Happy Spring from the Center for Irish Music!
The Saint Patrick's Day celebrations of 2021 were an inspiring display of the Irish community's resilience, creativity and strength. I loved watching the IMDA's pajama party, the St. Patrick's Day mask-up parade, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs' "Shades of Green" show, Kickin' It Irish, and the excellent shows that many of the dance schools produced this year. Congratulations to all of the community organizations, families and artists who rallied to celebrate Irish culture this year!
Register today to reserve your spot in one of our new mini-classes, starting the week of April 12th. In addition to finalizing artists for the 13th annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend (@ Home) on June 10-14th, we are currently working on summer class offerings. I am always open to ideas (including summer camp ideas), so feel free to send them to me directly at nrendell@centerforirishmusic.org.
In April, The Center for Irish Music is thrilled to be collaborating with the Celtic Junction Arts Center for multiple virtual events for Irish Arts Week (April 16th through May 1st). Some of the highlights are:
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April 17th at 2:00pm - Have you learned the 2020 Common Tunes yet? Mary Vanorny and friends will be leading a virtual session featuring the 2020 and 2021 tunes. CIM publishes these tunes online and in the monthly IMDA newsletter. Join us for this fun event on Facebook Live (and broadcast onto our website) from the Junction.
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April 25th at 1:30pm - a collaboration with the CIM and Traditional Arts Partnership, a music school from South Armagh. Students from our youth ensembles are currently exchanging tunes and will be meeting one another at a culminating in a public event. Thanks to Patrick O'Donnell for getting the ball rolling on this collaborative idea.
Finally, we have some very exciting artists booked for the Minnesota Irish Music Weekend, happening on June 10-14. You'll be hearing more from us very soon!
Enjoy the sunshine, and play a tune for me.
Norah Rendell
Executive Artistic Director
Center for Irish Music
*CIM students: The "students" webpage is updated on a weekly basis. We request that current students bookmark this page and check in regularly to find out about upcoming dates, deadlines, events and student-related announcements. Thank you!
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Register Now for Spring Mini Classes |
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Spring Term at the Center for Irish Music is underway, and we have a series of mini classes starting soon! Click the links below to learn more, and email Lily Gaetgaeow, registration coordinator, with questions or to enroll in private lessons on any of the 16 instruments we teach! |
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Instructor: Alisa Mee
Friday, 9:30-10:15 am
4/16 - 5/28 | $88
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Instructor:Danielle Enblom
Tuesday, 5:30-6:30 pm
4/13 - 5/25 | $112
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Instructor: Chad McAnally
Tuesday, 7:30-8:30 pm
4/13 - 5/18 | $96
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Instructor: Seán Gavin
Wednesday, 5:15-6:15 pm
4/14 - 5/26 | $112
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Instructor: Brian Miller
Thursday, 8:00-9:00 pm
4/15 - 5/27 | $96
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Instructor: Mary Vanorny
Tuesday, 4:00-5:00 pm
5/4 - 5/25 | FREE
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Registration Fee Please Note: A $20 annual registration fee will be added to the cost of all group classes & private lessons for new students. Registration fee lasts from 9/1 through 8/31.
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Taking Flight Collective Virtual Concert
Friday, April 16, 7:30 pm
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Join the Taking Flight Collective for a live stream performance of locally-produced traditional music!
The Taking Flight Collective is a cohort of 3 award-winning musicians and Center for Irish Music students, Joe De Georgeo (fiddle), Ian McKenna (accordion) and Adrienne O’Shea (flute & vocals). They will be joined by guitarist and bouzouki player Brian Miller, who is their mentor for this year-long project.
Read more about the musicians and the Taking Flight Collective on CIM's education blog.
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Spring Youth Recitals & Adult Student Open Mic |
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Adult Open Mic
May 7 - Adult Open Mic 1, 7-9pm
Youth Recitals
May 2 - Youth Recital 1, 2:00pm
May 2 - Youth Recital 2, 3:30pm
May 9 - Youth Recital 3, 2:00pm
May 9 - Youth Recital 4, 3:30pm
Join CIM students and instructors for our Spring Term Recitals, May 2nd, May 7th and May 9th. We highly recommend that all private lesson students participate in the recitals. Not only are the recitals a great way to set a musical goal and reach it, they are also a tangible reminder that we all are in this together.
Center for Irish Music recitals are open to the public and are a wonderful way to hear the tunes and songs our fellow students have been working on throughout the year.
Since recitals are virtual, you can invite family and friends from all over the world to watch! The public links to view the recitals will be shared on the recitals page of the CIM website on the day of each recital.
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Minnesota Irish Music Weekend @ Home
June 10-14, 2021
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Save the date for Minnesota Irish Music Weekend @ Home, presented by the Center for Irish Music! This groundbreaking virtual festival pairs world-class traditional Irish musicians with learners of all ages for a weekend of workshops, lectures, sessions, and streaming concerts. Each master artist is recognized for their musical expertise, and will offer insights and techniques to help learners tap into the deep roots of traditional Irish music.
In addition to concerts and the Great Session Experience, this year's event will feature workshops for adults on Saturday & Sunday, a teen program on Monday (June 14th) and a Trad Immersion Camp for children on Saturday & Sunday. Registration in the teen program includes admission to the adult workshops.
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Upcoming Virtual Community Events |
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APRIL 17 | 2:00 - 4:30 PM
Play along with fiddler Mary Vanorny and special guests from the Center for Irish Music, including family members like Claire and Ben Vanorny, folks from the Miller/Rendell household, and the O'Sheas. Tunes will be drawn from the CIM's Common Tunes resources (2021, 2020, 2013, and 2010), plus some surprises! Part of Irish Arts Week.
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APRIL 17 | 6:00-7:00 PM
Derry native Dáithí Sproule is one of Irish music’s most respected guitar accompanists and a singer in English and Irish. Join him for a lecture on the fascinating connection music groups Skara Brae and Altan have with Irish language music and the Gaeltacht. The lecture will be mainly in English.
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APRIL 24 | 7:30-8:30 PM
Norah and Brian unearth heirloom songs with Irish-American and Canadian roots and perform them with passion and nuance. They also play enough jigs and reels to put a spring in your step–even over the internet. Part of Irish Arts Week.
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APRIL 25 | 12:00-1:00 PM
In this free webinar, librarian Brian Miller expounds on the music recorded in 1958 at the Doherty family home on Selby Avenue, featuring the family patriarch Tony (1896–1972) on fiddle, daughter Marge on piano and accordion, daughter Mary on piano, and daughter Joan on piano. Read ‘The Doherty Family’ for more information on the recordings.
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APRIL 25 | 1:30-2:30 PM
Join us for the beginnings of a musical friendship between Traditional Arts Partnership in South Armagh and the Center for Irish Music in Saint Paul, two music schools dedicated to teaching traditional music to students of all ages. Part of Irish Arts Week.
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APRIL 29 | 7:30-8:30 PM
The Irish Fair of MN presents the HiBs! They are out of HiBrrrrnation and hungry for some tunes. “You like the fiddle? We’ve got one. The HiBs are a traditional music trio on fiddle, flute, tin whistle, guitar and song. Listen along and celebrate MN Irish Artists during Irish Arts Week. Presented in partnership with Celtic Junction Arts Center.
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The Center for Irish Music is a 501c3 nonprofit, and we depend on your support to continue passing down the tradition of Irish music and song. Please consider joining us as a volunteer or making a gift to the CIM today!
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This activity is made
possible by the voters of
Minnesota through
a Minnesota State Arts
Board Operating Support
grant, thanks to a
legislative appropriation
from the arts and
cultural heritage fund.
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