Irish Music Traditions

Looking to enhance your knowledge and expertise?  Perhaps you’d like to get away and enjoy an Irish cultural immersion experience?  Here is a list of resources referencing just a few of the weekends and week long workshops offered around the country and beyond.  Camp isn’t just for kids, you know!

Irish Language Events
Visit http://www.daltai.com/events.htm for calendar of events worldwide.

SC Irish Arts Weekend
June 4-6, 2010
Columbia, SC

Visit http://www.cornerhousemusic.com/SCIAW2010.html for instructor list and details.

Blas 2010
Monday, June 21 through Friday, July 2
University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

International Summer School of
Irish Traditional Music and Dance

Now in it’s 14th year, Blas is a two week intensive music, song and dance programme offered for college credit at the University of Limerick by the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. This combines the familiar concept of master classes in instrument/voice specific technique and repertoire, as found in many summer schools, but with small class sizes and the unparalleled level of student interaction with tutors that this can offer.

Blas for dancers is a two week intensive dance camp in Irish traditional step dancing. Blas dance students gain an appreciation of both competition and show styles of step dancing with practical dance skill classes, classes in choreography and special workshops in traditional sets amongst many others. Emphasis is also placed on gaining an understanding of the development of step dance over its history.

Visit http://www.ul.ie/~iwmc/Blas/for details.

Willie Clancy Week
July 3-11, 2010
Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, Ireland

The Willie Clancy Summer School (Irish Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy) is Ireland’s largest traditional music summer school[1] held annually since 1973 in memory of the uilleann piper Willie Clancy. During the week, nearly a thousand students from every part of the world attend daily classes taught by experts in Irish music and dance. In addition, a full program of lectures, recitals, dances (céilithe) and exhibitions are run by the summer school.

All events happen in the town Miltown Malbay in County Clare, west of Ireland, during the week beginning with the first Saturday of July. The weekly registration includes six classes, all lectures and recitals (except the Saturday concert) and reduced price admission to céilithe. Lectures, recitals, concert and céilithe are open to the public.  (From Wikipedia article)

For more information, visit http://www.ramblinghouse.org/2010/03/willie-clancy-week-brochure-2010/ and other sites.

Celtic Week at the Swannanoa Gathering
July 11-17, 2010
Swannanoa, NC, near Asheville

The week of workshops for adults and children takes place at various sites around the Warren Wilson campus and environs, including classrooms, Kittredge Theatre, Bryson Gym dancehall and campus Pavilion, the campus gardens and patios, an outdoor amphitheatre, and session tents.

Students are free to create their own curriculum from any of the classes offered for the week. Visit http://www.swangathering.com/Catalog/CL/sgclsched.html for details and class schedule.

Catskills Irish Arts Week
July 11-17, 2010
In and around East Durham, NY

Planning is well underway for another sensational week of workshops for adults and children in the historic Irish American hamlet of East Durham for the 16th Annual Catskills Irish Arts Week hosted by the M. J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre. Workshops meet morning or afternoon, and a variety of lectures are presented later in the afternoons.

Organizers have assembled another terrific faculty of teachers and entertainers who will continue to make the CIAW the place to be for serious fans of Irish traditional music and dance. You’ll see many familiar names on the faculty page and some first-time visitors to the Catskills as well as the legend continues to grow.

Visit http://www.irishvillageusa.com/catskills-irish-arts-week for details or email your questions to paulkeating@aol.com.

Irish Traditions…From Ireland to Appalachia
From Exploritas:  Adventures in Lifelong Learning (formerly Elderhostel)
July 25-30, 2010  (Runs concurrently with Irish Week at Augusta)
Elkins, WV

For Exploritas program details, visit http://www.exploritas.org/Programs/programdetail.asp?RowId=1%2BOI%2B703

‘Irish Week’ is a week long immersion in Irish culture.  World-renowned musicians, scholars and dancers from throughout Ireland and America will teach and perform.  Learn about Irish history, poetry, songs and literature, and the Gaelic language through lectures, performances and discussions. Includes Irish ceili dancing, and lectures on Appalachian and Irish culture. At night, you will be surrounded by ballad singers, pipers, fiddlers, harpists and more playing Irish, Cape Breton and Appalachian music. Sessions take place in and around the 110-year old ice house ‘pub’.  Concerts feature Ireland and America’s finest traditional musicians and dancers. Evening dances range from céilís and contra dancing to impromptu set dancing at music sessions.

Irish Week is part of a summer-long celebration of Appalachian and ethnic folk music, dance, crafts and folklore at Augusta Heritage Center. Program included admission to concerts, dances and other evening activities.

Program in association with the Augusta Heritage Center which is dedicated to the preservation of American folk culture.

Irish Week at Augusta Heritage Center
July 25-30, 2010
In Elkins, WV

Augusta was the historic name of West Virginia in its period of earliest settlement.  In 1973, “Augusta Heritage Arts Workshops” was the name given to a summer program that was set up to help preserve the Appalachian heritage and traditions.  Since 1981, the “Augusta Heritage Center” has been sponsored by Davis & Elkins College (in Elkins, WV)

Augusta Heritage Center is known for intensive week-long workshops that attract several hundred participants annually.  Irish Week has been one of these theme weeks for nearly 30 years, celebrating Celtic influences on Appalachian culture.  Students choose one subject and one instructor for classes that meet each morning and afternoon, culminating in a student showcase at the end of the week.

Irish/Celtic Week Coordinator Joanie Madden chooses extraordinary master musicians and teachers for the week.  The music sessions into the wee hours are legendary.

Visit http://www.augustaheritage.com/irish.html for all the details.

Goderich Celtic College and Celtic Roots Festival
August 6-9, 2010
In Goderich, Ontario, Canada

This week-long Celtic College is for everyone from absolute beginners to advanced musicians and craft artists. The college is meant to be an opportunity for adults (of high school age or older) to study informally with national and international exponents of their art. Younger participants are encouraged to participate in the Celtic Kids Day Camp held at nearby St. Mary’s Separate School.

Celtic College takes place over five days from Monday, August 2nd to Friday, August 6th, with student performances on Friday, Aug. 6th at the Celtic Roots Festival. Each day is divided into four 80 minute classes. Students are permitted to take classes in each of the four time slots from Monday to Thursday.

All music classes are incremental – that is students follow the same four classes each of the four days of the classes.
Some of the Craft Art courses are either full or half day classes. Please read class descriptions carefully when enrolling.

Read on at http://www.celticfestival.ca/celtic-college/welcome-and-schedule.html as details become available.

Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School
August 16-20, 2010

Weeklong Workshops plus Irish Fest!

Save the date for the 2010 Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School! To help Milwaukee Irish Fest celebrate its 30th Anniversary, the School will continue to provide an amazing roster of talented instructors from across the world to teach courses in Irish music, dance, song, arts, history, language and culture.

Visit http://www.irishfest.com/schools/summerschool.php for details.

Don’t see your favorite resource listed here?  Please email info and links to sally dot machenry at mindspring dot com.