Arranging and performing traditional music for group ensemble

At most trad sessions, whether Irish, Quebecois, Old time, Scandinavian or Etruscan, you can learn some of the tunes ahead of time, maybe pick them up on the fly, and play them each several times through; the pleasure of playing with others being a primary motivation. But there isn’t the opportunity to stop and tinker with the tunes the way you might like: trying out different chords, cross rhythms, harmony parts, etc. This class will feature much tinkering and messing about; then, after the tinkering, we’ll attempt to reassemble the engine and get it up to speed back on the hiway, performance ready. We’ll include tunes from North America (New England & Quebec) and Northern Europe (Sweden, British Isles, France). The class will focus on ideas as much as playing skills, but intermediate to advanced level would be most useful.