Our first Gathering will be January 12th, 2008, and will be held every second Saturday of each month. Our Gathering spots will be held in different locations, ranging from our reserved space at the Aronos Club to near the lakes and forests that are all a stones toss from our lovely area here in the Mother Lode. Each month's Gathering spot will be announced on our website http://www.sierraravenclan.com/.
The location of the first Gathering will be at the Aronos Clubhouse:
37 East Elkin Street
Sonora, CA 95370
Getting there is easy from downtown. If you go up the hill toward Columbia on Washington street, turn right just at the Red Church after the underground parking garage. That is East Elkin. Go up the hill a half block and its the green building on the right. If you make a left there you can find plenty of parking in the surrounding area. Worst case scenerio is to park at the museum or underground garage and walk up the hill for about one block.
We have entered into an agreement to rent this spot every second Saturday from 2-4 pm. Granted, when the weather is nice we will head to the Great Outdoors!
If you do not have a flute and would like to pick one up locally, there are a couple of local resources that offer entry level flutes with a DVD that shows you how to get started. If you can wait a few weeks, there are several flute makers that can custom make you flute that will last a lifetime for about twice the amount.
With the help we can give you, you will be playing in very short order as the Native American flute is one of the easiest instruments to begin playing with just a few fundamentals under your belt. Contact us for more info at cryss@sierraravenclan.com.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Two new flutes for RavenClaw
One of my favorites, of the small handful of truly talented flute makers in the world today, is Geoffrey Ellis of Earthtone Flutes http://earthtoneflutes.com/. I recently ordered an F#m from him a few weeks back. The wait reminded me of when I was a kid, just about a week before Christmas, except this time I couldn't do the re-wrap operation that I turned into a true artform.
Well, the triangle box arrived to me by one of my footman from our company mailroom. I opened it and found myself subtly removing a tear from my eye as what I held in my hands was the most substantial and truly magnificant works are art I have held in my hands. I put it to my lips and it practically pulled a melody from deep within me and practically played itself! Of course I could then be seen hunching my shoulders, clenching my hands around the flute and stroking it, admiring the detail of the curly redwood and the fine craftsmanship that embodied the soul of this flute. It was through squinty, shifty eyes and salivating lips that selfishly continued to grasp my flute and to continue to feel its weight and think of all the wonderful music I would be playing on it. It was MINE! MINE I SAY! MUAHAHA!
Boy, I sure hope I didn't say that out loud. At that point I heard something outside of me speak....
"My Precious"
"What was that? Oh, no matter..."
I was now officially addicted to Geoffrey's flutes.
The next day I learned that Geoffrey was one of the confirmed vendors that will be attending the Loping Wolf Winter Festival (please see previous blog entry) and I picked up the phone and promptly ordered a E so that it would be waiting there for me when I arrived.
Well, the triangle box arrived to me by one of my footman from our company mailroom. I opened it and found myself subtly removing a tear from my eye as what I held in my hands was the most substantial and truly magnificant works are art I have held in my hands. I put it to my lips and it practically pulled a melody from deep within me and practically played itself! Of course I could then be seen hunching my shoulders, clenching my hands around the flute and stroking it, admiring the detail of the curly redwood and the fine craftsmanship that embodied the soul of this flute. It was through squinty, shifty eyes and salivating lips that selfishly continued to grasp my flute and to continue to feel its weight and think of all the wonderful music I would be playing on it. It was MINE! MINE I SAY! MUAHAHA!
Boy, I sure hope I didn't say that out loud. At that point I heard something outside of me speak....
"My Precious"
"What was that? Oh, no matter..."
I was now officially addicted to Geoffrey's flutes.
The next day I learned that Geoffrey was one of the confirmed vendors that will be attending the Loping Wolf Winter Festival (please see previous blog entry) and I picked up the phone and promptly ordered a E so that it would be waiting there for me when I arrived.
Loping Wolf Winter Gathering!
We are planning on packing up the flutes and heading off the the 2nd Annual Loping Wolf Winter Gathering in Lake of the Pines on December 9th. Mary Youngblood and Dan "Noisy Bear" Ricketts are confirmed for two different workshops. Check out the Loping Wolf website at http://LopingWolf.com for more information!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Lost Canyon by Scott August out now!
Scott August's new album, Lost Canyon, is now out! If you go to his website and sign up for his newsletter, you will receive a 10% discount!
http://www.scottaugust.com/
Scott has won the Native American Music Award and will be playing in the area at next years NCFC Spring Festival according to his website! Last year's Spring Festival had drum and flute workshops, and an evening concert that treated attendies to music from famous Artists in the flutie world. It is six months from now (late April, 2008) but I am already making plans to attend. This Spring Fling cannot be missed!
Keep your eye posted to the NCFC website - and here - for news as it becomes available!
http://www.scottaugust.com/
Scott has won the Native American Music Award and will be playing in the area at next years NCFC Spring Festival according to his website! Last year's Spring Festival had drum and flute workshops, and an evening concert that treated attendies to music from famous Artists in the flutie world. It is six months from now (late April, 2008) but I am already making plans to attend. This Spring Fling cannot be missed!
Keep your eye posted to the NCFC website - and here - for news as it becomes available!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Wolf Birds
For others who might love ravens, there is a great book by Bernd Heinrich titled: Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf Birds. You can peek at it here: http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Raven-Investigations-Adventures-Wolf-Birds/dp/0061136050/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1303961-4248963?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193977778&sr=8-1
Gathering
We have yet to set a time for our first gathering. Much has to be put into place first. Here is my personal laundry list and updates.
1) While I have the initial thumbs up from Mike, there must be an official NCFC approval for the Sierra Raven Clan's affiliation with the NCFC - which shouldn't be a problem, but such things take time. However, we must receive this approval before going public and, thus, publically associating the Sierra Raven Clan with the NCFC. Until receiving official word from the Board of Directors approve, we will move forward with building the website and making plans to build a local circle here in the Motherlode.
2) We have to first set a date for our very first gathering and then market it to the local area to both assess and spark interest. Mike has generously offered assistance to help us get off the ground, to perhaps even include a beginners lesson for new fluties.
3) I have contacted the Columbia State Park ranger and received permission to gather and play in the picknic area of the State Park whenever we want, without need for permits, etc. Her words were "thats what parks are for".
4) Until we have local members who might like to enter into a Flute Circle rotation for gathering and playing in their respective homes, I am investigating outdoor areas like Columbia State Park in our local area that we could meet. Another idea could be to meet in Rotary Park in lower Sonora and, quite possibly, Utica Park in Angels Camp. I am keeping upcoming weather in mind as I plan these... for next summer/spring it might be fun to go to Big Trees and perhaps have an annual Flute campout weekened. They have a group campsite that holds 60 for very little money. More on such things later.
1) While I have the initial thumbs up from Mike, there must be an official NCFC approval for the Sierra Raven Clan's affiliation with the NCFC - which shouldn't be a problem, but such things take time. However, we must receive this approval before going public and, thus, publically associating the Sierra Raven Clan with the NCFC. Until receiving official word from the Board of Directors approve, we will move forward with building the website and making plans to build a local circle here in the Motherlode.
2) We have to first set a date for our very first gathering and then market it to the local area to both assess and spark interest. Mike has generously offered assistance to help us get off the ground, to perhaps even include a beginners lesson for new fluties.
3) I have contacted the Columbia State Park ranger and received permission to gather and play in the picknic area of the State Park whenever we want, without need for permits, etc. Her words were "thats what parks are for".
4) Until we have local members who might like to enter into a Flute Circle rotation for gathering and playing in their respective homes, I am investigating outdoor areas like Columbia State Park in our local area that we could meet. Another idea could be to meet in Rotary Park in lower Sonora and, quite possibly, Utica Park in Angels Camp. I am keeping upcoming weather in mind as I plan these... for next summer/spring it might be fun to go to Big Trees and perhaps have an annual Flute campout weekened. They have a group campsite that holds 60 for very little money. More on such things later.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sierra Raven Clan Official!
I just got off the horn with Mike Oitzman, one of the Directors of the Northern California Flute Circle and he as graciously offered to not only officially recognize us, but to help us get this off the ground.
We have to finalize details, but once we have a date and time set for our first gathering we will post it here and on the NCFC website (naflute.com), as well as the local music stores, etc. This first gathering might include some basic instruction offered by Mike and, perhaps, members of another regional clan to get us started. The idea will be to continue to meet on a monthly basis.
I am in contact with Columbia State Park to see if we can meet in the picnic area as weather permits, and to get the necessary gathering permissions that might be required. We will probably rotate meeting places depending on size, etc., to perhaps include members homes.
More details soon!
We have to finalize details, but once we have a date and time set for our first gathering we will post it here and on the NCFC website (naflute.com), as well as the local music stores, etc. This first gathering might include some basic instruction offered by Mike and, perhaps, members of another regional clan to get us started. The idea will be to continue to meet on a monthly basis.
I am in contact with Columbia State Park to see if we can meet in the picnic area as weather permits, and to get the necessary gathering permissions that might be required. We will probably rotate meeting places depending on size, etc., to perhaps include members homes.
More details soon!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sierra Raven Clan
Welcome to the Sierra Raven Clan blog. The Sierra Raven Clan was founded by as an outlet for many things including the appreciation for the Native American Flute and other world instruments. The Sierra Raven Clan has approached the Northern California Flute Circle (http://naflute.com/) to request official recognition and affiliation as a regional NCFC flute circle/ clan for the Sierra foothill regions encompassing the Tuolumne and Calaveras County areas. Our goal is to provide an outlet for those who wish to not only learn to play, but for those whose lives are already being enhanced by the Path of the Flute. Whether one is new or old to the flute, we all have so much to share and we can continue to learn together. It will also be our goal to also help spread the word about the NCFC and its benefits.
The catalyst for this was largely in part due to my participation as a back up musician at Grammy winning artist Mary Youngblood's 2007 performance deep down in the womb of Mother Earth at Moaning Caverns. The turnout was so fantastically large and well-received that I wanted to create an outlet to serve the local area as there is currently none.
I will update this blog with further news once I receive it.
The catalyst for this was largely in part due to my participation as a back up musician at Grammy winning artist Mary Youngblood's 2007 performance deep down in the womb of Mother Earth at Moaning Caverns. The turnout was so fantastically large and well-received that I wanted to create an outlet to serve the local area as there is currently none.
I will update this blog with further news once I receive it.
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