Irish Arts Center Announces Spring 2018 Music Programming

Highlights from the 2018 Spring season Include:

Olagón: A Cantata in Doublespeak, A Collaboration Between Paul Muldoon, Dan Trueman, Iarla Ó Lionáird, and Eighth Blackbird, Contemporizing an Ancient Irish Epic, February 22-24

Concerts From Saint Sister (March 7), Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna (April 13), Open the Door for Three (May 3 & 4), Maeve Gilchrist and Nic Gareiss (May 11)

New Editions of Beloved Concert Series Tobin's Run on 51 (April 19 & May 31) and SongLives (May 23 and June 8)

Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis in Residence (April 5-7)

Irish Arts Center (IAC), the arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, presents an exhilarating array of musical programs this spring. Capturing the custom-celebrating, future-looking, and culturally collaborative spirit of the institution, these eclectic concerts provide IAC audiences with everything from traditional Irish musical sounds like uilleann pipes, sean-nós singing, and fiddle, to performances rooted in jazz, rock, blues, electronic, and indie folk-as well as boldly unclassifiable hybrids.

Olagón, a Cantata in Doublespeak (an IAC 2017 co-commission), is a musical work that looks at contemporary, post-Recession Ireland through a retelling of the myth of Olagóna, and premieres February 22-24 at Princeton University's Wallace Theater in the Lewis Arts Complex. The collaborative piece brings together Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, fiddler Dan Trueman, vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird and Grammy-winning contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird.

Another example of this history-transcending musicality is "atmos-folk" duo Saint Sister, the group formed in 2014 by Morgan MacIntyre and Gemma Doherty that blends Celtic harp traditions, 1960s folk and electronic pop. Saint Sister performs at Williamsburg's National Sawdust, in a concert co-presented by IAC, on March 7. Fiddler Dana Lyn and guitarist Kyle Sanna celebrate the launch of their third album, The Coral Suite, sharing their inventive, "through the looking glass" approach to traditional Irish music in a concert on April 13. Drawing on contemporary elements of music, movement, rhythm and improvisation while demonstrating a keen knowledge and respect of traditional Irish music, harpist Maeve Gilchrist and percussive dancer Nic Gareiss bring their innovative and invigorating collaboration to IAC on May 11.

With a more direct embrace of tradition, Open the Door for Three pair songs from centuries-old collections and newly composed melodies and arrangements. The band comes to Irish Arts Center in honor of the release of their new album, The Joyful Hour (May 3 & 4). Similarly, Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis, who've been collaboratively paying homage to Irish musical tradition for fifteen years (in the band The Green Fields of America, and in their own projects),will continue their rich relationship to Irish Arts Center in residence from April 5-7.

Irish Arts Center also brings new iterations of their original musical series, including Irish vocalist Christine Tobin and jazz guitarist Phil Robson's Tobin's Run on 51-for which the two musicians curate shows with some of New York's best Irish and international jazz musicians-and SongLives, IAC's intimate series showcasing singer-songwriters. Tobin's Run on 51 begins this season with Fine and Mellow: Billie and Ella, Side by Side, in which Tobin and jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro pay tribute to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald (April 19), and continues with Lullaby of Birdland: Bird, Bebop, and 52nd Street (May 31), capturing the sound and energy of the jazz scene around 52nd Street in the 1940s and 50s, with the legendary Charlie Parker at its influential core. SongLives kicks off with acclaimed Irish folk duo The Murphy Beds, with opener Abby Ahmad (May 23), and continues with a performance from Heather Maloney, who just released the raw, heartbreaking EP, Just Enough Sun, and David Keenan, the 24-year old songwriter who is fast becomign one of Ireland's most talked about young artists (June 8).

Programming Descriptions

Olagón: A Cantata in Doublespeak
Text by Paul Muldoon
Music by Dan Trueman, in collaboration with Iarla Ó Lionáird
At Princeton University
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts Complex (185 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542)
February 22-24, 8pm
Tickets: $15 general/$5 students

The 2016 Grammy-winning contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird (Nathalie Joachim, flutes; Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets; Yvonne Lam, violin and viola; Nicholas Photinos, cello; Matthew Duvall, percussion; Lisa Kaplan, piano) collaborates with composer and fiddler Dan Trueman, vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáirdof the contemporary Irish supergroup The Gloaming, and Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon for a special performance of new work co-commissioned by Irish Arts Center, the Poetry Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Richmond, and Princeton University.

A modern retelling of an ancient Irish epic, Olago?n depicts the legendary Irish tale Táin Bó Cúailnge as a story of hardship in contemporary, post-recession Ireland while honoring traditional music of Ireland, Norway, and America. Muldoon's text-written in both English and Irish-is sung in the sean-nós style by Ó Lionáird.

Saint Sister
Presented by Irish Art Center and National Sawdust
At National Sawdust (80 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249)
Wednesday, March 7, 7:00pm
Tickets: $29

Named "Best Irish Band" by The Irish Times, Saint Sister is the collective moniker of atmos-folk duo Gemma Doherty and Morgan McIntyre. Fusing a unique blend of electronica, Celtic harp and soulful vocal harmonies, the duo have been touring extensively since their first EP was released in 2015-turning heads at SXSW, on tour with Lisa Hannigan, in concert at Dublin's National Concert Hall, and more. Revealing Saint Sisters' "strong, resonant, magnetic sound" (The Irish Times), this concert is the group's New York debut. The concert is presented as part of the Spring Revolution series at National Sawdust.

SongLives
A Series Curated by Grammy Award-winner Susan McKeown

SongLives showcases Ireland and North America's most exciting contemporary singer-songwriters, bringing the rich tradition of busking on Dublin's Grafton Street to the comforts of IAC's Donaghy Theatre.

The Murphy Beds and Abby Ahmad
Wednesday, May 23 at 8pm
Tickets: $15 general/$12 members

The acclaimed folk duo Jefferson Hamer (guitar, vocals) and Eamon O'Leary (bouzouki, vocals) of The Murphy Beds return to the IAC stage with traditional and original ballads showcasing their tight harmonies and deft instrumental arrangements. Opening for The Murphy Beds is New York-based folk rock/blues/alternative singer-songwriter Abby Ahmad.

Heather Maloney and David Keenan
Friday, June 8 at 8pm
Tickets: $15 general/$12 members

Massachusetts-based folk and indie rock singer-songwriter Heather Maloney has been likened to Joni Mitchell and Lucinda Williams. She performs at
SongLives with Irish singer-songwriter David Keenan, fast becoming one of Ireland's most talked about young artists.

Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis: In Residence
Thursday, April 5-7 at 8pm
Tickets: $40 general / $32 members

Longtime collaborators and pillars of the Irish Arts Center artistic family Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis return to IAC's intimate theatre for a special weekend of performances as a duo, with guests, culminating in a special performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Green Fields of America.

For over fifteen years, Moloney and Tergis have stood together at the forefront of traditional Irish music. Moloney has been awarded the National Heritage Award, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and the TG4 Outstanding Contribution Award, and combines the careers of professional musician, folklorist, musicologist, teacher, and arts presenter. Acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic, Tergis is a frequent soloist with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra and has written and performed with Riverdance-composer Bill Whelan. As a duo, these masters embody a unique chemistry-a collaboration transcending tradition and uplifting audiences in Ireland, Scotland, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cuba, and throughout the USA.

Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna: The Coral Suite
Friday, April 13 at 8pm
Tickets: $30 general/$24 members

Bringing to life the fragile ecosystem of a coral reef, fiddler Dana Lyn and guitarist Kyle Sanna use light boxes, projections, and the vocabulary of Irish melody in inventive arrangements to create an audiovisual poem in a vivid, impressionistic, and riveting performance. Event launches the band's third album.

Tobin's Run on 51
A Jazz Series Curated by Christine Tobin and Phil Robson

The award-winning Irish vocalist, songwriter, and composer Christine Tobin and acclaimed jazz guitarist Phil Robson return with Tobin's Run on 51 for a third season, bringing together some of New York's best Irish and international musicians to play sets and share stories about jazz music's greatest artists and treasures.

Presented with the support of the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Fine and Mellow
Billie and Ella, Side by Side
Thursday, April 19 at 8 PM
Tickets: $24 general / $20 members

Christine Tobin, a devotee of Billie Holiday, and charismatic jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro, a longtime fan of Ella Fitzgerald, will pay tribute to these mothers of jazz by singing a special selection from their repertoire. Vitro will be accompanied by pianist and musical partner Mark Soskin along with other fine guest musicians, including Peter Brendler on double bass and David Mason on drums. The concert will include rare film footage.

Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald sang to express themselves, for sheer joy, and to pay the rent. Both discovered in the early 1930's, Holiday, nicknamed Lady Day, and Fitzgerald, The Lady of Swing had distinct vocal styles but their personal lives unfolded in very different ways. Holiday was as famous for her music as she was for her tragic life, dying prematurely at the age of 44. Fitzgerald famously beat a disadvantaged childhood and troubled teenage years to become a 13-time Grammy Award-winner. Yet, "they complete each other somehow, like the two faces of Janus" (The New York Times).

Lullaby of Birdland: Bird, Bebop, and 52nd Street
Thursday, May 31 at 8pm
Tickets: $24 general / $20 members

Tobin, Robson, and special guests bring to life the jazz scene around 52nd Street during the 1940s and '50s-focusing on the influence of jazz saxophonist, composer, and the father of bebop, Charlie Parker. Featuring the legendary jazz singer Sheila Jordan, who Charlie Parker called the "singer with the million dollar ears," seminal alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, with bassist Mark Lewandowski and drummer Charles Goold.

Open the Door for Three
May 3 & 4 at 8pm
Tickets: $24 general/$20 members

Fiddler Liz Knowles, uilleann piper Kieran O'Hare, and singer/bouzouki player Pat Broaders return to Irish Arts Center to celebrate their newly released album, The Joyful Hour. Veterans and mainstays of the Irish music scene around the world, these artists have played with Riverdance, Cherish the Ladies, the New York Pops, Bonnie Raitt, Josh Groban, and at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Their sound is the culmination of years on the road and their music is comprised of unearthed tunes from the archives, new arrangements of acclaimed songs, homages to the musicians and bands they grew up listening to, and an unmatched energy that comes from a trio of good friends playing great music together.

Maeve Gilchrist and Nic Gareiss
Friday, May 11 at 8pm
Tickets: $24 general/$20 members

Percussive dancer Nic Gareiss (This is How we Fly) and harpist Maeve Gilchrist bring their original infusion of music and dance to the stage for an enthralling performance. Both sharing a deep respect for traditional music and culture while drawing on contemporary elements of music, movement, rhythm and improvisation, Gareiss and Gilchrist have emerged from the vibrant new acoustic scene as innovators in their fields. The percussion and drive of Gareiss' footwork, combined with Gilchrist's melodic and improvisational sensibilities, make for an explosive duet that delights both the ears and the eyes.

About Irish Arts Center

Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, is a national and international home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. We present, develop, promote, tour, and distribute work from established and emerging artists and cultural practitioners, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually transporting experiences-the results of innovation, collaboration, and the authentic celebration of our common humanity.

Steeped in grassroots traditions, with a commitment to inclusion that dates back to our founding, we provide education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and an international home for the Irish community to come together and engage with a dynamic global diaspora.

This year, we will break ground on a landmark new permanent home, including a state of the art contemporary, flexible performance and arts space for the presentation and development of work across a range of disciplines; a second, intimate performance space-the renovated historic Irish Arts Center theatre-optimized for the most intimate live music and conversation, recordings, master classes and special events; classrooms and studio spaces for community education programs in Irish music, dance, language, history, and the humanities; technology to stream and distribute the Irish Arts Center experience on the digital platform; a spacious and vibrant avenue-facing café lobby that will be a hospitable hub for conversation and interaction between artists and audiences; and a beautiful new courtyard entrance on 51st Street where the historic Irish Arts Center building and the new facility meet.

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