IMDA July 2013 Newsletter
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July 1 Irish Music & 2013 Dance Association Lúil 31th Year, Issue No. 7 The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support, coordinate, encourage and promote high quality activities and programs in Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions within the community and to insure the continuation of those traditions. Inside this issue: IMDA Presents: Tim Britton and Pat Egan Tune of the Month 2 The Irish Music and Dance Association is delighted to present Tim Britton and Pat Egan for a wonderful evening of traditional music in the intimate setting of a Gaelic Corner 3 house concert on Friday, July 5, at 3617 14th Avenue South, (Paul McCluskey's IMDA Grant Winner 7 house in Powderhorn Park.) July Calendar 10-11 Tim Britton is renowned as one of the leading players of the uilleann pipes, one of the sweetest and most complex bagpipes. He is also accomplished on the Northwoods Songs 12 wooden flute, tin whistle, Highland pipes, mandolin, and as a singer and storyteller. Ceili Corner 18 Tim’s unique style as an American with many influences is founded on a profound Smidirini 19 knowledge of the tradition. Pat Egan is highly regarded as one of the leading singers/ guitar players in traditional Irish music. His guitar backing displays a rare sensitivity and impeccable rhythm which manages to be tasteful yet driving and uplifting. Pat is equally admired for his smooth, lyrical vocals, honest delivery and repertoire of storied songs. Admission is $15 per person, at the door. Amenities include beer, cider, wine, and light food will be available. (Donations gratefully accepted; proceeds go to Tim and Pat.) Since this will be hosted at Paul's house, there is a great likelihood that a bit of ceili and/or set dancing will occur in the dining room. During the break and after the concert, feel free to roam Paul's yard and enjoy the outdoor fire. Send a note to Paul McCluskey at [email protected] for location information. IRISH GOT TALENT! CONTEST Join the Irish Fair of MN as the best and brightest of Irish culture and talent compete for a chance to perform on stage during Irish Fair. The Irish history is full of legendary artists in all genres and lyrical usage of the voice is no exception. The winner will perform on Saturday of the Fair and will receive $250 cash. 1 st Runner up will perform on Saturday of the Fair. The Preliminary contest will be held at Kieran’s Irish Pub, July 27 th at 6pm. Each contestant(s) will be allotted a 10 minute set. The Final Four will go on to compete at Irish Fair on Friday, August 9 th from 3pm to 5pm. The winners will be announced from the Main Stage that same evening. Go to IrishFair.com to complete a brief application to enter the contest; or, contact Lisa Conway at [email protected] / 612.990.3122.* ALL SIGN UPS ARE DUE BY JULY 17 TH . 2012 Winners were: 1st Place – The Jolly Groggers (band); 2nd Place – Mike Lovestrand (tenor); 3rd Place – Alex Shaleen (dancer) *All acts must be Irish or Celtic in nature and can be music or dance, instrumental or voice, solo or group. Dancers must use recorded music for the contest. Singers can use recorded accompaniment – music only, no recorded voice. Groups or acts cannot be already booked to perform during the festival. Contestants must have enough polished material for a 45 minute performancewww.IMDAwww.IMDA- in the---MN.orgMN.org event that they win the contest. Irish Music & 2 Dance Association The IMDA Board is : Tune of the Month by Amy Shaw President: Lisa Conway Treasurer: Mark Malone If you attended last month’s wonderful Minnesota Irish Music Weekend concert, Secretary: Jan Casey you’ll have heard Eamonn Cotter playing this slip jig. He also taught it during the Board Members: John Concannon Juli Acton flute classes, and it appears on the CD he released last year called The Knotted Paul McCluskey Chord . Eamonn is steeped in the music of West Clare, and indeed this tune is Joan Portel connected with that area. Kathie Luby Editor: John Burns Elizabeth Kelly was the mother of John Kelly (1912-1987), the influential fiddler and concertina player from West Clare who settled in Capel Street, Dublin. IMDA IMDA Board Meetings are open to the membership. readers will certainly be familiar with John’s son, James Kelly, who has taught and The Board meets regularly on the First Tuesday of each month at 6 pm at Perkins in HarMar. Members are encouraged to performed at a number of events here sponsored by the Center for Irish Music. For verify the time and location shortly before, as meeting times and the record, Elizabeth was herself a concertina player. In her day, you could hardly locations can change. throw a stone in Clare without hitting a concertina player. According to music scholar Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, “By 1900, the concertina had replaced the uilleann Contact Information pipes as a household instrument in rural Clare. Women earning surplus income from Write to: Irish Music and Dance Association egg and butter sales, as well as other domestic industries, were among its chief 236 Norfolk Ave NW patrons. In the vernacular of West Clare, the instrument was referred to as a bean Elk River, MN 55330 cháirdín (female accordion), such was its popularity among female players. By 1910, Call: 612-990-3122 concertinas were being stocked by hardware stores and bicycle shops in Ennis, E-mail: [email protected] Kilrush, Kildysart, and Ennistymon.” (Imagine if our local Ace Hardware or Erik’s bike shops stocked concertinas!) Many homes in Clare had a concertina, even if it Newsletter Submissions was only played by visiting musicians. It was often kept safe and dry in a special We welcome our readers to submit articles of interest, alcove in the hearth when it was not being used to play tunes for set dancing. Of news, and notices of events to be published in the newsletter. course, these days there are many accomplished concertina players, female and The deadline is the 20th of the preceding month. male. Usual disclaimers: Any transcription errors are my own. The notation here is Send to: [email protected] not meant to be a substitute for listening. It is simply an aid to learning the tune. www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 3 Dance Association The Gaelic Corner By Will Kenny When you are thirsty and want to order a carbonated Connacht (West): Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? Cén t-ainm atá soft drink, do you use proper English ("pop")? Or do you ort? Cé as thú? call it "soda"? As most of you know, there are regional differences, Munster (South): Conas tánn tú? Cad is ainm duit? Cad as even in the U.S., in the way we speak English. Not only duit? do people in different locations As you might expect, then, there are sometimes use different words, many word differences between they also use different sounds. regions. "Rain" is báisteach for some We all know that someone from speakers, but fearthainn for others, for Alabama sounds different from instance. The three dialects even tend to someone from Minnesota , who use different words to refer to the Irish sounds different from someone from New Jersey. (I can language itself, with the Gaeilge in the West, Gaeidhlic in tell you that when my kids were in grade school and we the North , and Gaolainn in the South. took them to Boston for the first time, their first taste of the local accent was at the auto rental counter, and they Again, even in American English we know that different didn't have a clue about what was being said.) regions speak with different accents and use different One of the great challenges of the Irish language is the words to some extent. But you've probably never thought regional differences. We refer to the three main dialects, about grammar differences across the U.S.. In Irish, even Ulster (mostly Donegal, the North), Connacht the grammar can vary, in how plurals are formed, in verb (Connemara, Galway, the West), and Munster (Cork, endings, and especially in regard to the rules for what we Kerry, Dingle, the South). The differences among these call "initial mutations," that is, the consonant changes at the three dialects, in the sounds of the language, the beginning of words, depending on grammatical usage. vocabulary, and even the grammar, are wildly beyond Take, for example, the simple sentence, "The cat is in anything most of us have experienced in English. the box that is on the table." In Irish: There is a standard version of the language, and that is Ulster: Tá an cat sa bh osca atá ar an bh ord. often taught. But as learners become more advanced, they Connacht: Tá an cat sa mb osca atá ar an mb ord. often become interested in a particular region -- perhaps Munster: Tá an cat sa bh osca atá ar an mb ord. from ancestry, perhaps just because they like that area -- As you can see, dialects in Irish are indeed quite and then the fun begins. challenging. But they are also a lot of fun, and when Naturally, it is hard to convey in a printed column how students reach the level where they can choose to pursue a the accent, in the sense of the sounds of the language, particular dialect, it only deepens their interest in, and varies. Suffice it to say that if you think about how enjoyment of, learning Irish.