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ASU Irish Music Ensemble to Perform at St. Mary of the Hills This Saturday, May 27

Come enjoy a lively afternoon of music by the ASU Irish Music Ensemble on Saturday, May 27th at 4 pm at St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church in Blowing Rock. The next in a series of monthly recitals by musicians from Appalachian State University, this concert focuses on Irish traditional music, with a little Scottish and English traditional music in the mix.  The ensemble of advanced student musicians from ASU includes flute, fiddle, bodhran (Celtic frame drum), guitar, and tenor banjo.

Music for this recital will include several jigs – The Swallowtail/The Lilting Banshee/Geese in the Bog/Drummond Castle, Athole Highlanders/Jig of Slurs, and The Blarney Pilgrim/The Kesh, a reel – Flowers of Edinburgh, hornpipes – Boys of Bellycastle/Rights of Man, polkas – Britches Full of Stitches/Ryan’s (Armaugh), slides – Julia Clifford’s/Star above the Garter, and short airs, including boat songs from the Isles of Aran and Skye.

The musicians of the Irish Ensemble bring diverse backgrounds, interests, and accomplishments to the group. Samuel Plato (flute) is a senior in Music Education and Flute at ASU, and has taken masterclasses from several prominent Irish flutists, including Aoife Granville, Seán Gavin, Desi Wilkinson, Paul McGratton, and Conal ó’ Gráda.  Shane Watson (fiddle) has a degree in Organ Performance and Sacred Music from ASU and plans to pursue a Master’s at ETSU in Appalachian Studies, with a focus on Scottish and Irish influence on Appalachian music; an award-winning Scottish fiddler, he has studied under National Scottish Fiddle champion Dr. John Turner, has himself competed nationally, and recently won 1st place at the Charleston Scottish Highland Games.

Miranda Stone (bodhran) is a Senior in Percussion Performance at ASU and in addition to the bodhran, plays the tabla, steel pan, and improvisational music, indicative of her interest in world music, avant-garde music, and jazz. John Carson (guitar) is a Senior in Guitar Performance at ASU.  And Jonathan Snead (tenor banjo) is a rising Sophomore at ASU, pursuing a degree in Composition and Theory; in addition to banjo, he plays a number of other instruments, including piano.

St. Mary of the Hills sponsors Saturday afternoon recitals by faculty and students from the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University each month from May through September.  The church is located on Main Street in Blowing Rock.  For more information, please call the church office at 828.295.7323, or visit MusicfromStMaryoftheHills on Facebook.