SADLY THIS EVENT HAS NOW BEEN CANCELLED!
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING THE WEBSITE FOR NEWS OF WHAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR 2010

Melody Doris - a delightful, intimate workshop based event full of Doris magic, held on a gorgeous organic farm. Thursday evening 21st - Monday morning 25th May 2009. Only 250 places available. Book now!

If you loved the Summer School you'll love this too and there will be more contact with the teachers, more chances to jam together, more chances to meet people and form lasting connections. 

Melody Doris - an experiment in transcultural music making. A more intimate event than the Summer School, the workshops will be both an introduction to the different musical forms and an invitation to play, with the addition of learning through facilitated jam sessions. Each teacher will hold at least one workshop and one jam session per day. The emphasis will be on collaboration, improvisation, feeling free to unleash your musical creativity while being carefully steered into new waters by our talented and inspiring teachers.

The workshops will be targeted at various levels, so that the beginner and the advanced player can have a satisfying experience. There will be 5 different workshop areas in the delightful setting of the farm and each marquee will be far away enough from the others to be able to hear what's happening in your class! As usual we will be having Doris café open mic sessions that both teachers and participants will be invited to perform in, with sessions of improvisation spontaneously erupting that will more than likely involve the "audience".

Although it's called Melody Doris we are not excluding percussion or dance, in fact as usual, it's an integral part of the music making process. The focus, however, is on how they complement the melody and how they can interact and affect the way a melody is heard and played, how a melody affects the percussion and dance and even how they create their own melody, whether it's visual, emotional or audible.

We want to explore the supportive aspect of drums and rhythm and to look into the intricacies of playing, whilst always keeping it accessible, in the tradition of Doris. We believe that the inspirational, healing and transformational elements of melody and rhythm deserve their own event and time to be introduced to new participants - people who might not normally think they can play but who, in our experience, always can and only need some opportunity to start! We want as well to give the more experienced player the opportunity to stretch themselves musically and learn new ways of hearing and playing.

This event is aimed at the interested and experienced as well as the complete beginner. In the past we have found that this really creates an atmosphere of experimentation, inclusion and accelerated learning and teaching.

Whilst the main activities are aimed at adults we expect there to be young people and children who may join any class they feel able to. We are also providing the usual activities of the running around variety, creativity and play more focused to their needs.

Doris is known for her friendliness and this event will be no different, except that as there are limited tickets of 250 there will be even more opportunity to meet and share. We have taken on board the suggestion that it would be good to have more time to practise and jam so the programme will build in time and space for that, taking a more relaxed approach that we hope will also engender more inspiration, collaboration and creativity.

Answers to your questions:

What is the site like? The site is an exciting one with a river beside the campsite, beautiful trees and 100 acres of organic land to explore and hide away in .We will be making the event as ecologically and environmentally friendly as possible whilst ensuring that you are well looked after and catered for with showers and fine food, comfy areas to relax and chat in, owls to hoot at night and fires to warm the spirits at the start of summer...

Do you need to bring instruments? Yes if possible, bring what you can play and what you wished you could play. Most teachers will bring some instruments and classes will be small enough so that there should be some for all to play.

Do you need to bring a tent? Yes, or a caravan or a live in vehicle, but we ask that you let us know about these last two as they will be given a specific area to be in to comply with the Health and Safety regulations that say ‘no vehicles next to tents at all!' There is also the possibility to book a bed in the farmhouse in shared rooms for the lucky first takers, as well as local B+B's within easy access.

Can you bring a dog? No! Sorry this is a farm and it's not possible. There are dog hotels nearby.

Do you need wellies? Yes, as always you need to come prepared for life outdoors with plenty of warm clothes for the evenings and a cosy comfy place to sleep!

Can you have a fire? Yes, as long as you are conservative with the wood, use a fire ring and clear up behind you when you leave.

What are the toilets like? Due to the environmental concerns of our landlord we are not allowed portaloos, so there will be compost loos, but trust us they will be as nice as possible.

Will there be showers? Yes , we have booked the best Posh Wash showers and its possible to dunk in the river too for the hardy.