Press Kit

Transcription

Press Kit

Meet the Band:
BUA:Irish Traditional Music
BUA
bua buə m4, pl ~nna victory; talent, gift; merit; destiny
“Bua evokes the good
times that Irish traditional
music so often
celebrates,” playing in a
manner “largely
forgotten in today’s
overly polished Irish
music world.” With “a
precision and intensity
that is rarely heard on
this side of the Atlantic,”
their sound stands out
among modern bands in
the genre by “keeping
the music down the path
of tradition” while still
being able to “raise the rafters with their playing, charm with their singing, and delight
with their contemporary energy.” Based in Chicago, Illinois—a long-celebrated center
of Irish traditional music—Bua “has established itself individually and as a group in the
eyes and ears of the traditional community,” and their 2011 release, Down the Green
Fields, finds Bua exploring the forgotten sounds from the heyday of Irish music in the
City of Big Shoulders with a blend of enchantingly stark song arrangements and bold,
pulsing dance tunes. Lauded by The Bluegrass Situation as being the top Irish album
of the past five years, Down the Green Fields stands as “a testament, from beginning
to end, of the lasting essentials of the Irish tradition”.
Bua has performed and taught at many popular Irish music festivals in North America
including the Milwaukee Irish Festival, Dublin Irish Festival, Goderich Celtic Roots
Festival, Bethlehem Celtic Classic, and Catskills Irish Arts Week. They have also been
honored representatives of the Irish tradition at some of the top folk festivals in the US
including the Old Songs Festival, Great Lakes Folk Festival, Lowell Folk Festival,
CityFolk Festival, University of Chicago Folk Festival and the National Folk Festival.
This exposure and ensuing popularity afforded them the title ‘Top Traditional Group’ of
2009, a distinction awarded them by the Irish Music Association. • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
• Email: buairishmusic@gmail.com • Website: www.buamusic.com
Meet the Band:
Brian Miller has been accompanying songs and dance
music from the Irish tradition for over 15 years and is one
of the most sought-after guitarists in North American’s
Irish music scene. Esteemed music critic Earle Hitchner
remarks that “…the backing of Miller on guitar flexes not
just muscle but a fully complementary style.” The same
can be said of Brian’s playing on the Greek bouzouki, an
instrument that has been adopted into the Irish tradition
in recent decades. He has performed across North
America and in Ireland with various groups including
Chulrua, The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and the Two Tap
Trio; and in duo with Randy Gosa performing songs from
the lumber camps of the North Woods. He has been
featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, CBC Radio’s
Canada Live, and on various RTÉ television and radio
programs in Ireland. Brian is a two-time recipient of the Artist Initiative grant from the
Minnesota State Arts Board and was recently awarded the Parsons Award from the
American Folklife Center for his research into field recordings of traditional singers from
Minnesota. He currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota where he teaches flute, whistle and
guitar at the Center for Irish Music.
Devin Shepherd began learning the fiddle at an early
age and soon became enamored with Irish music, which
was nurtured by his mother who immersed him in the
deep-rooted Irish music scene of his hometown of
Chicago, Illinois. Devin was awarded an Illinois Arts
Council Master-Apprentice grant to study with famed Liz
Carroll when he was only twelve years of age. During
this formative period he won first prize in the Midwest
Fleadh Cheoil fiddle competition for nine consecutive
years—another testament to his dedication to the
tradition. Shepherd learned much about the styles and
repertoire of Chicago by playing with many native born
musicians including Phil Durkin, Frank Burke, Albert
Neary, Pat Cloonin, and Úna McGlew. Most recently he
has enriched his style through the recordings of
legendary fiddlers Bobby Casey, Michael Coleman, and John Doherty, as well as living
legends James Kelly and Paddy Cronin. Since 2000, Devin has been a full-time teacher
and performer of Irish music throughout the US and abroad and currently resides in
New York City—another highly respected community for Irish traditional music. • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Meet the band:
Sean Gavin’s playing on the flute, whistle and uilleann
pipes reflects his lifelong love for Irish traditional music.
Growing up in Detroit, Michigan he was first encouraged
to take up Irish music by his father, Clare-born fiddle
player Mick Gavin. Sean played a variety of instruments
before settling on the flute at the age of eleven with the
help of flute-player Leo Mac Namara, a native of Scariff,
Co. Clare. Not long after, he began work on the uilleann
pipes with teacher Al Purcell—himself a student of famed
Dublin-born piper Leo Rowsome. He and his family
continue to lend much of their energies to the promotion
of Irish traditional music in the Detroit area. In more
recent years, Sean has been fortunate to cultivate a
friendship with Sligo-born flute legend Kevin Henry and
others of the older generation of musicians living in
Chicago, Illinois where he currently lives. He is a member of another critically
acclaimed group NicGaviskey and performs often with the Irish band Téada. He enjoys
teaching and performing throughout North America and currently serves as the musical
director for the sean-nós dancing performance ensemble Atlantic Steps.
Brian Ó hAirt is the only American to have won the
coveted senior title in traditional singing at the AllIreland Fleadh Cheoil in Listowel, Co. Kerry in 2002. In
his teens, Brian’s introduction to Chicago’s Irish-speaking
community allowed him to cultivate a rich understanding
of the sean-nós singing tradition even before his
immersion in the language while living in the Connemara
region of western Co. Galway. This experience has left
him with a vast repertoire of song and rich store of
language that continues to inform and inspire his singing.
Since 2007, Brian has also recorded and toured
extensively with famed Co. Antrim singer Len Graham,
cultivating considerable knowledge about the Ulster
tradition through this collaboration. He has performed
and taught extensively in North America and Ireland and
has been featured on various NPR and RTÉ radio programs. Brian is also an awardwinning sean-nós dancer (Cruinniú na mBád, 2003) and accomplished instrumentalist
on concertina, accordion, and whistle. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon where he
teaches Irish and helps develop language learning games for Language Hunters, a
non-profit organization. • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Press:
…among the finest in traditional
music in America.
- Irish Music Magazine
[Bua] explodes with
thrilling but controlled energy.
- All Music Guide
They can…raise the rafters with
their playing, charm with their
singing, and delight with their
contemporary energy.
- Dirty Linen
It's understandable if Bostonians
and New Englanders take pride
in their area's Irish music scene,
but [Bua] serves notice that the
Midwest has every right to puff
out its collective chest
- Boston Irish Reporter
In the spring of their musical
careers, Chicago-based trad
group Bua is in full bloom…Down
the Green Fields is a wonderful
compilation exemplifying each
musician's years of dedication to
their craft.
- Fiddlefreak
Seriously. If you have any interest
in the traditional music of Ireland, an emerald sound born of fiddles, pipes,
whistles, and a clarity of voice that sounds like the musical equivalent of a
crystal clear mountain stream and refreshes just as much, buy this album.
- Driftwood Magazine
Bua is one of those groups that is very trad and very cutting edge at the same time.
Suffice it to say, you gotta be real good to pull this off. Bua is real good. Real good.
- Live Ireland
I just don’t know of another band that’s so perfectly nailed the traditional heart of Irish
music in America so well.
- The Bluegrass Situation
• Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Chicago Roots:
An Irishman of extraordinary dedication, the great Chief
Francis O’Neill (1848-1936) called Chicago his home for
more than sixty years. His groundbreaking collections of
Irish traditional melodies marked an unprecedented
harvest of music from the immigrant masses who came
from all corners of Ireland to make a living in one of
America’s largest urban centers. At the time of his death,
he had published nearly 2,500 tunes, and his books had
such a profound effect on the music making of Irish
musicians everywhere that he has been called the
“greatest individual influence on the evolution of Irish
traditional dance music in the twentieth century.”
Chicago is also the home base of Bua—an ensemble of
talented musicians who owe much of their musical roots
to O’Neill’s work. Bua’s music draws from more than a century’s worth of Irish
traditional music and song cultivated in the Midwest and Ireland, and spanning from
the Chief’s day to today.
Chicago and other Midwestern cities like Detroit, St. Louis
and St. Paul continue to be home to many Irish immigrant
musicians. The members of Bua have learned from many
of these tradition-bearing Irish-Midwesterners including
Áine Meenaghan, Mick Gavin, Daithi Sproule, Kevin Henry,
Paddy O’Brien, Laurence Nugent and Gearóid Ó
hAllmhuráin—not to mention such well known secondgeneration Irishwomen and men as Liz Carroll, Jimmy
Keane and John Williams who have long inspired young
musicians throughout the US and Ireland. Bua’s music
carries the torch forward for this rich legacy of Midwestern
Irish traditional music.
“As one of America's primary settling places for the [Irish] diaspora…Chicago has long
been a hotbed of traditional Irish music. One of the best trad groups to emerge from
that scene in the 21st century is Bua.”
- All Music Guide
Workshops & Class
Offerings:
Devin Shepherd: Irish Traditional Fiddle: beginner/intermediate/advanced
This Irish fiddle class will cover the fundamentals of playing the instrument in the Irish
style including basics of bowing, phrasing, rhythm and elementary ornamentation.
Intermediate and advanced classes are for competent players interested in deepening
their understanding of Irish fiddle including unique personal and regional styles that
have influenced Devin’s own playing. Please bring a recording device.
Sean Gavin: Irish Tin Whistle: beginner/intermediate/advanced Brian Ó hAirt: Irish Tin Whistle: beginner/intermediate
Brian Miller: Irish Tin Whistle: beginner/intermediate
Beginners will learn basic technique, fingering, ornamentation and a few simple tunes.
Higher level classes will explore Irish ornamentation (cuts, taps, rolls and more) in depth
while also covering phrasing, tonguing and breathing on a variety of Irish tune types.
Please bring a tin whistle in the key of D.
Sean Gavin: Irish Flute: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Brian Miller: Irish Flute: beginner/intermediate
Beginner sessions will cover the fundamentals of playing the wooden flute including
posture, hand position, breathing techniques, and an introduction to Irish
ornamentation. More advanced classes will cover more complex skills in wooden flute
playing including advice on phrasing, breath control and advanced ornamentation.
The instructor will answer questions about the finer points of Irish flute playing and
teach tunes from the Irish repertoire. Preferably, participants should bring a wooden
flute though advanced silver flute players can also benefit from this class.
Sean Gavin: Uilleann Pipes: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Beginner sessions will introduce this fascinating instrument with descriptions of all the
various parts and the fundamentals of playing (and maintaining!) a set of uilleann pipes.
More advanced classes will cover more complex skills including discussion of both the
"open" and "tight" piping styles and advanced ornamentation. Please bring a
recording device. Brian Ó hAirt: Irish Traditional Singing: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Come explore the singing traditions of Ireland. Learn about the historic development
of the English language song tradition while focusing on phrasing, ornamentation, and
individual style. Students will try their hands at ballads, macaronic songs, hedge school
master songs, and more! Students will learn to sing these songs in a small group
setting to accommodate participation. Please bring a recording device. • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Workshops & Class
Offerings:
Brian Ó hAirt: Sean-nós Singing: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Come explore the singing traditions of Gaelic Ireland. Learn about the historic
development of these regional traditions while focusing on pronunciation, phrasing,
ornamentation and individual style. Students will try their hands a the various types of
Irish Gaelic songs such as the "big songs", silly songs, macaronic songs, religious
songs and more. No understanding of Gaelic is necessary. Students will learn several
song choruses with which to sing along in a group setting. Please bring a recording
device. Brian Ó hAirt: Irish Language (Gaelic): beginner/intermediate/advanced
Come explore the native language of Ireland--Gaeilge. Students will learn the ins and
outs of this beautiful language with focus on pronunciation and basic sentence
structures and simple vocabulary. Those with more skill will practice idiomatic
structures involving the copula /is/ and past, present and future tenses. Please bring
writing material and a recording device, though the style of teaching incorporates total
physical response learning. Brian Ó hAirt: Concertina/Button Accordion: beginner/intermediate
Brian is very influenced by the Connemara melodeon tradition--known for its playful
and accommodating dance tempo. This workshop will focus on building skills needed
to fill out the melodic line including octave playing and left hand chord building on
concertina and left hand vamping on the accordion. Basic ornamentation will also be
touched upon and the student will be given new tunes with which to build their
repertoire. Please bring a recording device. Brian Ó hAirt: Sean-nós dancing: beginner/intermediate/advanced: Come learn the Connemara style of sean-nós dancing--a dance form akin to American
flat footing or clogging. Learn the basic Connemara step for both jigs and reels. Those with more advanced skills will be challenged with free-formed dancing focusing
on the unique rhythm of various dance tunes. Please bring a pair of flat-soled shoes
with hard leather or plastic soles. NO IRISH DANCING HARD SHOES PLEASE.
Brian Miller: Accompanying Irish Music: beginner/intermediate/advanced
Hone your techniques for backing up traditional Irish dance music and songs with this
informative, hands on workshop. This workshop will cover the fundamentals of good
accompaniment that apply to guitar (in standard or alternate tuning) and all the various
mandolin family instruments common in the Irish tradition (bouzouki, cittern, octave
mandolin, etc.). We will discuss the history of accompaniment in Irish music while
Workshops & Class
Offerings:
working on a subtle, non-intrusive approach to accompanying tunes and songs.
Students will learn strumming techniques for various dance tune types and a few tricks
of the trade. Suitable for newcomers to Irish backing as well as those who already back
but are looking to expand their palette.
Brian Miller: DADGAD Guitar Accompaniment: beginner/intermediate/advanced
This class explores techniques for backing up traditional Irish music with a specific focus
on the use of guitar in the DADGAD tuning. Brian has taught Irish-style guitar backing
to students in Ireland and at workshops across the US. This workshop will cover
DADGAD chord shapes, strumming techniques for various dance tune types and a few
tricks of the trade. Suitable for newcomers to Irish guitar backing as well as those who
already back but are looking to expand their palette.
Brian Miller: Bouzouki Accompaniment: beginner/intermediate/advanced
This class explores techniques for backing up traditional Irish music with a specific focus
on the use of the bouzouki (or octave mandolin, cittern, etc.). We will discuss the
history of mandolin family instruments in Irish music and consider ways in which they
are particularly well suited to fitting into this primarily melody-oriented tradition. Brian
will outline a subtle, non-intrusive approach to accompanying tunes and songs.
Students will learn strumming techniques for various dance tune types and a few tricks
of the trade. Suitable for newcomers to Irish backing as well as those who already back
but are looking to expand their palette.
Brian Miller, Devin Shepherd, Brian Ó hAirt, Sean Gavin: A Harvest of Irish Music
This listening workshop explores the legacy of Irish music in Chicago dating back to the
early 1900s. It was during this period that famed Chief of Police—Francis O’Neill began
to collect Irish traditional dance tunes from many of the native Irish working on the
police force and from many musicians living in the city itself. This undertaking resulted
in the publication of the most significant collection of Irish dance music in the world. In
more recent times, many of O’Neill’s personal wax-cylinder recordings have been
recovered and digitized giving amazing insight into the character, ability, and prowess
of many contributors to this now famous collection. • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Venue History:
Bua has played in twenty-four states within the US and two Canadian provinces.
Here are some highlights from over the years.
Folk Venues:
National Folk Festival, Butte MT: 2010 * CityFolk Festival, Dayton OH: 2011 Lowell Folk
Festival, Lowell MA: 2010 * University of Chicago Folk Festival, Chicago IL: 2012 *
Great Lakes Folk Festival, East Lansing MI: 2012 * New Bedford Summerfest, New
Bedford MA: 2009 * Old Songs Festival, Altamont NY: 2009 * Dianna Wortham
Theater, Asheville NC: 2010 * Woods Hole Folk Music Society, Woods Hole MA: 2011 *
The Ark, Ann Arbor MI: 2011 * University of Hartford, Hartford CT: 2008, 2009 *
Blackstone River Theatre, Cumberland RI: 2008 * Delaware Valley Arts Consortium,
Immaculata PA: 2010 * Cumberland Music Association, Knoxville TN: 2010 * University
of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe LA: 2010 * Missouri Valley Folklife Society, Kansas City
MO: 2008 * Fresno Folklore Society, Fresno CA: 2013
Irish & Celtic Communities:
Dublin Irish Festival, Dublin OH: 2009 * Celtic Classic, Bethlehem PA: 2009, 2010, 2012
* Catskills Irish Arts Week, East Durham NY: 2010 * Celtic Roots Festival, Goderich ON:
2009, 2010 * Buffalo Irish Fest, Buffalo NY: 2008 * Minnesota Irish Fair, St. Paul MN:
2010 * Arizona Highland Celtic Festival, Flagstaff AZ: 2011, 2012 * Eugene Irish
Cultural Festival, Eugene OR: 2012 * Jackson Celtic Fest, Jackson MS: 2012 * Chicago
Celtic Fest, Chicago IL: 2007 * Milwaukee Irish Fest, Milwaukee WI: 2006, 2007 * Irish
American Heritage Center, Chicago IL: 2006, 2007, 2010 * Philadelphia Céilí Group
Festival, Philadelphia PA: 2009 * Irish Center of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH: 2012
* Irish Cultural & Heritage Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee WI: 2007, 2012 * Winnipeg
Irish Festival, Winnipeg MB: 2013 * Selected Summer Schools:
Grand Canyon Celtic Arts Academy, Flagstaff, AZ: 2011, 2012
Celtic College, Goderich, ON: 2009, 2010
Conferences:
Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference (APAP), New York NY: 2009
Folk Alliance International Conference, Memphis TN: 2011 • Booking: Brian Ó hAirt • 418 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR 97214 • Phone: 314-974-7073
Discography:
Down the Green Fields
An Spealadóir
Live At Martyrs’
2011
2009
2006
For any fans of traditional Irish music, Bua’s Down the Green Fields is not only the
kind of album that should place the band in the highest echelon of Irish groups, but
also a truly admirable example of taste and restraint in a tradition that sometimes loses
sight of both.
- Driftwood Magazine February 2012
Bua again demonstrates the essence of what a band does best, letting the pieces be
joined to its strongest fashion. An Spealadóir features all that is really good about
tradition music. It is a breath-taking excursion, and one you will not want to miss.
- Irish Music Magazine August 2009
It is a work without gimmicks, where the musicianship is of the highest quality…In many
ways it is a throwback to the playing of the 1960’s and 1970’s, keeping the music down
the path of tradition. Live at Martyrs’ is a piece one can play without fear of wearing
out its welcome.
- Irish Music Magazine May 2007
Distinctions &
Awards:
“Best Irish-American Album of the Past Five Years” (2013)
- The Bluegrass Situation
#1 in US Album Sales (August 2012-January 2013)
Top Selling Folk Album (March 2012)
- CDBaby.com
Music Developmental Grant Recipients (2011)
- Foras na Gaeilge
“Top Traditional Group” (2009)
- Irish Music Awards
“North American Group of the Year” (2007)
“New Group of the Year” (2006)
- Irish American News
Stage Plot:
[BACK STAGE]
Sean Gavin
Devin Shepherd
Brian Ó hAirt
Brian Miller
flute/vocal:
mic on tall boom
pipes chanter:
mic on short boom
pipes drones:
mic on short boom
vocal:
mic on tall boom
fiddle:
XLR w/phantom
vocal:
mic on tall boom
concertina:
2 XLRs w/phantom
vocal:
mic on tall boom
guitar: DI
bouzouki:
instrument mic on
short boom
chair w/no arms
chair w/no arms
chair w/no arms
chair w/no arms
MONITOR
MONITOR
MONITOR
MONITOR
4’ x 6’ wooden or marley dance floor for
step dancing (can be elevated on risers)
2 dance mics secured to the dance floor
or on small booms
[AUDIENCE]

Press Kit

Transcription

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