Moloney, Lyn bring Irish music
Moloney, Lyn bring Irish music
Mick Moloney and Dana Lyn perform traditional Irish music.
With spring fast approaching we can all anticipate that great feeling from spotting the first buds of green awakening from the ground. What a nice time to be alive, in Seward, on a sunny day, with a T-shirt, and a nice breeze, green grass poking out from everyone’s yard. The whiteness of winter (of which we’ve have absolutely no shortage this year), and its monochromatic grip on our senses is about to be lifted a little early this year. Well, with the green of St. Patty’s Day Festivities for one thing. And in case you do not get your fill of Irish fun Seward Arts Council has more in store. One of the greatest Irish musicians and folklorists in America today, Mick Moloney.
Mick Moloney and Dana Lyn will perform tradtional Irish music at 7 p.m. March 29 at Seward High School Theatre. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. General admission is $15 and arts council members enter for $12. For information contact Mark Teckenbrok, 224-6800 or markteckenbrock@hotmail.com
Mick Moloney is the author of “Far From the Shamrock Shore: The story of Irish American History Through Song.” He holds a Ph.D. in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught ethnomusicology, folklore and Irish studies courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, and Villanova Universities, and currently teaches at New York University in the Irish Studies program.
He has recorded and produced over 40 albums of traditional music and acted as advisor for scores of festivals and concerts all over America. Moloney also served as the artistic director for several major arts tours including The Green Fields of America, an ensemble of Irish musicians, singers and dancers which toured across the United States on several occasions.
He has hosted three nationally syndicated series of folk music on American Public Television; was a consultant, performer and interviewee on the Irish Television special “Bringing It All Back Home,” a participant, consultant and music arranger of the PBS documentary film “Out of Ireland,” and a performer on the PBS special “The Irish in America: Long Journey Home.” In 1999 he was awarded the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest official honor a traditional artist can receive in the United States.
Dana Lyn’s musicality is drawn from a strong classical music background as a pianist and violinist and an equally strong background in traditional Irish fiddle playing. As a fiddle player, she has extensively toured the United States, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and Japan.
Lyn performs regularly with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Susan McKeown, noted folklorist Dr. Mick Moloney and flautist Nuala Kennedy, and has also worked with artists such as the Walkmen, Florence and the Machine, and Bill Withers. She was featured on “The Raw Bar” and “Geanntrai,” two documentaries on traditional Irish music that aired on RTE 1 and TG4, respectively, in Ireland. Lyn’s fiddling can be heard on Grammy-winning folk album, “High, Wide and Handsome” by Loudon Wainwright and on over three dozen folk, traditional and indie-rock records. Her 2004 release, “Looking for the Early Opener,” combines her traditional playing with her own emerging musical expression. In 2011, Lyn released a second CD of traditional Irish music, with guitarist Kyle Sanna, entitled “The Hare Said a Prayer to the Rainbow and Followed the Fox Down the Hole.”
In the past five years, Lyn shifted her musical focus to the development of her own compositional voice as a synthesis of her diverse musical experience. She has made musical contributions to a number of theatre projects. Lyn also writes for Bach Reformed.
Information is on the Web at www.sewardartscouncil.org, www.alaskacf.org/seward, www.danalynmusic.com and www.mickmoloney.com.