The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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February 17, 2010

Master class workshops return to Bear on the Square festival

Friday Master Class Workshops are returning to the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival in Dahlonega, Ga., on April 16, 2010. These in depth, two-hour long music workshops will include some of the music industry‘s top bluegrass and old-time musicians and instructors and are designed to be practical and very hands on.

The SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) Education Committee has signed on as sponsor of the Master Class Workshops.

The instructors include the Nashville-based David Peterson and the 1946 Band, which includes David Peterson (Vocals), Mike Compton Intermediate/Advanced Mandolin), Charlie Cushman (Bluegrass Banjo), Johnny Warren (Bluegrass Fiddle), and Ron Shuffler (Upright Bass). In addition, there will be old-time music greats Beverly Smith (Old-Time Fiddle) and Carl Jones (Clawhammer Banjo). Rounding out the list of instructors will be guitar wizard Curtis Jones (Intermediate/Advanced Guitar) and the national teaching team of Jim Pittman (Beginning/Intermediate Guitar) and Patsy Kline (Beginning/Intermediate Mandolin).

A total of 20 different Friday workshops are available to choose from, and these will be held on campus in a classroom setting in partnership with the Friends of Music at North Georgia College & State University’s Music Department. Workshop times are from 10 a.m.-noon and from 1-3 p.m. Friday, April 16.

The cost for the Master Class Workshops, which were a popular feature of the festival in past years, are $45 for one class or $75 for two classes, and participants can mix classes according to their preference and availability. Pre-registration is available and encouraged. However, participants can also sign up the day of the workshops as well.

Private individual Saturday lessons are also available with many of the Master Class Workshop Instructors, and these can be scheduled directly with the instructor using their contact info at the Master Class Workshop page on the Bear on the Square website.

The festival schedule will also include a group of workshops on Saturday and Sunday, with many of these conducted by this year's Bear on the Square performers. Some of these workshops, which are free of charge, will be held in the Workshop Tent sponsored by LVS Homes and located on the Conner House lawn, while others will be held at Hummingbird Lane Art Gallery.

The 14th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival will be an incredible weekend of music and art held in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains. During that weekend, old-time and bluegrass music will fill the Historic Public Square in Dahlonega. There will be on-stage performances by local, regional, and national musicians on Saturday and Sunday, and a juried traditional mountain crafts market both those days. Extensive music workshops, a Sunday morning Gospel Jam, an old-time Mountain Dance on Saturday evening, a Live Country Auction on Friday night, family activities, a heritage focus demonstrating mountain traditions, and food complete the offerings. For more details, visit www.bearonthesquare.org frequently for updates as the time for the festival approaches.

Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, Inc., which stages the show each year, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit cultural arts organization whose mission is to preserve and celebrate the culture of the Southern Appalachians through the presentation of music, traditional craft, and folkways. Tax deductible donations are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 338, Dahlonega, GA 30533.

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