Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers at Ridgefield Playhouse Dec. 9
Erik Ofgang, Correspondent
Published: 05:41 p.m., Tuesday, December 7, 2010

For Grammy-winning Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers, it's all about tradition.

Ivers is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Championship winner. Though her parents are from Ireland, she grew up in the Bronx, surrounded by the music of her ancestors. She'll share that music in Ridgefield when her band, Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, performs its holiday show -- "An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas" -- on Thursday, Dec. 9.

Special guests are the Gray School of Irish Dance -- which will open with its award-winning Irish step dancers. Members of the Ridgefield Chorale will also perform, singing holiday favorites with the band.

Ivers' show will include classics such as "Oh, Holy Night" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

There will also be traditional Irish music and some of Ivers' originals. She put the show together a few years ago, around the time she recorded "An Nollaig," the Christmas record.

It was something she'd wanted to do for a long time.

"I wanted to really get back into some of the wonderful traditional Irish melodies and carols," she said in a recent interview. "I was actually surprised to find, when I did some research, how many beautiful carols there are. Part of the concert is these beautiful melodies that folks mightn't be too familiar with.

"And then there are some wonderful favorite standards that I also wanted to put in there that we Irishized a little bit, like `Hark the Herald Angels' -- it has a wonderful rhythm of three inherently in it, so we jigified it."

Though firmly rooted in tradition, Ivers, 45, incorporates many musical styles into her performances, including rock and blues. She had a starring role in "Riverdance," has performed for United States presidents, and can be heard on the movie soundtrack for "Gangs of New York."

Now living in Rockland County, N.Y., Ivers said music has been a part of her life ever since she was a child. Her parents always played Irish recordings in the house, as well as other music. Her dad is a big fan of bluegrass and country music.

"So I kind of gravitated toward the violin and convinced my mom to rent me one when I was about 8," she said.

Mixing traditional music with other styles came naturally to her.

"I was so grounded in the tradition for many, many years and I think it's so important when you learn any great ethnic or folk tradition, you have to know where it came from and really be immersed in it and respect it, to really understand it," she said.

"I would compete in Ireland (and) when I finished the All-Ireland Championships I was about 18. I felt, `I'm playing this amazing instrument, which can do so much and so much great music is played on it.' I think that it was shortly after that that I wanted to learn a lot more about what the violin could do."

Ivers did just that, and perfected her playing to the point that the New York Times once called her "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin."

"It was quite humbling I think, to be mentioned with such a great musician in the same breath; I mean I just kind of laugh, it's very wonderful," she said. "He was obviously a huge player and really connected with his instrument and emoted so beautifully through his instrument. I certainly love playing and I use my violin as an extension of my personality and also the tradition, so, I guess that's a pretty cool quote."

The Ridgefield Playhouse is at 80 East Ridge. Thursday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m. $50. 203-438-5795, www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org.