Having been to a few whistle workshops, I’ve met several whistlers. There are also several here in town. I met Stevie J a couple of years ago in Toronto and I know Janice but she hasn’t been around much. Where are ya, Janice?
I met 4 other whistlers last fall at the “Lady of the Creek” workshop.
They are Wendy Morrison who taught the workshop. Marguerite who is the “Lady of the Creek”, Byll, (Hi Byll) and some other guy from Maryland that I can’t remember his name but he isn’t on this forum that I know of. We had a great time. “M” said that she will be hosting another workshop this spring and that Wendy will be teaching it sooooo everyone be watching for info so you can meet other whistlers too! It is in Gettysburg Pa.
I love that picture . . . John Waterhouse, an artist I discovered on a trip to a big indoor market. Saw “The Lady of Shalott” poster there, which I bought. Quite a captivating picture. I hung the poster on my bedroom door, but bought some lovely mounted pictures of other Waterhouse paintings. Orphilia, Desiny, and a section of The Shrine.
Meeting other whistlers is exciting . . . only had the chance at Bucks county folk music shop, where one of the saleswomen knew how to play. Other than that, don’t get to meet whistlers. If I did, I’d pop from the sheer thrill.
Until the recent workshop I attended, I was the one and only. My best friend plays woodwinds and had picked up a whistle a few times to play for church or something. but I don’t count him. He’s an outstanding musician but not a whistle player in the way we think of whisle playing. He can pick up a whistle and read any music you give him, but he’s not into Irish Trad and doesn’t know any tunes. But if he tried he’d be a heluva whistle player.
Several of the voices in my head are whistlers . Seriously, I hear whistling perpetually as I have some pretty strong tinnitus. But, I’ve never met anyone who was a whistler before I met them. I’ve created a few, though. And from them dozens more were created from what I understand. A missionary friend picked up whistle after hearing me and and asking me about it. She went to Micronesia and taught many children there how to play. Then another missionary friend also picked it up after hearing me. I gave him a couple whistles and he went to his mission field in England.
My cousin plays the whistle…he’s the one who turned me onto it.
Other than that, I had never met another whistler until just last Christmas. I was at a church function and had brought my whistle along for carolling. While I was playing, this girl sitting next to me (whom I had never seen before) whipped one out of her pocket and started playing along! It was really cool!
My local session has five people who can play the whistle, no, wait, make it six. Normally we play other instruments though so it’s not too bad…
I’ve also met Garry Shannon, John Williams(the one formerly of Solas), and a few other whistlers in Chicago.
So you can definitely say that I’ve met other whistlers.
I accidentally ran into a whistler once. It was at a camp at in Wisconsin’s north woods…very rural area. So imagine my surprise when I go into one of the buildings, and there’s this guy sitting off in a corner playing a low G. Turns out he was also an uilleann piper. Very cool meeting a fellow whistler in a place where you wouldn’t expect there to be a whistle for miles around…
Oh, and I also met a whistler from Montana at the Milwaukee Irish fest last year.
There are two other whistlers I know of at session, and I met a few at a workshop once. And there’s another Civil War reenactor/whistler that I’ve played along with at lyceums, little musical variety shows that we have. And a grab bag of musicians (including both of us whistlers) played hymns at church call at one event last year. First time I’d been at a “preachin’” since I-don’t-know-when.