ABased in Baltimore, MD, Ken Kolodner has played old-time fiddle and hammered dulcimer for nearly 30 years. He is widely regarded as an accomplished teacher and performer of both instruments and is credited as a major influence in the rebirth of the hammered dulcimer in the U.S., hailed as “one of today’s most accomplished, musical hammered dulcimer artists...” (Elderly). As a soloist and in ensembles with Helicon (with Chris Norman and Robin Bullock), Greenfire (with Laura Risk), with Elke Baker, Jim Eagan and many others, Ken has performed and taught extensively for over 25 years.

Focusing largely on traditional music, he is a regular fixture at many music camps and festivals (e.g. Common Ground, Swannanoa Gathering, Meadowlark, Augusta, Kentucky Music Week, and The John Campbell Folk School). Ken has been featured numerous times on NPR, The Thistle and the Shamrock, All Things Considered, the CBC, the Voice of America and German National Radio. Among his many credits are a new book/CD on Appalachian fiddling (Mel Bay), an Emmy-nominated CBS-TV Christmas special with Kolodner as the featured soloist, five instructional CDs on the hammered dulcimer, ten recordings with sales well over 125,000, including an “Indie” winner (Helicon’s “A Winter Solstice Celebration”, winner of Best Seasonal Recording in 1999), and a #1 World Music title (“Walking Stones”) and bestseller for BMG (with over 55,000 copies sold).

Ken’s playing has been described as "nothing short of astonishing" (The Connection), “outstanding” (The New York Times), “marvelous” (The Washington Post), “virtuosic” (Audio), “stunning in its musicality” (Dulcimer Player News) and “not to be missed” (USA TODAY). Ken has recently added the hammered mbira to his concert performances. Ken has two recordings to be released in 2010: a recording of Old-Time music with his son Brad Kolodner (clawhammer banjo and guitar) and another of Celtic, Quebecois and Old-Time music with fiddler Elke Baker.

Visit his website at: www.kenkolodner.com

Ken will be offering both Hammered Dulcimer and Fiddle Workshops during the day of the performance:

Hammered Dulcimer Workshops: Getting Beyond the Melody
$30. for one class; $55. for both

Part I--10 AM until 12 noon (11/6/2010)
Arranging waltzes and other slow tunes. This workshop will answer the question “Once you have the basic tune, what is next?” Depending on the level of the class, ideas may include 2 note chords, three or four note chords, tremolos, phrasing, creating a dynamic line, flams, fills, dissonances, basslines, syncopations, accent shifts, use of simple and complex chord subs, bounced and hammered triplets and much more. (This workshop will go a bit slower than the afternoon workshop and is primarily designed for advanced beginners/novices through intermediates. However, more experienced players are welcome to attend as Ken will offer a wide variety of ideas/techniques to explore).

Part II--1 pm to 2 pm (11/6/2010)
Arranging and backing up faster tunes! The type of tune that dominates jam sessions is clearly the reel. Many ideas will be presented to spruce up your playing (adding swing, syncopations, accent shifts, adding chords, baselines, rag rhythms, chord subs, 4 against 3’s, flams, fills, drones, triplets, drags, ghost notes and much more). This workshop will go a bit faster than the morning workshop but Ken encourages less experienced to attend. There will be plenty there for players of all levels!

Appalachian/Old-time Fiddle Workshop
$30. ($20 for students)

3:30 pm - 5:30 pm (11/6/2010)
The key to playing old time fiddle is developing a rhythmic bowing style. This workshop focuses on several bowing approaches (e.g. the various uses of Nashville and Georgia shuffles, 3-1 bowing, bow rocks, string-crossing, ghost bows, mid-bow pulses). To dress up your playing, left hand ornamentation (e.g. slides, triplets, grace notes, drones etc.) will be introduced along with some discussion of playing dynamically. Finally, typically, adding chords to your fiddling will be presented as an option to really spruce up your playing. Time and interest permitting, we may explore an altered tuning (e.g. ADAD, AEAE; DDAD). Ken typically also works with bow holds and left hand position as needed. The workshop is designed for all levels of player.

Brad Kolodner