The next CMCAA Ceili is this Friday, May 12.  Beginners' lesson at 7:00 p.m., dancing starts at 7:30.  No experience and no partner necessary. This is a very family-friendly event.

Please wear clean, soft-sole shoes to protect the dance floor.

Music will be provided by Tim Langen (fiddle), Brian Hart (accordion, vocals), and friends; and the caller will be Kathryn DiFoxfire.

$5 admission for adults, kids 16 & under are welcome for free.

Brian Hart, the Irish musician who comes over from St. Louis to play for our events when he is home from Ireland, will play a concert at Hank and Marie's farm near Ashland this Saturday evening.  At ceili dances, we get to hear Brian play dance tunes on his concertina, accordion and whistle, and if we're lucky he'll give us a wee song, but it's but a small glimpse into his musical repertoire.

Unfortunately, last week in St. Louis, Brian's custom made concertina was stolen out of his sister's car. The thief overlooked a wallet full of cash and hundreds of dollars in CDs to take the concertina.  This was an expensive instrument, and the police have told him, in situations like this, there isn't much hope for recovering it.

There is no admission fee or tickets for this event, as Hank and Marie are sponsoring this concert themselves as a donation to Brian's concertina fund.  There will be a basket for free will donations if you feel compelled to contribute.

Please join us for a fun evening of music and friendship. Musicians are invited to bring instruments for a music session (and probably dancing) afterward, and everyone is invited to bring refreshments or beverages to share, if it's convenient. 

The only thing you need to do is RSVP to Hank Taylor htaylor@coin.org or call 573-657-7303. Hank will give you directions to the farm.

Here is a brief bio of Brian Hart:

Brían Ó hAirt’s (Brian Hart) anomalous voice stands as a testament to the power of tradition.  His ability to share the mind's eye of an older generation of singers has afforded him great acclaim at his young age.  He became the youngest and first ever American to win the coveted Sgiath Uí Dhálaigh shield at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉreann (All-Ireland music competition) in Listowel, Co. Kerry in 2002 -- adding his name to the shield's long list of noted singers including Joe Heaney, Frank Harte and Paddy Berry.   

 

His dedication to traditional song and more specifically to the sean-nós style of singing encouraged him to learn the Irish language to an uncanny fluency and along the way introduced him to the close-knit singing community of the Conamara Gaeltacht where Irish is still the commonly spoken language.

 

He is likewise a noted instrumentalist of accordion, concertina and whistle and plays with Milwaukee ensemble Cé (performers at First Night 2004 and 2003) Columbia and more recently with Chicago Gan Bua, both of which Irish Music Magazine has lauded for their distinct talent and innovation in the vein of traditional music.

Chulrua Concert, Sunday May 21
Tell a friend!

You can download and print a poster: http://www.moceltic.org/Chulrua_Poster_2.pdf

Chulrua (pron. Kool-ROO-ah) returns to Columbia for another excellent evening of music!

Button accordion player Paddy O'Brien, a native of County Offaly, is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant to record and annotate 500 dance tunes (a small fraction of his repertoire), and is revered by lovers of Irish traditional music around the world. Paddy has the ability to distill the essence of Ireland, and pour out a full measure through his accordion. Patrick Ourceau, a fiddler of rare talent and sophistication, cut his teeth in sessions in his native Paris, but eventually was drawn to the musical dialects of Clare and East Galway.. The intertwining of button accordion and fiddle is arguably the loveliest sound in Irish traditional music. It is perfectly complimented by the deft and delicate guitar playing of Tipperary native Pat Egan.  His smooth baritone does full justice to these well chosen songs. Listen to Chulrua, and you?ll think you?ve traveled to Ireland, or heaven; it is really much the same thing.

Read more about them at www.chulrua.com

Summer music classes June 11-29

Deirdre Harnedy returns to Columbia to teach a three week session of traditional music classes in June.  She will be teaching the following classes, which will meet twice per week for 45 minutes each:

Beginning fiddle  Sunday and Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Improvers fiddle  Monday and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Beginning tin whistle and flute Monday and Wednesday at 5:30p.m.
Improvers tin whistle and flute Monday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

She will also teach "Tunes By Ear" for all instruments once a week on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

All classes are $45 each.   For more details and registration, see http://www.moceltic.org/2006/summer_classes.html

She is available for individual lessons as well.

Celtic Book club

Next meeting: MONDAY, MAY 29, 6:00 pm, Cherry Street Artisan

In May, the Celtic Book Group is reading  Breakfast on Pluto: A Novel, by Irish author Patrick McCabe

For a description of the book, see http://www.moceltic.org/book-club.html

June 3 - The Irish Xiles 8:00 p.m. at Cherry Street Artisan
Sponsored by CMCAA

"The Irish Xiles are a family band from Dublin, Ireland, comprising of a father and his three sons.  They came to St. Louis in 1994 and began playing as a group in 2002.  They have developed their own style of Irish folk singing and have a large following in and around St. Louis.   Declan, the dad, plays guitar and sings.  Ray, the youngest son, plays bass, guitar and is also a main vocalist.  Steve can get the best Irish sounds from his two keyboards and Damien plays percussion.  Their fast songs have a driving beat and high energy.  Their slow ballads are haunting and lilting.  You are guaranteed a great night with the Irish Xiles."

This is a great price, as summer tickets are usually over $1000. Linda Shumate purchased them in the fall during a sale, but now can't use them. Please contact her directly if you are interested.  
LSHUMATE@columbia.k12.mo.us 573-442-8398

TWO TICKETS
    roundtrip Chicago O'Hare / Dublin (Aer Lingus)
    depart Chicago Wed 07 June
    depart Dublin Tues 20 June
    $645.69 each  (this includes transfer fee)

JUNE 23-25, 2006 Scottish Country Ball in St. Louis

The Highland Mist Scottish Country Dancers of St. Louis, Missouri/Illinois USA proudly announce a SCOTTISH COUNTRY BALL and WORKSHOP WEEKEND with Lara Friedman-Shedlov of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Lara will be teaching a dancers' workshop and a teachers' workshop.  There will be an evening ball, with a walkthru in the afternoon.  NOTE: all dances will be walked thru at the ball in the evening as well. And there will also be a brunch on Sunday.

Details for the event, and all dance instructions, are on the Highland Mist Scottish Country Dancers website -
http://members.aol.com/ParadiseMO/HM1ball.html

Note to COIN users...

If you are switching your e-mail in the next few months to a new provider and wish to continue to receive the newsletter, please send me your new address.  Just reply to this (or any upcoming) newsletter.   kakers@moceltic.org
 

Tidbits

Local favorites Teada are on the cover of Irish Music Magazine this month.
http://mag.irish-music.net/BckIssue/0605May/0605May.htm

Milwaukee Irish Fest (Aug 17-20) has announced their performer list for the 2006 festival, and it looks GREAT. Wow.  It just keeps getting better.  http://www.irishfest.com/entertainment/index.htm
Personally, I would go just to see Sliabh Notes, if for no other band. Fortunately there are 40+ other bands.
And many of the stellar performers are teaching at the week-long Irish Fest Summer School. Details are here:
http://www.irishfest.com/summerschool/index.htm

Kansas City Irish Fest - Sept 1, 2 & 3  is looking good, too.  http://www.kcirishfest.com

CMCAA Local and regional Celtic arts calendar is on the web here:
http://www.moceltic.org/calendar.html

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