Irish Arts Center

HOME
ABOUT
CAREERS
PRESS
LIVE
SUBMISSIONS
MEMBER LOG IN

MUSIC

This is How we Fly

$20 member /
$24 non-member

April 23
Opening Night

$60

Show your support for Irish Arts Center by purchasing an opening night ticket to This is How we Fly, and enjoy a celebratory reception after the show with the artists.

Photo Credit: Mark Henderson, Aron Mattsson

This is How we Fly
in association with The Princeton Sound Kitchen at Princeton University

Featuring
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, fiddle & hardanger fiddle
Seán Mac Erlaine, clarinets & electronics
Nic Gareiss, percussive dance
Petter Berndalen, drums & percussion

April 23-25
Doors Open at 7 pm | Show at 8 pm

Each night a different special guest will drop in to various concerts:

April 23: Cleek Schrey, fiddle
April 24: Brittany Haas, fiddle
April 25: Maeve Gilchrist, harp

"Traditional music shot through with the adrenaline of contemporary influences: a lethal but irresistible cocktail." - The Irish Times

"A white-hot creative crucible uniting four pyrotechnic young talents." - Celtic Connections

A collaboration between fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and jazz clarinetist Seán Mac Erlaine already sounds an intriguing proposition, but throw in American hard shoe dancer Nic Gareiss and Swedish percussionist Petter Berndalen and the results are something quite special. The search for common ground between this eclectic quartet has yielded a rich crop of ideas and a debut album that sounds like nothing else.

Individually, each member has carved out a reputation for not just mastering their chosen fields, but rising above, redefining and renewing the musical world they come from. A sublime Irish fiddler who’s not afraid to step outside convention; a thoughtful Dublin jazzman who has moved beyond the linear constraints of the genre; a sophisticated Appalachian hard shoe dancer stepping into the rhythmic foreground; and a lyrical Swedish percussionist redefining the melodic and sonic place of drums within the contours of traditional song.

This is How we Fly play everything from Irish fiddle tunes to Appalachian folk and polskas from Berndalen’s native Sweden. Shot through with the exuberant, anarchic spirits of folk and jazz, this is traditional music as you’ve never heard it before.

MEDIA

SPECIAL GUESTS

Thursday, April 23: Cleek Schrey, fiddle

Described by The Irish Times as "a musician utterly at one with his instrument and his music," Cleek Schrey is a fiddler and composer from Virginia. An active member of traditional music communities in America and Ireland, he plays in the Ghost Trio with Ivan Goff and Iarla Ó Lionáird, the award-winning string band Bigfoot, and a duo with the old time fiddler Stephanie Coleman. The journal Sound Post has noted that Cleek "possesses a rare combination of traits: deep respect for traditional music and the people who make it, and an unbounded curiosity about new directions for sound." He is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Composition at Wesleyan University. www.cleekschrey.virb.com

Friday, April 24: Brittany Haas, fiddle

California-born Brittany Haas is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation. She grew up honing her craft in fiddle camps nationwide, and came to her unique sound through the old time fiddling of Bruce Molsky and the innovative stylings of Darol Anger, her mentors. A prodigious youth, she began touring with Darol's Republic of Strings at the age of 14. She simultaneously studied baboons in the evolutionary biology department of Princeton University and joined seminal chamber-grass band Crooked Still. She has toured with them since, and also performed with Yonder Mountain String Band, Tony Trischka, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas (her cellist sister), Abigail Washburn, and The Waybacks. She played her fiddle on Steve Martin's Grammy Award-winning CD, The Crow, and performed in his band on Letterman and SNL. She released her debut self-titled solo album at 17. Currently residing in Boston, she recently released the debut album of all original music you got this with her trio Haas Kowert Tice. She also plays in a duo with Swedish fiddler Lena Jonsson, the avant fiddle/dance ensemble 4TET, and a Norwegian/Appalachian project with composer Dan Trueman. http://brittanyhaas.com Photo by Amanda Kowalski.

Saturday, April 25: Maeve Gilchrist, harp

Maeve Gilchrist is a harpist, singer, composer and teacher. Described by Dirty Linen as “a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity,” Maeve has taken the Celtic harp to new levels of performance. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, and based in Brooklyn, New York, Maeve‘s innovative folk-jazz fusion approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. She has played with such luminaries as Kathy Mattea, Esperanza Spalding, Tony Trishka and Alasdair Fraser and has released four albums to date, including her most recent recording, 20 Chandler Street. She also maintains a widely acclaimed duo project with percussive dancer Nic Gareiss and tours regularly with bluegrass fiddle ace Darol Anger. Maeve also teaches widely and has written several instructional books published by Hal Leonard Music. www.maevegilchristmusic.com

Box office phone 866-811-4111
Administrative office phone 212-757-3318 fax 212-247-0930
553 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019 | DIRECTIONS
General information info@irishartscenter.org
Office hours Monday-Friday 10 AM – 6 PM

VIEW A MAP

VIEW THE FULL CALENDAR

Irish Arts Center programs, are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.	Irish Arts Center programs, are made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.	Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide.
Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government partners including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; the Northern Ireland Bureau; British Council Northern Ireland; the Arts Council of Northern Ireland; The American Ireland Fund; Howard Gilman Foundation; Tourism Ireland; Bloomberg Philanthropies; and thousands of generous donors like you.