The Portland Collection, Arr by Susan Songer
The Portland Collection, Arr by Susan Songer
Another self-published collection of tunes collected and arranged by Susan Songer. These books have become staple repertoire for contra dancers everywhere, and the music within can be played and enjoyed by fiddlers of all genres and all levels of ability. It’s a go-to book for anyone wanting to enjoy fiddle music as it is played at dances throughout the United States and beyond!
Sue Songer
Sue Songer, of Portland Oregon, has enjoyed music as long as she can remember. In grade school, she played piano and eagerly participated in square dancing during P.E. classes. She played folk songs on guitar with informal groups during and just after college. A hiatus came when family and work responsibilities did not seem to leave time for music or dance pursuits. Then in 1986, Sue discovered contra dancing, loved it immediately, and found a way to fit it into her world. In 1989, she took up fiddle and revisited the piano. Since the early ’90s, she has been playing both instruments regularly for contra and English dances, although piano is now prevalent. She plays all over the Northwest and occasionally in California and New England with many different musicians. She has been a tutor several times at The American Festival of Fiddle Tunes, was a member of a CDSS Centennial Tour team, and has played dance weeks and weekends up and down the West Coast.
Sue is founder and director of the Portland Megaband, a volunteer orchestra of 75 dance musicians that plays for a special contra dance in Portland once a year and every other year at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle. (This band has recorded two CDs, The Portland Megaband: Live, and A Beneficial Tradition). Drawing from the Megaband experience, Sue travels to other dance communities to work with local musicians in an open band format.
