Classes

Traditions Weeks are broken into five periods. Each period contains a list of available classes. Some classes span multiple periods. Browse the periods below, filter by category, or download this week's schedule. REMINDER: Traditions Week 1 & 2 classes are ALL-VIRTUAL in 2022; Traditions Week 3 class are IN-PERSON on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, MD!

NOTE: TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE REGISTRATION PAGE CLICK HERE

Looking to register from OUTSIDE the U.S.? We can help! Email us at commonground@commongroundonthehill.org for assistance, as our payment program does not accept out-of-country payments. We will help process your registration!

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Evening Events

Beginning Guitar with Amy Ferebee

Get to know your guitar and learn some simple tunes.

Beginning or Refresher Knitting

Knit a simple dishcloth and gain the skills to knit other projects.

Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar with Robin Bullock

Learn to play traditional Irish, Scottish and Breton repertoire arranged for solo fingerstyle guitar with Robin Bullock

Chord Basics 1.0 for Mandolin with Wayne Fugate

Throw away those chord diagrams! This class will give you the tools to play chords and never look back.

Co-Writing a Song of Love with David Roth

Work on your songwriting skills while writing a custom-made song for a sick child through the Songs of Love Foundation.

Functional and Fun Pottery

This class offers students a hands-on approach to creating pieces with different functions built in a variety of ways: coil, pinch, and hand building.

Hammered Dulcimer International

An intermediate-level hammered dulcimer workshop with repertoire from around the world, from Celtic to Klezmer to Asian and more!

Healthy Fiddling with Brenda Anna

Play simple tunes while trying different techniquest to prevent injury and achieve optimum tone quality.

Life Writing

In this workshop, appropriate for both novice and experienced writers, we’ll practice telling our own story in journals, memoirs, personal essays, blogs, and other forms of life writing.

Morning Yoga: Yawn-Stretch-Yoga

A great way to start your day - with yoga!

Necklace of Beaded Beads

Create a necklace of beaded beads using three different beading techniques.

Painting with Pastels

Explore properties and techniques associated with soft pastels

Plein-Air Painting

Learn to paint in the great outdoors!

Science of Narrative: Why Storytelling is Important to Public Health

Storytelling is a powerful way to convey uncommon knowledge and insight in a manner that appreciates common experiences. Explore how storytelling is being used from a public health perspective.

Seat Weaving with Shaker Tape

Students will learn the basics of seat weaving by creating a foot stool.

Your Computer is an Instrument

Have fun with your computer, creating backup synth tracks, beats for your original songs, doing some sound design and more!

Altered Tunings for Guitar

Renowned guitarist Robin Bullock guides you through the world of altered tunings to play music in various styles.

Art Appreciation: A Moment in Time

A daily exploration of singular master artworks intended to transport the viewer to a particular moment in time of monumental consequence. Students will engage in "active seeing" to explore the artwork's form and content.

Irish Fiddle with Saskia Tomkins: Week 1

Learn some tunes and techniques that will bring authenticity to your Irish fiddling!

Magic

Join Dave Thomen for some tips that go beyond mere tricks and treats.

Nonviolence - "Now Wasn't That Creative?"

The ideas and the practices of nonviolence are often highly imaginative and remind us how powerful creativity can be - not only in the arts but anywhere that change finds some wiggle room to blossom.

Performing Your Favorite Songs: Upping Your Game

Learn to bring out your best voice when singing your favorite songs.

Scales Bootcamp for Mandolin with Wayne Fugate

Do you hate scales? This class will change your mind. Learn how to get the most out of scales!

Southern Appalachian Flat-Footing and Clogging

Come and learn how to keep time with your feet in a class that captures the feel of an old-time music and dance party.

The Voices of Baltimore Rising

Hear the stories of those who have been pulling Baltimore together in the wake of the Freddie Gray uprising.

Ukulele II with Chris James: Week 1

Build on the basics with Chris James. Learn new strums and picking patterns, chords and more.

Yoga with AJ Blye

Unwind from the stresses of the day with some afternoon yoga!

A Week of Photo Challenges

Learn techniques that will widen your field of creative expression by taking on daily photographic challenges.

Art Nouveau Illustration

Learn the characteristic shapes and styles of Art Nouveau and how it can be utilized in your own home decor, artwork and other projects.

Beginning Fiddle with Brenda Anna

Whether you call it a fiddle or a violin, learn the basics needed to play simple tunes!

Beginning Needle Felting

Discover the amazing sculptable properties of wool by needle felting a sleepy baby animal.

Beginning Ukulele with Amy Ferebee: Week 1

Get to know this friendly little stringed instrument - you'll be playing before you know it!

Bodhran (Irish Frame Drum) for Beginners

Learn to play the quintessential Celtic drum with Bill Troxler!

Colored Pencil Drawing

Learn the techniques to create a wide variety of illustration types, from cartoonish to realistic.

Finding Common Ground Through Cinema and the Arts

View and discuss films, music, and mural art with their creators in an engaging classroom setting.

Finger Picking Blues & Ragtime with Mary Flower

Dive into Piedmont guitar style picking blues and ragtime with award-winning guitarist Mary Flower.

Hidden Bias in Curricular Resources

Curricular resources (books, digital media, worksheets, etc.) can contain hidden messaging that impedes inclusivity and negatively impacts student success. Particularly recommended for teachers.

Introduction to Metalsmithing and Jewelry

Learn the fundamentals of jewelry fabrication. Observers welcome!

Irish Mandolin with Emily Martin

Emily Martin teaches traditional Irish mandolin ornamentation and more.

Kundalini Yoga and Meditation

Learn to focus your energy through the practice of Kundalini Yoga.

Life Drawing: The Human Figure

Learn to draw the human figure from a live model.

Magic - Advanced Class

Take your magic skills to the next level!

Malagasy Cooking

Learn dishes from the Land of the Lemurs!

Medieval Perspectives on Modern Crises

The division and struggle we are now experiencing has happened before, 700 years ago. What can we learn from those who survived to tell their tales?

Music and Healing: Body, Mind and Soul

Most of us have experienced the healing power of music either as listeners, dancers, or players; yet there are ways in which music is much more powerful than we can even imagine. Learn about the science and share stories of healing.

Old-Time 5-String Banjo with Lydia Martin

Dive into the world of old-time banjo!

Polymer Clay Journals

Create a beautiful polymer clay cover for a journal.

Songwriting with Rod MacDonald

Acclaimed songwriter Rod MacDonald will give you the tools to express yourself in music and words.

Understanding the Fretboard with Chris James - Week 1

Get to know your instrument's fretboard!

Acupressure and Self Care

Learn several methods of stimulating acupressure points for self-care as well as for the treatment of friends and family.

Beginning Mandolin with Chris James

Get started on the mandolin with basic chords and accompaniment and an introduction to tunes and melody.

Beginning Piano: Blues, Rock and Folk

Learn to play piano by ear, including improvising, basic song progressions, rhythmic grooves, major and minor blues scales and more.

Beyond Beginning Guitar with Skip Anna

Expand your musical horizons past those basic chords and a couple of different strum patterns.

Celtic Tunes: Week 1

Build your Celtic repertoire with tunes from the "Six Celtic Nations". All Celtic-style melody instrucments are welcome!

Garageband 101: Week 1

Learn to use Garageband for practicing, recording demos, and song writing.

Guitar Gems with Mary Flower

Improve your guitar skills with award-winning guitarist Mary Flower and learn some tunes from different traditions and tunings.

Mysteries of Creative Writing

Five key skills to better writing

Open Mic with David Roth

Join David Roth for singalongs and the opportunity to share songs, poetry, stories and more.

Reading Music Made Easier

In a stress-free environment, learn shortcuts that allow you to relate what you see on the page to what you already know how to do on your instrument.

Samaritans at the Border, Immigrants Among Us

This workshop will focus on globalization and how it affects communities which in turn stimulate immigration into our First World country. It will lift up the plight of the migrant and illuminate the deep instinct for survival and love of family.

Soothing Our Stress

If you need to cultivate a little more calmness in your life, this is the class for you.

Stories of the Civil Rights Movement

Few people, however, know the personal stories of the people who were the movement. Discover their stories, collected over many years of travel across the south.

Braided: Intricate Hair Designs

Learn the history and importance of braiding in different cultures, as well the basics of creating different types of braids.

Celtic Dance: A Ceili!

Learn a step dance, a traditional dance, or a little song from the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, or Wales.

Search for Common Ground

The flagship class of Traditions Weeks. In an atmosphere of trust and safety, and inspired by song and story, we will listen to and learn from the voices of our sisters and brothers from communities represented in our circle.

Wine Appreciation with Ami Gangemella

Get to know different wines with Ami Gangemella, a Wine Educator who will help you step out of your comfort zone and taste wines from budget-friendly regions around the world.

Gallery Talks

Gallery Talks: Monday through Friday at 6:30 PM ET ~ Artist talks on various art forms. FREE VIRTUAL Weeks 1 & 2: Gallery Talks stream on the Common Ground on the Hill YouTube Channel IN-PERSON Week 3: Gallery Talks at Rice Gallery, Peterson Hall

Keynote: The Underground Railroad - The War for the Soul of America

Keynote Address: Monday, June 27, 8 PM Eastern Time. FREE Peter Michael, founder and publisher of Underground Railroad Free Press, discusses the role of the Underground Railroad up to and including the Civil War, and how it is relevant today.