The Smithsonian Folklife Festival this summer in Washington DC will feature the traditions of Northern Ireland. As a build-up to this, the Library of Congress has been hosting a series of lectures by eminent scholars and performances by well-known musicians and singers. Following their performance at the Library of Congress on May 29th, the Philadelphia Ceili Group will present flute player Gary Hastings and singer Brian Mullen in concert at the Commodore Barry Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia. It will be a great night of northern tunes, songs, and crack from both the Green and the Orange traditions with a rare opportunity to hear one of the north’s best flute players and to hear traditional singing from one of the north’s most respected singers. Those of you familiar with Ciaran Carson's "Last Night's Fun" already know something about these two musicians as they are mentioned here and there.
Reverend Canon GARY HASTINGS is one of several excellent flute players to emerge from Belfast in the late 70s. He can be heard on the CD "Slan le Loch Eirne (Stories to Tell)", (Clo Iar-Chonnachta, 2002) with well-known fiddler and piano player Father Seamus Quinn. Gary holds a BA in Irish Studies, an MA in Adult and Continuing Education, and a Theology degree. Although not a fifer nor a drummer, he recently wrote "With Fife and Drum -- Music, Memories and Customs of an Irish Tradition" (Blackstaff Press, 2003), which explores the musical tradition of the Lambeg drum, primarily associated with the Orange Order in Northern Ireland. Although the manuscript doesn't shy away from the political associations, Gary concentrates on the more purely musical aspects of the tradition, the instruments and performance practice. Gary is now the Church of Ireland Rector of Westport, Co. Mayo, where he lives with his wife, Catríona and their two children.
BRIAN MULLEN, a native of Derry city, is a highly respected singer and well-known broadcaster. He has been singing traditional songs for more than 30 years. Like many others in the 60's, he fell under the spell of Bob Dylan and the American folk revival and made his way from there back to his Irish roots. He met, became friends with and learned from some of the great singers of Ulster like Eddie Butcher, Joe Holmes, Geordie Hanna and Nellie Ní Dhomhnaill. Brian has been involved in broadcasting since 1984 and has worked for many years with the BBC where he was Northern Ireland's first full-time Irish language radio producer. He helped to set up Radio Ulster's Irish Language Unit in 1987 and currently presents the weekly radio program, Caschlár which features an eclectic selection of music from around the world.
Gary Hastings and Brian Mullen in Concert
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival this summer in Washington DC will feature the traditions of Northern Ireland. As a build-up to this, the Library of Congress has been hosting a series of lectures by eminent scholars and performances by well-known musicians and singers. Following their performance at the Library of Congress on May 29th, the Philadelphia Ceili Group will present flute player Gary Hastings and singer Brian Mullen in concert at the Commodore Barry Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia. It will be a great night of northern tunes, songs, and crack from both the Green and the Orange traditions with a rare opportunity to hear one of the north’s best flute players and to hear traditional singing from one of the north’s most respected singers. Those of you familiar with Ciaran Carson's "Last Night's Fun" already know something about these two musicians as they are mentioned here and there.
Reverend Canon GARY HASTINGS is one of several excellent flute players to emerge from Belfast in the late 70s. He can be heard on the CD "Slan le Loch Eirne (Stories to Tell)", (Clo Iar-Chonnachta, 2002) with well-known fiddler and piano player Father Seamus Quinn. Gary holds a BA in Irish Studies, an MA in Adult and Continuing Education, and a Theology degree. Although not a fifer nor a drummer, he recently wrote "With Fife and Drum -- Music, Memories and Customs of an Irish Tradition" (Blackstaff Press, 2003), which explores the musical tradition of the Lambeg drum, primarily associated with the Orange Order in Northern Ireland. Although the manuscript doesn't shy away from the political associations, Gary concentrates on the more purely musical aspects of the tradition, the instruments and performance practice. Gary is now the Church of Ireland Rector of Westport, Co. Mayo, where he lives with his wife, Catríona and their two children.
BRIAN MULLEN, a native of Derry city, is a highly respected singer and well-known broadcaster. He has been singing traditional songs for more than 30 years. Like many others in the 60's, he fell under the spell of Bob Dylan and the American folk revival and made his way from there back to his Irish roots. He met, became friends with and learned from some of the great singers of Ulster like Eddie Butcher, Joe Holmes, Geordie Hanna and Nellie Ní Dhomhnaill. Brian has been involved in broadcasting since 1984 and has worked for many years with the BBC where he was Northern Ireland's first full-time Irish language radio producer. He helped to set up Radio Ulster's Irish Language Unit in 1987 and currently presents the weekly radio program, Caschlár which features an eclectic selection of music from around the world.
# Posted on May 25th 2007 by LongNote