www.hawkswell.com

A musical voyage through lands and seas… Ebb & Flow is a travelling musical show presented in the format of a small festival that will help audiences experience the rich musical heritage of different cultures from both sides of the Atlantic. With three acts and a total of eight musicians on stage, Ebb & Flow is a powerful two-and-a-half-hour show of music from the Appalachians to the Andes, from Portugal to Finland and from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, a blend of traditional tunes and original material.

Featuring: Sarah McQuaid, The Unwanted, a great new band featuring Rick Epping, Seamie O’Dowd and Cathy Jordan, and NoCrows (Steve Wickham, Anna Houston, Eddie Lee and Felip Carbonell). Saturday, April 18th, 2009 Hawk’s Well Theatre, 8.00pm, Temple Street, Sligo, Ireland, Tickets: €22.

www.crowvalleymusic.com

Brian and Eithne Valley founded the Armagh Pipers’ Club over forty years ago and have been involved in the musical education of thousands of children, including many who have gone on to establish themselves among Ireland’s foremost traditional musicians. They started producing tutor books in 1972 - the first of their kind. Crow Valley Music now has these iconic books for sale online for the first time

www.corkuniversitypress.com

The Making of Irish Traditional Music by Helen O’Shea
Hardback, 236 pages, ?39.00 Special Pre-Publication Offer: €30.00

Dr Helen O’Shea is a Research Fellow at Monash University, Victoria, Australia and her work has been praised by Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, University of Limerick, who says it is, “A breath of fresh air in the growing literature on music in Ireland. The debate it will provoke will itself form a part of the great wild yell of Irish traditional music in a new century.”

The book claims to be first critical historical study of Irish traditional music. The Making of Irish Traditional Music also draws on the author’s experience as a musician to analyse the encounters of foreigners playing Irish music at summer schools with the tourism industry’s, ‘Ireland of the Welcomes’ and their experiences in the heart of Ireland’s traditional music empire, County Clare. The book concludes that a view of Irish traditional music, as expressive of an ethnically pure, territorially bound, masculinist, national culture, is an inadequate basis for a multi-ethnic Irish society.

For further information visit: www.corkuniversitypress.com

www.imro.ie

The Chairman of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), Keith Donald, has announced that as of 1st February 2009, IMRO will manage the administration of the rights of the Irish mechanical rights society MCPSI. The decision to outsource MCPSI to IMRO has been approved by the boards of MCPSI, IMRO and MCPS and follows closely the appointment of Victor Finn as CEO of IMRO following his many years as Managing Director of MCPSI.
(more…)

www.imro.ie

Following a six month relocation period IMRO moved back to its newly renovated HQ at Copyright House on Pembroke Row, Dublin 2 during December 2008. Keith Donald IMRO Chairman tells us that, “The refurbished office space offers the very highest standards in contemporary workspace planning, IT and tele-communications services. “A new office plan layout allows for a flexible meeting space on the ground floor of the building, catering for up to 90 persons, which will be used for, among other things, IMRO’s regular series of song writing seminars, industry panels and mentoring sessions.”

www.artscouncil.ie

The popular and continuing Deis arts scheme for traditional music is running a project which will help fund the production of traditional music CD’s. There will only be one chance per year to submit your proposal and the deadline is looming. The Arts Council say that: “Proposals for recording projects (including CD production) will be considered separately, once per year. The closing date for all such proposals is Friday 24th April at 5.30 pm.”

Priority will be given to recording projects that: are of a significant archival nature or that are pertaining to the music of a specific region or in a particular style assist in making the music/song of an exceptional performer/composer/region publicly available
have a particularly innovative theme or original artistic format
form part of an individual’s career development.

You can find out more details on line at: www.artscouncil.ie

www.cdbaby.com/patriciadaly

Recently honoured with the Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and holder of the all-Ireland harping championship title, with a reputation that goes well beyond Ireland’s shores, Patricia Daly who is primarily known for her subtle and varied harp repertoire, displaying all the skills acquired over several decades of researching, arranging and playing traditional Irish music has now released a new CD entitled ‘The Spanish Lady’ which is also funded by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

<!–more–>

This purely vocal CD contains newly written material compiled by Patricia during the past 5 years. Her Major Individual Artist award will be used towards a new innovative piece of work currently being produced by Patricia to be staged later in the year thus taking her career to further heights.

Patricia has come a long way since she was singled out to perform at Drogheda as part of a trio playing to Pope John Paul II on his visit to Ireland in the late 70s. Her hard-earned CCE All-Ireland Harping Title in the mid 70’s kick-started her solo career, and brought her initial recognition as an acting ambassador for the Irish traditional harp throughout Ireland and further afield.

It was Patricia who also provided the inspiration (and the hard work) for the initiation of the ever more popular annual Edward Bunting Harp Festival in Armagh. One of the highlights of the 2008 festival was a visit from TG4 to televise a solo harp recital given by Mary O’Neill, and to interview Patricia on the importance of the festival, the life and times of Edward Bunting, the technique and life style of the old harpers of the Gael.

On line copies and downloads are available from the website: www.cdbaby.com/patriciadaly

www.imro.ie

IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) have announced a call for entries for
the 2009 IMRO Showcase Tour. Established in 1992, Ireland’s most established
new band showcase has provided a live platform for scores of emerging Irish
music talent over the years. Recent acts to have featured include Fight Like
Apes, Oppenheimer, Declan O’Rourke, Halves, Delorentos, The Immediate and
The Flaws to name a few. IMRO now invite submissions for the IMRO Showcase
Tour 2009. Bands and artists who wish to be considered for a place on the
tour should send a website or MySpace link to showcase@imro.ie before Friday
February 27th, 2009. All genres of music are welcome. Successful acts will
be notified in early March.
(more…)

Turning Heartache Into Art
www.kierangoss.com

Kieran Goss left Ireland for Austin, Texas, to record his eighth solo album. ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ took shape in the Texan heat during a handful of loose, live sessions with the aid of co-producer and musician, Gabe Rhodes.
(more…)

www.francismcpeake.com

The Francis McPeake School of Music which started in Belfast during troubled times, has become an icon within the music world. The School is a world renowned centre of excellence in traditional music tuition, providing Belfast with culture for the past 31 years. Indeed, since 1977, the School has been changing the lives of everyone within our community irrespective of their background.

This legacy is now in peril. The School has no funding therefore placing the future of this cultural beacon, which has been in operation since 1977, in jeopardy. Francis McPeake stated “After 31 years of teaching music in Belfast, the very thought of the School closing is very saddening. The School has now reached a crisis point and we need the help of everyone within our community, both nationally and , to come onboard with our campaign and ensure there is a home for both our present and future students to learn music.”
(more…)