Friday, April 27, 2012

Martin Hayes to play Kinvara

Martin HayesCover of Martin Hayes "Martin Hayes, regarded by many as the finest fiddler of his generation, will play a solo gig in Johnston's Hall, Kinvara, on Friday 27 April at 9pm.
The concert is hosted by Kinvara Area Music Collective (KAM) as part of its concert series for 2012.
This will be Martin Hayes' first concert in Kinvara and promises to be a special night. The intimate venue should perfectly suit Martin’s unique sound, highlighting his mastery of the fiddle, his acknowledgement of the tradition and his shaping of the future of Irish music.
Tickets are available from €15, with concessions for €12.50, at Connolly’s Bar and The Healing Harvest shop in Kinvara. Postal booking can be arranged by contacting 087-2405987."
Martin Hayes to play Kinvara - Setlist - Galway Independent:

Canadian fiddles with Celtic culture

Bilingual sign, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in S...Bilingual sign, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in Scottish Gaelic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Scottish tenants brutally forced off their land in the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries have a direct bearing on why Gillian Boucher plays the fiddle.

The Canadian violinist, who will perform with musicians Andrew White and Owen Van Larkins at the Bent Horseshoe Cafe in Tokomaru tomorrow, says she was so uncool at school in the 1970s, learning to play traditional Scottish music on the violin. Everyone else was learning drums or guitar; the idea still persisted to internationalise (or dump) the local Scottish culture.

Her maternal grandparents' first language was Gaelic, but in the 1960s, her parents were punished if they spoke Gaelic or French at school.

English or nothing: Boucher's electing to learn the music of her great-grandparents was offbeat, to say the least. "Now, of course, with tourism, it's become trendy. In a class of 30 children these days you'll find five or six learning the fiddle."

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Fiddler Molsky returns to Cornell for workshop

Bruce MolskyCover of Bruce MolskyAcclaimed fiddler Bruce Molsky, who started playing while studying engineering at Cornell University, will return to Ithaca Saturday for a pair of events sponsored by the Cornell Folk Song Society.

At 3 p.m. he'll host an old-time fiddle workshop in the Willard Straight Hall Music Room 411, and at 8 p.m. he'll play a concert at 165 McGraw Hall on the Cornell Arts Quad.

Widely considered the premier old-time fiddler, the Grammy-nominated musician is also outstanding on guitar, banjo and vocals. Molsky is most identified with Appalachian music, but over two decades he's absorbed and transmuted traditional music from many cultures into a unique sound.

Molsky has "a mystical awareness of how to bring out the new in something that is old," says multi-talented violinist, composer and music teacher Mark O'Connor. Whether performing solo or with such greats as Mike Seeger, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Dirk Powell, Kevin Burke and Bill Frisell, Molsky is equally at home at Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and back-porch house concerts.

Concert tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door, with a $3 rebate for seniors, Cornell Folk Song Society members and teens. Tickets for Cornell students are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; the concert is free for children ages 12 and younger. Tickets are available at Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar Co-op Market, Autumn Leaves Bookstore and Bound for Glory, as well as online at www.cornellfolksong.org. For more information, call (607) 351-1845.

Molsky's fiddle workshop is limited to 25 students; pre-register to reserve a spot by e-mailing Laura Taylor at LBT1@ cornell.edu. The cost of the workshop is $15 for students and $25 for nonstudents, payable at the door. The cost of the workshop plus the concert is $20 for students and $35 for nonstudents.

Fiddler Molsky returns to Cornell for workshop | The Ithaca Journal | theithacajournal.com

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Canadian fiddle wonder April Verch returns to Mansfield’s Rose Garden Coffeehouse on Saturday - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise

April Verch Band performs Saturday on the Cust...April Verch Band performs Saturday on the Custom House Stage (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"It’s not often you get the chance to hear and see an Olympic-caliber fiddler and performer. But if you’ve ever attended Mansfield’s Rose Garden Coffeehouse, April Verch‘s name should be familiar. She has performed there several times and returns this Saturday, April 28, 2012. An effervescent Canadian fiddler, stepdancer, singer and songwriter, who performed during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Verch calls the Rose Garden home. This is a show you don't want to miss."
Canadian fiddle wonder April Verch returns to Mansfield’s Rose Garden Coffeehouse on Saturday - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise

Arts body elects new members

Aos DánaAos Dána (Photo credit: photopol) "Aosdána, set up in 1981 to honour those who have made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland, elected three new members at its general assembly yesterday.

The election of Frances Hegarty, Patrick McCabe and Tommy Peoples brings its membership to 273.

Frances Hegarty was born in Teelin, Donegal. She has worked over four decades with video, audio, performance, photography, drawing and installation.

Patrick McCabe, Clones, Co Monaghan, is well known for his novels The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto, both shortlisted for the Booker prize.

Tommy Peoples is regarded as one of the finest traditional fiddle-players of his generation.

Born near St Johnston in Donegal, he has been a member of traditional Irish music groups 1691 and the Bothy Band."
Arts body elects new members - The Irish Times - Tue, Apr 24, 2012:

Monday, April 23, 2012

Irish Music Kicking off the 14th annual Arts Festival at Boston College on April 26

"Irish fiddle champion Seamus Connolly, head of the Gaelic Roots Music Program, is kicking off this year's Arts Festival at Boston College on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at O'Neill Plaza, starting at noon.

Connolly, a noted musician, composer and educator, and Sullivan Artist in Residence at BC's Irish Studies Program, will lead an ensemble of Irish teachers and students to perform a 45 minute set of music and dancing.

The three-day festival, which runs from April 26-28, 2012, highlights the wealth of music and dance, literature and theatre, film studies and arts at Boston College.  For a full schedule of activities, click here.

For year round details on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts and the New England region, visit IrishMassachusetts.com."
Irish Massachusetts: Irish Music Kicking off the 14th annual Arts Festival at Boston College on April 26: