January Update - 2018

It has been a busier January than I thought, today and I thought it nice to post some tabs about the month. The month started out in Kiltimagh Co. Mayo where I was again afforded the privilege of performing with Anne Randolph, Keith Donald, and Vera Craughwell. We performed another set of 'Atlantic Heart Songs' to a packed Town Hall in Anne's hometown. My partner and I drove up through Roscommon and Mayo shortly after learning I had in fact some relatives from both of those counties. It was a bit surreal to be able to drive through a part of the world some bit of my ancestry once called home. While it didn't feel anything like coming home something strangely resonated driving up to the gig. A strange sense of alienated nostalgia, for a place or time that was never my own. It was a perfect sentiment to put to music that night where I played my own arrangement of an Irish lullaby 'Oro mo Bhaidin.'

January also saw a brief day of recording music for the Irish National Youth Ballet. All of the music was composed by composition students from the Royal Irish Academy of Music including music by Katie Neville, Terry Meakin and Georgia Johnston. It was great to read through the pieces and get a few cracks at them. I can't wait to see what the Irish National Youth ballet churns out.

The RIAM guitar orchestra performed a sold out concert last night with acclaimed guitarist Xufei Yang. We played in the beautiful Shaw Room of the National Gallery of Dublin featuring a well received program of arrangements of Handel, Bizet, and original works by Roland Dyens,

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