Registration for NEO 2023 is OPEN!
WHAT:
The North-East Ohio Dulcimer Weekend is an all-day, weekend festival for all levels of hammered dulcimer players led by Mark Alan Wade & Tina Bergmann. 2023's guest instructor is Jody Marshall from Washington DC. NEO is an ideal setting for all ability levels of hammered dulcimer participants with extended class sessions and an eclectic selection of workshop topics. There will be helpful handouts, vending, instructional aids, jam sessions, concerts, great food, laughs, fun, and more!
WORKSHOP TOPICS:
Our workshop offerings give direction to your development as musicians in fun and easy ways. We offer three tracks to meet you right where you are in your playing: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. We have strategically chosen repertoire that is both rewarding to learn and that teaches musical concepts appropriate for each level. You’ll have so much fun, you may not even realize you are learning!
2023 Workshop Descriptions by Level: Click to Enlarge
WHEN:
SCHEDULE:
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| Friday, November 3rd, 2023 | Check in, meet and greet, and jam! |
| Saturday, November 4th, 2023 | Workshops and Concerts |
| Sunday, November 5th, 2023 | Workshops and Vending |
Click on each of the images below to see the detailed daily schedules.
WHO?
Participants:
We have participants on a broad spectrum of abilities and experience from very beginner to advanced. Regardless of the level you select, you will have sessions with all three instructors. To help serve your needs best, please indicate your level preference on your registration form. Here is a general guideline for defining our workshop levels:
BEGINNER:
- Has possibly played for some time but needs direction in learning or needs more time to learn new tunes fluently
- Possibly new to the instrument before this weekend
- Does not really know the note names or understand the layout yet
- Has never had instruction on hammer hold and striking technique
- May not know songs yet and probably do not have a system of dominant hand lead in place
INTERMEDIATE:
- Understands the general layout of the instrument
- Able to play tunes, but ready to do more with them musically
- Knows most or all note names on the instrument
- Knows some simple songs and chords/scales
- Ready to add harmonies/accompaniment to melodies
- Ready to develop more hand independence
- Has a general system for hammering patterns
- Has some facility with early facets of arranging
ADVANCED:
- Ready for more sophisticated arrangements, tunes, rhythmic and harmonic ideas
- Able to read and/or play by ear efficiently
- Has more varied choices in adding accompaniments to melodies
- Consciously applies dynamics for musicality
- Able to play with fluency and steady pulse
- Has facility with hammer technique, ready to work on rolls, and/or dampers, etc.
- Has more advanced arrangement techniques
- Experience with improvising rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically within a tune
Instructors:
Our 7th Annual festival will feature Tina Bergmann, Jody Marshall, and Mark Alan Wade.
Tina Bergmann is a primarily self-taught musician of 40+ years and a highly regarded teacher known for her warm and engaging teaching style. Hailed as the "Diva of the Dulcimer" by Apollo's Fire, Cleveland's nationally known Baroque Orchestra, Tina is known for her driving energy and syncopated rhythms and was described by Pete Seeger as "the best hammered dulcimer player I've heard in my life." A fourth-generation musician, Bergmann began playing music at age eight, learning the mountain dulcimer from her mother in the aural tradition and learning the hammered dulcimer at the knee of West Virginia-native builder and performer Loy Swiger. By the time she earned an education degree from KSU in 1994, Tina had already been teaching privately for 11 years. Her teaching experience included planning and facilitating master classes, workshop series and teaching weeklong camps in a number of states. With Apollo’s Fire, Tina performs throughout the US, including mainstage appearances at the 58th Annual Ojai Music Festival in California, and mainstage performances at Chautauqua Gatherings in Boulder, Colorado, and Chautauqua, New York, as well as overseas in England and Ireland.
For more information, visit her website at: www.allroadsleadhome.com and find her on FaceBook as Tina Bergmann, Hammered Dulcimer Performance and Instruction.
Jody Marshall, a native of the Washington, D.C. area, grew up hearing her Dad’s jazz, her big brother’s classic rock, and her Mom’s country and western on the stereo. But she had never heard the enchanting tones of the hammered dulcimer until one fateful day at a local folk festival. It was love at first sound! When she finally got a dulcimer of her own, she started playing everything from traditional jigs and reels to Mozart, the Beatles, and beyond. Jody especially enjoys helping others discover the wonders of the multi-stringed trapezoid, and has taught hundreds of dulcimer learners both in private lessons and in group settings. She has been on the faculty of many dulcimer events across the U.S. and overseas, including the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival in Ohio, the QuaranTUNE Virtual Dulcimer Festival, and the Nonsuch Dulcimer Weekend in the U.K. She performs both solo and in ensembles, and her performance credits include the Smithsonian Institution, the White House, and the Kennedy Center.
The Washington Post described Jody’s music as “lovely, lively, and shimmering.” She has several recordings to her credit, and is also the author of a book of Christmas music for the hammered dulcimer, as well as two books featuring dulcimer duets.
For more information, visit www.jodymarshall.net.
Mark Alan Wade performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North America as a soloist on dulcimer and trumpet. Based in Akron, Ohio, Mark is an active full time musician on trumpet, hammered & mountain dulcimers, and penny whistle. A classical trumpeter by trade, Mark earned his master and doctorate degrees in music from The Ohio State University and has played hammered and mountain dulcimers for over 30 years. His style uniquely marries his classical precision and technique with his wild traditional dulcimer playing. Mark’s playing brings Celtic & world music to life and authenticity to familiar classical pieces. Mark has published 5 dulcimer books with Mel Bay, Inc., as well as 6 self-published books on topics ranging from technique to Irish ornamentation. A National Champion himself, 6 of his students have also won the National Contest. Mark lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife and two sons.
Visit MarkAlanWade.com or find him on Facebook for more!
WHERE?
The North-East Ohio Hammered Dulcimer Weekend will be held at the Summit County Educational Center: 420 Washington Ave, Cuyahoga Falls, 44224.
Hotel:
We also have a group discount at Hampton Inn Stow 4331 Lakepoint Corporate Dr. Stow, OH 44224. (Discount code is "NOH" and you only need that code if you call to redeem our discount & book 330-945-4160.) Our discount code is already imbedded in our following link HERE.
The negotiated rate is $102 a night for a King room, or $109 for a double Queen room with refrigerator. (prices are before tax) On the registration form participants receive, we can also facilitate finding roommates if you want to split a room.
Full / Half / Concert-Only Reservation Options:
The full and half reservations cover all workshops and include the concert. The Concert-Only reservation is only necessary for people who want to attend the concert but are not attending the festival.
HOW?
We offer 4 Registration Options: Full Registration, Half Registration, Lunch/Concert Package for Non-Participants, and Concert Only.
After you have paid for your reservation, a confirmation page will show a link to a form to complete your registration and choose your workshops. Most students take the same level classes throughout the festival, but it's perfectly ok to take a class in a different level. The form will allow you to custom tailor your class selections. Please COPY or OPEN that link so you don't lose it.
Click to Select Your Registration Below
WHAT TO HAVE READY:
Anything you need to play your dulcimer (stand, hammers, tuning wrench, music stand, etc.).
Optional Covid Precautions: N95 masks, hand sanitizer.
Notebook, voice or video recorder.
QUESTIONS?
Use my contact page to email me with any questions you might have.
NEO Logo design by Katie Moritz.
Copyright © Mark Alan Wade