Again with the late notice! Summer is here in full force, and a bit of relief is certainly called for. To take your mind off the heat and the plague, there is a ToQueTrad online session tomorrow (Sunday, July 19, 2020) at noon. We will be using the same Zoom format we have used in the past. Contact toquetrad@gmail.com for the link to the session and feel free to share!
That being said, there is a lot going on this week and we want to be sure that, in your excitement to attend our session, you don’t miss out on some of the other fun stuff occurring in the next week.
The blasted plague has caused massive disruption to our regular summer festival schedule, but the organizers have come up with some creative ways to keep the tradition alive in this day and age.
First, Camp Violon Trad Quebec! (français) This camp has a special place in our hearts, as Donna and I first met there, and some of our closest friends were made there. Party Van! Oven Mitts! Colour-blind Scotsmen!
If you have wanted a taste of the first all-Quebecois-trad music camp in the world, it is available over the next several days, free of charge to anyone with an internet connection.
The 13th edition of Camp Violon Trad Quebec has been reinvented online. The organizing team (André Brunet, Stéphanie Lépine, Éric Beaudry) is intent on making sure that the transmission of traditional music is not stopped by the inter-relational barriers thrown up by the coronavirus. Therefore they are putting a portion of the regular program online for all to enjoy from the comfort chez nous.
Sunday, July 19 @ 8PM : A live grand reunion of the organizing staff with a session where tunes taught at previous camps are resurrected for you to revive or learn.
Monday, July 20 : Three morning virtual classes of approximately 15 minutes in duration on the Violon Trad Quebec Youtube channel. Premiering at these times but available for replay later.
- Monday 9AM : André Brunet
- Monday 10AM : Dâvi Simard
- Monday 11AM : Martin Racine
Tuesday, July 21 : Three morning virtual classes of approximately 15 minutes in duration on the Violon Trad Quebec Youtube channel. Premiering at these times but available for replay later.
- Tuesday 9AM : Stéphanie Lépine
- Tuesday 10AM : David Boulanger
- Tuesday 11AM : Éric Beaudry
This free camp is a rare opportunity to get the feeling of playing the happiest music with a huge group of the kindest, most generous and talented people.
So come on out (virtually)! Join us for our session at noon as a warm-up for the killer event at 8PM for a wide ranging tour through some amazing tunes. Then follow it up for actual instructional experience in some great tunes from the best instructors in the craft.
Oh, yeah. Check out our own Elizabeth Szekeres’ article at Roots Music Canada about the Online edition of the Festival Mémoire et Racines (“I know it’s nice out. but you do NOT want to miss Festival Mémoire et Racines’ online festival“). The festival equivalent to the Camp above is running from this Wednesday, July 22 to Sunday, July 26th.
Weekday evenings include two concerts each evening (Gen and Marcus, Réveillons, Michael Jerome Brown, Stephen Faulkner, Duo Beaudry-Prud’homme, and Les Chauffeurs à Pieds.) Saturday and Sunday expand out into full day events with workshops in music, dance and storytelling for people of all ages, and concerts at night.
Visit Elizabeth’s link above for the full list of acts, and the Mémoire et Racines site for the full schedule with times and links.
Hope you can see your way clear to getting a front-row seat at some of the best music and musicians I know.
I know these remote sessions aren’t as good as being right there in the droplet-zone with these people, but at least it’s better than playing a fast tune while wearing oven mitts.
been trying to access session and have not been able to obtain zoom link…please advise or send link….Thank you
Yvette, we are back in person at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue in Toronto). Come join us, if you are able.