Wes Hamlyn: I've been playing the whistle for a few years now and thought that it would be nice to spend a day with Gerry to see what pearls of wisdom he was hiding. It's hard enough finding whistle players around here at all, let alone those with twenty or so years of experience. Plus Gerry is as pleasant a person as you could ever want to meet, and happens to be a lovely flute and whistle player to boot! He did a good job of introducing everyone to the tin whistle, taught a couple of well known Newfoundland tunes (Auntie Mary and Doggie Doggie Bark at the Cat), and showed some of the ornamentation that is used on the whistle. It got a little nerve-grating, hearing 20 plus tin whistles going at the same time but I suppose that's an occupational hazard! Afterwards Rob Brown and Michelle Brophy came in and played a set of tunes with Gerry. It was good to see such a mix of people at the workshop, everyone from children to adults to accomplished musicians, and I had a great time.

Carolyn Campbell: I thought the workshop was informative - Gerry certainly knows his stuff! He was easily able to accommodate the range of abilities in the group and used material that was both familiar and exciting to learn. The afternoon session provided great opportunity to experiment with the pieces in small groups, some adding harmonies and fine tuning the concepts taught in the morning session. A mini show-case followed where groups performed for each other and Gerry further discussed what each group had accomplished within their interpretation of the piece. The day ended with a jam session of local musicians, which was fabulous, and gave us a chance to see some different whistles in action. Overall, a great day for all!

Steve Barnes: I enjoyed the workshop tremendously. One of the drawbacks of learning to play a relatively uncommon instrument like the whistle is that you rarely get to interact with other players. The chance to do this, plus get some one-on-one tips from a master player like Gerry Strong was invaluable.

Allan Ricketts: The whistle workshop was a great experience because it helped me understand certain techniques of playing the whistle. As well, I got to meet other people that already knew how to play the whistle and those that were just starting to learn. Gerry Strong is one of the best whistle players around and one day I hope I can play as good as him. This workshop was a great learning experience for me and I really hope the SJFAC will put together more whistle workshops in the future.

Jimmy Joe Eason: Well I enjoyed the whistle workshop and was glad to see the number of people of all ages attending. Everyone was enthusiastic at all levels of proficiency and I was after wishing that there was another one soon after as I could use the tutoring. I still can't master the long roll and I'd gladly attend again if there is another session.

Colin Howse: I was very glad to be there - just sitting in the room with all those musicians was great. As for my whistling skills - well that's another matter. It was over my head, but I knew that before I went. I would have done better at a beginner's session. I just couldn't pass up a chance to spend a day with Gerry Strong and the others. Great stuff!! Keep it up. I will attend more eventually. I am equally bad at a number of instruments. ~ a kitchen / bedroom musician that had to move away from my friends and other players to an area where I have not yet met people with similar interests in music. (So, I guess Colin is saying this is a great way to meet like-minded people. He is right!)