steve explained how to make itwork, not only for a club but forperformers that are separated bydistance (he has done this inColorado and California). Thevision is to not only perform itsometime between now and next

July (place and date to be determined) but also performit at next year’s Evart festival. One must be able to readmusic, count (some parts have a few measures of restbefore coming in), and be able to play next to someonewho is not playing the same thing.

There were a few people from other parts of the statewho would join us, at least in Evart. So e-mail me if youare interested or have questions. If you were there andhave the “missing part” - I am looking for you. Marsha

Joy is everywhere – may it

be expressed through the

music we play.

"Out of the Blue", Watercolor 12X18

"On the Road", Watercolor 22X30

DID YOU KNOW......that Kay Rowe, one of the hammered

dulcimer players and whistle workshop teacher at Silver Strings,also loves art, drawing, and painting? She owns an art studio inPlymouth called the Village Artist Studio where she teaches andexhibits art. Here are a few examples of her works for you to enjoy.

"Southwest Sentinel", Watercolor 22X30

* * * * * * * *

SSDS BOARD OF DIRECTORS – 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . .

PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marsha Koslowskimt.koz@hotmail.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(734) 239-4190V.P. BUSINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Turnerkarenturner@comcast.net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (734) 678-7405V.P. PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Marie Nastermnaster@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (734) 981-3772TREASURER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Terry Koslowskimt.koz@hotmail.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(734) 239-4190SECRETARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mick Mastalmastal@comcast.net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (734) 552-4773SOUNDBOARD EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee Ann Lackleelack@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (734) 612-1172WEBMASTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Turnerkarenturner@comcast.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(734) 678-7405

EVART MEMORIES 2014

After 42 years of

dulcimer companionship

the Evart Dulcimer

Funfest has led to many

old friends and new

acquaintances. Every

year it’s like a big happy

family reunion.

Silver Strings Dulcimer SocietyMeetings on the 1

stand 3

rdThursdays every month

7-9p.m …. with jamming till …?

Meeting at Good Hope Lutheran ChurchIn Garden City, Michigan

Featuring the hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer,and other acoustic band instruments :

banjo, guitar, autoharp, fiddle, string bass, washtubbass, mandolin, folk harp, recorder, tin penny whistle,

and harmonica.Learn new tunes and techniques, jam together

with other players, receive new musicand a monthly newsletter.

Participate in workshops, festivals, performances,picnics, fun and fellowship.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT :http://www.silverstrings.org

Silver Strings Dulcimer SocietyP.O.Box 1116

Garden City, MI. 48136

IT’S AUGUST...!

STAY COOL !!

Everyone is welcome !Come to listen, or come to play.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Start thinking about getting articles for the newsletter to me by the 20th.

Articles or pictures from any member are always welcome.

If you were on the mailing listyour name would be here.