On A Portland Play Along Selection, Betsy Branch, Clyde Curley, and Susan Songer invite musicians to pick up their instruments and play along with this representative cross section of the music that is in both volumes of the popular Portland Collection contra dance music books. Most of the 97 tunes on this 2-CD set are played at a moderate tempo with only 1 lead and 1 back up instrument. The recording is engineered so that the listener may pan right to hear only the melody, pan left to hear only the back up, or pan center to hear both together. Although the tunes are played in the medley style that is typical of contra dance music, each of the tunes is individually tracked for ease of location. The first and last sets on each disc are played faster with variations and harmonies to give a feel for how the music would be played at a contra dance. None of the tunes here have been recorded on either of the other two Portland Collection companion recordings.
Musicians
Betsy Branch began playing the violin at 3 years of age. For over 30 years, she has studied classical and several genres of folk music. She brings skills from all of these traditions to her contra dance playing. The delight she finds in music is evident and contagious for both listener and dancer. She has been on staff at many week end dance camps and has been an instructor at the week-long Fiddlekids camp in California. She is also assistant music director of the Portland Revels. She is the lead musician in the 75-member Portland Megaband, which plays for one special contra dance each year. Betsy is a full-time violin and fiddle teacher.
Clyde Curley has been playing folk music on acoustic instruments since high school. He plays mandolin, octave mandolin, and 4-string banjo and is equally adept at melody, harmony, and rhythmic back up riffs on all of them. He also plays fiddle and guitar. In 1986 Clyde began playing for contra dances with Jigsaw and the Rose City Aces. Since then, he has found himself on stages at local dances all over the Pacific Northwest and on staff at festivals and camps in and beyond the Northwest. Currently, in addition to the above musical interests, he is pursuing Quebecois music with his band, Group du Jour. Clyde has retired from several decades of teaching high school English.
Susan Songer has been actively involved in the contra dance community for more than 20 years, first as a dancer and then as a musician on both piano and fiddle. Susan s driving piano style invests the music with lift and pulse. Her deep connection to the dance is evident when she plays in that setting. She has been on staff at various week end and week-long dance and music camps and has tutored both fiddle and piano at the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. Susan is founder and director of the Portland Megaband, an orchestra of about 75 dance musicians that plays for special contra dances at least once a year. Susan has retired from her private practice in psychology.
Susan Songer, Clyde Curley, and Betsy Branch (aka The Alliterations) have been involved in contra dance music for more than 2 decades. They play local and regional dances. In addition, they have all been on staff at week end and week-long dance and music camps and festivals in the Northwest and in other parts of the country. George, Clyde, and Betsy each play in many different configurations, with many different musicians. When they perform together, their expertise on their instruments, their musical commonalities and bonds, and their diverse musical backgrounds combine to produce variations, harmonies, rhythm, and drive that bring enthusiastic responses from the dancers.
