The Brattleboro Music Center’s Celtic Session classes, for youth, beginning and advanced students, begin at the Music School on Wednesday, January 13.

Celtic Session students will learn traditional jigs and reels, and other dance music of Scotland, Ireland and New England led by Becky Tracy and Keith Murphy. All music will be taught by ear, and focus on learning traditional Celtic tunes. This is a repertoire building class and is geared toward helping people feel comfortable playing in an informal group setting - the traditional Irish “session” format.

The class is open to all instruments including violin, flute, recorder, penny whistle, accordion, mandolin, clarinet and piano. Students will not need experience in playing by ear but should have a reasonable technical proficiency on their instrument so that they can focus on learning the melodies. If you are interested in the class but not sure if it is appropriate to your level, we are happy to have you sit in for one class to try it out.

The BMC Celtic Sessions are an excellent opportunity to develop ear training abilities and get an introduction into these exciting musical traditions. The winter session runs on Wednesdays from January 13 through March 31, including 10 sessions for $150. Session times are: youth (11 and up) 4:15 - 5:15 pm, introductory 7:00 - 8:00 pm, advanced 5:30 - 6:30 pm.

For questions and registration please call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523 or visit www.bmcvt.org for additional class and lesson information.