Class Description

Scots and Ulster Scots have emigrated in such numbers that no other European nation has ever lost such a high proportion of its people. These were men and women who left behind them a homeland rich in the oral tradition of song and ballad singing, an inheritance that they carried with them wherever they went. I will trace the migration of songs from Northern Ireland and Scotland to North America, showing how going into a new culture changes them. We’ll sing songs from their Celtic source and then sing the American or Canadian version showing the changes and the similarities. I like to make the classes as interactive and informal as possible by encouraging the participants to ask any relevant questions. Sara grew up in New Hampshire and lived in Scotland and England for 40 years before settling in Vermont. She heard a lot of mountain music in North Carolina and her love for the old time banjo music and songs developed from this experience. She has carried this interest into her adult life studying folklore and collecting and performing music from the various areas in which she has lived. Her mission is to gather the songs and pass them on to future generations so that they will have the pleasure of hearing and singing them just as she has. She has sung at most every folk club and arts centre in the United Kingdom and has performed and taught at many folk and bluegrass festivals.