Monday 24 December 2012

Thank You, and All the Best for 2013!


Dear friends and readers,

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for reading the Irish Music Ottawa webpage and blog during 2012. We are now consistently over 1000 reads per month. Remember that to make the blog relevant, and alive, I need your news, announcements and stories! Don't be shy!

Please allow me to finish this short post to wish you and your families, friends, and loved ones a very safe and happy holiday. All the best from Irish Music Ottawa world headquarters!  'See you' in 2013!

Craig

Chris Lanagan Weekend, Toronto - 18-20 January 2013


The weekend is dedicated to the memory of Chris Langan and his tireless promotion of the traditional arts of Ireland. As such, classes are offered in all manner of instruments, including uilleann pipes, fiddle, tin whistle and flute.

This year the guests and instructors include:

Maeve Donnelly, Fiddle
Cillian Vallely, Pipes
Peter Maguire, Flute
Pat O'Gorman

Chris Langan (1915-93) was an inspiration to a generation of younger Canadian musicians. Arriving in Canada in the mid-1950s, he brought with him rich connections to Irish music and language. An accomplished piper, in Ireland he was pipe-major of a well-known band based in Rush, Co. Dublin. As a teenager he was a competition step dancer and later he learned both whistle and uilleann pipes. One of his teachers was the now legendary Irish piper and pipe maker Leo Rowsome.

More details can be found at the event webpage
http://www.chrislangan.ca

ps - be prepared for great classes, concert, and non-stop sessions going late into the night!

Discover NYU's M.A. in Irish & Irish-American Studies


Glucksman Ireland House, the Center for Irish Studies at New York University, has launched a new M.A. in Irish and Irish-American Studies within the Graduate School of Arts and Science.

The program takes advantage of our unique faculty strengths, our strong connections with Ireland, and our location in the heart of New York City. It allows students to pursue an interdisciplinary course of study in a dynamic field of Humanities and Social Science research; courses are offered in Irish and Irish-American History, Literature, Music, Irish Language, and Cultural Studies.

The M.A. degree can be completed in three semesters at NYU's Greenwich Village campus in New York City, or in one calendar year with full-time summer study in New York and in Dublin. Part-time study is also available.

Priority application deadline for Fall 2013 enrollment: February 15, 2013

Financial aid is available.

Learn more about this program:
http://irelandhouse.as.nyu.edu/page/graduate

Tuesday 11 December 2012

House Concert with Rosalyn and Frank - 14 Dec 2012


Friday December 14th, Rosalyn and Frank will perform a house concert hosted by Terry McGovern in Manotick. Concert starts at 8:00pm, doors open at 7:30pm. Suggested donation $20.00

Bring your favourite drink. Light snacks provided. Please contact Terry by email if you wish to attend:
mcgovet /at/ rogers \dot\ com

You are invited for an old time session after the performance, so bring your acoustic instruments!

Rosalyn Dennett & Frank Evans met at a hot summers old-time festival down in West Virginia. When Rosalyn began spending time in Frank's hometown of Toronto, they quickly began playing and performing together on a regular basis. Rosalyn's original music is a slight departure from her role in the all-female roots quartet Oh My Darling. She wipes off the polish, and delivers a raw sound with both her fiddle and voice, that's intense and deeply intuitive. Combined with the virtuoso and daring banjo playing of Frank Evans, the two put on a live performance that is rooted in tradition, whilst searching for a unique sound; they'll be banging at your heartstrings and sawing at your soul.

Rosalyn, Dirk Powell and Oh My Darling at Tonder Fest, Denmark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKKxvUi-btg

Frank Evans with Kitgut String Band,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujaL5ywImFg

More info:

Rosalyn Dennett is a violinist & singer/songwriter, mostly in that order. She plays as a solo performer and a side player, as well as being a member of the all-female Roots quartet Oh My Darling, and duo Dennett & de Groot with banjoist Allison de Groot. She has been nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Roots Album "Oh My Darling" and "Sweet Nostalgia" and has released 3 highly acclaimed full length albums that have all reached the top of the Roots/Folk charts across Canada and Europe. Rosalyn has performed sold out shows across Europe and Canada including performing for Canada Day at Trafalgar Square in London (UK), Mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Tønder Festival (DK), made her US debut performing with Oh My Darling at the Living Room in New York City. In the last couple of years she has opened for Tegan & Sarah, and Blue Rodeo with the band Oh My Darling, shared the stage with Tim O'Brien, Dirk Powell, Le Vent du Nord and many more fine artists, and has given Fiddle workshops for the European World Of Bluegrass Festival (NL), The Maverick Festival(UK), the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and more.

Frank Evans grew up in a family of classical musicians in Toronto, which made his decision to play clawhammer banjo at the age of 10 all the more unlikely. Carving his own path, he developed a passion for Old Time Appalachian music, making regular excursions to festivals and competitions in the United States, eventually placing second in the banjo competition at the Clifftop Appalachian Stringband Festival (2011). With the guidance of Toronto banjo legend Chris Coole, Evans recorded his first CD, "Big Meal Time" with his brother Max. The two founded the highly popularKitgut Stringband in 2008, performed regularly in Toronto, and recorded the CD, "Rebel Raid". He formed the bluegrass outfit Slocan Ramblers in 2010, who are currently releasing their album "Shaking Down the Acorns" produced by Juno award winner Andrew Collins. Frank broke with convention one again when he began exploring jazz music, becoming the first banjo player to attend the jazz program at the Humber College of Music. Frank currently resides in Toronto and is in high demand as a session player, performing and recording with Oh My Darling, Annie Lou, Hamstrung Stringband, Foggy Hogtown Boys, and many more.

Thursday 6 December 2012

Solstice Song - A Celtic Christmas - 18 Dec 2012


Ars Nova presents:

Solstice Song - A Celtic Christmas




featuring:

Acacia Lyra: Janine Dudding & Susan Sweeney Hermon, Celtic Harp

Seán McKiernan, Traditional Instruments
Greg Weeks, Cello
James Farr, Guitar
D'Arcy McGuire, Bodhrán
Simon Honeyman, Counter-tenor
Master of Ceremonies: Richard Weeks

Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 7:30 p.m.
Churchof St. Bartholomew, 125 MacKay Street
Tickets: General: $25

(Ticket includes a special Wassail reception following the concert)
Tickets on sale at: Compact Music, CD Warehouse, Leading Note and Books on Beechwood as well as online at www.arsnova.ca and http://solsticesong2012.eventbrite.com

The winter solstice will soon be upon us. Surrounded by the quiet, warmth and beauty of the Church of St. Bartholomew , let voices, harps, and instruments transport you to misty valleys and snow-covered hills, filling you with the spirit of Christmas. Following the concert, ring in the season with a traditional Wassail Reception in the parish hall.