* The Celtic Society proudly present the spellbinding seasonal Celtic music & dance celebration, Irish Christmas in America, at Kuumbwa, 320 Cedar St. in Santa Cruz at 7:30pm.

Following the spectacular success of previous U.S. tours, which included last year’s sold-out Kuumbwa performance, Irish Christmas in America returns to Santa Cruz with an inspiring presentation of seasonal Irish cultural traditions told through songs, instrumentals, stories & dance. Stop the presses - just received tidings, in time only to include notice in the e-mail version of the newsletter, that a CD of the show will be available for sale at the concert. Produced by & featuring All-Ireland Champion Fiddler, Oisin MacDiarmada of the award-winning Irish band Teada, hailed by The Irish Echo as being, ‘as inventive and exciting as any other trad band out there,’ Oisin is joined by his Teada bandmates, fiery flute & whistle player Damien Stenson, strings sensation Sean McElwain on bouzouki, guitar & banjo & the brilliant bodhran player Tristan Rosenstock. Highlighted will be one of Ireland’s finest female vocalists, Cara Dillon. Cara won the All-Ireland Traditional Singing Trophy at the tender age of 14 and a year later was in her first band, Oige. She then went to sing with De Dannan & then joined the band Equation as a replacement for Kate Rusby. A tour of ‘A Woman’s Heart’ with Mary Black, Maura O’Connell & Sharon Shannon, which included a memorable stop at The Fox Theatre in Redwood City, served to skyrocket her solo career which has seen the release of three CDs and an about-to-be released DVD, ‘The Redcastle Sessions,’ & Cara being named recently at the prestigious Irish Meteor Awards as ‘Best Irish Singer’ (other nominees included Sinead O’Connor & Enya). In addition the show includes the magical harper, Grainne Hambly (who surely has the pLuck of the Irish), leading uilleann pipes exponent, Dubliner Tommy Martin, & the stunning Irish stepdancers Siena Hickey & Abbey Magill. Mingling ancient traditions with the contemporary artistry of some of Ireland’s best performers, this enchanting show takes the spirit of Christmas on a distinctively Irish journey. Remember December 3rd with the anagram – ‘a date’ with ‘Teada.’ For more, follow the Teada & Cara Dillon links at www.rgmbooking.com.

THE CELTIC SOCIETY OF THE MONTEREY BAY PROUDLY PRESENT CELTIC TRADITIONAL GUITAR VIRTUOSO FROM SCOTLAND TONY McMANUS

Hailed by BBC Radio Scotland as ‘The finest guitarist Scotland has ever produced,’ Acoustic Guitar Magazine as ‘A master of the idiom’ & John Renbourn as ‘The best Celtic guitarist in the world,’ Tony McManus returns to the area for a special preview concert of his new CD, to be released in early 2009 on Compass Records. Destined to joined his 3 ‘solo CDs & his duo albums with Scots fiddler Alasdair Fraser & Breton bassist Alain Genty as a classic, Tony’s latest gem has him performing 14 tracks, each on a different guitar from the collection of Dream Guitars founder Paul Heumiller, with a grand finale featuring all 14. Acclaimed for his brilliant transferal to guitar of the complex, highly ornamental music normally associated with traditional Celtic fiddle & pipes and Gaelic songs that preserves the integrity & emotional impact of the music, Tony’s rich repertoire draws from the Celtic traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Galicia, Asturias & Cape Breton, as well as additional flavorings from Quebec, Europe & jazz. For more, visit www.tonymcmanus.com.

A Celtic Christmas Celebration featuring Molly’s Revenge & Moira Smiley with the Rosemary Turco Irish Dancers will be held at Pacific Cultural Center, 1397 Seabright Ave. in Santa Cruz at the early start of 6pm.

This will be an evening of music, song, story & dance associated with the festive season. A portion of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Association. The annual treat should be especially memorable this year with Molly’s Revenge riding high these days with the success of their latest CD, produced by John Doyle, ‘The Western Shore,’ also featuring singer Smiley (www.moirasmiley.com) & the top-notch trad band being invited to perform in the showcase competition at the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, Scotland this January.

Mary McLaughlin’s A Gaelic Christmas featuring her Cor Aingli (Angelic Choir) with Libby McLaren’s Winterberry Carollers, Steve Coulter on harp & Theo Paige on fiddle & bodhran takes place at Holy Cross Church, 126 High St. in Santa Cruz 8pm.

This unique concert will consist of original choral arrangements of Christmas carols in the Irish language, as well as solo performances by Mary and the other well-known local musicians.

THE CELTIC SOCIETY OF THE MONTEREY BAY PROUDLY PRESENT THE STELLAR SCOTS SINGER/SONGWRITER & FEATURING A 250th BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL POET, ROBERT BURNS JIM MALCOLM



Internationally renowned Scots singer/songwriter, guitarist & harmonica player, Jim Malcolm, an erstwhile member of Old Blind Dogs & Scots Trad Music Awards ‘Songwriter of the Year’ winner, returns to Don Quixote’s as part of his Jim Malcolm Burns Up the West Coast tour, bringing songs, stories & a good dollop of comedy. This very special concert will be in two halves. The first half will showcase some of Jim’s favorite traditional ballads & striking original compositions, including new material to be recorded later for a forthcoming CD. The second half will be a celebration of the life & work of Robert Burns, born January 25th 1759 in Ayrshire, Scotland, featuring some of his best-loved songs, such as ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose’ & ‘Ae Fond Kiss,’ as well as selections from the comic masterpiece, ‘Tam O’Shanter.’ Also, look for a reappearance of a highlight from last year’s concert by a wee, dancing man. For more, visit www.jimmalcolm.com.

*The Celtic Society proudly present Irish fiddle icon Kevin Burke & Cal Scott on guitar, bouzouki & mandolin at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9 in Felton.

Hailed in the New York Times, with ‘Burke imparts a rhythmic intensity that is remarkably powerful… a superior instrumentalist in any idiom… impressively virtuosic,’ the Irish Echo declaring ‘Burke is blessed with a silky touch of the bow that effortlessly moves from one to the next, creating an aural experience unlike any other in Irish traditional music today’ & in The Village Voice as ‘lyric, fluid and precisely as tricky as he needs to be… probably the greatest Irish fiddler living,’ Kevin Burke has for over 30 years been enthralling audiences around the world & influencing an entire generation of fiddlers as the supreme exponent of the satin-smooth, Co. Sligo style of Irish fiddling. Burke has achieved international renown from his early days for his role with the groundbreaking, now legendary, Irish ensemble The Bothy Band, through the group Kevin Burke’s Open House to the esteemed ensembles Kevin continues to perform with; Patrick Street and The Celtic Fiddle Festival. In 2002 Burke was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment of the Arts, this country’s highest honor in the folk & traditional arts. This concert will be a most welcome return by Burke to fiddle & guitar format as his tours & recordings with the late Micheal O’Domhnaill are so much treasured. Cal Scott has played in a wide span of music, including folk, bluegrass & jazz. He is also a notable composer with dozens of scores for films, documentaries & television. Indeed, Cal & Kevin hooked up on the music for a documentary on Northern Ireland. This collaboration led to their touring and the release of the recording, ‘Across the Black River,’ which was named by the New York Times to the list of ‘Most Notable World Music CDs in 2007’ & Celtic Beat raving, ‘The only words I have for this CD are consummate artistry and joyous music. I could listen to this again and again.’ You can listen to excerpts of this recording, which includes a nine-minute medley of reels dedicated to Burke’s hero, Michael Coleman, at www.harpagency.com. For more, visit www.kevinburke.com.

* The Celtic Society proudly present Lunasa, the quintessential quintet performing traditional Irish instrumental music today, at Kuumbwa, 320 Cedar St. in Santa Cruz at the early time of 7pm. Admission is $25 or Celtic Society members receive at $3 discount for a $22 price.

The gael force forecast is for March 2009 to indeed come in like a lion when Lunasa, the lions of traditional instrumental music, the five-member pride of Ireland, will make a long-awaited roaring return to Santa Cruz. However you pronounce their name, LUNAsa or luNASA, this Irish jiggernaut will send you into orbit, have you over the moon and rocket you off into another gaelaxy with their out-of-this-world music. Much more on these mane men of Irish music in future newsletters but for now, do take the time to visit their website at www.lunasa.ie.

Kuumbwa, 320 Cedar St. in Santa Cruz at the early time of 7pm. Admission is $25 or Celtic Society members receive at $3 discount for a $22 price.

Tickets won’t go on sale until early December but you may make highly recommended reservations now by calling Ariel at (831) 336-9810 or contact Bob at celtsoc@aol.com or (408) 847-6982.

The scintillating Irish traditional music sextet, Danu, will perform at the Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto at 8pm.

Acclaimed worldwide as one of today’s foremost traditional ensembles, Danu has left audiences enraptured, and almost always on the feet, from its home in Ireland’s Co. Waterford to the Hollywood Bowl and beyond. The group takes its name from the Celtic goddess of fertility, and with good cause; Danu fairly brims with virtuosity and invention, from the daredevilry of classic jigs & reels to wistful ballads sung alternately in Gaelic & English by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. Danu has received numerous awards from the BBC & Irish Music Magazine, the latter proclaiming, ‘(Danu) stirs the blood and lifts the heart.’ For more, visit www.danu.net.

* The Celtic Society proudly present Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas in an evening of Scottish fiddle & cello music of unrivalled beauty, eloquence & passion at The Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., at Seabright, in Santa Cruz at 8pm.

If you’ve enjoyed the brief taste of their appearances together at the annual Valley of the Moon Fiddle concert & been left esurient for more, Friday the 13th will be your lucky day with the first full-length concert in Santa Cruz by the musical partnership of Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland’s premiere fiddle ambassador & renowned almost as much for the warmth of his personality & wit as his music & the sizzlingly-talented young California cellist Natalie Haas which in just a few short years has become one of the most celebrated in the annals of Celtic music. Fraser, whooped up by The San Francisco Examiner as ‘The Michael Jordan of Scottish Fiddling,’ has a concert & recording career spanning 30 years with a long list of awards, accolades, television credits & featured performances in top movie soundtracks, including The Last of the Mohicans and Titanic. Fraser makes me think of the catchphrase of the erstwhile TV sitcom, Frasier, which was about a radio call-in psychiatrist who would tell his callers before they began to unburden themselves, ‘I’m listening.’ With Fraser, I’m listening too as the fiddler commands immediate attention releasing such a world of emotion, from joy to sorrow, in performing age-old tunes with freshness & vitality. Hass, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, wasn’t even born when Alasdair was winning national fiddle championships on the other side of the Atlantic. This seemingly unlikely pairing is the fulfillment of Fraser’s dream to restore the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music. ‘Going back to the 1700’s and as late as the early 20th century,’ Fraser says, ‘fiddle & cello made up the dance band of choice in Scotland, with the cellist bowing the bass lines and driving the rhythm. Pianos and accordions elbowed out the cello. I’ve been pushing to get the cello back into the traditional scene for years, always on the lookout for a cellist with whom I could have a musical conversation, one that incorporated not just the cello’s gorgeous melodic tones but also the grisly bits – the rhythmic, percussive energy that makes the wee hairs on the back of the neck stand up.’ Alasdair finally found that person when Natalie, who plays the cello most nattily, first attended his Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp at the age of 11. She responded to his challenge to find & release the cello’s rhythmic soul and 4 years later played their first concert together. Now regularly touring with Fraser and creating a buzz at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe & North America, Natalie is firmly in the vanguard of young cellists redefining the role of their instrument in traditional music. The duo’s debut recording, ‘Fire & Grace,’ displays their dazzling teamwork, driving, dancing rhythms & shared passion for improvisation. The recording was the winner of the coveted Scots Trad Music Award as ‘Album of the Year’ & is available, as is their new CD, ‘In the Moment,’ on Fraser’s own label, Culburnie Records. Thanks to Alasdair & Natalie proving there’s always room for cello, we’ll all get our just desserts. For more, visit www.alasdairfraser.com.