Dear CIM students,

June is here, and the 13th Annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend @ Home is around the corner, starting next Thursday with a virtual kick-off concert featuring three of our fantastic teaching artists Edel Fox on concertina, Nell Ní Chróinín on song, and Tommy Fitzharris on flute.

The other two virtual concerts are at 3pm on June 12th featuring the legendary Mary Bergin (whistle) and TG4 Young Musician of the Year Conor Connolly on accordion; and 3pm on June 13th featuring Páraic MacDonnchadha on banjo and virtuoso fiddler, Bríd Harper.

This year's Minnesota Irish Music Weekend is a hybrid festival. All workshops for children, teens and adults will be offered online, and 3 out of 4 concerts will be 100% virtual. The Great Session Experience and the Saturday night concert will be presented OUTDOORS, IN PERSON from the Celtic Junction's brand new outdoor stage.

IN-PERSON MIM EVENTS - DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE!

Both live events will have a cash bar and a food truck.* They will also be broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and our website. Join in on the fun!

  • Great Session Experience - Friday, June 11th, 7-9pm FREE
  • Saturday Night Concert - Saturday, June 12th 7:30pm - Tickets are limited and on sale now: $25/adults or $10/youth.

*FOOD TRUCKS: Friday night is Potter's Pasty food truck from 6:30-9:00pm. Saturday night is Anchor Fish & Chips from 6:00pm-9:00pm. We want everyone to show up to support these local businesses!

There is still plenty of room in the Virtual Irish Trad Immersion Camp for 9-12 year-olds with Mary Vanorny and Hannah Flowers, and in the Advanced Teen program. Don't miss this rare opportunity to study with teaching artists of this calibre for one weekend only!

Following MIM is the Summer Term. We are very proud to be co-presenting a book talk by Dr. Tes Slominski on TradNation: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Irish Traditional Music with four panelists on June 18, the first Friday of Summer Term. See information and registration link below.

Finally, come to Irish on Grand this Sunday, June 6th for an impromptu acoustic session from 11:00am-1:00pm. Some of us will be there, and dancers from Rince na Chroi will be joining us. Drop by for a tune!

As always, thank you for supporting the Center for Irish Music's mission of handing down the tradition.

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!
SUMMER TERM AT THE CIM STARTS JUNE 14th!
Registration is now open for Summer Term classes and lessons at the Center for Irish Music! 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!
GROUP CLASSES FOR ADULTS


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.
THERE'S STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR
MIM @ HOME, JUNE 10-14!
Join the Center for Irish Music for the 13th annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend @ Home! We are presenting this beloved festival as a virtual event in 2021, pairing world-class traditional Irish musicians with learners of all ages for a weekend of workshops, lectures, sessions, and streaming concerts. Visit centerforirishmusic.org/mim for program details, more artist announcements, and a full schedule of events!

Saturday & Sunday Mornings, June 12-13th | Age 9-12, Beginner to Intermediate
A fun, intensive workshop for young musicians who already play some Irish tunes, or who play an instrument that suits Irish music (like whistle, fiddle, flute, mandolin, banjo, concertina, accordion).

Monday, June 14th | Age 12-19, Advanced
A unique one-day workshop with MIM @ Home master artists, exclusively for teens (and some pre-teens), plus access to all Saturday & Sunday adult workshops. New tunes, techniques, and inspiration!

Saturday & Sunday, June 12-13th
A selection of workshops, lectures, and fascinating interviews with the visiting master artists. There is something for everyone, musicians and non-musicians alike. The full workshop schedule is available online here.

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 7:00 PM
Virtual Kick-off Concert with Edel Fox, Nell Ní Chróinín, Tommy Fitzharris

FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 7:00 PM
Great Session Experience

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 3:00 PM
Concert featuring Mary Bergin & Conor Connolly

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30 PM
Nathan Gourley & Laura Fedderson with Brian Miller, plus a special opening set from Marty McHugh & friends Laura MacKenzie, Dáithí Sproule & Mary Vanorny. LIVE from the Celtic Junction Arts Center outdoor stage. In-person tickets are available with workshop registration here, or for the general public here!

SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 3:00 PM
Concert featuring Páraic Mac Donnchadha & Bríd Harper
TRAD NATION: AN AUTHOR TALK & PANEL DISCUSSION WITH LGBTQ MUSICIANS & DANCERS
The Center for Irish Music is proudly sponsoring this event, presented by the Celtic Junction Arts Center as part their Social Justice Seminars.

Free ONLINE Event
Friday, June 18th
7pm - 9pm

Join Dr. Tes Slominski for a discussion of her groundbreaking new book Trad Nation: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Irish Traditional Music followed by a panel discussion with LGBTQ musicians and dancers from across the US Irish trad community. The panelists are:

  • Tes Slominsky, Charlottesville, VA: fiddle 
  • Brett Lipshutz, Milwaukee, WI: flute
  • Alicia Ní Chuinn, Seattle, WA: dance
  • Augie Fairchild, Charlottesville, VA: flute
  • Armand Aromin, Providence, RI: fiddle and song

About Dr. Slominski:
Dr. Slominski is a music and sound scholar and a fiddle player in the Irish tradition. She founded the still-thriving Blue Ridge Irish Music School in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1999, and taught ethnomusicology at Beloit College from 2012 until 2019. Currently, she is Co-Editor-in-Chief, Grove Music Online Gender/Sexuality Revision, Oxford University Press. Her recent book is Trad Nation: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Irish Traditional Music (Wesleyan University Press, 2020).
ORDER FLUTE & WHISTLE MASKS BY JUNE 2nd!
Whistle and flute players, get your special instrument-friendly face masks designed and handmade by Mattie Ernst of Earnest Threads! Tested and recommended by Norah Rendell.

Order by June 2nd to receive in time for summer term & MIM!

CONGRATULATIONS CIM SENIORS!
Congratulations to the following musicians who are graduating from high school this year:

-Joe De Georgeo (fiddle)
-Fiona Flagstad (song)
-Nicholas Marston (whistle, pipes)
-Ian McKenna (accordion)
-Charlie Ninow (mandolin, fiddle)

We are so proud of you and your music, and the confident young adults that you have become.
We wish you each the greatest success and hope you'll be returning for tunes on a regular basis!
Thank you for supporting CIM's mission
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!
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.