The Pipers’ Review - Na Píobairí Uilleann -...

Vol. XXXI No. 2 - SPRING 2012

The Pipers’ Review

Tionól Reports: - West Coast - South East - Saint Louis E Regulators A Piper at the Grand Ole Opry Spotlight On— Ed Harrison …….....and more

Ed Harrison

Larry Dunn Editor

Current Officers of the Club The Pipers’ Review The International Magazine for Uilleann Pipers

The Pipers’ Review is published quarterly in February, May, August and November by the Irish Pipers’ Club, P. O. Box 31183, Seattle, WA 98103-1183. Website: www.irishpipersclub.org, Editor: Larry Dunn, 7153 Knowlton Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90045 Tel: (310) 614-1971. E-mail: [email protected] Yearly subscription and membership: US $22.00, Canada $24.00 (US funds by Canadian Money Order) and Rest-of-World $28.00 (US funds only). Payment may be made via PayPal to account: [email protected] (visit club website)

The Irish Pipers’ Club is a registered non-profit 501(C)(3) organization.

Sarah Young Club Secretary

Michael Long Club Chairman & Treasurer

David Quinn Technical Editor

Tom Quinn Vice-Chairman

CONTENTS 1 Editor’s Corner

2 Spotlight on: Ed Harrison by Kathleen Cavanagh

4 Playing With “E’s” by Tom Klein

6 On Tionól Concerts by Carl von Clausewitz

7 A Piper at the Grand Ole Opry by Patrick D’Arcy

8 The 2012 West Coast Tionól by Fel Bautista

11 The 2012 South East Tionól by Kathleen Cavanagh

15 The 15th Annual St. Louis Tionól by Cathy Wilde

19 Upcoming Events

21 New Recordings

On the cover:

South Carolina’s own Ed Harrison graces our cover this issue. Please read Kathleen Cavanagh’s tribute to Ed starting on page two.

THE PIPERS’ REVIEW 1 VOL XXXI NO. 2—SPRING 2012

Irish Pipers' Club, Seattle Cumann na bPíobairí

A s Tom Creegan mentioned in the previous issue, he has decided to step down as editor

of The Pipers’ Review after serving in his most-recent stint as editor for some four and a half years. We all owe Tom a tremendous debt of gratitude for all the work he has put into this publication over the years, many thanks for a job well done!

For those of you who don’t know me (and why would you?), allow me to introduce myself: Larry Dunn, native and resident of Los Angeles, California. I’m old enough to remember when television was black and white and there was only one phone company. I started on the pipes in February of 1998, a scarce two months after the founding of the Southern California Uilleann Pipers Club, of which I am a longtime member and apparently treasurer for life.

I am pleased to report that David Quinn has agreed to continue as the Technical Editor, and Tom Creegan has been very generous with his guidance and assistance. I hope our loyal subscribers will find this issue acceptable, and I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.

This issue includes a very nice article on South Carolina piper Ed Harrison, which author Kathleen Cavanagh has been kind enough to share, along with her report on the South East

Tionól. Cathy Wilde stepped up and provided us with a report on the St. Louis Tionól in record time, while Fel Bautista shares his impressions of this year’s West Coast Tionól. The redoubtable Tom Klein offers insights on the musical possibilities afforded by having an E key on the regulators, while the intrepid Patrick D’Arcy treads the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Many thanks to all our contributors.

A little continuity is a good thing, so here is the usual editorial plea - please do consider dropping us a line. The Pipers’ Review is only possible with your written contributions. It can’t be kept going without your support. Please send us an article, a report, a photograph, or maybe even a cartoon!

Kind regards,

Larry

Back Issues of The Pipers’ Review

Back issues are available to subscribing members only. This includes Vol. 1, No. 1 (1980) through the current issue. These are available in pdf format via the Uilleann Forum, an on-line resource at: http://www.uilleannforum.com. A summary is also available at the Uilleann Forum. Thanks to Jeff Wall for his gen-erous hosting.

For more information, contact the Irish Pipers’ Club, P.O. Box 31183-1183, Seattle, WA 98103 or [email protected]


Ed Harrison: Piper and Gentleman

by Kathleen Cavanagh

The 2012 Southeast Tionól was dedicated to multi-instrumentalist and pillar of the Irish traditional music community Ed Harrison. This appreciation appeared in the tionól program, and is reprinted with the author’s kind permission.

A lways humble, Ed expressed his happiness and is honored at having the South East Tionol dedicat-

ed to him this year as he feels he "has received far more from folks that I think I have given to people."

Ed's first musical inspiration was from rhythm and blues, being raised in Mississippi in the 1940's. Saturday nights would find him standing outside a little cafe-lounge named "The Blue Goose Cafe"... a 14-year-old peering through the win-dow at an R&B band playing sweet-wild music and people shout-ing "BB's back in Town!" Those Sat-urday nights were unforgettable to him.

He began picking the 5 string banjo when he was 15, and with a few breaks, really has not stopped. In September of 2011 he won first prize at Hagood Mills Annual Old Time Fiddler's Convention! It was learn-ing a particular tune on banjo, the Sailor's Hornpipe, that perked his interest in piping back in the 1970’s. He heard the calling of the highland pipes and played in the local South Carolina Pipe Band for a number of years. For health reasons, he decided he wanted to ex-plore the Irish pipes and his wife, Eileen, brought back a book on the Uilleann pipes when she was visiting relatives in Ireland, Pat Mitchell/Jackie Small's

"The Piping of Patsy Touey". Eileen also brought back a tape with Finbar Furey playing "Pigeon on a Gate"… and that was the lightning bolt for Ed… the moment he decided that uilleann pipes was "it" for him. One of the references in the book was to Tom Busby, of Long Is-land, New York. Ed called him up, and there began his uilleann piping journey.

Tom Busby would mail tapes and letters to Ed for en-couragement, and they would speak on the phone to keep in touch. They became great friends, and almost had a father/son relationship through the music. Tom once said to Ed something he still has not forgotten: "you can learn something from everyone that has a set even if they cannot play!" Even after Tom's passing, Ed has kept up a correspondence with Tom's widow, An-na Carney-Busby who is now 95.

Tom Busby also introduced Ed to Rev. James Mackenzie of North Car-olina, and found other contacts for Ed in the South. He was able to visit Rev Mackenzie in North Carolina on a few occasions. The first set of pipes Ed strapped on belonged to Rev. Mackenzie… a gorgeous Rowsome set… beautiful scalloped tone holes and all. Ed's first practice set was bought from Nick Whitmer… a set originally made by David Quinn that Nick first played. Amongst oth-er sets, Ed purchased a full set of D pipes made by Andreas Rogge… with a Taylor-style U bend for the Bass regulator, and a C# set made by Rogge (see below for a reference to YouTube video of Ed playing this set). Ed believes that Andreas Rogge's pipes are some of the finest in the world, and now plays a 3/4 B

set made by Rogge.

Ed was able to take his first lesson in Augusta at the Elkins Irish Week in the 1980s with Jerry O'Sullivan. Through the years, his teachers have included Tim Brit-ton, Matty Connelly, Pat Sky, Eugene Lambe, Tommy Keane, Leo Rickard, Brian McNamara, Geoff Wooff,


Elliot Grasso, Benedict Koehler, Debbie Quigley, Pat Hutchinson, Kieran O'Hare, Tommy Martin and David Power.

A person that he admires greatly is Pat Sky. Pat first met Ed around the time the Skys moved to Asheville from Rhode Island. It was around 1990, and Ed was looking for more lessons. They agreed to meet weekly and before they knew it, Pat and Cathy met his won-derful wife, Eileen, and they all quickly became good friends. Pat also helped guide Ed through the agoniz-ing process of making reeds, but it didn't take long be-fore Ed was making some good ones. In the words of Pat, "Ed is a complete gentleman and a wonderful and kind person, he is also pipes crazy like the rest of us… I wish we had more like him."

A young fellow named Martin Crossin from West Bel-fast was visiting Greenville, South Carolina as a chap-erone for a Belfast children's Exchange Program and happened upon Ed playing his pipes in a session at Norm's Tavern in Ed's town. Ed gave him his first les-son on the uilleann pipes in his home during that trip, and sent Martin home with the original practice set made by David Quinn. This completely changed Mar-tin's life… Martin became an All-Ireland champion uil-leann piper in 2003, and entered the world of uilleann pipemaking. In Martin's words: " Ed's kindness to me has been inspiring.. (he is) a true gentleman piper."

Ed has had many good teachers over the years, and one that really helped put everything together for him was David Power, the Waterford piper. Says David: “Ed is one of the finest gentlemen that I met in my three years in America. I learned from others that he is a former military man and has had quite a distinguished career, although he never mentioned it himself. The kind and gentle way in which Ed speaks with sincerity always caused me to take careful note of what he said. Also, the smile never left his face, and he has a great sense of humor.”

Ed helped develop the traditional Irish scene in Green-ville… he saw there was some interest in ITM in the blue grass section of the state, and helped nurture it. After several years of playing in the session, Ed met Daniel Hendrix, a college student with a really sub-

standard set of pipes, who was asking for advice on the pipes. Daniel had heard a recording of Christian music with an uilleann piper playing, and traced it back to Ed, who lives just a hop skip and a jump from Daniel in South Carolina. Ed was fortunate enough to locate a good chanter, bag and bellows for him and Daniel was in business. Weekly lessons ensued… free of charge. Daniel explains, "I owe so much thanks and gratitude to Ed. For me, (learning the uilleann pipes) has been all about the rich Irish tradition and a solid friendship with one of the strongest, most courageous, and gener-ous people I have ever known."

Ed is a generous and kind person, and when he began pipes in isolation, he found that is better to share what you learn. “Holding on to ticks of the trade, is not the way to go with UP's. The more you help the more you learn.”

A devout Catholic, a loving husband, a Physicist, Vi-etnam Vet, Retired Lt. Colonel from the United States Army, teacher, great friend… masterful banjo player, and mighty uilleann piper… we're proud to have Ed as part of our piping circle in the South East, and we're happy to dedicate the 2012 South East Tionól to him.

If you'd like to learn more about Ed, please enjoy the following:

The Three Sea Captains: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TGi1vLCc6g

Maggie in the Woods & Bally Desmond (with D. Hendrix)www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyUGe3uqc0g

Colored Aristocracy (on OME Bright Angel banjo) www.youtube.com/watch?v=PebxOlrxkLA

Martin Crossin's reference: www.uilleannpipes.ie/7.html

Ed's article about his mentor, Tom Busby: www.pipers.ie/home/About_Patrons.htm#TomBusby


Playing With “E’s” by Tom Klein

T here are several modern pipemakers that offer an E regulator (or E note/key on a standard baritone

or bass regulator) as a custom addition to their full sets of pipes. This got me wondering about the E regulator/note, its musical contribution to the aural landscape, as well as its practical and logistical placement on a set of pipes. And, as is my wont, I wondered if there was a way to get any of the regulators of my own set to play an E note without doing anything invasive or damag-ing to the instrument. [See also Regulator Drones—a Non-invasive Hack, Pipers’ Review Vol. XXIX, No.3]

There appear to be at least three approaches to includ-ing the E on a standard full set of pipes. The most com-mon involves the attachment of a single-keyed E regu-lator to the outside of the mainstock, parallel to the standard tenor, baritone and bass regulators. This E regulator is attached either “inboard” (closest to the player, proximal to the tenor regulator) or “outboard” (proximal to the bass regulator), or issuing from the mainstock and “below decks” (tucked under the standard regulators, as in the Touhey Taylor set). Its key typically has a longish touch that allows a play-er to depress the key in combination with the tenor—or bass—regulator’s keyed notes of C, B, A, and G. There are two other innovative ways of getting a keyed E note. One involves adding a key along the extension bar of the bass regulator (found in a Froment set in C). Another involves adding a double-action key on the baritone regulator that allows the second sounding of the E note when the standard D key on the baritone regulator is depressed further (as in a set by Koehler & Quinn). There may be other crafty ways, both historic and modern, for getting an E note, but these three ap-proaches give you the idea of where you may most commonly find an E on a set of pipes.

My own exploration involved the lengthening of the air column –from the reed to the throat of the regulator– to see how this would affect the pitches of the given/fixed notes (CBAG) of the bass regulator. In the case of my set, the reed seat in this regulator is a short, (20 mm) piece of 2mm (diameter) brass tubing. There is a hobby shop entirely too close to my house that carries every different size and shape of tubing imaginable, including the exact size of this reed seat. So I made a trip (the first of many) to the shop and purchased sev-eral 1-foot lengths of tubing to serve as this extended reed seat.

Through trial and error, I shortened the tube (using a hobby type cutter), and checked the resulting pitches. I was able to coax an interesting sequence of tones out of the standard C-B-A-G bass regulator (* = unstable notes):

* * * C,

F#-E-Eb D,

G*-F#-E-Eb*, and

A*-G-F#-E.

The A*-G-F#-E configuration seemed to offer the best hope of getting viable musical combinations with the baritone and tenor regulators on my D set of pipes.

As you would expect, lengthening the reed seat made the existing reed cap too short to enclose the reed. So, to the hobby shop here we go! I bought a sizeable

Extended reed seat (top)


length of 20 mm (diameter) tubing. I also needed to enclose the end of the tube somehow. I re-purposed a finial from a retired chanter top for this. Et voila! I had something that looked vaguely like it could have origi-nally belonged to the set (see photo). A wrap-around regulator allows tucking this long reed cap away, un-derneath the bass regulator itself. A straight regulator bar would become quite a flagpole with this long wind cap.

You may note that the modified wind cap is longer than it needs to be to adequately cover the reed and its extended seat. I chose to keep this long reed cap at this length in case I ever wanted to experiment further with an even longer reed seat like the one that gives the bot-tom regulator note as C.

After I got this setup working, it was time to see what kind of music and chord combinations this new layout favored. Perhaps not surprising, E minor tunes seemed to work best. It wasn’t quite E-minor enough for my tastes, though. Armed with yet more hobby tubing (about 8 inches in length/9mm in diameter), I coerced my bass drone to join the act by pitching it to E as well. I set the bass drone U bend aside, and attached a length of tube to the end of the drone. This brought the pitch of the drone up from D to E. I didn’t care for the look of that naked, blunt-ended drone though. I made a quick trip to –no, not the hobby store– but a big box home hardware business that rhymes with “Nemard’s” where I found a porcelain drawer pull. From a dis-tance, it looked like it could belong to this set (let me issue at this point the first in many apologies to the es-teemed Msrs. Koehler and Quinn for the visual altera-tions that this entire project visited upon the graceful lines and proportions of their wares). It got the set through the photo shoot at any rate. This porcelain drawer pull also helped to soften the edgy tone that comes off the drone when you shorten it as much as this.

But what about the music?

If you use this regulator setup in your music you are going to need to be awfully fond of the following chord: E-D-F#. This chord comes right out of the Neo-Classical/Post-Romantic classical music playbook (think more Shostakovich than Sean Ryan). I don’t have a problem with that, since so much of my early listening was to that kind of stuff anyway. But for the traditional musician, incorporating chords like this may be a deal breaker. Still, it is fun to see where these things lead. For me the new E-ish chords and E drone worked fairly well in extant E minor tunes. Case in point, this rough outline of

The Leitrim Fancy:

http://www.box.com/s/94f934b8d3cd8653ffc8

However, you may soon find yourself being led further afield. And by "further afield" I mean exploring chang-ing keys of tunes to fit this E setup. This is not for the faint of heart, and in fact it gives a rather dramatic cul-tural and geographic shift to time-honored Irish-y tra-ditional pieces. Case in point, here’s a sketch of the lull-aby-cum-macabre The Castle of Dromore

https://www.box.com/s/513e23f9feb12567ffc5

as well as a trans-Carpathian Downfall of Paris.

http://www.box.com/s/ec0fb4f9049555281421

I hope you can hear past the ragged execution here. Even so, you, too, may be surprised to find how well these tunes hold up...even when moonlighting in this unusual key.

It has been postulated that, giving an infinite number of monkeys infinite access to an infinite number of typewriters, the works of Shakespeare could be gener-ated. No, I am not comparing this E setup to the works of The Bard, but given access to a great variety of hob-by tubing—and a tube cutter—who knows what you might be able to get your set of pipes to do!


On Tionól Concerts

by Carl von Clausewitz

“A tionól concert is policy by other means”

H aving attended more than my share of tionól con-certs, I have come to appreciate several factors

that determine such an event’s success or failure. While a high standard of musical performance is certainly requisite for a successful concert, it is by no means the only criterion by which it should be judged. Indeed, I have attended concerts where the musical performanc-es were absolutely brilliant, yet when viewed in the larger context, were utter fail-ures. How shall we unravel this paradox?

We must first address the actual objective of the tionól concert: The primary objective of the tionól concert is to promote awareness (and hopefully, enjoy-ment) of Irish traditional music in general and the uilleann pipes in particular. To do this effective-ly, the concert must be an enjoya-ble experience for the audience, most particularly for those who are being introduced to the tradi-tion. Subjecting potential sup-porters to a program that is unfo-cused, too long, combined with less than luxurious seating, will more than likely leave them feel-ing numbed and exhausted ra-ther than enthusiastic and exhila-rated. I recall a particular exam-ple from a number of years ago (I don’t want to name names, but let’s just say the location rhymes with “anfrancisco”) where the headlining piper did not take the stage until 11:00pm, more than three hours after the concert had begun. Half the audience had left, the other half were contorting themselves spasmodical-ly in their seats in a vain attempt to restore circulation to their posteriors. There is no denying that the music was wonderful, but it was an event that I felt I had en-dured rather than enjoyed.

While the concert organizer must deal with the “fascinating trinity” (wunderliche Dreifaltigkeit, cf. “Vom Krieg”) comprising blind impulse, free will and pure reason, I offer another triad to cut through the “fog of

tionól” and guide their concert planning: focus, pacing and duration.

Focus: the tionól concert must maintain its focus on uilleann piping. Other instruments, vocalists and danc-ers can, of course, be useful, as long as their contribu-tions can be made to fit within the overall context of the piping tradition. Extraneous elements and distractions must be ruthlessly eliminated. A theme for the concert (e.g. a salute to the music of a noted piper or a particu-lar region) can be useful to help build and maintain focus.

Pacing: the concert must be structured in such a way as to gain the audience’s attention and hold their interest through-out the event. When it comes to introductions and opening re-marks, bear in mind that brevity is the soul of wit. Opening acts need to short and snappy. If you bore your audience, they will be playing “Angry Birds” on their iPhones by intermis-sion. Keep things moving, and don’t wait too long to bring your star performers on stage.

Duration: the total length of the concert must be kept to a rea-sonable amount of time. In this age of decreased attention spans and SPWS (smart phone with-drawal syndrome), 90 minutes is sufficient and two hours is about the upper limit. Take a cue from Coco Channel—look at your line-up in the mirror, then take one thing off. The goal is to leave the audience wanting

more. Gluttons for punishment can happily be directed to the inevitable post-concert session where they can listen until they drop.

In conclusion, to achieve success the tionól concert must be focused on its goal and bring the appropriate resources to bear in the shortest time possible.

About the author: Carl von Clausewitz is a former Prus-sian officer and noted military theorist, best known for his magnum opus, “Vom Krieg” (“On War”). Following his death from cholera in 1832, he has taken a keen interest in uilleann piping and has been haunting tionóil regularly since Bettystown in 1969.

Carl von Clausewitz


A Piper at the Grand Ole Opry

by Patrick D’Arcy

O n March 31, 2012 I had the opportunity to play with modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn

Getty at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. We were asked to perform as special guests of blue-grass mandolin legend Ricky Skaggs who was hosting the Opry that night. Also on the bill were fiddle and mandolin legend Sam Bush, Patti Loveless and Crystal Gayle. We played with just four members of our band

Keith and Krystin Getty, Deborah Klemme on fiddle and myself on pipes and whistles. We rehearsed before the show with the Opry's house band, an excellent out-fit of top class players. They seemed to be quite familiar with the material and took it all in their stride.

Playing backstage in the dressing rooms with Frances Cunningham and her friends was a wonderful experi-ence. She is a great bouzouki player, five courses no less! She plays at the Opry each week with a great group of legendary bluegrass players including Mike Snider and Matt Combs. At one point as we were blaz-

ing through a blast of reels I noticed the room had filled with curios onlookers. I looked up at and noticed Ricky Skaggs taking video of the occassion. I asked whether there had been other uilleann pipers at the Grand Ole Opry and as far as everyone could remem-ber I was only the second to appear - beaten out by none other than Paddy Moloney himself! Not too terri-ble if you ask me!

Andy Leftwich, fiddler for Ricky Skaggs band Ken-tucky Thunder, took me on a tour around backstage and told me of the damage the flood had on the place.

He showed me a water mark that brought the tragedy into light quite vividly. What a great testament that it is open and functioning again so soon after such a catas-trophe.

Anyway, enough of my gloating! I just wanted to share what felt like a unique and fun experience with *ya'll*. All of us in the band felt it to be a great honor to play such a legendary venue.

Patrick D’Arcy (left) and a few friends


The 2012 West Coast Tionól by Fel Bautista

L arry Dunn and I were the Southern California Pip-ers Club members who ventured to the rainy

Northwest for the 2012 edition of the West Coast Tionól, held over President’s Day weekend at St. Bene-dict's School in the Ballard district of Seattle—here’s how it went.

Friday, February 17

The welcome party was at the home of Kevin and Laura in Ballard. The front room was crammed full of musicians—pipers Jerry O'Sullivan, Denis Brooks, Rod Margusson, Tom Creegan, fiddle players, a banjo (Laura), and other. The kitchen was full of food and people nibbling on sandwich-es, cake, cookies, beer, and other edibles. It is always a good feed when you go up to Seattle. Last we heard on the way out was some marches, one or two, I actually knew how to play. That is always a good sign. Larry and I made our way to the local Office Max/Depot/Supply to find a voice recorder and batteries for same. After some strug-gles, like knowing which way you turn right or left, we found said establishment and bought recorder and batteries. On our way back to our digs in Ballard, we noticed that the hipster/bar scene is alive and kicking after passing several bars in a row with gobs of people in front of the door waiting to get in. Fortunately, we, being gentlemen pipers (i.e. old), passed on that sort of revelry.

Saturday, February 18

The morning broke with cloudy skies and a high likeli-hood of rain. Larry and I made our way to St. Benedict from our digs in Ballard via a route chosen by my love-ly GPS. You would think that we would know the route after awhile, but NOOOOOOO, the darn thing took us on the most circuitous route imaginable, but

we managed to get to St. Benedict in time for Tom Quinn's marvelous fry. Eggs, sausage, black sausage, soda bread, coffee of various octane levels and orange juice—marvelous stuff.

St Benedict is a proper Catholic grade school, with small desks, and even smaller chairs. It brought back memories of Sister, waiting for the class to file in....

I chose to have classes from Jerry O'Sullivan. I missed his classes at the 2011 Northeast Tionól and thought that it would be a good way to get to meet and learn from him. What a great teacher, wealth of information and a true lov-er of really bad Catskills jokes. Henny Youngman should be so happy-OY!. He opened the class up with a discussion of slip vs hop jigs, Oscar and Malvina from his O'Sullivan meets O'Farrell recordings, his start in the music, and Patsy Touhey. I think we had 3 or four at-tendees (Mark Stevenson from Utah, being one) in the class, and it made for a won-d e r f u l l y e a s y , n o n -threatening teaching session. He'd play, we'd play, he'd play, we'd mess up and start over. So what did we learn that day? Taylor's hornpipe

from Patsy Touhey's repertoire, and Promenade, a slip jig I think,

from Kevin Burke. Taylor's hornpipe is not in the nor-mal repository of tunes, like O'Neill's or John Walsh's excellent book. You have to go the the Dunn Family Collection, http://archives.irishfest.com/dunn-family-collection/History/Musician-Biographies/Patsy-Touhey.htm, and find the sound recording as well as the music. Promenade can be found in numerous ar-chives, The Session being one.

After thanking Jerry for the great class, Larry, John Ward (acting reed-meister for the weekend), Mark Ste-venson and myself went to lunch at the local Thai place where an abundance of food transpired. After lunch, AND after helping Larry look for his hat, which be-came truly lost, I dropped into Denis Brook's class.

“The Professor” Denis Brooks


Again, a reasonable size class, three or four pipers all playing along. I popped in while he was teaching a march, “The Boys of Wexford”. You are in for a treat when you get Denis talking about the history of the tunes. His nickname “The Professor” holds up pretty well while describing the tune setting, who played it, notable variations and the like.

After listening to Denis class practice, I wandered down stairs to the cafeteria where I came upon one of Brad Angus's creations, beautifully made, I believe in Box wood. The chanter is pitched in B and is very remi-niscent of the older sets, with the chanter tied into the neck of the bag.

The Concert

I knew things had changed when Michael Long stood up on stage, and said, “Just a few administrative de-tails, bathrooms are downstairs, books and CDs are in the foyer, drinks can be bought at the window. Now, for our first performer, Tom Creegan...” at about 10 minutes after 8PM. The concert went on for about two hours, with a mix of Tom Creegan, Jerry O'Sullivan and Denis Brooks, solo or in an ensemble. Jerry played

“Taylor's Hornpipe” ala Patsy Toughey, complete with backstitched ornaments, staccato triplets and all the rest. He said in class that he was still getting the tune in his fingers, having picked it up a few months ago. I shudder to think what it would be like when he really got going on the tune.

After the concert, and suitably cleaning up the auditori-um, twenty or so, walked/drove over to Murphy's, a pub down the street. Denis, his wife Mary, Tom Creegan, were there and the craic went on till we closed the place. At that point, discretion won over val-or, and Larry and I drove back to our lodgings.

Sunday , February 19

The good thing about staying in Ballard is there numer-ous places for food and drink. On Sundays, they have a marvelous farmers market where you can pick up all sorts of food and trinkets. I highly recommend taking the time to chat with the vendors. You'll wind up with some interesting packages to take home with you.

Tom Creegan, Jerry O’Sullivan & Denis Brooks Perform at the Saturday Night Concert


Here Larry is buying some Balkan pastry, a kolsch?? Some poppy seeded thing that was quiet tasty. He will have to share the details. I bought some smoked salm-on which was very tasty. (Kölsch is a kind of beer—the pastry in question is kolach –Ed.)

Although classes were going on, I decided to see what John Ward was doing in his reed workshop. John was making reeds, rolling staples for the entire weekend. He uses some of the techniques B e n e d i c t Koehler uses, notably using a scraper to get the inside of the cane tube to the correct dimen-sion. He uses a rolled staple and had several to pass around to show. I was able to test drive several pipe sets, notably Rod Margusson's Harrington copy made by Brad Angus (see photo). I had seen this set at the San Francisco 2011 Tionol.

The tionol was officially over around 5 pm and the game plan, actually the only plan was to go to Connor Byrne's in downtown Ballard for post tionol recital by guests and anyone brave enough to get up on stage. We were there from about 5:30pm to 8:30 pm. Recitals are always fun since you get to say hello to any and all that you missed during the weekend, plus make snide comments on the singer/songwriters coming in for an open mic, allegedly around 8:00. Funny how many 20-something songwriters riddled with Seattle post-

grunge angst will show up to an open mic with bat-tered guitar case. Priceless-the looks people had when they got close to the stage and saw pipers and fiddle players playing away.

After 8:30 we decided that the place to go was Molly Maguire’s, an Irish pub up on 65th St near Ballard High School. It looked like a home in invasion when Jerry O'Sullivan, Tom Creegan, Larry Dunn, Cathy Chilicott, Rod Margusson, Denis Brooks, his wife Mary all piled into the corner, ordered drinks and brought pipes out to play. The kitchen was closed, but the Publican brought out sandwiches for all of us. A Big Thanks to the man! Apparently this is the same pub that the Young Joey Abarta was refused entry due to his age a few years ago. Had a grand time trying to keep up tunes with the likes of Jerry O'Sullivan and Tom Creegan.

Epilogue

Larry and I were suppose to go to the Aviation Muse-um near Boe-ing Field, but b r e a k f a s t b e c k o n e d . After a lei-surely brunch, never ever leave Ballard around 1 pm for a 3:30 pm flight when it is raining and the freeway has construc-tion while thinking that

it will be a stress free drive. Thankfully my flight was late leaving Sea-Tac that afternoon. Another fun week-end, reedless in Seattle.

Fel enjoys a tune and a pint.


The 2012 South East Tionól by Kathleen Cavanagh

T his year's Tionól in the South took place over the weekend of March 30 - April 1st in

beautiful Roswell, Georgia. The weather was de-lightful, with the dogwoods in bloom, joined by many other plants and flowers. My drive up from Florida took no time at all, sped along by the com-pany of other musician friends and the scenic pe-can groves and wild flowers. Spring most certain-ly had arrived. Friday night brought a rather large yet tame ses-sion to The Harp Irish Pub, home to the Tionól's sessions each time it has been in Georgia. Familiar faces were all around the room, and it was great to see our teachers, experienced sessioneers, and fresh faced musicians hunker down for a night of great tunes and craic. Michael Cooney, Brian McNamara, Sean Clohessy (fiddle), Pat Sky, Cathy Sky (fiddle), Florence Fahy (concertina), and even-tually Tom Creegan were all there by the end of the evening, and good times were had by all until

the early hours of the morning. The curry chicken over fries was especially great, too! Saturday morning came too quickly, but neverthe-less, I woke up feeling like it was Christmas morn-ing! Classes were held at the N.A.T.E. music school, a small building tucked in the back woods of Roswell in a shared corporate park. Beautiful trees in bloom and mild weather greeted us that morning as we all walked into class. Apparently pipers and Irish musicians these days are into Mini-Coopers because there was a line of five of them parked together having their own little ses-sion. Brian McNamara was teaching the Advanced Pip-ing class, while Tom Creegan toggled with Mi-chael Cooney for the day with the Intermediate and Beginning Pipers. Sunday classes alternated and Brian took on the Intermediate Pipers and Tom the Advanced, while Michael worked with the Beginners.

John Maze & Kara Doyle in the advanced workshop

Brian McNamara


Richie Dwyer from the Beara Peninsula called "The Return to Burton Road." Finally, students were challenged to learn the classic "Ace and Duece of Pipering" set dance. During the day, the class took a break and those who had access to C chanters played some tunes together. On Sunday, Tom Creegan taught "Rigaudon," a French ba-roque piece that he had played at the Saturday night concert. He also gave us "The Three Sea Captains" and an unnamed reel. Tom talked a bit

about Willy Clancy’s style of piping, and students shared many tunes toward the end of the short class. Intermediate pipers had an ideal size for a class… precisely four students. Each class period was dedicated to lessons with a different instructor. Tom Creegan shared two tunes with the class in-cluding “Murphy's Hornpipe” and “The Hu-mours of Bandon.” He brought sheet music with

Great tunes were learned all weekend as well as technique and attention to detail. In the Advanced class, Brian started classes with a discussion of expression and lift by working with the tune "The Frieze Britches." With this tune, demonstrations of ornamentation and space between notes to bring out the natural rhythm of the tune were empha-sized, as well as knowing that sometimes in a tune it's important to bring out the one "note" or some-

times "notes" that are what the key to the tune. Emphasizing that note with different ornaments, sculpting the phrase can add excitement and lift to the tune. So next time you play your favorite tune, ask yourself: what note is this tune trying to tell me I need to emphasize? It's a good exercise. Brian taught a great, involved hornpipe called "The Drunken Sailor." Also offered during the day was a wonderful jig composed by the accordion player

The Concert Grand Finale


tions. (Note the word: theatrical… apparently the instructors are theatrical, too). The evening start-ed with a great dedication to the South Carolina Piper Ed Harrison, who could not make it to the Tionól this year, but who deserves every bit of the dedication as he has been a great source of inspi-ration and help to many pipers in our region. (Please see the tribute to Ed Harrison in this issue of the Piper's Review). Pat and Cathy Sky started the concert by dedicat-ing their first tunes to Ed. It was a great start to the evening with some great music, and it taught us what years of playing together as a couple yields. During their performance, we were treated to a great a cappella song called "Spencer the Rov-er"… a breath of fresh air before a long lovely night of traditional music. Following Pat and Cathy was Tom Creegan who brought the French tune “Rigaudon” to the mix followed by “Pat

him and this helped some students focus on the style of piping rather than worrying about learn-ing the notes. Tom showed various things to do to the tune to make it sound "pipey." Michael Cooney taught a beautiful jig called "The Slopes of Sliabh Luichra" as well as "The Butcher's March." Brian McNamara took more of the "ring of pain" approach and had each student play a tune that they were working on, then showed each some ideas of how to liven it up. All three instructors had different styles of playing and teaching, and hearing and seeing up close how each would sculpt the music was worth the admission to the event for the weekend. Michael Cooney taught beginners some great tunes including "Julia Clifford's," "The Butcher's March" and "Gleantain" on Saturday. On Sunday he focused on teaching "The Stack of Wheat" and "The Dark Island". Many questions were an-swered, and all students benefited greatly from the solid piping of Michael. Tom worked through two tunes including a slip jig called "Byrne's" and "The Wexford Hornpipe." All pipers had access to Pat Sky's "reedmaking and pipes troubleshooting laboratory" on the premises throughout the weekend, and we were glad to have him, especially some of the begin-ners! Saturday afternoon and early evening, Tionól-goers came together at Gary White's palatial digs to share a great dinner of BBQ. It was a very re-laxed pre-concert evening, and everyone got the chance to share stories, catch up with pictures of children, and in general enjoy the soft Georgia evening. A great deal of thanks goes to Tricia White for making sure the dinner items were from the best places in the Roswell area! It just so happened to be the lovely Kara Doyle's birthday as well, and we enjoyed cake (chocolate chocolate and more chocolate) to wrap up the get-together. The concert took place in downtown Roswell in at the Red Door Playhouse, a small local venue that houses all sorts of theatrical and musical produc-

Michael “Panda” Cooney


Ward's,” and some rhythmic regulator playing on two jigs: “The Humours of Bandon” and “Maggie Brown.” He also played "The Dark Slender Boy," which he learned from the playing of Leo Row-some, and he ended his set with “Reel of Rio,” “Maid in the Cherry Tree” and “The Little Hills of Offaly.” Following Tom was the great Tipperary piper and frequent South East Tionól guest, Mi-chael Cooney, joined by Clare fiddler Sean Clo-hessy. They brought in many great tunes includ-ing "The Maid Behind the Barrel," "Sailor on the Rock," and "The Red Haired Lass." Sublime music was interlaced with humor and surprise. A quick break, and the evening continued with the concer-tina playing of Clare-born Florence Fahy and pi-ano accompanist Valerie Kitcher. This was fol-lowed by a well-loved performance of Brian McNamara playing “The Ace and Deuce of Piper-ing,” and three great slow airs: “The Hungry

Wave,” “An Buinneann Bui,” and my personal favorite: “Ag Taisteal na Blarnan” (“Traveling Through Blarney”). The evening concluded with our faithful instruc-tors all coming back on stage, donning various well-selected head covers that they discovered in the back room in the Playhouse. Michael Cooney became Panda Piper Cooney (the instigator of it all, as we hear), Sergeant Drum Major Tom Creegan, Wolf-Man Pat Sky, Cool-Cat Cathy Sky,

and Brian quickly transformed into Señor McNamara as he was presented his flamenco-style sombrero, decorated with little red fuzzy balls. As Michael Cooney said "this is very serious" and "I love Pandas." The laughs were never-ending through the last sets, and the music was great, too. Back to the Harp for two tremendous sessions; concert pitch in the main room and another in C in the bar… everyone getting their fix of tunes that night. Sunday morning brought our classes, but they ended too soon. We said farewell to all with hugs and handshakes, agreeing to meet again in Orlando, Florida in 2013 for the next South East Tionól. Many thanks to Gary White for organizing this year’s event and thanks to Robbie Zukauskas for helping with this article.

Señor McNamara and “Wolfman” Pat Sky


The 15th Annual Saint Louis Tionól April 19-22, 2012

by Cathy Wilde

If you’re an uilleann piper in middle of America, you know just how vast that middle can seem sometimes. Not only are you learning on your own; you’re also trying to maintain a fairly tem-peramental set of gear without a mechanic. Fifteen years ago, piper Mike Mullins and “Piper” Mi-chael Cooney decided to rectify this by founding a piper’s weekend in Saint Louis, Missouri.

In the ensuing 15 years, the Saint Louis Tionól has grown to be a mainstage event in North American piping. It’s a weekend of workshops, concerts, and of course, sessions, sessions, sessions for all instruments. Events are held in several locations around town, so it’s also a nice chance to see dif-ferent parts of the city. Piping teachers in previous years have included Michael Cooney, Mickey Dunne, Gay McKeon, Leo Rickard, Peter Browne, Jerry O’Sullivan, Al Purcell, Mikey Smyth, and many more. Every year, Mullins, Cooney, and pi-pemaker Jim Wenham strive to find pipers who are not only masters of their craft but master teachers as well. In this way, they’re making uille-ann piping in the Midwest a little less of a lonely enterprise, and giving solo pipers the chance to see a tangible world beyond Internet video and their HJ Clarke tutors.

This year’s piping teachers included Michael Cooney, North Cork denizen Jimmy Morrison, North Tipperary piper Brendan Collins, and Chi-cago’s Pat Cannady.

Tim Britton, Kieran O’Hare, and Pat Broaders were also seen and noted. I’m not sure if anyone was able to induce Pat to play a tune on the pipes; if they did I’m sure they were glad of it! All in all, I’d guess there were a good 20 pipers in attend-ance at various times.

There were also more than 20 teachers and per-formers on the roster. I can’t name everyone, but to give you an idea of the level this event is play-ing on, here are a few: Eileen O’Brien, fiddler and daughter of the late great Nenagh box player Pad-

dy O’Brien; Paul Smyth, Sligo flute player and re-cording artist; John Skelton, London-born flute player and member of the House Band; Joanie Madden, flute player and founding member of Cherish the Ladies; Maírtin di Cogaín, seanachie, bodhran player and member of The Fuchsia Band; Mirella Murray, accordion player and member of Cherish the Ladies; Len Graham, Ulster singer, recording artist, and TG4 Traditional Singer of the Year (2002); Kathleen Guilday, All-Ireland Harp champion and recording artist; Pat Egan, Tipper-ary native, solo and ensemble guitar player and member of Chulrua; Florence Fahy, Clare concer-tina player and daughter of Martin Fahy; Ged Fo-ley, fiddler, and guitarist with groups including The Battlefield Band, The House Band, and Pat-rick Street.

Three Days of Reedmaking

At the last few Tionól, Mike and Tipperary pipe-maker Jim Wenham have also put together a 3-day reedmaking seminar that starts the Thursday before the “big party.” It’s held at the St. Louis Irish Arts facility, and is a great opportunity to get your hands on some tools and some cane while you try to wrap your brain around making your own reeds. This year’s reedmaking workshop was an extra-special one. Jim was joined by Dave Hegarty (yes, the Dave Hegarty); the pair have been co-teaching the reedmaking at the Willie Clancy summer

Reed Wizards Dave Hegarty and Jim Wenham


school for the last few years. Between the two of them, we got a wealth of perspective on reeds, piping, and volumes of history on pipers, too. Dave has met just about every piper and pipe-maker who’s walked the planet in the last half-century or so, which means he’s full of great sto-ries.

The 2012 reedmaking class was a comparatively big one with, I think, 10 students, some of whom came from as far away as Texas, Florida, and Min-nesota. But there were plenty of tools and tuition, and soon everyone was working away to the pat-ter of Wenham and Hegarty, who’ve developed quite a rapport. Listening to the backing-and-forthing of “The Jim and Dave Show” made the gouging and sanding go that much more – well, maybe not more smoothly or quickly, but at least more pleasantly.

Piper Brendan Collins joined us, taking a busman’s holiday and making a few reeds for his Alain Froment chanter while the rest of us looked on in a mix of admiration and despair. Brendan reminded me several times that last month he made 10 reeds, only one of which seems to be up to snuff… I’m not sure whether this was meant to be encouraging or not. The teapot was drained frequently: the Barry’s Index finished the day a good 25 bags down.

Michael Cooney, Unplugged

We ended Thursday (well, those of us who did end the day) with a brilliant acoustic concert by Michael Cooney and harpist Eileen Gannon. It took place at the world’s most random venue: lis-tening room-cum-art installation, Joe’s Cafe. Just the concert at Joe’s made the weekend worth the trip. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. The sculpture garden out back is extra-special, with giant Big Boy statues and Easter Island heads smoking cigarettes and a travel trailer seeming to float in the trees ... But I digress.

Cooney was phenomenal as usual, making great use of the regulators in addition to his usual spot-less chanter work. They were joined for a few sets

by fiddler Eileen O’Brien, daughter of late great Nenagh composer Paddy O’Brien; and Paul Smyth, one of my favorite Sligo flute players, who now resides in Tipperary. Legend has it that Mi-chael and Eileen won the Senior Duets at the All-Irelands back in the day, and with Paul Smyth now in Tipperary too a rousing run through Pad-dy O’Brien’s “Iniscealtra” set was a no-brainer. It was especially fun to watch Michael and Eileen and think about them growing up as music stu-dents and members of the Ormond Ceili Band – and now here they are, still at it I won’t say how many years later, and better than ever.

Coyne Day (aka Friday)

More cane, more slips, more staples, more hemp, more scrapes, more tea. A fine soft day outside, so the pipes were happy. In addition to reedmaking and teaching, Jim and Dave had an open surgery for everyone’s pipes. Reeds were tweaked, bridles

Brendan Collins


replaced, drones repaired, what have you.

While we worked, Jimmy Morrison and others “played in” Dean Karres’ new Wenham half-set; Jim hand-carried it over from Ireland. As with all Jim’s work I’ve heard, it sounds terrific and was pronounced a winner by all. He’s really develop-ing a signature tone and sound that’s just the right mix of sweet and forward in my book. Of course, much of this has to do with his reeds, which are rock-solid. I’ve had mine four years and barring any major disasters I think we’ll be happy togeth-er for a long time. (Which is good, given my poor home-reedmaking regimen!)

After a hefty lunch at the local brewpub, Michael Cooney brought in his family’s Coyne C-sharp set. He played a few tunes on it, as did Jim, Dave, and Brendan. After that it was like watching little kids line up for pony rides! We took turns, took pic-tures of each other taking turns, etc. The set has been restored by Benedict Kohler and is set up with a spruce chanter reed.

I don’t know what to say except that playing “the Cooney Coyne” was absolutely magical. Once I got my fingers sorted, Michael leaned in and switched on the drones and I was lost. Time stopped, and I became completely unaware of the fact I was sitting in roomful of great pipers – I was so blissed-out I forgot to be nervous! Eventually I resurfaced, and just sat there in a daze with the pipes on my lap until Michael came and rescued them. There’s definitely music for – and of – the ages in those. Michael told me they’re almost all he ever plays at home now, and no wonder. They’re totally addictive.

It’s hard to describe one of these workshops, but basically it’s like Piper’s Fantasy Camp. You sit in a chair, fuss with cane, gossip, and periodically wander off for a few tunes with other class mem-bers in another classroom. Meanwhile, folks like Michael Cooney, Jimmy Morrison, and Brendan Collins are kibbitzing and playing tunes in the corner or just down the hall. At one point flute player Paul Smyth came in for a few tunes with Morrison, and it was hog heaven. I kept thinking I

was listening to one of my favorite CDs, and would have had to pinch myself if I didn’t con-veniently (albeit accidentally) gouge myself in-stead.

Friday Night Concert & Sessions

The first of the weekend’s two formal concerts was held at the Schlafly Brewery Taproom and featured some of the teachers in a variety of solo and ensemble formats. As for the pipers, Chicago-an Pat Cannady and his wife, fiddler Karen Cook, turned in an incredibly smooth and stylish set, with their last blast of reels augmented by step dancers. Later on, Tipperary native Brendan Col-lins wowed us with his combination of technique and musicality. Even the non-pipers in the audi-ence got a glimmer of what this whole “piping thing” is about from Brendan’s piping. Other per-formers Friday night included Brian Kelso Crow, Keith Reins, Paul Smyth, Ged Foley, and Jim Wen-ham on the bodhran.

After the concert, it was Katy-bar-the-door as peo-ple grabbed their instruments and drinks and headed to every corner of the Brewery they could find. It’s a large converted warehouse/brewery complex with three floors, so there were a reason-able number of places to play without annoying the punters too much.

We joined a bunch of friends near the third-floor elevators and ended up staying there all night. As an aside ... I’ve noticed a direct correlation be-tween my time piping and the expansion of my beam; I used to get up and walk around with my flute but now with the pipes I tend to just park somewhere and let people bring me drinks.

A big highlight for me was getting to play with other pipers. That night I spent some good quality time with Jon Cooper, Kathleen Cavanaugh, and Autumn Rhodes. When several of us knew the same tune, it was like a force of nature and the pipes just kind of took over. You really appreciate this kind of thing when you spend the rest of the year playing for your long-suffering fiddler fella, your farm animals, and the flock of vultures who live in the tree near the road!


Periodically Brendan or Jim or Mike would stop by with encouraging smiles and thumbs-up.

Saturday Classes

I skived off and took Paul Smyth’s flute class so can’t really report on the piping classes. Paul had been scheduled to teach last year but the Finland volcano eruption kept him home. Still, I got the impression everyone was happy with the help they got and the progress they were making. The reedmaking workshop continued in the Nerinx High School cafeteria as people drifted in and out. As for my class, Paul was a kind and patient teacher, dealing with flute players aged 7 to 50 and giving us a bunch of nice tunes and insights on how to keep them that way.

I wish I could be in more places at once; in the fray of old friends and other catching-up I missed Oliver O’Connell’s talk about Free Spirits, his new book about the Irish Traveller pipers. I also missed the piper’s recital, which is always an en-joyable and instructive half-hour.

Saturday Concert

Held in the grand old Sheldon Concert Hall, it was, as always, terrific. Once again I found myself marveling that I was listening to my iPod heroes, all live and just as good in person. Unfortunately, I missed Jimmy Morrison’s set, but I did make it in time for Michael Cooney’s first-half-wrapup set. Again, the Tipperary Home Team knocked their tunes right out of the park. At the beginning of one set Michael said to Eileen “I’ll see you on the other side,” and what a fine trip across it was!

While there we got ourselves a copy of Eileen O’Brien’s newly-published The Definitive Collec-tion of the Music of Paddy O’Brien 1922 - 1991. We’re fortunate to live about an hour’s drive from an absolutely spectacular old-style box player who’s deeply into Paddy’s music, so we’re happy for the additional background.

After the concert it was back to the Tap Room for another blascht of tuneage. The three-story build-ing was filled with music and musicians enjoying

drinks, sandwiches and conversation until closing time around 2 a.m.

McGurk’s Brunch Session

Sunday morning is another favorite St. Louis Tionol time. John C. McGurk’s, a St. Louis pub and Irish-music institution flings open its doors each year for a huge brunch and session party. Like the Tap Room, McGurk’s is set up well for multiple sessions in snugs, corners, different rooms, and even out on its covered deck. Michael Cooney remarked that he first came to St. Louis 30 years ago to play with Joe Burke for a six-week stint at McGurk’s.

McGurk’s still books traveling musicians for five to six weeks at a time, so it was a great pleasure to run into Joseph E. Smith, who’s the current “piper-in-residence” with his “Irish Brigade” duo partner. I hadn’t met Joe in person but had gotten a great deal of joy out of his past posts on Chiff & Fipple, so it was like Old Home Week. I’m pleased to report that Joe’s well and in good health and getting a lot of piping time in!

One of the brightest spots of the weekend was the little session we had in the back room. Myself and my “Mná na hUilleann” compatriots Kathleen Duggan-Cavanaugh and Autumn Rhodes were joined by “Man na Uilleann” ;) piper Dean Karres on the whistle and bodhran, and Larry Green on his Hardanger fiddle. Autumn’s also a brilliant

Brendan Collins, Jimmy Morrison and Chris Weddle


concertina player, so we got some nice blends of pipes and concertina happening. All in all, the five of us had a lovely hour of nice steady tunes and conversation, plus lots of laughter. Tired as I was, it was so hard to leave when the time came!

I’m so grateful to Mike Mullins, his family, and all the others who work so hard to put this weekend on each year. It can’t be easy, and it certainly can’t be financially enriching. But every year I get enough to keep me going and learning on my own for a good long time. The piping help and encour-

agement I’ve gotten over the years has been inval-uable, and the friends I’ve made are unforgettable. The camaraderie in the reeds class alone is just a joy. If you’re within a day’s (or even two days’!) drive of St. Louis and need some piping support, I can wholeheartedly recommend this as a cure for at least a bit of what ails you.

Oh, dear. I’m so tired I’ve just gone and put soap on my toothbrush. I think it’s time to stop!

Minnesota Irish Music Weekend June 14-17, 2012 St. Paul, Minnesota

Guest Piper: Harry Bradley

The Minnesota Irish Music Weekend is a unique festival presented by the Center for Irish Music that pairs world-class traditional Irish musicians and teachers with youth and adult learners for a weekend of workshops, lectures and a rare and virtuosic concert on Saturday night.

This three-day event is unique in its mission to provide traditional Irish music programming for all ages and abilities, from a beginner program for children ages 7-11 taught by Center for Irish Mu-sic instructors, to a full three-day youth music course (all Irish instruments) and a wide variety of 80-minute workshops for adults on uillean pipes, flute, piano, Irish accompaniment, Irish harp, fid-dle and more, taught by the visiting artists.

Mark the following events on your calendar!

Friday, June 15th, 7:00pm - Family Ceili

Saturday June 16th, 8:00pm - Concert featuring visiting artists

Outdoor Social Hours at the Celtic Junction on Friday and Saturday, 5:00-7:00pm

Workshops for adults Saturday and Sunday.

Lectures on Michael Coleman and more.

Youth workshops taught by visiting artists

Early-bird registration discounts are available online before June 1st. See the website for more details: www.centerforirishmusic.org/mim/

Kathleen Cavanagh and Dave Hegarty

UPCOMING EVENTS


ZoukFest Traditional Irish Music Weekend June 7-10, Santa Fe, New Mexico

ZoukFest will be held June 7-10 at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The great Mick O'Brien will be teaching Uilleann pipes. Eliot Grasso, who is also an excel-lent piper will teach flute and whistle as well as a class in variations in Irish music. Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh who plays and records with Mick will teach fiddle. Sean McElwain from the group Teada will teach bouzouki, guitar, and tenor ban-jo. Roger Landes will teach mandolin/octave mandolin and bouzouki. Moira Smiley will teach vocals. Further details available on-line: www.zoukfest.com.

“Kitty Lie Over” at South Carolina Irish Arts Weekend

June 15-17, Columbia, South Carolina

Hot on the heels of what is sure will be a mighty ZoukFest appearance, Mick O'Brien will join up with "Kitty Lie Over" accomplice Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh for workshops and a performance at the South Carolina Irish Arts Weekend in Columbia, SC this June 15 - 17.

Other luminaries will include Turlach Boylan, Myron Bretholz, Andi Hearn, Davey Mathias, Mai Hernon, Tim Benson & Stephanie Cor-nelius, flutemaker John Gallagher and concer-tina player Jeff Thomas.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2012 Pipers’ Gathering August 3-6, Burlington, Vermont

Registration is now open for the 2012 Pipers’ Gathering! This year’s Gathering will be held Fri-day evening, August 3rd through Monday, Au-gust 6th at Champlain College in Burlington, Ver-mont. Our instructor lineup for this year includes:

Scottish smallpipes: Dan Houghton, Iain MacHarg, Fin Moore. Border pipes: To be an-nounced Uilleann pipes: Eamonn Dillon, Michael “Blackie” O’Connell. Northumbrian smallpipes: Chris Ormston, Richard Shuttleworth Renaissance/Medieval piping: Tom Zajac Fiddle: Rose Clancy. Whistle: Andrea Mori.

Applications for Van Jackman Memorial scholar-ships are being accepted. This year four scholar-ships will be awarded as follows: Two $300 schol-arships towards the cost attending this year’s Pip-ers’ Gathering; One $100 scholarship towards the cost of attending the Upper Potomac Pipers Week-end in January 2013; One $150 scholarship to off-set the cost of tuition for individual instruction with a pipe teacher. These scholarships are availa-ble to all regardless of age or ability. The deadline for submissions is Friday, June 15th 2012. For more information, including scholarship applica-tions and on-line event registration, please visit the website: www.pipersgathering.org


At First Light Releases “Idir”

Five years after their critically-acclaimed debut “Tripswitch,” John McSherry (uilleann pipes), Dónal O’Connor (fiddle, keys), Francis McIlduff (bodhran, whistles) reunite again as At First Light and deliver “Idir,” one of the year’s most exciting neo-traditional albums. Special guests include Ciara McCrickard (vocals, fiddle) Tony Byrne (Guitar), Ruben Bada (Bouzouki), Mi-cahel McCague (Guitar & Bouzouki) and Paul McSherry (Guitar). For more information, please visit www.compassrecords.com.

Patrick D’Arcy Going Solo

In an unguarded moment, Los Angeles-based pip-er and all-around bon vivant Patrick D’Arcy has let slip that his first solo CD is nearing completion. The as yet unnamed album will feature Patrick on uilleann pipes and whistle. Further details are not available yet, but general reaction to the project has been “it’s about time!” Keep an eye on these pages and Patrick’s website, www.PatDarcy.com

NEW RECORDINGS

© 2012 Dave Riddles

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ZoukFest Irish Music Weekend June 7-10, 2012

Minnesota Irish Music Week June 14—17, 2012

The Pipers’ Gathering August 3—6, 2012

Northeast Tionól October 19—22, 2012

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