Strings of fire

Eileen Ivers, ‘The Jimi Hendrix of the violin,’ performs Friday at Caltech
By John Sollenberger  11/03/2010

If you’ve never experienced Celtic music before, Friday night might be a good time to start. That’s when fiddler extraordinaire Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, play at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium. 

 

The Bronx native, born to Irish immigrant parents, grew up immersed in the music of her parents’ homeland. She parlayed that love of the music into an early starring role with “Riverdance.” She’s a nine-time All-Ireland fiddle champion, performing with acts ranging from the London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center to The Chieftans, Sting, Hall and Oates, Patti Smith and Al Di Meola.

 

A founding member of Cherish the Ladies, Ivers created “Beyond the Bog Road,” a multimedia concert of music, stories, dance and film. To get a sense of the intensity with which Ivers plies her craft, The New York Times once called her “The Jimi Hendrix of the violin.” 

 

Ivers has recorded five discs of her own, the latest, “An Nollaig — An Irish Christmas,” is available at eileenivers.com.