|
|
 |
Concert Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
JS Online , Concert Review >>
Celtic fiddle champ thrills MSO Pops audience
By Elaine Schmidt, Special to the Journal Sentinel
March 24, 2012
Anyone whose definition of "Celtic fiddle" leans toward something quaint and staid needs to spend an evening listening to Eileen Ivers.
Ivers, a nine-times All-Ireland Fiddle Champion who was born in the Bronx to Irish immigrants, brought her infectious, high-energy mix of Celtic fiddling, bluegrass, jazz and soul to the Milwaukee Symphony Pops on Friday evening.
Ivers and her tightly knit band - Tommy McDonnell on vocals and percussion, Buddy Connelly on accordion, whistles and keyboards, Greg Anderson on guitar and backing vocals and Lindsey Horner on upright and electric bass - gave an unforgettable show.
Their play list included the several-hundred-year-old tune "Bygone Days," as well as some of Ivers' original music, a touching rendition of "Nearer My God to Thee," and a segment from the fiddler's days with Riverdance.
She played a high-energy "Rocky Road Blues," and closed the show with a delightfully over-the-top take on "May the Circle Be Unbroken."
Ivers plays with the soul of a Celtic musician, the improvisatory freedom of a jazz artist, sterling fiddle technique and a constant connection to her colleagues and her audience. She clearly has fun on the stage and pulls her audience into the party.
McDonnell serves as the audience instigator and lead singer, stepping out from behind the drums to strap a washboard to his chest and create musical mayhem.
Conductor Jeff Tyzik led the orchestra, filling in for Marvin Hamlisch who withdrew for medical reasons.
Both halves of the program opened with Tyzik and the MSO performing Irish-themed pieces, including Leroy Anderson's "Irish Suite," John Williams' "Suite From 'Far and Away' " and Percy Grainger's "Irish Tune from County Derry," better known as "Danny Boy."
Tyzik and the orchestra accompanied Ivers and her band on several tunes. The ensembles took a few minutes to settle into a comfortable camaraderie, which then lasted throughout the program, including on a coloring-outside-the-lines version of Pachelbel's "Canon," featuring Ivers and MSO concertmaster Frank Almond.
Four polished young dancers from the local Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance appeared several times over the course of the evening.
This Milwaukee Symphony Pops concert will be repeated tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in Uihlein Hall of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. For ticket information visit www.mso.org or call (414) 273-7206.
03/24/12 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
