Sunday, March 11, 2001
4:00 pm to about 8:30 pm
Park Ponderosa Ballroom in McFarland
Come celebrate spring and Irish culture with music, dance, fun and friends. In front of the stage you can dance, mingle and browse, or just sit down and enjoy the shows. Family-oriented activities include a supervised creative corner, a family dance, and the Irish blessings and curses!
4:00 The Snug with the De Luain Dancers
4:30 Trinity Academy Irish step dancers
4:45 Irish blessings and curses
5:00 Family dance with Mickey's Most Wednesdays Ceili Band
5:30 Cashel-Dennehy Irish dancers
5:45 Celtic Music & Dance Revue - Keltori, Navan . . . and more!
7:00 Irish dance with the Flying Cow Ceili Band (ceili and set dances).
Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for kids. Park Ponderosa is at 5100 Erling Ave., McFarland, Wisconsin. From Madison, take 51 south to the Siggelkow exit. Turn right. Travel one block to a four-way stop, then follow the road around Brandt Park, turning left when you see the Green Lantern. Call (608) 233-6298 or e-mail contact@celticmadison.org for more information.
All performers generously donate their services to benefit the not-for-profit groups Celtic Cultural Center and Celtic Music Association, who cooperatively organize this annual festival. For more information about the Celtic music groups The Snug (Irish instrumental), Keltori (Celtic instrumental and song), and Navan (Irish-language song), visit their Web sites, to which we provide links from our site at <https://www.celticmadison.org/>.
De Luain ("djuh LOO-un") means "Monday" in Irish Gaelic, and it's on Mondays that you'll meet the members of this ceili dance team at Madison's bi-monthy Irish social dances (see "Events Calendar").
Both the Cashel-Dennehy Irish dancers and the Trinity Academy Irish step dancers will demonstrate Irish step dancing in full-dress performances. If you are not familiar with it, Irish step dancing has become known world-wide via the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance shows.
Irish-language blessings and curses will be shared with you by Dineen Grow, Madison's talented instructor of Irish language classes and a representative of the Celtic Cultural Center.
The family dance gives Karen Fox Fischer a chance to lead you and your children through some simple and fun Irish folk dances while live music is provided by some of the musicians who play at the Irish sessions at Mickey's on Wednesdays.
Finally, everyone will be called to the dance floor for Irish set dances and ceili dances led by Jamie Ahlman Ng and Karen Fox Fischer. Read more about the Flying Cow Ceili Band below.
![[flying cow]](flyingcow.gif)
Once again, the annual St. Pat's Eve fundraiser on March 11 (see above) will feature the Flying Cow Ceili Band in the last dance session of the evening. The FCCB is made up of participants in the Univ. of Wisconsin Continuing Education Irish music classes in the past few years playing alongside experienced traditional Irish music players from the Madison area. We invite all past and current class participants to be a part of the band. To receive a set list and instructions about setting up for the evening, contact Chelcy Bowles at 265-5629 or <cbowles@dcs.wisc.edu>.
- Chelcy Bowles
Originally known as "The Legends of Irish Music," Patrick Street returns to Madison on Sunday, March 18 to cap off Madison's St. Patrick's Day season.
Kevin Burke on fiddle, Andy Irvine on bouzouki and vocals, and Jackie Daly on accordion each represent one of the greats in the 20th-century Irish tradition on their respective instruments. They were all pivotal members of the innovative supergroups Bothy Band, Planxty, and De Danann, who created the signature sound we associate with Irish music today. They have also thrilled Madison audiences as core members of Arcady and Celtic Fiddle Festival.
Ged Foley, formerly of the Battlefield Band and current member of the House Band, joined the lads more recently. His versatile and virtuosic guitar backing provides rich texturing to the tight and lively playing of these masters and a perfect complement to Andy's singing. Ged has even been known to add a tune or two on the Northumbrian pipes. Come celebrate St. Pat's weekend with one of the finest shows from the heart of the Irish tradition.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 day of show and can be purchased at the box office of the Barrymore Theatre or at the following locations: Borders Books (East & West), Spruce Tree Music, Orange Tree Imports, B-Side Discs, Exclusive Company (East & West), Green Earth (East & West), Magic Mill, Star Liquor, Strictly Discs, and Deep Grooves. For ticket information, call the Barrymore at (608) 241-8633. For further information call (608) 251-1072 or e-mail <cma@celticmadison.org>.
The Madison Folk Harp Society (aka "Mad Harpers") will hold their spring harp circle on March 25, 1:30-5 pm at St. Patrick Church (lower level), 404 E. Main St. This is an informal playing and socializing event. Harp players of all ages and levels are invited. Please bring your harp, music, music stand, and a dessert or snack to share. This organization also sponsors harp-playing retreats, concerts, and workshops. Watch for more information on these events in future CMA newsletters or contact Alice Kissling at (608) 222-8219 or <ajk@papasvoice.com>.
If you don't yet have the harping habit, the Continuing Studies Division of UW-Madison will offer a beginning harp class on Tuesday evenings, 5:30-6:45 pm, February 13-April 10 (except March 13) at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1904 Winnebago St. No music reading experience is necessary. Those registering must arrange for their own instruments, but Spruce Tree Music is offering rentals: (608) 255-2254 or <sprucetree@sprucetreemusic.com>. For class-specific information, contact the instructor, Julia Chybowski at (608) 259-0519 or <jjchybow @ students.wisc.edu.> To register for the class (program #3834), call (608) 262-2451.
- Julia Chybowski
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies will offer a non-credit course beginning March 27 which explores traditional music and instruments from the Celtic countries/ regions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Wales and the Isle of Man. Celtic music scholar and instrumentalist Bob Newton will discuss the similarities and differences between the musical traditions with live demonstrations and multimedia examples for a rich experience of Celtic music. The five-class course will take place on Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, March 27-May 1, in the Humanities Building on the UW campus at a cost of $65. Please call 262-2451 to register for Course #3826.
Coming in Fall 2001: Bodhran (beginning and intermediate), tin whistle (beginning and intermediate), Celtic Music Beyond Erin's Shores (playing traditional music from Celtic regions other than Ireland; all instruments welcome). Contact Chelcy Bowles at 265-5629 or <cbowles@dcs.wisc.edu>.
See also Madison-area Music Classes at the UW.
- Chelcy Bowles
announces
For a Celtic saturation experience, join CMA members Bob Newton and Chelcy Bowles for the 31st Festival Interceltique de Lorient, which brings together thousands of artists from the various Celtic lands of Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Galicia, Asturias, and Cape Breton. The 10-day festival, taking place in the Breton port of Lorient on the south coast of Brittany in Western France, features over 250 events taking place at 12 entertainment venues and in the streets throughout the town. While the festival is well known for its spectacular music and dance performances by traditional, classical, folk, rock and jazz musicians, singers, and dancers, events also include presentations by painters, sculptors, writers, filmmakers and scholars from the rich traditions of these diverse cultures. There are plenty of opportunities to participate in informal music sessions and Breton, Irish, and Scottish dancing -- participants are encouraged to bring instruments and dancing shoes!
Dr. Robert Newton is a special projects coordinator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library System. CMA members know him as Bob Newton, a Celtic music scholar and active performer with the Celtic ensemble Keltori/Far From Home and Public House Ceili Band. He has been a lecturer for various Celtic courses in the UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies for five years, and is the instructor of the acclaimed web-based course, Celtic Music Online. Dr. Chelcy Bowles, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Continuing Education in Music at UW-Madison, directs the program and provides academic oversight for participants who wish to receive credit. Chelcy is a harpist and performs with The Snug, a Madison-based band specializing in traditional Irish music.
Academic credit, Continuing Education Units (CEUs), or Wisconsin DPI Clock Hours are available. Additional fees apply for UW credits.
The package price of $2,145 includes:
Visit these web sites for information:
Arts Study Abroad-Brittany - www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/travel/lorient.htm
Festival - www.celtic-world.com/festival/eng/intro.htm
Contact Kim Seymour at (608) 262-3731 or <kseymour@dcs.wisc.edu> to receive a brochure
"An Irish dance scene in Madison?" you ask. Yes! - and you, too, can join in the fun! Ever since their arrival in Madison ten years ago, Karen and Greg have been steadfastly holding a ceili every second and fourth Monday of the month at the Wil-Mar Center. Thanks to them, many a Madisonian has learned how to ceili dance to traditional Irish dance tunes.
More recently, the Irish dance scene has grown, especially over the past year:
- Jamie Ahlman Ng
"Wouldn't you like to write an introductory article for the new Celtic Music Association newsletter?" drawled the tea-stained Editor. "Naw, I don't think so, besides what would I write?" says I, hoping that he wasn't going to prove persistent. "Anything you want, maybe a short history of the CMA." "From the long ago days of 'Spudchucker Productions' to the present?! There's enough magnificent music, thrilling deeds, intrigue, and sordid tales to fill a year's worth of . . . well, you could write a book on the Tannahill Weavers' post-concert partying alone!" "Well, give it your best shot, nobody else will do it," - and he promptly dashes into the night.
Stuck again. But there'll be no history here, at least not this time. What I will do is mention the hopes and aspirations the Celtic Music Association has for this newsletter. The Celtic music and dance scene has recently expanded so greatly, especially the Irish dance scene, that the organizers felt that a regular and much expanded means of communicating these many events to those looking for a little fun was long overdue. The newsletter will be issued regularly and will contain an expanded listing of all the Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, Breton, Asturian, and Galician (did I forget anyone?) events in Southern Wisconsin.
OK, I admit I don't think there are any regular Galician events in the area and probably won't be for some time. But rest assured that as you read this somebody with more knowledge than I is e-mailing or phoning the Editor to set us straight "In No Uncertain Terms!" that if we'd just take off our blinders we'd see the wealth of Galician organizations and events are all around. Which brings me to the point.
The Celtic Music Association cordially extends an invitation to anybody with a Celtic cultural, dance, or musical event to submit information about your event to the Editor for inclusion in the CMA newsletter <agng @ students.wisc.edu>. We also urge you to submit any articles of interest for publication. If you don't, you might learn more trivia from the CMA archives than is healthy.
- Liam MhicPhaidin
See our on-line Events Calendar at <celticmadison.org>!
This newsletter is published approximately three times per year by the Celtic Music Association of Madison, Wisconsin. Submissions of articles and news relevant to Celtic culture in the Madison area are welcome. Editor and Webmaster: Alan Ng <agng @ students.wisc.edu>. Business-card sized advertisements are also available in the print edition.
Celtic Music Association Spring 2001 Newsletter. Return to Celtic Music Association.