ROBINWOOD MUSIC RETREATS
Robinwood Guitar Retreat
June 7-10, 2019
Shepherd’s Spring Retreat Center
Sharpsburg, Maryland
Award-winning guitar master Robin Bullock presents his long-awaited and much-requested guitar retreat in the beautiful hills of western Maryland. Three full days of hands-on workshops, master classes, performance opportunities, jamming, and immersion in all things acoustic guitar. An ideal experience for intermediate and advanced guitarists, as well as for singers who play guitar. Come broaden your horizons, develop your skills, expand your understanding of music and the guitar, and have big fun with kindred spirits in an inspiring and relaxing wooded setting.
Robin Bullock has been hailed as a “Celtic guitar god” by the Baltimore City Paper and “one of the best folk instrumentalists in the business” by Sing Out! Magazine. His many honors include Editor’s Pick and Player’s Choice Awards from Acoustic Guitar Magazine, the Association for Independent Music’s prestigious INDIE Award (with the world-music trio Helicon), multiple Washington Area Music Association WAMMIE Awards and a Governor’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. An experienced and articulate instructor, he has served on the faculties of Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Tennessee, Common Ground On The Hill in Maryland, the March Mandolin Festival in New Hampshire and the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina (where he was honored in 2016 with a Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement in musicianship and teaching), taught privately at House of Musical Traditions in Washington DC, and led countless festival workshops from California to Pennsylvania and from Ontario to Georgia. Robin has fifteen solo and collaborative CDs to his credit and maintains a busy international touring schedule, performing solo, in Celtic duos with guitarist Steve Baughman and four-time National Scottish Harp Champion Sue Richards, and as sideman with Grammy Award-winning folk icon Tom Paxton, including four of Tom’s “Together at Last” tours with fellow Grammy winner Janis Ian.
Shepherd’s Spring Retreat Center in Sharpsburg, Maryland, provides the perfect, tranquil setting for Robinwood Guitar Retreat. Located just 1.5 hours west of Washington, DC, Shepherd’s Spring has been welcoming guests since 1990 with comfortable, well-maintained facilities in a beautiful natural setting, nestled on 220 acres of rolling, wooded land along the Potomac River and C&O Canal. Operated by a dedicated staff and a team of volunteers, Shepherd’s Spring is designed to be a “Source of Renewal – A Place to Grow!”
For more on the venue, visit www.shepherdsspring.org
Topics to be explored will undoubtedly include, but by no means need to be limited to:
- Altered tunings
- Fingerstyle right-hand technique and developing an independent thumb
- Flatpick technique, for both melody and accompaniment
- Left-hand technique – how to make it easier on yourself and be able to do more
- Developing your ear and overcoming dependence on tablature
- Arranging songs for the guitar – developing musically interesting and satisfying interpretations
- Music theory – how it works, how to use it, and why it doesn’t have to be scary
- Song accompaniment, if we have singers!
- Performance tips
Bring songs and tunes you want to work on! If they’re stumping you, let’s have a closer look at them!
Price includes comfy lodging (no dorms or cabins!) and three delicious meals a day (most dietary restrictions can easily be accommodated) in a beautifully relaxed, drug- and alcohol-free, wooded setting – check the outside world at the door and come play guitar with us!
All-inclusive retreat cost (all workshops and events, lodging for three nights and all meals): $750
Rooms are double occupancy; single occupancy rooms are available at an additional cost.
Retreat schedule (subject to slight tweaking – we like to be flexible):
Friday
Afternoon, until 6:30 p.m.: Arrival and check-in
6:30 p.m.: Dinner
8:00 p.m.: Brief orientation and introductions, followed by an opening concert set by Robin, followed (most likely) by jamming and sharing songs for the rest of the evening
Saturday
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Group session #1 with breaks as needed
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.: Lunch and free time
2:00 – 4:30 p.m.: Group session #2 with breaks as needed
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.: Free time – enjoy Shepherd’s Spring’s trails, play a few tunes on the porch, enjoy the beautiful relaxing setting!
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.: Dinner
8:00 p.m.: Open Mic/Coffeehouse/Student Showcase – perform for us (only if you want to)! Feel free to team up with other participants or enlist Robin.
Sunday
8:30 – 9:30 Breakfast
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Group session #1 with breaks as needed
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.: Lunch and free time
2:00 – 4:30 p.m.: Group session #2 with breaks as needed
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.: Free time – enjoy Shepherd’s Spring’s trails, play a few tunes on the porch, enjoy the beautiful relaxing setting!
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.: Dinner
8:00 p.m.: Informal jamming/song swap
Monday
8:30 – 9:30 Breakfast
Departure – till next time!
Registration:
All-inclusive retreat cost (all workshops and events, lodging for three nights and all meals): $750
Rooms are double occupancy; single occupancy rooms are available at an additional cost
A nonrefundable deposit of $100 is required to reserve a spot.
Balance is due by May 17th.
A welcome packet will be sent upon registration with info regarding transportation options and other details.
Payment may be made by check, Paypal or credit card:
Mail a check to:
Robin Bullock
PO Box 1298
Black Mountain NC 28711
To pay by credit card, call Karen Kaye at 301-641-1837 with complete card number, expiration date, security code/CVV and billing zip code
To send money via Paypal, log in to your PayPal account, click Send Money at the top of the page, and fill out the form to send money to a friend: robinbullock@yahoo.com. There is NO fee for this method if you sign up for PayPal – which is also free. Your PayPal account deducts funds directly from your checking account.
For further info, give us a shout:
Karen Kaye 301-641-1837
robin@robinbullock.com
