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October 22
Don't miss Chad McAnally and Shawn McBurnie's Double CD Release concert at 7:30pm at The Celtic Junction. More details in the column, at right.
October 23
Please welcome "Canada's finest singer-songwriter," James Keelaghan to The Celtic Junction. 8pm concert more info. here.
October 29
The Celtic Junction Grand Re-Opening and First Annual Halloween Bash is not to be missed! Visit CIM's new space, with activities planned from 1-9pm. See more info. in column, at right.
November 4, 5, 6
Sliabh Minnesota Irish Set Dancing and Music Weekend with Matt Cranitch, Jackie Daly, and Paul de Grae, at The Celtic Junction and the St. Paul Kelly Inn. More details at www.shleevmn.org.
November 10
O'Rourke's Feast will be performing at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at 7:30pm. More info. here.
November 11
Come celebrate the music of CIM instructor Brian Miller's first solo CD, Minnesota Lumberjack Songs! With guest performer Randy Gosa, at 7:30pm at The Celtic Junction. More details here.
November 13
Cherish the Ladies fiddler Gráinne Murphy, and pianist Kathleen Boyle, are performing at The Celtic Junction at 7pm. More information about this stunning duo here.
November 17
Come experience an evening of exquisite Irish traditional fiddle and guitar with Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill! In concert at The Celtic Junction, 7:30pm. Click here for more information.
November 19
Don't miss the Monthly Ceili at The Celtic Junction, featuring music by The Twin Cities Ceili Band! 7-10pm.
February 25, 2012
Save the date for Éigse 2012! Details to come.
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CHECK OUT AND LISTEN TO OUR SESSION TUNES & COMMON REPERTOIRE PAGE!
This is a valuable learning tool for ALL of our students! We encourage you to visit this site often. The site has both slow and fast recordings of some of the most commonly taught songs at CIM. Along with the recordings is the sheet music for the tune. Thanks to Brian Miller and Shawn McBurnie for working hard to get this information available to our students! To access this page, click here.
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The Center For Irish Music is on Facebook!
As of Oct. 19, we have 1,439 Fans! WOW! Become a fan of the Center for Irish Music on Facebook to share ideas, keep up-to-date on current CIM events, and share your love of Irish music with the larger Irish community!
And tell your friends, too!
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CIM has a LinkedIn group and we encourage CIM members to contact each other via this social networking site.
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As always, we welcome your feedback and comments. Please feel free to contact us at any time at:
The Center for Irish Music
@The Celtic Junction
836 Prior Avenue North
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-815-0083
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OUR SINCERE THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL HARVEST HOME WEEKEND!
Thank you for joining us for the unforgettable concert on Friday night with James and John Kelly, Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill, and Dáithí Sproule! All the superlatives you can think of applied and we were all mesmerized by the camaraderie and pure joy palpable on the stage. We also send our thanks to those of you who took part in the workshops and lectures on Saturday, where Cathal Goan shared his knowledge of the tradition and his love of the music.
We will happily share the photos from the weekend as soon as we have them. Watch for them on our Facebook page and at our website.
This activity was funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from
the Legacy Amendment
vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
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~~~~New Recordings by CIM Instructors~~~~
Blackbird from the Willow Sings
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Of Bards and Beggars
Strange as it sounds, Minnesota has become a cultural center for the ancient wire-strung Gaelic or Irish harp, the sort pictured on the back of Irish coins and -- perhaps more commonly for Minnesotans -- on bottles of Guinness. With the likes of Ann and Charlie Heymann and builder David Kortier making their homes here, it is clear Minnesota can boast something special. Throw in harper Chad McAnally, his musical partner Shawn McBurnie, and their current work with Gaelic harp and song, and it's extraordinary.
Chad and Shawn recorded two Gaelic harp and song CDs this past year, Blackbird from the Willow Sings (duo) and Of Bards and Beggars (largely a solo project by Chad) at Wild Sound Studios in Minneapolis.
In Blackbird from the Willow Sings, Shawn McBurnie and Chad McAnally collaborate to provide a glimpse of the musical world of Gaelic harp and voice as it might have been had the tradition not been broken. The material covered spans a thousand years, from original songs written by Shawn to an Old Irish poem dating from the ninth century that Shawn translated into modern English. Of the title track, Shawn says, "I couldn't have done it without Dáithí Sproule's help with Old Irish or Charlie Heymann's advice on Gaelic syllabic poetry. I feel extremely fortunate to have the scholarly and artistic resources that I do."
Of Bards and Beggars is Chad's compositional debut and first solo Gaelic harp recording. It features original compositions and variations and settings of traditional pieces. "I tend to write pieces of music incorporating knowledge and techniques that are so old they sound new. Composing new music for this instrument is extremely important to me. I see a way forward that is idiomatic, workable and creative."
Not only does Chad play and compose for this difficult instrument, he also builds them out of a Northeast garage he shares with an '87 Cabriolet. He has just completed two wire harps for CIM students. "The fact that students are taking up wire-harp makes me feel very optimistic for the instrument's future."
Chad and Shawn are celebrating the release of both Blackbird from the Willow Sings and Of Bards and Beggars at 7:30pm, October 22nd at The Celtic Junction. Special guests include guitarist Brian Barnes and percussionist Adam Modares. The concert will be emceed by the irrepressible Teresa McCormick. $10 at the door. Beer & wine and other refreshments available. For more information visit http://thecelticjunction.com/home/gaelic-harp-cd-release/
Chad McAnally is a fiscal year 2010 recipient of an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
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 Join us a week from Saturday as we support CIM's home, The Celtic Junction, at the TCJ Grand Re-Opening and Halloween Bash on October 29th from 1-9 PM. Explore the remodeled building, including the new CIM space and Common Area. Take a ride in the new elevator, enjoy crafts and activities for the whole family or just sit back and enjoy some tunes! The afternoon is packed with activities and music, while the evening features a barn dance. This is a free event (donations accepted!) that also includes a gallery opening and costume contest. Numerous local Celtic organizations, businesses and TCJ residents will host crafts and activities to support TCJ which is undergoing extensive expansion and remodeling as a direct result of last December's three alarm fire. The remodel has been a daunting undertaking-- and a make or break proposition for TCJ. Natalie O'Shea says, "Cormac and I could not have taken what insurance money we received and rebuilt what we had. To do that, we needed to address four serious code updates; electrical, HVAC, parking and, of course, handicapped accessibility. We talked it over, thought about what we'd seen in the past few years, how TCJ had grown and the community's incredibly positive response and we've decided to go for broke; we'd take the fire as an opportunity to jump ahead with our dreams about what more the Celtic Junction could be ." The expansion includes new dance and performance spaces, a newly designed home for the Center for Irish Music, new office space, and more flexibility. "After only two years, we were starting to run out of room. This is an opportunity to serve more patrons, more artists, more cultural organizations. We didn't realize how badly a location like TCJ was needed until we actually built it." The remodel includes a $50,000 elevator to increase handicap accessibility to the building's three floors. Natalie states, "Any donations that we receive during our Halloween bash will go directly to the purchase of the lift."
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