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Kutztown Presents! will feature the acclaimed Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, in its next concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kutztown University's Schaeffer Auditorium.
Ivers, the daughter of Irish immigrants who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., won the All-Ireland Fiddle Championships nine times and a 10th on tenor banjo. As one of the original stars of "Riverdance," she helped to bring traditional Irish dancing and music to the attention of the world.
She is also known as an innovator, playing an electric/acoustic violin and mixing Irish fiddle music with other genres. In addition to her work with her own band, she has performed with major symphony orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops; with rock stars such as Sting and Patti Smith; with jazz artists such as Randy Brecker and Regina Carter; and she was a founding member of Cherish the Ladies.
Her music has been heard in soundtracks for films such as "Gangs of New York," and she has recorded an extensive discography, including "Wild Blue," "Crossing the Bridge" and "Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul."
More recently, she and her band have created "Beyond the Bog Road," a multimedia concert comprised of music, story, dance and film, exploring how Irish music and dance have influenced music in North America as Irish immigrants have brought their arts with them over the centuries.
She is working on a CD, also called "Beyond the Bog Road," which will be released early next year.
In a recent telephone interview, Ivers said the group is also working on "a little short DVD" to accompany the CD.
"We shot about 17 hours of footage in Ireland," she said, "where my parents were born, in County Mayo and Galway."
She said they visited famine memorials and many other sites where the immigrant journey began.
"It's always been a part of me," she said. "It was good to put it down."
The concert will be a combination of pieces from the coming CD - pieces that include French-Canadian and Appalachian music - as well as traditional Irish tunes, she said.
She will be joined by her band - Tommy McDonnell on lead vocals, harmonica and percussion; Greg Anderson on acoustic guitar, bouzouki and vocals; Buddy Connolly on accordian, whistles and keyboards; and Leo Traversa on bass - and by dancers from the O'Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance, which has several locations in the Lehigh Valley.
Ivers said the program will include background stories about the pieces, such as a tune from vaudeville times, songs from the Great Famine, a traditional hornpipe that later came through the Appalachian Mountains and wound up in the hands of the legendary Bill Monroe, credited with inventing bluegrass.
"I love to vary it," she said. "It's great for the audience to hear about the music, and to vary the tempos, the emotions, the meter, spice it up and make it an experience for them."
Ivers still plays her famous blue fiddle, but in the past three years she also has been playing an acoustic/electric fiddle by ZETA Music.
"It looks like a regular acoustic violin," she said, "but there's a pickup on each string."
The company recently has introduced an Eileen Ivers Signature Series Violin.
She said she hopes to create a teaching video and also an orchestral one, since she has been doing a lot of work with symphony orchestras.
"There's a lot of good stuff going on," she said. "I have a studio in my home now, and we have a little house in Ireland on my dad's land."
Contact Susan L. Peé?a: life@readingeagle.com.
Ivers, the daughter of Irish immigrants who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., won the All-Ireland Fiddle Championships nine times and a 10th on tenor banjo. As one of the original stars of "Riverdance," she helped to bring traditional Irish dancing and music to the attention of the world.
She is also known as an innovator, playing an electric/acoustic violin and mixing Irish fiddle music with other genres. In addition to her work with her own band, she has performed with major symphony orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops; with rock stars such as Sting and Patti Smith; with jazz artists such as Randy Brecker and Regina Carter; and she was a founding member of Cherish the Ladies.
Her music has been heard in soundtracks for films such as "Gangs of New York," and she has recorded an extensive discography, including "Wild Blue," "Crossing the Bridge" and "Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul."
More recently, she and her band have created "Beyond the Bog Road," a multimedia concert comprised of music, story, dance and film, exploring how Irish music and dance have influenced music in North America as Irish immigrants have brought their arts with them over the centuries.
She is working on a CD, also called "Beyond the Bog Road," which will be released early next year.
In a recent telephone interview, Ivers said the group is also working on "a little short DVD" to accompany the CD.
"We shot about 17 hours of footage in Ireland," she said, "where my parents were born, in County Mayo and Galway."
She said they visited famine memorials and many other sites where the immigrant journey began.
"It's always been a part of me," she said. "It was good to put it down."
The concert will be a combination of pieces from the coming CD - pieces that include French-Canadian and Appalachian music - as well as traditional Irish tunes, she said.
She will be joined by her band - Tommy McDonnell on lead vocals, harmonica and percussion; Greg Anderson on acoustic guitar, bouzouki and vocals; Buddy Connolly on accordian, whistles and keyboards; and Leo Traversa on bass - and by dancers from the O'Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance, which has several locations in the Lehigh Valley.
Ivers said the program will include background stories about the pieces, such as a tune from vaudeville times, songs from the Great Famine, a traditional hornpipe that later came through the Appalachian Mountains and wound up in the hands of the legendary Bill Monroe, credited with inventing bluegrass.
"I love to vary it," she said. "It's great for the audience to hear about the music, and to vary the tempos, the emotions, the meter, spice it up and make it an experience for them."
Ivers still plays her famous blue fiddle, but in the past three years she also has been playing an acoustic/electric fiddle by ZETA Music.
"It looks like a regular acoustic violin," she said, "but there's a pickup on each string."
The company recently has introduced an Eileen Ivers Signature Series Violin.
She said she hopes to create a teaching video and also an orchestral one, since she has been doing a lot of work with symphony orchestras.
"There's a lot of good stuff going on," she said. "I have a studio in my home now, and we have a little house in Ireland on my dad's land."
Contact Susan L. Peé?a: life@readingeagle.com.
