Ashokan Bluegrass Camp Archives

Ashokan Bluegrass Camp to offer sliding scale for 2020 virtual experience

As have nearly all bluegrass instructional offerings this year, the Ashokan Bluegrass Camp, normally held in Olivebridge, NY, is moving to a virtual workshop for their 2020 edition.

They will retain the same lineup of top level teachers, but simply move everything online. Alan Bibey is booked to teach mandolin, Chris Eldridge for guitar, Bill Evans for banjo, Kimber Ludiker for fiddle, and Zak McLamb for bass. Additional instructors include Stephen Mougin and Joe Newberry for singing and songwriting, and camp coordinator Tony Watt teaching jamming. Sessions will run August 12-16.

Particularly interesting this year is that the folks at Ashokan Music & Dance Camps are offering a pay-what-you-can, sliding scale registration fee. They request that everyone pay $100, but will accept what you can offer. Any registrations over $100 will be taken as a tax-deductible donation.

Ashokan has had the ability to experiment with virtual workshops already this year, and feel like they can come very close to replicating the in-person experience.

All classes will be available via Zoom or livestream for those registered, and all classes/materials will be archived online for a year so students can watch all of the camp sessions over time. There will even be a lunchtime hangout online for students to discuss what they have learned, just like at regular camp.

Full details can be found online, where you can also register to participate later this month.

Initial Ashokan Bluegrass Camp wraps up in New York

Tony Trischka leads a banjo class at the initial Ashoken Bluegrass Camp – photo by Stewart Dean

The Ashokan Center in New York recently hosted their initial bluegrass camp, after successfully holding instructional camps for old time, klezmer, and other forms of traditional music and dance in Saugerties, NY.

Faculty included Tony Trischka teaching banjo, Claire Lynch working with vocalists, Matt Flinner for mandolin, Becky Buller for fiddle, Scott Nygaard for guitar, and Mike Bub for bass. A number of associate instructors were also on hand to assist with the various classes and jams.

Tony Watt, camp organizer, has shared this nice overview of the camp experience.

“The first-ever Ashokan Bluegrass Camp just wrapped up yesterday afternoon, and by all accounts, it was a great success! We had over a hundred campers, which is the largest first-year camp in the nearly 40-year history of music and dance camps at Ashokan. All the credit goes to the amazing line-up of teachers, the wonderful people and facilities at The Ashokan Center, and Jay Ungar and Molly Mason for their vision and efforts to bring a bluegrass camp to Ashokan.

One of the things I am most proud of about the camp was the focus on jamming, with nearly as many scheduled jam periods as class sessions. We also featured an All-Star ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ Jam on Friday night where the teaching staff jammed without any rehearsal, and then discussed various aspects of the songs they played.

There was also a sold-out concert open to the public on Saturday, which can be seen online.

Immediately after the concert, the jamming continued with both campers and those who had attended the concert.

Many wonderful photos taken by Ashokan’s resident photographer, Stewart Dean, are now available online.“

Ashokan Bluegrass Camp launches this fall

Not long ago we reported on the Ashokan Center in New York’s Catskill Mountains celebrating 50 years operating as a locus for arts and traditional music education in the region. Formerly a campus of the State University of New York, it was purchased as a spillway for a nearby reservoir, but through the intervention of old time musician Jay Ungar, the buildings there were preserved and dedicated to environmental eduction, local history, and mountain music traditions.

For some time music workshops and camps have been held at the Center, but until this year, they have never hosted a bluegrass camp. The initial Ashokan Bluegrass Camp is scheduled to run October 26-28, with an all star faculty, and a heavy focus on jamming through the weekend. It will be managed by Boston’s bluegrass power couple, Tony Watt and Laura Orshaw, who have considerable experience teaching in group and private settings.

Their faculty will include Tony Trischka on banjo, Claire Lynch for vocals, Matt Flinner on mandolin, Becky Buller on fiddle, Scott Nygaard on guitar, and Mike Bub on bass. In addition to group classes, multiple jams will be scheduled each day, broken down according to skill and experience level. The beginner jams will be moderated and kept to slower tempos, and there is even a session the first night for people who have never been part of one before. The instrumental instruction sessions will also be broken down according to skill level.

Tuition (with meals) is $385 for adults, and $285 for 25 and under. Parents and guardians of young students can also attend at a reduced rate. Work exchange and scholarship programs are also available for younger musicians. Onsite lodging can be arranged for an additional fee.

Full details can be found online.