
Grange Hall Cultural Center Irish Arts Festival
Grange Hall Cultural Center Irish Arts Festival
Grange Hall Cultural Center offers traditional Irish music, step-dancing, storytelling, and workshops in their 4th annual Irish Arts Festival on the St. Paddy’s Day weekend, March 13-17, 2019, in Waterbury Center.
The Grange Hall Cultural Center has partnered with Vermont Music Center to present two nights of concerts of traditional Irish acoustic music by acclaimed and international performers, with four Irish music workshops for all ages and levels, veteran storytellers sharing Irish lore and popular tales, award winning step-dancing, open music sessions, and a whole lot of “Great Craic!” (Gaelic for “Good times!”).
All proceeds go to the Grange Hall Cultural Center Renovation Fund.
For information and registration for workshops, contact our website events listings for each workshop or grangehallcc@gmail.com, 802-244-4168.
Concert tickets at sevendaystickets.com. Seats are limited for both shows.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, March 13 @ 7pm
THEATRICAL READING
MOXIE Productions presents a theatrical reading of
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, written by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh
starring Ronni Lopez, Tracey Girdich, , Aaron Masi, and Louis Bronson.
Open to all, pay-what-you-can donation is welcomed.
Saturday, March 16 @ 2-3pm
WORKSHOPS
Traditional Irish Music for all ages, instruments, and levels
Taught by Annabel Moynihan founder of the Vermont Music Center
Saturday, March 16 @ 3-4pm
Mid-Tempo Irish Tunes for all ages and instruments, intermediate level.
Taught by Dominique Dodge, international harpist and singer.
Saturday, March 16 @ 7pm
CONCERT
Traditional Irish Acoustic Music in the Upstairs Hall
Featuring music by Sarah Blair, Dominique Dodge, and the Knotwork band (Annabel Moynihan, Michael Moynihan, Don Schabner and John Murray).
With Irish storytelling by Ethan Bowen, Founder of Bald Mountain Theater
and step-dancing by Here Comes Treble
**This concert will be followed by and Open Irish Music Session for audience members to join in with their instruments, voice, or continue to listen and enjoy this unique style of ensemble music.
Concerts are $15 at the door or at www.sevendaystickets.com
https://sevendaystickets.com/events/irish-arts-festival-saturday-march-16
Sunday, March 17 @ 1-2pm
WORKSHOPS
Irish Fiddle for all ages and backgrounds
Taught by Sarah Blair, national touring fiddler and teacher
Sunday, March 17 @ 2-3:30pm
Irish Music for all ages and instruments
Taught by Benedict Koehler and Hilari Farrington, founders of the
Vermont School of Irish Traditional Music
Sunday, March 17 @ 5pm
CONCERT
Irish Kitchen Ceili, an intimate Irish concert in the Downstairs Gallery.
Featuring music by:
Benedict Koehler & Hilari Farrington, Dominique Dodge, and the Knotwork band (Annabel Moynihan, Michael Moynihan, Don Schnaber and John Murray).
with Irish storytelling by Ethan Bowen of Bald Mountain Theater
and step-dancing by Waterbury’s own Celtic Company.
**This concert will be followed by and Open Irish Music Session for audience members to join in with their instruments, voice, or continue to listen and enjoy this unique style of ensemble music.
Concerts are $15 at the door or at www.sevendaystickets.com
https://sevendaystickets.com/events/irish-arts-festival-irish-kitchen-ceili-sunday-march-17
Workshops are individually prices with discounts for multi-class enrollment. The more you take, the more you save! Go to specific listing on this site for enrollment and discount information. For questions contact grangehallcc@gmail.com or 802-244-4168.
BIOS of Performers/Instructors:
Knot work is known for playing Irish traditional music in the Vermont style, and has enchanted audiences for ten years at venues in Moretown, Vermont to Moscow, Russia, with hundreds of places in between. Annabel Moynihan will be on fiddle with Michael Moynihan singing and playing the Irish drum, Don Schnaber on guitar and John Murray on mandolin. Their repertoire of songs and tunes are chosen with care and played with affection for the melodies, the sources, and the stories
Annabel Moynihan (Musical Artistic Director of the GHCC Irish Arts Festival) is the founder of The Vermont Music Center in Waterbury, Vermont, serving students from all over central Vermont. She started playing the violin when she was five years old and now performs all over the world in various bands and groups. Knotwork, her band in attendance at the GHCC Irish Arts Festival, plays in the Irish Traditional and is composed of Michael Moynihan, Don Schnaber, John Murray, and herself.
Benedict Koehler and Hilari Farrington are multi-instrumentalists renowned across the U.S. and Canada as teachers and performers of Irish traditional music. Founders of the Vermont School of Irish Traditional Music, this couple has helped to create and promote a thriving Irish music community in the state and hold regular traditional Irish music sessions at Baggitos in Montpelier, Vermont.
Dominique Dodge is a harper and singer who grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and now divides her time between Vermont and Cape Breton. She has a passion for melody-driven dance music and responsive, rhythmic accompaniment, as well as for songs, airs, and 18thcentury harp tunes. Her sound is firmly grounded in the traditional music and song of Cape Breton, Scotland, and Ireland.A former Fulbright Scholar and a 2012 graduate of the University of Limerick with an MA in Irish Music Performance, Dominique also holds a BA Honours in Scottish Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. Dominique is a dedicated learner of Scottish Gaelic, a profound influence on her music which continues to shape her sense of rhythm and phrasing. She has extensive experience in traditional arts education and maintains a busy and vibrant teaching practice. She has been performing, recording, and teaching traditional music on both sides of the Atlantic for over a decade.
Sarah Blair has played traditional Irish music on the fiddle for 30 years. She has played and taught at concerts, festivals, and dances from Alaska to Florida. She loves teaching fiddle to folks of all ages and backgrounds, from beginners to classical violinists who are interested in the Irish style.
Ethan Bowen is an accomplished professional actor formerly based in New York City and later in Washington DC (Woolly Mammoth Theater Company), now living in Rochester, Vermont with his family and founding Bald Mountain Theater in 2015. With Bald Mountain Theater he has made it their mission to bring great classic stories to life for all ages, especially delving into the ancient characteristic stories to share the hearts of different cultures with audiences of all ages.
Celtic Company is a performance troupe of Irish, Scottish, & Cape Breton Step-dancers who perform high-energy traditional and contemporary dances to lively music. Founded in 2011 by Heather Morris and a core group of dancers, Celtic Company has been sharing its love of Celtic dance across the northeastern United Sates. The group rehearses weekly at Green Mountain Performing Arts, in Waterbury.
Here Comes Treble is a step dancing duo composed of Daria Noonan-Wehmeyer and Gwen Lybarger. They are based in Burlington, VT and are regionally acclaimed, competing across the North East and Canada.