Caller and Band info
Montpelier Contra Dance
Dec. 7, 2024

Nils Fredland is back to call for us this coming Saturday, bringing his trademark warm teaching style and varied dance choices. Nils has been a nationally–and internationally–known caller for many years, and we're lucky that he's also a relatively local one! He called for the August 31 Fun-Raiser Finale dance most recently. Many of us know that Nils is also an accomplished trombone player (he might bring his horn to this gig and play along with the band). He's also a singer, and got introduced to contra dancing while taking part in a Village Harmony recording project, in Plainfield VT in 1996. In the interview he did with Julie Vallimont for her CDSS podcast, Contra Pulse, he tells several stories about his early days singing and playing for contras with–among others–Anna Patton and Naomi Morse. This was also the period when he started calling! Click the link to hear (or read) more. He's an engaging storyteller, as well as being a great dance caller! Nils has called and played trombone for years with the excellent contra band Elixir–and will be part of their "Farewell Tour" this coming spring.
Daybreak Trio: We've enjoyed this band before, and it's filled with musicians who have also played for us in a variety of groups:

Anna Patton is the rare clarinet-player in contra dance bands, and is well-loved for her swing and jazz-infused playing. As mentioned above, she was part of the Village Harmony singing group, with whom she toured Bulgaria (taking the opportunity to study Bulgarian clarinet, too). She co-founded Elixir with Nils and Owen; she also leads Anna and the Alphabets, and is part of the Figments. Her diverse musical talents include playing with and writing arrangements for Zara Bode's Little Big Band and many other ventures–you can read more (and hear some of her music) on Anna's website.

Naomi Morse plays fiddle; she grew up surrounded by music and dance in the folk communities of New England. She's known for her energetic and driving fiddle-playing for contra and English Country dancing.

Event Info

Jan 24, 2025, 6 to 8 PM

Jan 25, 2025, 10:30 to 11:30 AM

Jan 27, 2025, 6 to 7 PM