New Years Camp last week

Wife, daughter, and myself had a great time at the annual New Years Camp conducted by the California Traditional Music Society, in Malibu CA. I hope I made a some sort of tiny contribution toward bringing cello awareness back into the traditional music fold.



No, that's not us. That's a photo of the Swannaonna String Band, taken in 1895. I saw it at New Years Camp, but we weren't all that much different. More women. More casually dressed. Nicer buildings. More vegetation. Anybody know the name of the cellist?

I saw some old photos of Klezmer bands with cello, too, that I hope to find online.

I was surprised that non-cellists are starting to know the names of some of the cellists in the field. One woman who plays in the San Francisico Scottish Fiddlers club told me years ago they were no cellists; now, because of the popularity of Natalie Haas and Rushad Eggleston, they have more cellists wanting to join than violinists.