Notes Inégales - a contra dance band - Ithaca NY - contra dancing, weddings, private parties.

Notes Inégales

Upcoming performances

Where is the Dance? Check out this contra dance venue map for CNY!

Fri Feb 08 ITHACA NY - Katy Heine with Notes Inégales (notes in-a-gall): Andrea Katz (fiddle, viola) and Mike Ludgate (mandolin) - will be joined by Margaret Ball (fiddle) and Sophie Orzechowski (keyboard). Calling the dances is our fabulous Ithaca caller, Katy Heine http://www.notesinegales.org 8-11 pm 1825 Slaterville Rd Ithaca NY. Facebook event

Sat Feb 09 ROSE NY - Notes Inégales duo: Andrea Katz (fiddle, viola), Mike Ludgate (mandolin). Casey Carr Calling EARLY dance 7:30-10:30 pm Facebook

Fri Apr 05 2013 - Phil and Mike with TBA on fiddle for a Contra dance in Cooperstown NY

Sat Apr 05 2013 - Phil, Mike and Tim for a contra dance - see this page http://www.oshanigans.org/

Sat May 11 2013 - O'Shanigans w/ Mike, Tim and Phil for a wedding.

Contra Dance Fri May 24th with Notes Inégales (Andrea Katz on fiddle and Mike Ludgate on mandolin) with special guests: Laurie Tupper on flute and Tim Ball on guitar. Bethel Grove Community Center 1825 Slaterville Rd Ithaca NY 8-11 pm $6- TCCD event

Sun Jun 30 - O'Shanigans w/ Mike, Tim and Phil for a wedding reception.

July 12-14 - HOTAfest Titusville PA., Mike is teaching mandolin workshops at this fun weekend festival in the historic "oil region" of PA.

Sat Aug 03 2013 - SYR contra dance Fayetteville with Notes Inégales (Mike and Andrea) for this dance the duo will be joined by special guest Tom Hodgson on guitar and perhaps another surprise guest.

Sat Oct 05 2013 - O'Shanigans w/ Tim. Phil and Mike for the Cornell Contra Dance CCDC (probably at Appel Commons Cornell Campus). www.oshanigans.org

Where is the Dance? Check out this contra dance venue map for CNY!

Previous performances

Fri Jan 18 ITHACA NY - NO'Shanigans quartet - Contra Dance w/ Margaret Ball (fiddle), Sophie Orzechowski (fiddle & accordion), Tim Ball (guitar) and Michael Ludgate (mandolin). Bethel Grove Community Center 1825 Slaterville Rd., Ithaca NY. 8-11 pm TCCD. Facebook

Sat Jan 12 - BING NY - O'Shanigans TRIO Mike Tim Phil Contra Dance w/ Michael Ludgate (mandolin, tenor banjo), Philip Robinson (guitar) and Tim Ball (fiddle) for the BING contra dance. 7.00 - 10.00 pm intro lesson 6:40 pm Music by O'Shanigans Caller Casey Carr (from Ithaca) General admission $8 Students with ID and those under 18 $3 Family maximum $17 At Trinity Church, 44 Main Street, Binghamton (enter on Oak Street) Facebook

Mon Dec 31 - Ithaca NY - Michael and Kathy Selby will be co-leading the open band at the Bethel Grove New Year's Eve Contra Bash Party! Andrea will join us! Potluck dinner 6 pm, Waltzing 7 pm, Contras and more starting at 8 pm. Open band come join in!

Sun Dec 16 - O'Shanigans w/ Tim, Phil and Mike for a contra dance at the Tioga Trails Cafe 4-7 pm Owego NY

Sat Dec 15 - O'Shanigans w/ Mike, Phil and Tim for the SYR contra dance. 8-11 pm

Wed Dec 12 - Mike will lead an open band for a Hobbit party! Should be a blast! Come join in the band. CSMA Ithaca (see map above and FB event here)

Sat Dec 08 - NO'Shanigans w/ Margaret Ball (fiddle), Sophie Orzechowski (keyboard, fiddle, accordion) and Michael Ludgate (mandolin, tenor banjo) at Rose Community Center, School Street off Rte. 414, Rose NY for a Contra Dance. Casey Carr calling the dances! EARLY dance 7:30-10:30 pm. Location link Google MAP http://goo.gl/maps/uQlKQ

Fri Dec 07 - NO'Shanigans w/ Margaret Ball (fiddle), Sophie Orzechowski (keyboard, fiddle, accordion) and Michael Ludgate (mandolin, tenor banjo) at Alfred University 9-11pm Alfred NY for a Contra Dance. Casey Carr calling the dances! Location Powell Center Alfred U location link Google MAP http://goo.gl/maps/O0kyF

Sat Nov 17 - O'Shanigans w/ Mike, Tim and Phil for a wedding.

Sat Nov 17 - Mike and Phil as a subset of CMEMME playing Middle Eastern tunes for a wedding. Tim might sit in.

Sun Nov 11 - Mike and Phil playing middle eastern with CMEMME in Danby Town Hall 3:00 pm

Fri Nov 09 - NO'Shanigans w/ Margaret Ball on fiddle, Phil Robinson on guitar, Michael Ludgate on mandolin. Andrea Katz on viola for some of the dance. Bethel Grove Ithaca.

Sat Oct 27 2012 - CCDC Ithaca NY Cornell Contra Dance at Appell Commins. www.notesinegales.org Margaret Mathews will be calling the dances! Halloween contra spook COSTUME dance! [ NOTES INEGALES POSTER ] [ FACEBOOK BAND ] [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT ]

Fri and Sat Oct 5&6 2012 - Phylla Mae Fall Fest in SYR NY - Mike Ludgate will be sitting in with Andrew and Noah for one of the Saturday dances at this weekend event! Come join us! [ DETAILS ]

Fri Aug 24 - Andrea, Mike and Gail Blake are playing for the Bethel Grove Contra Dance Ithaca NY 8-11 pm www.notesinegales.org

Sat Aug 18 - Andrea, Mike and Phil Robinson (of O'Shanigans fame) will play for a contra dance at a public free festival in Penn Yann NY. Ted Crance is calling the dances 2:30-4:00 pm www.notesinegales.org

Sat July 28 - Andrea and Mike playing for a private party. Trumansburg NY.

Fri June 29 2012 ITHACA NY "Notes Inégales" (Mike , Andrea) at Bethel Grove for a more fun than usual contra dance! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring "Notes Inégales"; Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin) at Bethel Grove Community Center. Caller Pamela Goddard! All at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY from 8-11 pm. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country. [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ][ VENUE WEBSITE ][ MAP DIRECTIONS to this EVENT ][ TCCD VENUE POSTER ][ BAND FACEBOOK ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

SYR NY - Sat June 16th 2012 "Notes Inégales" (Mike , Andrea)

Come hear Ithaca's hottest new trio "Notes Inégales" (pronounced notes inagall) along with favorite Syracuse caller Sarah VanNorstrand. This will be a FUN DANCE! More details: 8:00 - 11:00 pm Saturday June 16th at The United Church of Fayetteville on 310 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville, NY. Sponsored by Syracuse Country Dancers! Admission $7- Don't miss this dance! This is an authentic old New England style venue with a newly refinished dance floor! Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed. [ VENUE WEBSITE ][ BAND FACEBOOK ][ MAP TO VENUE ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ] [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ]

Fri Apr 20 2012 ITHACA NY "Notes Inégales" (Mike , Andrea) at Bethel Grove for a more fun than usual contra dance! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring "Notes Inégales"; Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin) at Bethel Grove Community Center. Caller Ted Crane! All at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY from 8-11 pm. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country. [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ][ VENUE WEBSITE ][ MAP DIRECTIONS to this EVENT ][ TCCD VENUE POSTER ][ BAND FACEBOOK ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

Sat Apr 14 2012 -- BINGHAMTON NY -- "Notes Inégales" (Mike ,

Andrea) with special guest Eric Anderson at Trinity Memorial for a contra dance! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring "Notes Inégales"; Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin). Megan Ludgate and Hilton Baxter will be calling the dances. Early Dance!! 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm at Trinity Memorial Church in Binghamton NY. Admission $7- [ VENUE WEBSITE ] [ NOTES INEGALES POSTER ] [ DIRECTIONS ] [ FACEBOOK BAND ] [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

Fri March 9th -- PINE LAKE CAMPUS Hartwick College -- Notes Inégales contra dance band from Ithaca NY will be visiting the Pine Lake Campus for a spring contra dance party! 8-11 pm at 1894 Charlotte Creek Road in Davenport NY in the Vaudevillian Building. Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed. Admission: This event is FREE for Hartwick students, all others a donation of $5 to $10 would be terrific to support future events like this. PARKING: Please park in the parking lot by Robertson Lodge, The Vaudevillian is down the hill towards the lake. [ NOTES INEGALES POSTER ] [ FACEBOOK BAND ] [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT ] [ GOOGLE MAP LINK ]

SYR NY - Fri Feb 10th 2012 "Notes Inégales" (Mike , Andrea)

Come hear Ithaca's hottest new trio "Notes Inégales" (pronounced notes inagall) along with favorite Ithaca caller Pamela Goddard. This will be a FUN DANCE! More details: 8:00 - 11:00 pm Friday Feb 10th at The United Church of Fayetteville on 310 E. Genesee Street Fayetteville, NY. Sponsored by Syracuse Country Dancers! Admission $7- Don't miss this dance! This is an authentic old New England style venue with a newly refinished dance floor! Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed.
[ VENUE WEBSITE ][ BAND FACEBOOK ][ MAP TO VENUE ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ] [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ]

Fri Jan 20 2012 "Notes Inégales" (Mike , Andrea) at Bethel Grove with nationally reknowned special guest David Kaynor for a more fun than usual contra dance! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring "Notes Inégales"; Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin) at Bethel Grove Community Center. Callers: various local callers including David Kaynor and Megan Ludgate. 3rd performance of this fabulous high energy TRIO! All at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY from 8-11 pm. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country. [ VIDEOS YOUTUBE ][ VENUE WEBSITE ][ MAP DIRECTIONS to this EVENT ][ TCCD VENUE POSTER ][ BAND FACEBOOK ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

Fri Nov 11 2011 - 11/11/11 11:11 !! Mike-Andrea as "Notes Inégales" at Bethel Grove

for a later than usual contra dance! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring "Notes Inégales"; and Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin) at Bethel Grove Community Center. Callers: various local callers including Megan Ludgate. 2nd performance of this fabulous high energy TRIO! the math (11 / 11) / 11 = 0.0909090909., the numerology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11:11_%28numerology%29., the movie http://1111themovie.com/., the bible http://www.revelationbibleprophecy.org/revelation11.html., the occult http://www.whale.to/b/duke.html., the book http://1111angels.com/TheSearch.html -- all at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY from 8-11 pm. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country.
[ VENUE WEBSITE ][ MAP DIRECTIONS to this EVENT ][ TCCD VENUE POSTER ][ BAND FACEBOOK ] [ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

Fri Sep 02 2011 - ITHACA NY - Celebrate the START of the semester with the latest exciting version of NO'Shanigans! A fun DANCE PARTY featuring special guests Andrea Katz (fiddle) along with Mike Ludgate (mandolin) at Bethel Grove Community Center. This is also a WALTZ JAM night, so come early! Dancing (to a waltz jam) starts at 7:00 pm and the contra dance starts at 8:00 pm. Local favorite house callers will be calling the contra dances; including Megan Ludgate!. All at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY dancing from 7-11 pm. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country Dances. Don't miss this celebration of the roots of New England folk dance! This is an authentic Old New England style venue with a newly refinished wooden dance floor! Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed. [ VENUE WEBSITE ][ MAP DIRECTIONS to this EVENT ][ TCCD VENUE POSTER ][ BAND FACEBOOK ][ FACEBOOK EVENT FOR THIS DANCE ]

Notes Inégales (pronounced notes in-a-gall) contra dance band perform Celtic, American and world fiddle tunes suitable for contra dancing, general entertainment and weddings. Fiddle and dance tunes from: New England, Southern Appalachia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Finland, Sweden and the Middle East! We currently combine the skills of two of Ithaca's most talented contra dance musicians: Andrea Katz (fiddle, viola) with local contra session leader and music promoter, Michael Ludgate (mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo), joined by occasional special guests. We have our own sound gear and a publicity network to help gain attention for your event. We love to play our music for weddings and especially for contra dances! Scroll down to learn more about the band and the band name.

From the dancers and callers -- "Notes Inégales, what a fantastic band! You guys rock! True to it's name, the band infused some interesting rhythmic swing-like patterns (rock step-1-2-3??) into regular square steps. Thanks guys for a fun evening!" "A wall of dance sound" "Wow! What was that Horse Flies tune you played?" "The music was fantastic!" "That was a delightful contra dance last night ... I truly enjoyed the many subtleties of your musical arrangements.", " ... such a fun group of people, and the band was awesome ... " , "The band was absolutely wonderful last night!"

Notes Inégales - About the band name: "Notes Inégales" (pronounced notes inagall) contra dance band http://www.notesinegales.org/ -- "In music, notes inégales (French: unequal notes) refers to a performance practice, mainly from the Baroque and Classical music eras, in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short. The practice was especially prevalent in France in the 17th and 18th centuries, with appearances in other European countries at the same time; and it reappeared as the standard performance practice in the 20th century in jazz." source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_in%C3%A9gales

Musical backgrounds of the current members and guests of Notes Inégales ...

Notes Inégales - Andrea Katz (from Texas on playing fiddle and viola) is a PhD candidate in applied physics at Cornell University. Andrea played in a variety of contra dance bands in the San Antonio area and has studied with Jay Ungar and David Kaynor. Andrea is joined by Michael Ludgate (mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo), joined by occasional special guests. Both are fantastic contra dance musicians and are playing a dance with Ithaca contra musician and music promoter Michael Ludgate under the new band name Notes Inégales. This will be an exceptionally fun dance!

Michael Ludgate - Mandolin, fiddle, Irish tenor banjo, and manager for two popular trios: O'Shanigans http://www.oshanigans.org and Notes Inégales http://www.notesinegales.org/ contra dance bands. Michael comes from a long local line of Ithaca musicians. His grandfather Morris "Moe" Harper was a local jazz clarinet and tenor

Michael Ludgate - mandilon and tenor banjo player for O'Shanigans

saxophone player in the Ithaca area in the 1940's through the 1960's Moe's wife Ina, played violin in a more classical style. Mike's mother Roberta played flute and piano and was popular around town as a piano accompanist for a variety of musical tasks. Mike remembers vividly the multiple barbershop quartets training in the living room as a child with coaching from his mom. This was the beginning of Michael's musical education. He always tinkers with the keys of any keyboard he walks by, but never took a lesson - he says he wishes he did. He started on trombone in 4th grade at the public schools in Dryden NY .. taking some private lessons from some of his grandfather's jazz friends, Woody Peters and Ned Dunham along the way. When his sister took up flute, he just couldn't resist noodling with woodwinds and started playing scales and simple tunes on flute and saxophone and clarinet.

This instrumental distraction continues today; Michael picked up his grandmother's violin as an adult in his mid-forties and taught himself to read treble clef with help from a Suzuki book. Then his spouse took pity on him (or the rest of the family?) and offered to pay for lessons. He took lessons on violin from IC Masters violinist Rebecca Anne Geiger Hamlen for three years and at that same time started hosting the weekly Wednesday fiddle and contra tune jam from his home. He also plays rudimentary guitar; thanks to Phil Shapiro's guitar class! Mike has studied Irish tenor banjo, influenced by Harry Lawless of Traonach. He learned the basics of playing fiddle tunes for contra dancers from Ted Crane and Pamela Goddard's many open band opportunities. He has also been influenced greatly by David Kaynor. Michael started the Upstate NY area's only waltz band a few years ago - this is an open band that plays once per month at the Bethel Grove Contra dances. He also co-started and continues to run, the "Jam Tent" at the Ithaca Festival. Most recently Michael has developed a passion for mandolin which he plays mostly melodically in a Celtic style with some New England, bluegrass and old-time influence with thanks to David Surette, Phil Banaszak, Tod Sukontarak and Tom Quigley to name a few. Michael loves and supports the open bands and open acoustic jams around the Ithaca area and attends many of them when time permits. Michael continues to host a weekly contra tune jam (open jam) at his home in Brooktondale NY. Recently Michael has been performing with the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (CMEMME) where he is studing Armenian, Turkish and other Middle Eastern fiddle styles under Harold Hagopian and previously Atakan Sari. Michael is also on the teaching staff at HOTAfest for the 2nd year in a row and will be on staff as a jam leader at Folk College in 2012. When not playing mandolin or fiddle, Michael is busy promoting local and area folk music events. Mike on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/michael.ludgate

Andrea Katz - Andrea plays fiddle and viola in Notes Inégales http://www.notesinegales.org/. It is hard to believe that Ithaca's hottest new contra dance fiddler was reluctant to play violin

as a young woman. Andrea started playing violin in 5th grade in the school orchestra, because she had a choice between that or taking "Composition and Composer Memory." She took well to violin and made the All-Region Orchestra three times and was second chair in her school's symphony, but classical violin still wasn't really something she loved.

But that changed when, at the end of 9th grade, she got a CD in the mail from an uncle who she had only met once, very briefly. It was a CD of fiddle tunes. She liked them enough to learn all of them by ear and then managed to get brave enough to call the unknown uncle and ask what they were called. He told her that it was "contra dance music" and that he was a "contra dance caller." She wanted to learn more of that music, so her Dad called the North Texas Traditional Dance Society, who put him in touch with fiddler Mimi Rogers, who invited Andrea to sit in with her band at the next dance she was playing at. That was Andrea's first contra dance: She had such a good time, she was totally hooked on fiddling.

Mimi told her about the local Irish sessions, and she started going to those. She also went to the Fiddler's Dream music and dance camp over New Year's and that's where she contra danced for the first time. Throughout the rest of high school, she played more fiddle and less classical, (she also asked for a tenor banjo for Christmas one year and her parents thought she'd gone nuts) and she finally dropped out of orchestra after her first semester of college at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

While at college, she played for a lot of contra dances with John Roby and Amy Hartman as "Katzenjammin'" and playing with them really helped develop her skills and tune repertoire. She kept going to Fiddler's Dream and also started going to Ashokan Northern Week, where she met David Kaynor. He really inspired Andrea and encouraged her, and she learned a lot just from watching and listening to him. By the time she was a junior at Trinity, she was teaching band scramble and basic fiddle at Fiddler's Dream, and she'd also joined the folk band "Raising Jane," where she got pushed quite a bit outside of her comfort zone and learned a lot. Physics took over my life my senior year so she had to quit "Raising Jane," and "Katzenjammin'" only playing one or two dances all year.

Andrea says: "It's nice to play a little more now that I'm here in Ithaca, I am really having fun with Michael and our special guests as Notes Inégales"

Booking and Band Manager: Michael Ludgate michael@notesinegales.org

More about Contra Dancing:

WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST DANCE Contra dancing is easy to learn. It's so easy to learn that you don't take lessons. Just show up at a dance and by the end of the first night you'll have learned

Danceers at an O'Shanigans' contra dance in Ithaca NY

all the dance moves and you will be able to enjoy the next dance even more. People are friendly and welcoming to beginners. The age range is from kids to folks that have been around for a while. Both singles and doubles come to contra dances and women as well as men ask people to dance. It is usual that you change partners after every dance. You will meet people in a relaxed, pleasant, smoke and alcohol free atmosphere. The patterns of the dance can be a tad confusing at first but remember everyone had a first time and that other dancers will help you. Listen to the caller and the music and go with the flow of the dance. Some people find they get dizzy at first. Looking directly at the person you are dancing with eliminates this sensation. For many, the music is what keeps them coming back as it is exciting and lively. People come to dance, hear the music, socialize and have a good time.

WHAT TO WEAR? Wear smooth soled shoes and comfortable light weight clothing. Some halls require non-street shoes so make sure the soles of shoes aren't bringing grit onto the dance floor. Most people bring a bottle of drinking water. Contra dancing is joyous so it's important that you bring a smile. Adapted from http://www.greatmeadowmusic.com/music.html

More information about contra dancing:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31552309563
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayDance.com/US_NY_ITH_TCCD
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayBand.com?key=OSHANIGANS
http://hands4dancers.org/
http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/
http://contra.binghamtondance.org/contra_calendar.htm
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/performerList.php?band=Oshanigans
http://www.sbcds.org/contradance/whatis/