Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week

I attended the Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina in July 2000. I was especially interested in studying anglo concertina with Father Charlie Coen. The format at Swannanoa, however, allows you to take several classes of 75 minutes each day, so I also took a class where we learned songs in Scottish Gaelic (not easy!) and one where Father Coen described life in Ireland during his youth. There were lots of potluck lectures, concerts and jams as well. That being said, however, the pace was more laid back than at Augusta, where the events run about 21 hours a day and you may have four or five choices in the evening. (I was able to make this comparison, as I went directly from one to the other this year, though I was not at Augusta, at Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia, for concertina.) Swannanoa is set up entirely for the single music/dance/song group of less than 200, while Augusta is at least twice as big, including lots of craft classes in addition to one or two theme weeks, all at the same time. Wild all-night jams seem to be the norm at Augusta, while at Swannanoa, if there was any music at all at 2 A.M. it was a small group and not noisy.

How do they compare? I've gotten a lot out of my time at both programs and hope to attend them again. You, however, might be more suited to one or the other depending on your social habits and hours. The classes offered also vary, and every teacher has their own style that may or may not match yours. In recent years classes in anglo concertina have been sporadic.

I'm sure these two programs are tired of being compared to each other, and both are doing good work and should keep doing it their own way (in my opinion) so here instead is a tongue-in-cheek comparison.

Scenery: Both are spectacular; very slight edge to Swannanoa, which is practically on top of the Blue Ridge, the geologic heart of the Appalachian Mountains.

Dorms: One thing about Swannanoa I wasn't expecting: the dorm and the classrooms were air conditioned! Very cushy! Other music weeks I have been to were not. If you go to Swannanoa, take a mattress pad for the sticky plastic mattresses they have there. Augusta can get hot so take a fan, though it can also be cool weather. The kind of roommate you get (if you don't bring one) is a crapshoot, but you don't spend much time in your room anyway.

Food: For both, if you stay on campus (simple, cheap, but communal), you get a choice of food in the cafeteria. I liked it fine, but then, I eat almost anything. Vegetarians seemed pretty well covered, but if you have something like a milk allergy the remaining choices in the cafeteria diet can be monotonous.

Campus: It's cooler in the hills in the summer, but it is also quite hilly [editorial note from Paul: wow, thanks for that insight Ken]. If you get a third-floor room at either program, you'll be in Olympic shape by the end of the week. For some reason I get lost more easily at Swannanoa, even though the campus is smaller.

Staff: Great in both cases. Some are famous musicians you will enjoy getting to know, but others are unknowns chosen because they are good teachers. Both programs do an outstanding job of supporting beginners, folks with stage fright, etc. Augusta has had more years to perfect things like scheduling time in student showcases, while at Swannanoa it was a bit more catch-as-catch-can.

In sum, if you lack for a teacher or playing opportunities, a week at one of these programs can be a great boost. It's more distracting and less focused than something like Noel Hill school, but it's also very social and varied.

• The Swannanoa Gathering web site.
• Augusta Heritage Center web site.