| The biggest rivalry of the camp was who had the better hair, Grace or Neal! | |
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Here’s a snap shot of this year’s instructors along with links to their web sites or YouTube presence:
Andy Wilson I believe that Andy is the only instructor that has been at every Midwest Ukulele & Harmonica Camp since the first one. Half of the Andy & Sandy Show, his wide range of harmonicas is a sight to behold and hear. In addition to his outstanding harmonica instruction, he is a regularly requested to back up other artists for concerts. And even during his concert slot, he’s been known to break out an ukulele or a small fluglehorn!
Charissa Hoffman The first individual to be admitted to Berklee with the Ukulele as her primary instrument. Born, raised and living in Nashville, Charissa has established herself as a versatile musician in all genres, particularly jazz.
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Neal Chin is always in high demand, whether it is for his great classes, his enthusiasm or his musical skills. A bit of Django, some Blues and even the Magic of 2-5-1, he deftly combines music theory with practical and simple applications. During the two faculty concerts, he had more stage time than any other artist, being asked to backup the primary slot holder by almost everyone! Even in the impromptu jam sessions, he was happily playing along providing instrumental and vocal backup. |
Grace van’t Hof – Hailing from Detroit, Grace plays a lot of Country and Western and Bluegrass music with a number of bands. Knowledgeable in the history and how much influence the ukulele and banjolele had in the 20’s and 30’s, Grace taught classes on Ragtime, baritone, banjolele and playing well with others.
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Bakithi Kumalo – Bassist for Paul Simon’s Graceland. He taught classes in the Bass track as well as joining many of the other artist during the concerts. He is the inspiration behind the Bakithi Kumalo U-Bass For one of the special sessions, Ben Hassenger interviewed Bakithi as he told his story of growing up in southern Africa and the challenges of languages, culture shock between countries and making music all over the world. |
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Gracie Terzian With her harp ukulele, Gracie taught a wide variety of classes, covering the Bossa Nova/Samba, Fingerpicking and Intervals. She teaches in New York City and her ethereal music is a wonder to listen to. We were glad that the airlines didn’t keep us apart this year! |
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Sandy Weltman – The other half of the Sandy & Andy show, Sandy is a regular instructor for the harmonica track. He’s been known to teach a class or two on the Baritone with some alternate tunings.
Cynthia Kinunnan A life long educator, Cynthia is our Finnish Connection! Cynthia crossed the border from Canada to join the camp. She is a Level 3 graduate of the James Hill Ukulele Initiative (JHUI) Teacher Certification Program and is Director of Engagement for Ukulele in the Classroom as part of the James Hill Music Team. Cynthia is in demand for festivals and camps throughout the world and has been a regular at both MUC and MUD.
Ukulenny – Lenny San Jose, is one of the key individuals in the ukulele community who helped keep the ukulele spirit going over the challenges of the past few years with his online presence. He is a multi-instrument threat and performs with ukulele, U-bass, saxophone, beatbox and Otamatone. Ukulenny is a member of U3 along with Cynthia Lin and Abe Lagrimas Jr. Always adding new skills, his juggling may have inspired a juggling track for next year’s camp!
Melissa Sigh Sigh Music Studio in Old Town Lansing has been a staple of music education in the area. Melissa stepped in on short notice to help with beginner track. She currently is a ‘Snowbird’ travelling to Hawaii in the cold months to teach in schools there, returning to Michigan in the Summers. With her years of teaching experience and talented performances, we always like to see Melissa!
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Mika Kane Most of Mika’s classes were standing room only! The new fingerstyle track was very popular. An educator from Hawaii, he teaches at the University of Hawai’i West O’ahu and Windward Community College. I took his One Finger Harmonics class and his clear explanations and demonstrations allowed the class to pick up the technique very quickly. His fingerstyle album Old Soul is great to listen to, relieving all levels of stress! |
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Victoria Vox – Victoria brings joy everywhere she goes! A song writer/vocalist trained at Berklee, Victoria is well know for her infectious smile and superb mouth trumpet range. She often appears with other performers including Jake Shimabukuro, James Hill and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. She has had a strong influence on the Midwest Ukulele scene with her support of Ben Hassenger and regular appearances at Mighty Uke Day. And even when she played some really sad songs in the concert, you just can’t be sad when she plays them with such passion.
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Karl “One Arm Strum Man” Jackson – Leveraging his drive to succeed, he has developed a one handed playing method that allows him to create music with one hand. He works to make the instrument available to all and works with therapists and counselors to share his knowledge with others with specialized abilities. His Mya-Moe custom reverberator puts out a great sound. Check out his content on pretty much all the platforms, his video clips will change the way you think and help open doors to helping others. |
The last gather was a special event, The ‘Recording Session.’ This provided an opportunity for everyone to observe the sort of interactions that occur when a group of musicians come together to collaborate and record a piece. Victoria brought a piece that she composed and they worked together to bring everything together. From harmonizing, making sure the order was correct and even moving seats to better meld the sounds. After a final ‘recording’ each musician talked about their process and how they worked with the others to reach the final sound. They also talked about how they back each other up during the concerts and the communications needed.
The recording team. Left to Right – Bakithi Kumalo, bass, Grace Terzian, ukulele harp and vocals, Victoria Vox, ukulele and lead vocals, Andy Wilson, harmonica and vocals, Ukulenny, ukulele and vocals.
Bottom Line: Save up for a great weekend, lots of learning, a lot of fun and opportunities to enjoy the company of some of the best instructors in the ukulele world! Keep your eyes open for the dates for the 2024 edition of Midwest Ukulele & Harmonica Camp!
