Rock Paper Scissors - Eileen Ivers, 2012 US Tour

When Eileen Ivers was a college student, she dreamed of working for NASA. Lucky for audiences, she changed her mind.

Ivers, a champion Irish- American fiddler who's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, will make a rare local appearance this weekend when she plays a benefit concert at Dominican College with her band, Immigrant Soul. With a touring schedule that finds her on the road much of the year, it's nice to perform close to home, says Ivers, who lives in West Nyack with her husband and manager, Brian Mulligan.

Crowds all over the world have embraced Irish music, says Ivers, who plays nearly 100 shows each year. Even in Japan, fans roar as if they're at a rock concert. "If you closed your eyes, you would swear you were in the heart of Ireland, playing in a pub somewhere,' she says. "It's a source of great pride for the people, the ones who left."

Ivers' parents, who emigrated here from Ireland in the 1950s, will be in the audience at her Orangeburg show this weekend, she says. But it's not just traditional Irish music they'll be hearing. While Ivers is widely acknowledged for her technical virtuosity — she's won nine all-Ireland fiddle championships and over 30 all-Ireland medals — she and her band are also known for playing music that draws from multiple influences, including Cajun, Latin, African and Appalachian bluegrass.

What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin? Ivers steals her answer from a student who attended a master class of hers at Clemson University in South Carolina: "A violin has strings, but a fiddle has 'strangs,' " she says, adding that she "busts out" that joke even when she plays with symphony orchestras.

Ivers, who dances around as she plays, admits that concerts can be draining, both emotionally and physically. While there's a heartbreaking nature to Irish laments, there's also a sense of joy, particularly in the jigs and reels. "Any great folk music has the emotions of the people entwined in it,' she says. "There's the weight of it, the intensity of it, yet there's also the wonderful joy of creating in the moment. And audiences are smart. They get it."

Growing up immersed in Irish culture in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx, Ivers "got the fiddle bug" when she was 8. "My parents weren't musicians, but they certainly loved music and would play a lot of recordings when we were growing up in the Bronx apartments, driving our neighbors crazy I'm sure,' she says.

Childhood friend Patty Furlong, who teaches nursing at Dominican College, recalls a talented, determined Ivers who remained friendly and down-to-earth, even as she gained fame for her musical skills. "Eileen was always amazing. We all competed, we all did well, but Eileen took it to the next level,' says Furlong, who plays button accordion — and who teaches, along with several other "girls" from Ivers' childhood gang (Rose Flanagan and Margie Mulvihill) at the Pearl River School of Irish Music. (Teachers Brendan Dolan and Frankie McCormick are also on staff at the school.)

It's likely Ivers could have gone the professional route after high school, but her parents impressed on her the importance of a college education. She won a full scholarship to Iona College, where she majored in math — and where she dreamed of that career with NASA. She's six credits shy of a master's degree, she says, and remains fascinated by mathematics, referring to it as "a beautiful discipline."

But Ivers has a good excuse for taking a break from her studies. For three years, she played a wireless violin with "Riverdance,' making her debut in London and playing a series of sold-out shows at Radio City. Some said she was crazy to leave just before the show moved to Broadway, but Ivers had her reasons. "I felt like I wanted to creatively move on,' she says. "It was a good time to get into the next phase of my life."

While life is hectic these days, she's established a second home on the land her father owned in County Mayo, Ireland, and travels there a few times a year for a much-needed break. At home in West Nyack, she and Mulligan recently added a recording studio, Musical Bridge, where she just laid down a few tracks for a coming album from Cherish the Ladies, the group that Ivers founded with Joanie Madden in the 1980s.

It's important to Ivers that a new generation learn the traditions that were such a strong part of her upbringing, she says — which means she generally showcases young performers at every show. For her concert at Dominican College, she'll be joined by students from the Broesler School of Irish Dance and the Pearl River School of Irish Music.

But it's not about her and it's not about the kids.

"The big stars really are the Irish people and the folks, like my parents, who came here with not a lot,' says Ivers. "I have such admiration for what they did and what they instilled in all of us. To learn this music and dancing, and to pass it on, we're very lucky to do what we do."