Sowing the Seeds of Music Tradition at Ossipee Valley…

If it’s true that we reap what we sow than the harvest from the Ossipee Valley Music Festival's Roots & Sprouts Music Academy will provide us with years of fresh live music.

The future of the music depends on the next generation as much as it depends on us to pass it along. At Ossipee Valley we are sowing the seeds of music tradition by offering a 3-Day weekend music camp for children. Free!!

Skilled instructors from all around New England will teach for two hours each day with a recital on Sunday to be performed on our Maine Stage!

Children will be introduced to a variety of music form; from basic melodies and chord structure to song crafting, voice and ensemble playing. Beginners to advanced students will explore, at their own level, in small groups on a one to three ratio.  Instruments to be explored are; guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass and fiddle. Children who are not sure about joining are welcome to come and observe.

Class sizes are limited so we encourage you to sign-up ahead of time as the academy will be open on a first come basis. The academy is open to students ages 7-17. We do have a supply of instruments but our offerings are limited so we encourage students to bring their own. This summers Roots and Sprouts repetiore is to be determined.

For the Under Seven Set: 

Check out our Seedlings program here! 

Don't forget that you can help support the Roots & Sprouts Music Academy by purchasing some Roots & Sprouts goodies. Click here to check out the selection.

The Academy will meet:

Times and Places TBA! 

 

Roots and Sprouts Faculty: 

Erica Brown Fiddle and Strings

Former OVMF performer (fiddle) Darol Anger says about Erica: "She's the kind of musician who gives musicians a good name" 

Erica developed an interest in music at an early age. At the age of seven, she was competing in fiddle contests with kids twice her age. At age nine, she was traveling throughout New England, Canada, and even Louisiana with the Maine French Fiddlers. Erica also performed as a special guest with Mac McHale And The Old-Time Radio Gang for five years. Currently, she has her own bluegrass band, Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, which performs all over New England. Erica is also a member of The Stowaways, Darlin’ Corey and The Record Family Band.

Erica was a member of the Bates College “Fighting Bobcats” Orchestra for five years and was a member of the Maine All-State Music Festival for two years. She has competed in and won numerous fiddle contests throughout New England and Canada. In 2003 she was awarded Junior Female Entertainer Of The Year by the Maine Country Music Association and in 2006 she received the Harold Carter Memorial Award from the Down East Country Music Association. Erica has helped bring music into several elementary schools by holding workshops and personally performing. She has a strong desire to share her knowledge with anyone who has an interest in music and the fiddle. Erica Brown was a recipient of a 2006 Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Award and was recognized as a Master Artist by the Maine Arts Commission that same year.

Her talent for combining the precision of classical music with the spontaneity of country and bluegrass fiddle makes for a fun-filled performance every time she plays.

Performance highlights include opening for Grammy award winning country music superstar Dwight Yoakam, as well as Grammy award winning bluegrass performer Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

Visit her website here: http://ericabrownonline.com/

 

Matt Shipman Fretted Instruments

  

Matt Shipman, who has become a familiar face on the traditional music stages of New England, has been performing for 10 years all the way from the Mid-West to the East Coast. He is from Exeter, NH, but has lived all over the country and has lived in Maine for the last 9 years. Matt taught himself to play guitar and mandolin in his early teens and has just never stopped. He also enjoys playing bozouki, tenor and old time 5 string banjo. Additionally, he grew up playing jazz trumpet and had a brief career with that at the Hartt School of music in CT, before doing a semester of Native American studies in South Dakota, where he ended up living and performing for a number of years.

His love of traditional music is reflected in his college career. Matt is a 2004 graduate of Vermont College, majoring in a self designed major of Traditional Music Studies. For his work he traveled through Nova Scotia, North Carolina and Maine compiling songs and stories from people he met, which later culminated as a radio documentary about traditional music in the 21st century. During that time he also attended the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago where he studied various instruments and styles.

The groups Matt is a part of include: The High Range from NH; Splittin’ Hairs, a fiddle duo with Melissa Bragdon; Erica Brown’s Bluegrass Connection; The Stowaways; Branach traditional Irish trio; and playing in various ensembles of traditional Irish music. He has one recording of his own called “Highway Shoes” and another with High Range called “Shoulder to the Wheel”, and has recorded on various others including Ron Cody’s “Talking Rake”

Visit his website here: http://www.shippymusic.com 

More faculty announcements to come!