The ladies of Girsa
There was no grand plan. It didn’t start out this way. No one was advocating, one way or another.
But here’s what happened: The grand finale concert of the 41st Annual Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival (September 10, 11 & 12th) is going to shine a big, bright spotlight on female Irish musicians.
The sweet-singing Mary Courtney will open the Saturday night concert—a treat in and of itself—and the all-female Irish traditional band Girsa will wrap things up, most likely with their usual burst of energy.
“We look for the highest level of Irish music out there,” says Anne McNiff, Ceili Group secretary, “and we try to book the band a year in advance. We had a little less time this year, but we were happy to book Girsa. They’re representative of the next generation of traditional Irish musicians and singers. They’re either the children or the students of the best of the best. They have a pedigree that’s impeccable. They’ve definitely arrived. And we were also happy to learn that Mary Courtney was available. She played here at the Irish Center in March 2013 with her band Morning Star. I believe this is the first time in 41 years we’ve had an all-female lineup for the Saturday night concert.”
Girsa consists of fiddler Maeve Flanagan and bodhran player Bernadette Flanagan; accordion player Blaithin Loughran; singer and accordion player Pamela Geraghty; multi-instrumentalist and singer Deirdre Brennan; and pianist Emily McShane. Here’s where to find out more about that pedigree. There are too many connections to make here.
The festival goes on for three days, beginning Thursday night with a night of Irish song, hosted by Teresa Kane, featuring crowd-pleasers Matt Ward, John Byrne and the Jameson Sisters; and a Friday night ceili dance with live music by the McGillians & Friends, and, in the Fireside Room of the Irish Center, a Rambling House concert hosted by John McGillian; a Friday night Rambling House hosted by John McGillian.
Starting at 11 a.m., there’s music, dance and everywhere, including an introduction to Irish step dancing lessons for beginners, a lecture on Irish rebel tunes, activities for the kids, Irish musical instrument workshops, and the first-ever fiddle workshop for beginners, led by local fiddler and teacher Hollis Payer.
The beginner workshop, McNiff says, is “for basic fiddlers, or former Irish fiddlers who are thinking about coming back, or maybe classical violin players who want to learn.” The class will be taught all by ear—which is a typical way to learn Irish musical instruments.
Adding new features like the fiddle workshop, McNiff says, is all part of a strategy to “not just expand attendance, but to also expand our core audience.”
For details and to buy tickets, visit the Philadelphia Ceili Group website
