Join Sergio Gonzales, Alison Gowan and Noelle Beaudin for a 4-day hurdy-gurdy workshop and retreat on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee at Geneva Point Center in New Hampshire. This secluded 200-acre campus is perfect for practicing, making friends, and connecting with the community. We welcome all skill levels – complete beginner to advanced player, age 18 and older.
The Workshop will take place August 20-24th, 2023.
28-MAY-2023 Update: We are booking up fast for this workshop. There are only 2 private Lakeview Cabins left. There are still 7 rooms available in the Gibbes House and we are working on getting pricing for single occupancy in Gibbes versus double occupancy pricing. If we need to create overflow housing we will! So excited for this once in a lifetime HG retreat!
Questions? Email us before registering!
Tuition, Room & Board
Pricing for Tuition, Room & Board is listed below. The Gibbes House is our main residence which includes a short walk to the waterfront, it’s own kitchen, and communal space for hanging out with everyone. All Gibbes House rooms are double occupancy / two people to a room (two double beds or two twin beds). We also have private rooms with private baths available. All tuition includes meals and the workshop courses and a private lesson (if you want one).
If the Gibbes House is filled, there is overflow housing available at the Inn. If you want to attend the Workshop, but do not want to stay over (day student) that pricing is also listed below with no overnight accommodations. If you would like to stay in a private cabin on the lake, the Lake View Cabins are available – these are private cabins with full private bathrooms and screened porch (pricing is listed below).
All prices are per person – includes all meals, access to the campus, and more.
$925.00 p/p double occupancy in Gibbes House
$1125.00 p/p single occupancy, private bath Lake View Cabin
$525.00 p/p no overnight accommodations (still includes all meals)
Registration Policy
Registration due by July 20 (last minute registration potentially available – contact us)
100% refund before July 1
No refunds on or after July 1
Travel
Travel to and from the Center is at your own discretion and purchase. If you are flying in for this Workshop, Boston Logan Airport, Portland Airport ME, Manchester Airport NH are recommended. If you arrive at Boston Logan Airport, there is a Concord Coach Lines Bus available from Ground Transportation within each Terminal at the Airport (or take the train to the Boston South Station) that can take you directly to either Concord or Center Harbor, NH. We can arrange to pick you up or coordinate carpools from that point and get you to Geneva Point Center. The other airports you may need to rent a car, taxi, uber, or find a carpool.
If you need to arrive a day early, housing can be arranged with Geneva Point Center for extra nights. If you need this contact us and we will help you!
If you have any questions about transportation, email Noelle with any questions.
About the Workshop
This new to the East Coast Workshop and Retreat was created so that alumni “campers” can return again and again each summer, where people interested in the gurdy can learn, grow and eventually intern and teach if it so moves them. Our mission is to create something where people can grow their skills, share them with others, and realize their dreams if they want to be a player, luthier, or teacher. For the USA, it’s something definitely lacking and we need to start cultivating the skills and people – that’s what this Workshop and Retreat are all about.
The Workshop will take place August 20-24th, 2023.
Download the Workshop Schedule and Class Descriptions
Can I come if I am a complete beginner?
Yes! We welcome all skill levels, including complete beginners. If you have never touched a hurdy-gurdy before, this is the perfect place to learn. We even have instruments to loan if you don’t own a hurdy-gurdy but want to give it a try! Email us if you are interested in a loaner instrument!
About the Teachers
Sergio González
Sergio González is a Viola de Roda player and teacher hailing from Barcelona, Spain.
He Studied under some of the most prominent musicians including the Cretan Lyra master Kelly Thoma, who gave him the opportunity to develop a new language mixing Mediterranean phrasing and ornamentation with the historically informed approach of the Medieval and Renaissance sources.
Sergio is deeply interested in the historical and cultural contexts of the music he plays. He’s constantly exploring the musical traditions of different regions and time periods to gain a deeper understanding of the music he loves.
Sergio’s passion for music has taken him around the world, where he has taught seminars and performed in many countries (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA).
His contributions to the field of Viola de Roda have not gone unnoticed, through his YT
project “Zanfoneando” and his performances, Sergio hopes to introduce the instrument to more people and His efforts have already begun to make an impact, and he is determined to continue spreading awareness and appreciation for this incredible instrument.
Alison Gowan
Alison Gowan is a Quebec-based hurdy gurdy player, vocalist, and theatre artist who performs, composes, and arranges folk and traditional styles from Europe and North America. Her primary influence is the neo-traditional instrumental and sung folk dance stylings of central France. Alison is a classically-trained singer and is passionate about breathing new life into to old songs. She has been playing hurdy-hurdy for 20 years and has been mentored by renowned players such as Patrick Bouffard, Gilles Chabenat, Grégory Jolivet, Marc Anthony and Ben Grossman.
Alison currently performs with several well-established folk musicians including Emilyn Stam, Élise Guay, Jan Le Clair, along with Birdbone Theatre. As a founding member of the eclectic folk group Swamp Ward Orchestra, Alison recorded two CDs and toured for 10 years, performing at venues of note including the Winnipeg Folk Festival main stage, Calgary Folk Festival, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, as well as the Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.
In her role as music and project director for Birdbone Theatre, she both puppeteers and creates other-worldly extemporaneous soundscapes to accompany visual theatrics. Alison has performed works with Birdbone at Montreal’s Phenomena Festival, Festival Chants de Vielles, Picton Ice Box Festival, The Department of Illumination’s Lantern Festival, and Skeleton Park Arts Festival.
Noelle Beaudin
For many years Noelle Beaudin worked as an independent composer in Boston, Massachusetts and taught composition, music theory, and performance in the greater Boston area. She attended The Boston Conservatory of Music at Berklee College of Music majoring in conducting, music composition and piano performance and is a member of the MTNA and National Guild of Music Teachers.
Over the last twenty years, she has worked for several private schools, the Upper Valley Music Center and the New Hampshire Independent School of Music where she conducted chamber ensembles, orchestras, folk groups, and piano ensembles as well as teaching courses on music history, theory, and composition. She currently teaches hurdy gurdy, voice, piano, music theory and composition from her studio in Center Sandwich, is the choral director for the Unitarian Universalist Society of Laconia. A fun and charismatic teacher, she has a special ability to understand issues a student or ensemble group may have and be able to clearly explain the best way to work through that problem.
She regularly performs throughout the New England area as a soloist or accompanist and loves a good contra dance when she can find one.
About the Campus
Geneva Point Center is a 200-acre private campus on New Hampshire’s largest lake: Lake Winnipesaukee. There are numerous hiking trails and beaches. Attendees will be able to make use of a private beach a short distance from the Housing facility.
Housing
Gibbes House: Attendees will be in the Gibbes House near the shoreline. Gibbes House’s ten bedrooms are centered around the Scandia Room, a comfortably furnished gathering space with ceiling fans, a gas fireplace, and a kitchen. Each of the bedrooms has heat, carpeting, a bathroom with a shower, and a hallway entrance. The four ground floor rooms have an additional entrance via sliding glass doors.
Workshop Rooms
The Chapel: Set in a pine grove, the two-story wooden structure features tall arching windows, a raised stage, balcony, sound system and a seating capacity of 250. The chapel is especially popular as a performance space for acoustic musicians.
Shaw Cottage: Shaw Cottage is another one of Geneva Point’s oldest structures. With its two meeting rooms, front porch, and convenient location next to the ice cream shop, Shaw Cottage is very popular for music classes, arts and crafts, small meetings and youth activities for up to 50 people.
Meals
All meals are included in the cost of the tuition for the Workshop. Meals are held at the Inn. The Inn is a classic 19th century lakefront inn with many of the original architectural details still present. Renovations over the decades have provided a wonderful mix of old and new for comfortable meeting and gathering spaces. During registration, you can note if you have any food allergies or special requirements and the Geneva Point Center Chef will ensure that your needs are met. There is also a kitchen at the Gibbes House and you are welcome to bring in any food or snacks you want to have on hand.
Any further questions contact us at [email protected]