Thursday, December 29, 2011

‘Fastest fiddler’ bound for Carlow

Frankie GavinImage via WikipediaThe holder of the Guinness World Record for “Fastest Fiddle Player in the World” is coming to Carlow’s GB Shaw Theatre as Frankie Gavin and De Dannan take to the stage on February 10.

Their 32-county tour is an effort by the band to “lift the hearts of the Irish people during this extraordinary economic climate in Ireland.”

The band’s current lineup has performed in locations from the White House and US Capitol to Beijing Opera House and in addition has performed and recorded with musical luminaries including The Rolling Stones.

The current ‘De Dannan’ ensemble is led by Frankie Gavin on fiddle, flutes and whistles, with Barry Brady on accordion, Eric Cunningham on percussion, flutes and whistles, Mike Galvin on bouzouki and guitars, and Michelle Lally on vocals.

Tickets cost €20 and are available from 059 9172400 and www.gbshawtheatre.ie.

‘Fastest fiddler’ bound for Carlow - Entertainment - Kilkenny People

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Great Audience For Fiddle Christmas Concert

Portage La Prairie Manitoba CanadaImage via WikipediaA great crowd enjoyed An Old Time Fiddle Christmas Concert with Patti Lamoureux at the Trinity United Church in Portage la Prairie.  The 2 hour concert featured a three piece band with a variety of fiddle classics and some new tunes as well.

Event Committee Chair Diane Stevenson says a number of people in the area enjoy fiddle music and felt it was a great opportunity to host a fundraising event.  She says the money is going to Trinity United Church to help with their ministry in Portage and surrounding area.

Stevenson adds everybody in attendance enjoys Patti's music saying she sees folks bobbing their heads and tapping their toes.  She estimates 75 to 100 people turned out for the concert adding they had to create new tickets to sell at the door.

Fiddler Patti Lamoureux says she has been playing the fiddle since she was 4 years old and can't remember a time she didn't play the fiddle.  She adds coming to Portage la Prairie and playing for such a great and appreciative audience is an honor."



PortageOnline.com - Local News for Portage La Prairie, MB: "

Fiddle player offers reward for stolen instruments

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland fiddle player is offering a reward for the return of his stolen instruments.

Luke Price is a fiddle teacher who also plays with several local bands. He told KATU News someone broke into his locked pickup truck earlier this month and took his only 2 fiddles from behind the front seat.

“I’ve had one of them for probably almost fifteen years and the other one for probably ten years,” said Price. “So you get to know them and they’re kind of like close friends.”

Price says he’s borrowing fiddles from friends in the meantime. He’s scheduled to go on tour in January.

He’s been checking Craigslist to see if the thief is trying to sell the stolen instruments. He wants to hear from anyone who might have seen them.

Price is offering a $300 reward for their return, no questions asked.

Fiddle player offers reward for stolen instruments | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon

Friday, December 16, 2011

Natalie MacMaster: Dynamic fiddle virtuoso

Live (Natalie MacMaster album)
Few performers exhibit the excitement that marks Natalie MacMaster's shows. Less than a year after the birth of her fourth child, the Canadian fiddler brings "Christmas in Cape Breton" to George Mason University Center for the Arts, full of traditional Celtic music.

"I'm motivated by love and music that moves," she said. "I can be tired and the minute I get on stage I'm filled with energy. Growing up in Cape Breton, I enjoyed a very traditional Christmas. I remember going with my dad to the woods to get a tree that we hung with homemade decorations about the 20th of December. Then we went to our rooms to wrap gifts secretly while our mother baked cookies. We spent Christmas Day at our grandmother's house, then entertained visitors and went visiting. The next day, Boxing Day, we'd square dance."

MacMaster learned her instrument from her uncle Buddy MacMaster, the famous Cape Breton fiddler. Although her parents did not play, her father encouraged her to practice. To this day, she relies on him for criticism.

"He urged me to play correctly and even now may not agree with those who think my performance was perfect," she said. "But if he praises me, that approval is bigger to me than playing in Carnegie Hall. Even before I studied the fiddle, my mom taught me step-dancing. Sometimes if I sense the audience members are participatory, I invite some to join me on stage."

MacMaster grew up listening to pop, rock and jazz, so it's no wonder that she embraces them in her repertoire. Her collaborations with many celebrated artists reveal her expertise across the board.

"Being invited by Yo-Yo Ma to play on his Christmas CD, 'Songs of Joy and Peace,' was a big thrill for me," she said. "I loved playing with Alison Krauss, who is so sweet, and of course The Chieftains. They've been a big part of my formation and introduced me to a lot of American crowds."

As a mom, MacMaster limits her touring. Wherever she or her husband, Donnell, perform, one or more of the children accompany them, a tradition followed by the Leahy ensemble. Because she toured all fall, she is looking forward to a long break at home until a tour of Canada in March. For now, she will bask in the November release of "Cape Breton Girl" and the publication of her first book, "Natalie MacMaster's Cape Breton Aire."

"It's the story of how I grew up with awesome photography by photographer Eric Roth," she said. "His pictures are honest and fresh, not touristy. I want readers to see that place as it really is and I remember it. Even though I spent my early years there, I want my children to have their own memories of growing up in our home, the place where Santa comes every Christmas."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2011/12/natalie-macmaster-dynamic-fiddle-virtuoso/2007731#ixzz1giPjml5Q


Natalie MacMaster: Dynamic fiddle virtuoso | Washington Examiner

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Natalie MacMaster is fiddlin’ around the country

Natalie MacMasterCover of Natalie MacMaster
Last week, renowned fiddler Natalie MacMaster boarded a bus with a brood of children in tow, headed to her next performance in Pittsfield, Mass.

Tonight, she brings her high-energy, driving music to the College of St. Benedict Benedicta Arts Center, where she’ll perform a mixture of Cape Breton stylings as well as traditional Christmas carols.

“I want (people) to come and be lifted in life,” said the 40-something MacMaster. “To go and feel motivated to live and be challenged.”

The Grammy-nominated MacMaster plays 100 shows a year throughout the United States and Canada. The fiddling phenom from Nova Scotia first picked up a 3/4-sized fiddle at age 9½, a gift given to her by her grand uncle.

Raised in what she calls a musical home, MacMaster didn’t so much study fiddling as she let it seep in. For six months she learned from her dad and then spent two years playing tunes and learning secrets from notable Cape Breton fiddler Stan Chapman.

Music, she said, was always prominent growing up. Her lineage includes her famed uncle Hugh Alan “Buddy” MacMaster, her cousin Andrea Beaton and the late John Allan Cameron, of Canadian folk fame. MacMaster has truly made a name for herself in her own right. She has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma and earned numerous accolades including the 2011 Arts and Letters Award from the Canadian Association of New York.

Now she and fiddler husband Donnell Leahy are passing the music genes on to their kids. Together they have four children, ages 5, 4, 2 and 10 months, who travel with them on the road. Two of their children have started on the fiddle, one plays piano and one dances. MacMasters balances her music career while being a mom. Just before she loaded the family onto the bus she spent three hours in the hotel lobby home schooling her 5-year-old.

For her, raising children in a music-filled world is important. For her audience, she said, music can be an escape from reality.

“It gives you so much more than you think,” she said.

MacMaster will perform at 7:30 tonight in Escher Auditorium, 37 College Ave. S, St. Joseph.

Tickets are available in advance by calling the box office at 363-5777, online at www.csbsju.edu/fine-arts or at the door. Tickets are $30 for individuals, $27 for seniors, $10 for youths.

Natalie MacMaster is fiddlin’ around the country | St. Cloud TIMES | sctimes.com

Monday, December 5, 2011

Fiddle Group To Perform As Part Of JPS Winter Concer

More than 100 orchestra students from all six Jamestown elementary schools as well as Washington, Persell and Jefferson middle schools string and Jamestown High School orchestra students will perform with internationally-known Barrage as part of their concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in the Jamestown High School auditorium.

The elementary school students, including Lakewood Suzuki Strings and the Catholic Academy of the Holy Family, will perform "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and middle and high school string students, along with guests from Southwestern, will join Barrage for Calypso Jam. Tickets for the concert are $20 for adults and $15 for students, senior citizens and children. They are available at the Reg Lenna Box Office or at the door.

Barrage is a high-energy fiddle fest, weaving together extraordinary musicianship and dance with traces of everything from country to heavy metal music. Five violinists are backed up with wild and interesting percussion, strong vocals, guitar, bagpipes and expertly executed choreography.

Barrage continues to be leaders in the String Education field by cultivating an ongoing partnership with more than 400 school and youth orchestra programs around the world. Barrage's roots are in string education and they have been dedicating their recent touring schedules to continuing to build their legacy with string players throughout the world. In the 2011-12 touring season, Barrage will perform with more than 60 string programs in venues worldwide culminating with a featured performance at the American String Teachers convention in Atlanta.

Created in Calgary, Canada in 1997, the violin-based, world-beat ensemble tours more than 40 weeks a year and has released seven albums, four DVDs and five television specials. Barrage recently hosted its 2,500th international performance. Over the past 15 years, the group has entertained millions of concertgoers in more than 27 countries. Handpicked performers make up the group.

Fiddle Group To Perform As Part Of JPS Winter Concert - post-journal.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Jamestown | Post-Journa

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Northwest tunes up for North Atlantic Fiddle Convention

Liz CarrollCover of Liz Carroll
The northwest is tuning up for a €3.5 million boost next summer when the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention takes place in Ireland for the first time. Some 400 musicians and 40,000 visitors are expected to travel to counties Derry and Donegal for the five-day event from June 27th to July 1st next year.

Performers from Ireland, Scotland, the US, Canada, Denmark and Norway are among those scheduled to take part. They include The Chieftains, The String Sisters featuring Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh; Liz Carroll from the US; Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill; Cathal Hayden; and the Wrigley Sisters.

The festival has previously been held in Scotland, Sweden and Canada.

Convention director and fiddle player Liz Doherty said the event was “about cultural exchange, developing new audiences, forging partnerships”.

The event was launched yesterday at the University of Ulster in Derry by Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains.

Northwest tunes up for North Atlantic Fiddle Convention - The Irish Times - Thu, Dec 01, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

Eileen Ivers to perform at KU

"Kutztown Presents! will feature the acclaimed Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, in its next concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kutztown University's Schaeffer Auditorium.

Ivers, the daughter of Irish immigrants who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., won the All-Ireland Fiddle Championships nine times and a 10th on tenor banjo. As one of the original stars of "Riverdance," she helped to bring traditional Irish dancing and music to the attention of the world.

She is also known as an innovator, playing an electric/acoustic violin and mixing Irish fiddle music with other genres. In addition to her work with her own band, she has performed with major symphony orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops; with rock stars such as Sting and Patti Smith; with jazz artists such as Randy Brecker and Regina Carter; and she was a founding member of Cherish the Ladies."

Eileen Ivers to perform at KU

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Fiddle masters MacMaster, Leahy bring talents to Leach

Two of the world's most celebrated fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, will bring their show, "Masters of the Fiddle," to Missouri University of Science and Technology on Saturday, Oct. 14.

A part of Missouri S&T's Campus Performing Arts Series, the performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on the university campus, 10th and Main streets in Rolla.

Tickets are $38 for adults and $28 for youth. The first 75 tickets for Missouri S&T students are free; additional student tickets are $10. Tickets are available online or from the Leach Theatre Box Office. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 573-341-4219 for more information.

The married couple's performance features fiddle-driven music, dance and song, combining French, Celtic, American bluegrass, and even some Cajun styles. They are joined by two acclaimed pianists, Mac Morin and Erin Leahy.

Fiddle masters MacMaster, Leahy bring talents to Leach Oct. 14 - Missouri S&T News and Events:

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Fiddles and fiddlers bring crowd to Newburgh riverfront

NEWBURGH, Ind. — The Newburgh Fiddler Fest has been through plenty in its 31 years, with four different organizations taking turns at the helm. But the annual event, featuring live music and catfish dinners, has managed to survive.

So a few raindrops on Saturday morning weren't really anything to worry about.

By Saturday evening, the sky had cleared, and the crowd was again bustling along the Newburgh riverfront. Bluegrass music filled the air as volunteers fried up basket after basket of catfish fillets and fiddlers.

"This year, we've had a pretty decent crowd even with the rain," said Byron Sherman, Fiddler Fest treasurer. "The first hour Friday was just tremendous, and I think it's because people came down here before going to the (Castle High School) football game. And (Saturday) we lost the first hour to rain, but since then we've not only made that up, we've exceeded what we did last year."

The festival continues from noon until 5 p.m. today, weather permitting. Because the fish is cooked outdoors, the fryers have to be shut down when it rains. The festival is held at the Old Lock and Dam building on Old Indiana 662.

The Fiddler Fest is so named because of an old legend that a catfish will make a sound like a fiddle with its whiskers when hauled up in fishing nets. Though the festival is held on the banks of the Ohio River, the fish are shipped in from out of state. They are then cleaned by local Boy Scouts before heading to the fryers.

This is the second year the Fiddler Fest has been organized by the nonprofit organization Friends of Newburgh, formed last year to keep the event going. Most of the members of the group had been volunteers at the Fiddler Fest in the past.

Live music on Saturday included singer/guitarist Byron Rohrig, Tony Rothrock and his bluegrass band and the quartet Against Medical Advice. The Old Dam Community Band is scheduled to play today.

Several food and craft booths are set up just a few steps from the fish fryers.

The seven-member Friends of Newburgh board is assisted by a large group of volunteers who do everything from signing up musical acts to breading and frying the fish in giant vats of oil. "You have to make sure you bread the inside of it," said Shari Sherman. "If you miss that part, it gets dried out inside. You have to get under the fins and everything. But these are the best fiddlers that you will ever have. Only once a year can you get food this good in this kind of environment, and for a good cause."

Proceeds from the Fiddler Fest are donated back to the community. Last year, Friends of Newburgh was able to hand out more than $2,400 to local community groups. But the volunteers said they don't think of the Fiddler Fest as a way to make money.

"I think if you are looking at this as a fundraiser, probably it will not be a successful event," said Shari Sherman. "But if you are looking at it as a community event to get people out and enjoy the town and enjoy the music, then it is a success. "

'via Blog this'

Thursday, July 7, 2011

MacDara Ó Raghallaigh - Ego Trip - Broderick's/McDermott's



MacDara Ó Raghallaigh live in concert playing reels composed by Vincent Broderick and Josie McDermott. This video was recorded by Antóin MacGabhann during the live recording of MacDara's CD of traditional Irish fiddle music entitled, Ego Trip. It's actually the first track on the album! Hear it properly here - http://macdara.bandcamp.com

Josie McDermott's Reel

Reel on Irish Fiddle


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ashley MacIsaac ready to settle down

Ashley MacIsaac performing at the Burlington S...Image via Wikipedia"The one-time Cape Breton bad boy is talking about settling down.

Ashley MacIsaac has been lying low in his adopted hometown of Windsor, Ont., and even looking at buying a house.

But the mercurial spirit remains. A creative urge to resist being tied down to one place or style of music is in evidence on his latest record, Crossover, which comes out in June.

Crossover has the genre-busting qualities of his breakout 1995 bestseller, Hi How Are You Today?.

'I've gone back to the original concept of finding ways of incorporating fiddle songs into other forms of music,' said the 36-year-old Celtic fiddler, who moved to Windsor in July 2008.

The idea came to him just after his abortive run at the federal Liberal leadership in 2006.

'I went to Scotland for a couple of months, and came back with the thought of making a new record similar to the earlier crossover records.'"

Monday, May 23, 2011

Eileen Ivers

Eileen IversCover of Eileen IversThe blue electric she tucks under her chin is the first thing you notice about Eileen Ivers. Then she begins to play and you know why she is such a revered performer. Ivers is the daughter of Irish immigrants and grew up in the Bronx, NY, one of New York City’s most culturally diverse boroughs. Surrounded by traditional Irish music, she became a nine-time All-Ireland fiddle champion and won her tenth All-Ireland championship for tenor banjo.

After graduating magna cum laude in Mathematics from Iona College, Ivers began to explore the various musical sounds she heard growing up in multicultural New York, finding connections between different traditional music styles. In 1999, she began a touring production, which eventually became Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul. Ivers also created the multimedia show Beyond the Bog Road, which uses music, story, dance and film to tell the story of the Irish immigrant in America. She has also shared the stage with classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and jazz phenomenon Regina Carter in the show Fiddlers Three.

In addition to her recordings and live performances, Ivers has branched out into films, arranging and performing “Lament for Staker Wallace” for The Gangs of New York. Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul is currently touring throughout the United States.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Westmont Irish Dancers Perform With In Love With The Dance

"In Love With The Dance is an all new Irish dance concert, featuring world-class Irish dancers, some of Ireland’s most gifted traditional musicians playing whistles, uillean pipes, accordion, banjo and guitars, as well as talented vocalists; all providing the backdrop to a powerful display of Irish dance.

Brian Donnelly and Downers Grove’s own Jenny Bailey are the driving forces behind the show by being the Directors and Producers of In Love With The Dance. They both achieved championship dance titles throughout Ireland and the World during their careers. They will be leading, by example, the 10 strong dance troupe as they perform the lead roles through the tour. Included in the troupe are local dancers Jeanine Bentley and Michelle Herlihy of Downers Grove and Erin Bailey and Colleen O’Donnell of Westmont.

Promising a breathtaking showcase of the very best of Irish dance, music and song, In Love With The Dance takes the audience on a journey of love, sadness and exhilaration."

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Enjoy Irish Music At The Cranford Community Center | njtoday.net – Everything New Jersey

"CRANFORD—The Friends of the Cranford Public Library will present an evening of traditional Irish music as interpreted by McDermott’s Handy on Monday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Avenue.

McDermott’s Handy, otherwise known as Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley, has been collecting the music, stories and songs of Ireland for more than 25 years. DeAngelo sings, plays Irish harp, fiddle and banjo, and adds the bodhran and mandolin on occasion. Gormley sings, plays guitar, flute, tin whistle, bouzouki and mandolin. The many venues at which the duo have appeared include the Cumberland County Performing Arts Center, the New Jersey Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Irish Music & Dance Festival, the Watchung Arts Center, and Rutgers University."

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Steve Wickham & Friends Clip 1 - Traditional Irish Music from LiveTrad.com

Award winning Scottish fiddler presents concert at St Andrews

"LAURINBURG – Fans of Scottish music will be treated to a free concert featuring award-winning Scottish fiddler Bonnie Rideout on March 19 beginning at 7 p.m. in Avinger Auditorium on the St. Andrews Presbyterian College campus.

Rideout, with her unique style of Scottish fiddling charming audiences across the globe, has been featured on the BBC, CPS, NPR’s Performance Today and Morning Edition. She is also consistently played on NPR’s The Thistle and Shamrock.

Rideout has authored seven music books for Mel Bay Publishing Company while also recording more than 13 solo albums and appearing as a guest musician on dozens of CDs. Her A Scottish Christmas became a New York Times “Top Ten Holiday Best Seller” and prompted a touring show that has sold out halls across North America for over a decade. Her popular recording, Gi’Me Elbow Room, received the coveted Parent’s Choice Gold Award. She was also nominated for a Grammy award."

Fiddler spins Irish tunes

"When Eileen Ivers was a college student, she dreamed of working for NASA. Lucky for audiences, she changed her mind.

Ivers, a champion Irish- American fiddler who's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, will make a rare local appearance this weekend when she plays a benefit concert at Dominican College with her band, Immigrant Soul. With a touring schedule that finds her on the road much of the year, it's nice to perform close to home, says Ivers, who lives in West Nyack with her husband and manager, Brian Mulligan.

Crowds all over the world have embraced Irish music, says Ivers, who plays nearly 100 shows each year. Even in Japan, fans roar as if they're at a rock concert. 'If you closed your eyes, you would swear you were in the heart of Ireland, playing in a pub somewhere,'' she says. 'It's a source of great pride for the people, the ones who left.'"

Boston-based trio will bring fiddle music to Skye

"CARTHAGE — New England Celtic Arts will present the Boston-based trio Matching Orange on Sunday, March 13, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center.

The 3 p.m. performance is the launch of Sunday Series at Skye's 2011 season.

Whether playing for contra dances, jamming at a local pub or giving a concert, the band members offer a refreshing approach to traditional fiddle music.They combine a repertoire of traditional and original material with a brotherly stage presence.

Making up Matching Orange are Eric McDonald on guitar, mandolin and vocals; Eric Eid-Reiner, piano; and Brendan Carey Block, fiddle. They take full advantage of diverse musical backgrounds, with extensive training in folk, classical, jazz and other traditions.

The band released its debut, self-titled CD in January."

Thursday, February 24, 2011

This Irish band ain’t fiddlin’ around

"First it’s the brogue, and then the stories of the people he’s met and the places he’s been in a career spanning 50 years, that let you know you’re talking to a real legend in traditional Irish music.

As the leader of The Chieftains, a group that has six Grammys under its belt, Paddy Moloney is the ebullient spokesman for the band, which also includes fiddler Sean Keane, flautist Matt Molloy and bodhran player Kevin Conneff .

Moloney himself has played the tin whistle and uilleann pipes since he was a young lad growing up in Dublin. He formed the original lineup of The Chieftains in 1962 and they took their name from The Death of a Chieftain by John Montague, an Irish poet and author.

In 1975, The Chieftains started playing together full-time and have since put out some 25 albums and worked with such artists as Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Elvis Costello and The Rolling Stones.

The group has also been named the official Musical Ambassadors for their home country."

Monday, February 14, 2011

Fiddles and snowshoes focus of festival

"NORWAY — Dozens of people from Norway to Windham and beyond participated
Saturday in the first annual Mellie Dunham Snowshoe and Fiddle Festival.

The event was highlighted by snowshoe competitions at the Roberts Farm Preserve in the morning and an afternoon of fiddling and contradancing at the Grange Hall with the Don Roy Trio, including Roy, Pam Weeks and Bill Olson.

“It's a lot of fun,” said Lona (Noble) Bedard, granddaughter of Mellie Dunham, clapping to the beat of the fiddle music. Bedard sat in the Grange Hall where her grandfather played his fiddle hundreds of times a century ago.

“We're off to a good start,” said Ben Tucker of the event that organizers hope will become an annual celebration of one of Norway's most famous residents. Mellie Dunham, who died in 1931 at the age of 78, was a master snowshoe maker and a nationally known fiddler who was selected by Henry Ford to promote traditional fiddle and dance music across the country in the 1920s."

Friday, February 11, 2011

Fiddler spins Irish tunes

"When Eileen Ivers was a college student, she dreamed of working for NASA. Lucky for audiences, she changed her mind.

Ivers, a champion Irish- American fiddler who's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, will make a rare local appearance this weekend when she plays a benefit concert at Dominican College with her band, Immigrant Soul. With a touring schedule that finds her on the road much of the year, it's nice to perform close to home, says Ivers, who lives in West Nyack with her husband and manager, Brian Mulligan.

Crowds all over the world have embraced Irish music, says Ivers, who plays nearly 100 shows each year. Even in Japan, fans roar as if they're at a rock concert. 'If you closed your eyes, you would swear you were in the heart of Ireland, playing in a pub somewhere,'' she says. 'It's a source of great pride for the people, the ones who left.'"

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Irish band Kelly to perform Sunday at PAC

"The Irish band Kelly will perform at 3 p.m., Sunday, February 6 at the Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center in Chillicothe. The band has earned a reputation for being an outstanding Irish band, according to Chillicothe Area Arts Council administrator, Julie Ashbrook. The five musicians will perform traditional Irish music, using fiddle, guitar, mandolin, flute, button accordion, whistle, bones, bodhran and bass, and will include both happy and haunting vocals that pay homage to the true spirit of Irish music."

Celtic Band Sigean plays White Horse on Feb. 12

"Celtic Band Sigean Returns To White Horse Black Mountain
The sounds of celtic fiddles and pipes return to White Horse Black Mountain on Saturday February 12 as Sigean performs a concert of traditional music from Scotland, Ireland and the British Isles.
Sigean is a traditional Celtic band that has some Americana/bluegrass/old-time roots because of its members’ musical experience. Sigean was formed in 1997, in Bristol, Tennessee, in order to allow local musicians to perform Irish traditional music. Guitars, fiddles, Irish pipes and whistles, bodhran (Irish frame drum)tenor banjo, and sometimes 5-string banjo, upright bass and vocals from a Scottish vocalist. Traditional reels and jigs, airs, ballads from Scotland, Ireland and the British Isles."

Master of the fiddle brings secrets of the past to Opera House

"Fresh from Scotland’s massive Celtic Connections festival, Alasdair Fraser brings his fiddling magic to the Opera House for a concert with master cellist Natalie Haas on Friday night.
Fraser and Haas were recently the stars of several performances at the annual Glasgow music festival, including the Highland Sessions and the Legends’ Fiddle Competition, in which five master fiddlers adopted the roles and donned the costume of historic Scottish musicians.
It is inherent in the art of Scottish fiddling to recognize the importance of the history behind the music. In an interview from his home in the Sierra foothills, Fraser said he was originally drawn to the fiddle for its ability to delve into a world obscured by modern life."

Monday, January 24, 2011

Annual St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House in question

"The now near chaotic political scene in Ireland has cast doubt on how, when, and which government representatives will now participate in the annual Saint Patrick's Day exodus to the US and the White House.

Even the Irish prime ministers annual trip to greet the president with a traditional bowl of shamrocks is in doubt after Brian Cowen announced that the Irish general election will take place just six days beforehand.

Irish ministers traditionally travel around the world during Saint Patrick's week showcasing Ireland as a tourism hot spot (and also as an attractive place to do business). It's an opportunity to highlight the nation that other countries claim to envy.

However, with the climate of political upheaval and with the Irish election date set for March 11, it's unlikely that a new government will be in place to streamline the transition in time."

Colm Mac Con Iomaire

"WHAT is it about the Irish that lets them wander the world, charming the socks off everyone (other than the English)? The rest of us sip their stout, enjoy their music and are enchanted by their accent, stories and humour.

Take Colm Mac Con Iomaire. Best known as a member of The Frames, the fiddler/composer could saunter on to the stage at the Sutherland Entertainment Centre - apparently designed to alienate audience from performer – and make it seem like a Dublin pub.

Softly spoken and almost retiring, Mac Con Iomaire gently drew us into a world where Ireland's language is being restored to its rightful place, and where its musical tradition is not a museum piece but survives and thrives through growth and renewal. Performing solo (with loops) or with one or more members of a septet, Mac Con Iomaire mainly performed original works from his splendid album The Hare's Corner."

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Irish fiddle virtuoso plays like a hare on a G string

"IT SEEMS that a biennial feature of the Sydney Festival, echoing our rich Celtic-Gaelic heritage, is a series of concerts by an Irish fiddler of genius.

In 2007 and 2009 it was the sublime Martin Hayes. This year it is Colm Mac Con Iomaire who has not only been the fiddle and keyboard player with the Frames for more than 20 years but has been a regular with the Swell Season. Now, on the back of his excellent debut solo album, The Hare's Corner, he is bringing his band and playing five concerts around Sydney this week and next."

App Watch: Fiddling on the IPad

"Music app developer Smule’s latest app, Magic Fiddle, emerged out of a dare. Walking out of classical musician Lang Lang’s concert in San Francisco last April, in which the pianist played an encore with Smule’s iPad piano app, Smule co-founder Ge Wang joked with colleagues about creating a violin app that would force users to put their iPads up to their face and rest their chins on the device to make it work.

“We thought, ‘Wow, that idea is so bad, it might just work’” says Mr. Wang, looking back.

Almost seven months later in November, the company came out with Magic Fiddle, a violin app."

Sunday, January 16, 2011

New conservatory group looking for a few good musicians

New conservatory group looking for a few good musicians - The Prescott Daily Courier - Prescott, Arizona: "PRESCOTT - Chino Valley High School student Cheyenne Jasper, 14, quit the guitar and took up a fiddle, and now she says she is ready to fiddle her way around the county as part of Sharlot Hall Museum's new Cultural Arts History Conservatory.

'Playing the guitar was not in my best interest,' Cheyenne said during a pre-audition session. 'So I switched to the fiddle and everything just clicked. Now it is a big part of my life.'

Kent Gugler, a music teacher at Heritage Middle School in Chino Valley and the director of the Heritage Middle School String Band, is leading the 12 students selected to form the band. The conservatory is for student musicians ages 10-18 years old."

LEARN HORNPIPE =The Peacocks Feather- 2

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Creole Stomp brings French music tradition to SIC

"Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp brings audiences the sounds many associate with Mardi Gras and New Orleans Jazz Fest, a partying dance band blending the accordion and fiddle with elements of jazz and the blues.

French speaking crowds may take something deeper from the band's concerts.

The crowd at Southeastern Illinois College will decide for themselves what to make of the band 7 p.m. Saturday on the stage of the George T. Dennis Visual and Performing Arts Center. Legence Bank is underwriting the concert that is part of the college's Cultural Arts Series."

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sally Ann 's - Reel

HeraldNet.com - Life: Master Scottish fiddler plans a weekend of teaching, performing

HeraldNet.com - Life: Master Scottish fiddler plans a weekend of teaching, performing: "Scottish fiddle music's origins date back to days when music was made beside kitchen stoves and at local taverns.

In the Scottish Highlands, the music developed its own cadence, syncopation, accents and rhymes.

“The Scottish people love to cry. The music is going to express that,” local fiddler Minda Phillips said. “It's great music for dance as well.”

Scottish fiddling is at its best when dozens of violinists join together. Add a few cellos, maybe a guitar or a bass, and the blend is as fine as an aged whiskey.

One person picks up a bow to start a tune, and the rest follow. There's no sheet music. Everyone plays by ear, and the songs soar from the heart."

Friday, January 7, 2011

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh :: 1 of 5

Campbell River Mirror - Virtuoso fiddler plays house concert

Some people are born to play music. By the age of three, Ivonne Hernandez was playing violin by ear, everything from her mother’s favourite Maritime reels to her father’s Chilean folk music roots.

A child prodigy, she soon was playing guitar, piano, cello, flute, and percussion before joining Daniel Lapp’s BC Fiddle Orchestra. While still in her pre-teens, Hernandez played on the Orchestra’s Fiddleharmonic CD, and before 60,000 at a Commonwealth Games performance with the Crash Test Dummies.

Hernandez has mastered Canada’s traditional fiddle music as well as classical, klezmer, Scottish and Irish fiddling, combining all these influences in her recordings and performances.

She embodies the country’s 21st century multiculturalism, and her music reflects the new century’s marriage of cultural influences.

You can find out more about her and hear some of her music at www.ivonnehernandez.com.

She is well-known in B.C., having been born and raised in Victoria. She presently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, but will be in B.C. in January and has agreed to come all the way to Merville to participate in the popular house concert series, with a performance on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $20, $10 for children, and this includes hot drinks and our famous dessert buffet.

All the money raised goes directly to the performer. Because the concert takes place in a private home, seating is limited.

For more information and to reserve tickets call 250-337-5337.

Campbell River Mirror - Virtuoso fiddler plays house concert