Irish Arts Center

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Bill Ochs

Irish Arts Center:

“Pipes and Piping in Ireland with Bill Ochs
Sunday, June 6 | 3 PM

Join us for a fabulous multi-media presentation that traces the 
development of piping in Ireland from the Middle Ages to the present. 
Master piper Bill Ochs has assembled a fascinating collection of 
woodcuts, lithographs, photos, and rare archival recordings that tell 
the story of the emergence of the uilleann pipes, the world’s most 
sophisticated bagpipe. To be followed by a solo piping concert in 
which Ochs demonstrates the full range and scope of this uniquely 
Irish instrument.

‘A most stimulating, informative, and entertaining presentation.’
—Professor Mick Moloney, NYU

Admission:  $15 general sale/ $12 members and students
To buy click here or call 212 868-4444″

(Via – Read Full Article.)

Bill Ochs, Uilleann Piper in Concert June 6 NYC

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Dear Students & Friends,

I will give a solo uilleann piping concert — preceded by a multi-media presentation on the history of pipes and piping in Ireland — on Sunday, June 6 at 3 PM at the Irish Arts Center (553 W. 51st St., b/t 10th & 11th, Manhattan).

Tickets are $15 ($12 for IAC members). Seats are already starting to move, so if you would like to attend, please order your tickets soon. The capacity of the house is only 99 seats and many events sell out.

As a courtesy to people on my mailing list, the IAC has offered to let you book tickets directly through their box office to avoid the $2 Smart Tix processing fee. Please call the IAC at 212-757-3318, ext. 209, 10 AM – 6 PM, Monday to Friday to purchase tickets. IAC members call ext. 204.

If you prefer to buy tickets online via Smart Tix, click here. A $2 per ticket service charge applies to Smart Tix orders.

It is a two-hour program, plus a fifteen-minute intermission. For a description of the event, click here.

I hope to see you on June 6!

Pipes Playing in Afghanistan – War On Terror News

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pipeband

Pipes Playing in Afghanistan – War On Terror News:

“CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – From remembering people from the past to relaxation and even shaping the war atmosphere, one man has found a way to use bagpipes to fulfill many different needs.

Patrick J. Carroll, the governance and cultural advisor for the I Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) Civil Affairs Group, plays the bagpipes for many different reasons, and brings its tunes to all different parts of the world.

Through his experiences he has found something that brings back memories, allows him to give back to his brothers in the Corps and keeps him working toward something better as he immerses himself into learning new songs and other types of bagpipes.

‘Most people say they can’t believe that I bring it with me, but once you remove the bass drum you can actually fit it in a normal-size gun case,’ said Carroll. ‘It fits conveniently in a seabag, so if I can take a seabag somewhere, I can take the pipes with me, and I pretty much take them everywhere I go.’

Carroll retired from the Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel in September 2009 and has continued working as a civilian contractor. He began as an infantry officer but was also a middle eastern foreign area officer, helping him with the job he is doing working with the civil affairs group as a contractor.

‘I went to certain schooling during my career to become an expert on the history, politics, language and culture of the countries that fall within the Central Command,’ said Carroll.

Speaking mainly Arabic, Carroll also knows some Pashto and farsi after studying the Middle East for over 17 years.

The bagpipes are not an instrument most people would think to pick up. Carroll had a little more motivation than just the personal drive he has had throughout life.”

(Via waronterrornews.typepad.com – Read Full Article.)

Age no bar to genius as piper Potts goes solo at 80

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Age no bar to genius as piper Potts goes solo at 80 -
:

“Traditional music legend Sean Potts has proven that age is no barrier to productivity by releasing his first solo recording of music on the tin whistle entitled, Number Six, months before his 80th birthday.

Mr Potts, who will receive the TG4 Gradam Ceoil lifetime achievement award at a ceremony in Wexford next week, is celebrating the launch of his CD, which is a fundraiser for uilleann pipes organisation Na Piobairi Uilleann.

The founder member of The Chieftains and Ceoltoiri Chualann was joined by fellow Dubliners — film star and keen trad musician Brendan Gleeson and singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey — to mark the launch of the record, which he hopes will generate much-needed funds to help promote the manufacture of the uilleann pipes and the further development of the piping headquarters in historic Henrietta Street.

Since retiring from touring as a professional musician, Mr Potts has dedicated over 30 years of his life to the promotion of the uilleann pipes in his role as chairman and now honorary president of NPU.

However, it is Mr Potts’ whistle playing, described by his former Chieftains colleague Paddy Moloney as ‘the greatest he as ever heard’, that made him famous all over the world and Number Six is a celebration of his rich musical legacy.

Number Six refers to the house of Sean’s grandfather John Potts, situated in the Coombe in Dublin’s Liberties. John Potts was a prominent piper and his house was an important centre forIrish music.”

(Via Music, Entertainment – Independent.ie – Read Full Article.)

Watch documentary on Johnny Doherty, Donegal fiddle legend

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Tinsmith, storyteller and legendary traditional fiddler, Johnny Doherty was in the 1970s still traveling the hills of Donegal at an advanced age, playing music and making a living. The documentary below was made in 1972 by Seán O’Haughey of the Coimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann (Irish Folklore Commission). You can watch it in its entirety, in five parts.

Johnny Doherty (Seán Ó Dochartaigh) was born in Ardara, County Donegal (Ard an Rátha, Co. Thír Chonaill) at an unknown year.

The O’Doherty family were travelers in the culturally rich Gleann Cholm Cille area. Johnny’s father Mickey was a fiddler, and his mother Mary McConnell was a singer. Johnny was the youngest of nine children. As a teenager, Johnny was not allowed to play fiddle in the company of his parents until he had mastered the reel “Bonny Kate.” Johnny’s brother, also called Mickey, was noted for his style after the recording artist Michael Coleman ( Mícheál Ó Clúmháin), and Mickey can be heard play on “The Gravel Walks.”

The classic album The Floating Bow preserves Johnny Doherty music and stories for all time, and is a valuable treasure of the tradition. O’Doherty’s music is noted for its complicated ornamentation, double-stop bowing technique, and the uilleann pipe sound he successfully recreated on the fiddle. His influence on later masters is incalculably and hugely significant.