Old Time String Band Ensemble
- Fiddle
- Guitar
- In-Person Classes
- Instrumental
- Old Time
- Roots
*THIS IS AN IN-PERSON CLASS*
This is a chance to play and learn with other like-minded individuals in a collaborative musical environment. Over the five weeks in class, we will build a broad repertoire of fiddle tunes and songs. Each week will feature new material as we explore melody, harmony, and variations, along with the historical and regional origins of the tunes. We will also discuss the roles of different instruments and musical elements within the ensemble. All instruments are welcome!
Class Schedule
Tuesdays: Jan 13, 20, 27, Feb 3, 10
Time: 6:30–7:45pm ET
Location: Passim School of Music, 26 Church Street, Cambridge, MA(Classrooms are located on the second floor; unfortunately, there is no elevator.)
Ages: 18+
Please Note:Pre-sales are highly encouraged! Online sales end 2 hours before the class begins. A minimum of 6 students is required for the class to run. If canceled due to low enrollment, you will be notified and receive a full refund.
Ruth Rappaport
- Old Time
Ruth Rappaport plays traditional American, Irish, and British Isles music. An excellent rhythm guitarist and pianist, she lays down the beat behind some of the best fiddlers, old-time string bands, and other traditional instrumentalists active today. Ruth shines as a vocalist with a repertoire that ranges from mountain ballads and gutsy blues to honky-tonk hits and old folk songs. She has played with Bill Spence, John McCutcheon, Seamus Connolly, George Wilson, Ken Perlman, Joe Pete Wetherbee, and Alan Kaufman, among other artists. Since 1979 she has made Boston her home and has been involved in the old-time and Irish music scenes. For 15 years she traveled widely with the acclaimed eclectic string band, The Poodles. She currently performs with her son, fiddler Ben Wetherbee, and many string bands and combos. She leads sing-a-longs with children and seniors and plays in clubs, senior communities, for community events, and for contra and square dances.
Benjamin Wetherbee
Benjamin Wetherbee is an Old Time fiddler from Watertown, MA. He grew up immersed in traditional music through his mom, Ruth Rappaport, a guitar/piano player and singer, and his dad, Peter Wetherbee, a roots-rock guitar player and singer. He got his start learning violin in elementary school while his mom taught him the Old Time tunes he had grown up hearing at home. It wasn’t long before he became obsessed with playing Old Time fiddle music. In college, he studied traditional Irish music in Cork, Ireland with fiddler Connie O’Connell. His fiddling is inspired by traditional Appalachian music, northeastern Old Time music from Ithaca, Vermont, and Massachusetts, bluegrass, Cajun/Creole music, New England contra dance music, experimental music, and more. He is also a singer/songwriter, guitar player, poet, and artist.
