Dan Worrall

The photo of the Lachenal on board the Endurance has come up before on the Forum. The photo itself is on page 305 of my Anglo-German Concertina, A Social History, Volume 1, which can be read free on GoogleBooks. The concertina apparently never made it to Antarctica. Here from 2005, in a thread called "Concertinas and Sea Music," is what mikebmcnamara posted about it. It would seem that the original source material, with notes on the back of the photo, has disappeared, so we'll have to take mike at his word: ********************************************************** Posted January 15, 2005 Re: Shackleton's Endurance Expedition and Concertina Some time ago I came across a picture of four sailors on Endurance. It was in the Hulton Archive, now part of Getty. I did a quick search today, and the picture was not returned. Don't know where it went. I have the picture on my computer, but an unsure of my ability to share it (copyright?). I will work further to find it again, and share info if I do find it. One of the sailors had what looks to me like a 12 sided English concertina. When I originally found the picture, there was information about the subjects, and the man who was listed as holding the concertina was discharged from the ship (with three others) in Argentina (for cause). Thus, he (and likely his concertina) did not accompany the expedition to South Georgia, the Weddell Sea, crushing, sinking, living on the ice, Elephant Island, etc. There was a meteorologist named Hussey who played the banjo, and Shackleton allowed him to keep it throughout the ordeal. The banjo playing is often mentioned as a morale booster in the accounts of the expedition. The banjo has survived, and I have seen it as part of Polar Exploration exhibits. I have also read that Shackleton played the concertina (per The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music) , but have found no mention of it in any of my other readings about him. Posted January 15, 2005 Re: Concertina, Shackleton, Endurance I was able to find the picture. You need to go to http://gettyimages.com select editorial, then archival. You'll have to register, no cost. Search for Image #3252971 (If you search for endurance, then people, then uniform you'll get there) Good Luck, and enjoy the picture **************************************************

One of the places where Clevoner played was the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin -- a music hall. in 1921 “Jack Clevenor, described as the ‘wizard of the concertina’ extracted some rare music from concertinas of various sizes, and was greatly appreciated.” Thanks for posting the photo of him, Peter! Freeman’s Journal (Dublin), November 1, 1921, p. 3.

Yes, indeed that is the case. Small traditional music festivals like that are heavily attended by seniors, so the dangers are self-evident. Stay safe, everyone!

What a difference a week makes. The concertina workshop at the Palestine Old Time Music Festival in late March is cancelled. Our headliners, the Vox Hunters, cancelled due to virus issues stemming from air travel from the NE, so with that Erica and I decided that we should keep our powder dry for next year. The festival itself is not cancelled, at least yet, but if you are interested in it please check with their website for updates. I understand that a number of other performers have also dropped out. No self-quarantining here, but it is shaping up to be a very strange year indeed. Dan

All I can say is Wow! You're really going for the mass market now! It's a real labor of love. Congratulations to you and to the instrument itself - for finally having a tutor.

Just weeks away from Old Pal now......March 26-29. Workshops are now slated for a variety of concertina topics, with the first workshop at 9am on Friday. Benedict Gagliardi and Armand Aromin from the Rhode Island group Vox Hunters will give several workshops on Anglo and English (in separate groups). Gary Coover will give a workshop on Anglo two-handed harmonic playing, then another on chording/accompaniments. He also is planning to give a workshop on the Jeffries Duet - someone out there has one besides himself! We'll have a Clare tunes session for concertinas. And of course, lots of larger sessions and concerts for all sorts of instrumentalists who enjoy a variety of styles of old time music! Let us know if you are coming (you can send me a PM via this site), and we'll add you to the list.Details are on the first post of this thread. Springtime, dogwoods, barbecue, and concertinas.....what's not to like? See you there. Dan

By the way, if you are thinking of coming, be sure to message me or Erica Bravermann at this site and leave us your email address; there will be more details sent out, probably with sheet music, in coming weeks.

Since I posted last month about the Old Pal old time music festival and our annual concertina workshop there, we've had an addition to the line up! Gary Coover, known to most of you as the publisher of a very fine series of books on playing the Anglo concertina in the harmonic style, will be with us in Palestine on March 27-28 for the festival, and will teach two workshops. So, there will be lots going on! Benedict Gagliardi and Armand Aromin from the Rhode Island group Vox Hunters will teach separate Anglo and English concertina workshops, Gary will teach Anglo workshops, and yours truly will host a Clare tunes workshop - following up on the three visits in recent years by Ann Droney Kirrane. Do come....it will be loads of fun. We are thrilled that Gary is returning. Gary was one of the organizer-founders of our very first worskhop in 2005, and was a regular until he scampered off to Mai Tai land, entranced by swaying coconut palms and ukuleles. It will be great to welcome him home. He has some new book projects that he has been working on...we'll no doubt see what they are all about. 'Attached below is a copy of the first announcement from a few weeks ago, for particulars on the festival and on the Vox Hunters, who we are also very excited to have some to the concertina weekend! Cheers, Dan The older post: Hardly even a decent frost here yet, but I'm drawn to images of spring leaves and flowers replacing all of our gray Texas winter landscape. It's time to start thinking about this year's concertina workshop in beautiful Palestine, east Texas: dogwoods, bluebonnets, and free reeds! This year is the 16th year of our annual workshop within the Palestine Old TIme Music and Dulcimer Festival, March 26-28 in the east Texas Pineywoods. This time, we are excited to have Benedict Gagliardi and Armand Aromin from the Rhode Island group Vox Hunters heading south to our workshops. This means we will have classes and sessions for both Anglo AND English concertina this year. Find out more about Benedict, Armand and the Vox Hunters here. Our workshops run from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, and will include streams for both beginners and more experienced players, as needed. If interested, please send me a message via this site by February 15, saying 1) if you are coming, 2) what system you play, and 3) your experience level. With this information, hopefully by February 15, we can plan out the workshops in more detail, and will send you beforehand the workshop schedule, logistics, and any sheet music. If you have requests or suggestions for a specific type of concertina workshop, let us know and we’ll see what can be done. As in all previous years, we charge $35 for the concertina workshops, on top of the normal Old Pal admittance, which covers the concerts and other activities. Information on the larger Old Pal festival can be found here. It has concerts every day at lunchtime and in the evening, from Thursday evening until Saturday night, plus impromptu sessions at all hours inside and outside the main building. The Vox Hunters will play in the concerts along with a host of old time musicians hailing from the Appalachians westward to Texas. It is a small and very friendly festival, and very accommodating to us concertinists – come ready to play along! All the best, Dan

Great! We're hearing from a number of others so it looks to be a good year for Old Pal and concertinas.

Hardly even a decent frost here yet, but I'm drawn to images of spring leaves and flowers replacing all of our gray Texas winter landscape. It's time to start thinking about this year's concertina workshop in beautiful Palestine, east Texas: dogwoods, bluebonnets, and free reeds! This year is the 16th year of our annual workshop within the Palestine Old TIme Music and Dulcimer Festival, March 26-28 in the east Texas Pineywoods. This time, we are excited to have Benedict Gagliardi and Armand Aromin from the Rhode Island group Vox Hunters heading south to our workshops. This means we will have classes and sessions for both Anglo AND English concertina this year. Find out more about Benedict, Armand and the Vox Hunters here. Our workshops run from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, and will include streams for both beginners and more experienced players, as needed. If interested, please send me a message via this site by February 15, saying 1) if you are coming, 2) what system you play, and 3) your experience level. With this information, hopefully by February 15, we can plan out the workshops in more detail, and will send you beforehand the workshop schedule, logistics, and any sheet music. If you have requests or suggestions for a specific type of concertina workshop, let us know and we’ll see what can be done. As in all previous years, we charge $35 for the concertina workshops, on top of the normal Old Pal admittance, which covers the concerts and other activities. Information on the larger Old Pal festival can be found here. It has concerts every day at lunchtime and in the evening, from Thursday evening until Saturday night, plus impromptu sessions at all hours inside and outside the main building. The Vox Hunters will play in the concerts along with a host of old time musicians hailing from the Appalachians westward to Texas. It is a small and very friendly festival, and very accommodating to us concertinists – come ready to play along! All the best, Dan

I'll buy Dowright a whole six pack of Theakston's Mild (whatever that is) if he would write up the notes of his amazing, decades-long Lachenal research for the Concertina Journal! Or is it still too preliminary? Best, Dan

Just saw this thread and tealeaf's query. Thanks Daniel for pointing out where tealeaf can read the most up-to-date version of that Nautical Concertina article -- in my book, The Anglo-German Concertina, a Social History, volume 1. As Daniel mentioned, it can be accessed and read for free on Google Books. The physical book (both volumes) can be purchased on Amazon and at one or two UK and US music stores. That was a fun project, and its product is now 11 years old. The research has held up pretty well. Cheers, Dan

McDouglas, A minor correction to Erica's note. Any concertina workshops are over by 3 or 3:30 latest, typically. Cheers, Dan

Hi David, I hear you, although with all those unspeakable accordions around 😉, I've never counted that as a concertina workshop or weekend per se, like the Button Box used to offer. But point well taken! Cheers, Dan

Today was a cold and frosty morning in Texas…so it must be time to start thinking of springtime in the sleepy east Texas town of Palestine, and our fifteenth annual concertina workshop, which takes place tucked within the wonderful Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival, Thursday, March 28 through Saturday, March 30, 2019. We're not sure, but this may be the oldest continuous concertina workshop in North America! Our ‘modus operandi’ at Palestine is to engage a concertinist who can not only teach us but who can entertain as one of the general festival’s headliners and take part in old time jam sessions; in past years our workshops have been graced with such varied folks as Jody Kruskal (many times!), Bertram Levy, Dave Roberts, and Ann Kirrane. We have two full days of concertina workshops and events, along with the festival’s three evening concerts, workshops for instruments of all sorts, and plenty of old time jams. Our concertina workshops are generally oriented toward all systems, with usually some workshops that are Anglo specific. This year, we are very pleased to welcome back by popular demand Ann Kirrane, from Tuam, Co. Galway and Bellharbour, County Clare, Ireland. Ann has a very welcoming way of leading what will be a number of concertina workshops concentrating on tunes in the north Clare concertina style of her father, Chris Droney. That particular playing style lends itself well to all systems, and the emphasis is on the development of clear melody and danceable rhythm. In addition to her concertina playing, Ann is a superb singer, and she’ll be performing during some of the festival’s lunchtime and evening concerts. Here is some more information on Ann: http://www.annkirrane.com/bio.php The concertina workshops are on Friday and Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. each day. As is our usual custom, the concertina players pay $30 for attendance at the workshops, in addition to paying the normal all-weekend admittance to the larger Palestine music festival of which we are a part. The festival website, below, has information on all of the other activities, including evening and lunchtime concerts, dozens of workshops on various old time instruments as well as voice, plenty of impromptu tune sessions, shape-note singing workshops, and many other events. The festival is a small, family-friendly event that takes place in a turn-of-the-(last) century schoolhouse and auditorium. Palestine is a wonderful old lumber and railroad town, and the festival happens near the peak of dogwood season; a drive or walk through Davey Dogwood Park is a must! Lodging information is on the festival website; we recommend asking for the festival rate at the Best Western. There are also campsites and RV parks around town. We only request that you let us know if you are coming, so that we can reserve a slot for you in the workshops; please email either Erica Braverman at eabraverman@gmail.com or Dan Worrall at danworrall@msn.com . We’ll send more details on the workshops, as well as music dots for those wishing them, to those who pre-register. Thanks for supporting this concertina weekend and the Palestine old time music festival! Dan Worrall and Erica Bravermann, organizers Festival website: http://www.oldpalmusic.com/Home.html (information at time of writing is for 2018, but it should be updated soon for 2019).