October Newsletter
Meeting Recap
We had an excellent meeting this month! A great turn out with some new and old faces, and tons of tunes. As mentioned before, I’ve been working to develop a better collection of common tunes for us all to learn from. each meeting I’ve been documenting which tunes are played, and noting how often they are played. You can find a new table of tunes in the Common Tunes section of our Resources page here: Resources - Common Tunes
You’ll note a field labeled “Frequency.” This is how often has been played across all of our meetings. You can sort by tune name, type and frequency to help determine which tunes you’d like to focus on. This table is a work in progress and will be updated after each meeting to reflect new tunes.
Workshops & Concerts
West Coast Tionol 2025
After five years, Seattle will finally be hosting the West Coast Tionol once again! The tionol will be held on Presidents Day weekend, February 14-16. I’m very pleased to announce we will be hosting Caoimhín Ó Fearghail and Sean Gavin, two incredible talents and teachers.
Caoimhín Ó Fearghail
Hailing from An Rinn, Waterford Gaeltacht, began learning the tin whistle at age eight with Bobby Gardiner before progressing to the uilleann pipes under David Power. Self-taught on flute and guitar, he was influenced by renowned musicians like Matt Molloy and Séamus Ennis. In 2006, he released an album with local artists, and has since contributed to various albums, including those of Caitlín Nic Gabhann and Edel Fox. A recipient of the TG4 Young Musician of the Year award in 2012, Caoimhín has toured widely with groups like Caladh Nua and Danú, and in 2020, released a solo piping album through Na Píobairí Uilleann. A graduate of UCC with an MA in Irish, he was named Best Folk Instrumentalist at the 2021 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.
Sean Gavin
A master of the uilleann pipes, Irish flute, and tin whistle, Seán Gavin is one of the most highly regarded performers and teachers of traditional Irish music. He is the first musician born outside Ireland to win the prestigious Seán Ó Riada Gold medal, and the author of a popular tin whistle book published by Hal Leonard. Seán is the founder and director of the Irish Music Institute – a non-profit music school based in Southeast Michigan, and also serves as coordinator of celtic week at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina. With recordings, lectures, and performances around the globe to his credit, Seán is back in his native Detroit, where he continues to play, teach, and promote traditional Irish music.
Early registration is available now here and in our store: West Coast Tionol ‘25
Ticket price will increase on December 1st, so get your early!
As always, stay tuned to the website and newsletter for the latest details and updates, and feel free to reach out with any questions.
Bandcamp, Bits & Bobs
The topic of O’Carolan and Derek Bell came up at one point, which reminded me of an excellent album I found in a record shop a while ago. Derek Bell was a renowned harpist and member of the Chieftains in their glory years. He produced a few solo albums during his life, including Carolan’s Reciept, which you can stream on spotify and other sources. If you are not yet familiar with some of pipings history, sometime around the late 1700’s, as the last of the harpers died out, uilleann pipers took up the mantle of the harpers repertoir and clientele. As such learning about O’Carolan and early harp music can be a great benefit to your own playing. So enjoy!
And in light of our upcoming tionól and guests, Have a listen to Caoimhín Ó Fearghail’s own album.
That’s all for now. See you at the enxt meeting!
