Saturday, April 13
Irish American Heritage Center - in-person Chicago & Online via Zoom

$25 per workshop

Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, each well-known and loved for their decades of music making, have spent over a decade and a half in a joyful musical collaboration.

Cindy is a superb singer, guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has taught and performed extensively throughout North America. She has also appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and WFMT's Folkstage.

Rich Warren, Host of WFMT’s “Midnight Special” and “Folkstage”, stated “Cindy Kallet’s rare music moves me profoundly….Kallet, quite simply, casts a spell with her unpretentious, unproduced music. Her lovely alto voice carries her unique songs through the intellect and straight to the heart.”

Grey is one of America’s finest players of the Irish flute and tin whistle, as well as an accomplished singer and concertina, fiddle, piano and harmonium player. As composers each contributes to the tapestry of contemporary folk and world music as it flourishes in the US today. Together, they weave songs and tunes of vibrant color and rich texture.

Grey plays the wooden Irish flute with a distinctive sound that many feel is his alone. His recordings showcase this dark, silky, reflective flute voice. Grey Larsen is a familiar name to folk music fans throughout North America, especially Irish music lovers. As a tune-smith his celtic-style tunes, especially “Thunderhead,” are known worldwide.

10:30 -11:45am
“We’re All Bound to Go”: Irish Songs in the Maritime Tradition

Singing workshop taught by Cindy Kallet

In this workshop, you’ll learn songs in the maritime tradition that either originated in Ireland or are related by adaptation. Lyrics will be provided, but no music reading ability is needed. Participants are welcome to record songs. Come ready for rowdy and tender! Feel free to bring an audio recorder if you wish.

This workshop is for all people who love to sing (even people who don’t consider themselves “singers”)!

12:30 -1:45pm
Irish Flute and Tin Whistle Ornamentation, Breathing and Phrasing Techniques Demystified

taught by Grey Larsen

This workshop is for intermediate and advanced players of both Irish flute and tin whistle. Irish (wooden) flute and modern "Boehm system" flute players are both welcome. Whistle players need to bring a D whistle, and flutists can play tin whistle in the workshop if they prefer. You should be able to play at least a handful of Irish traditional dance tunes at a moderate speed.

This workshop will delve deeply into traditional Irish phrasing and ornamentation, as well as breathing strategies that enhance the phrasing and clarity of the music. No music reading is necessary, though handouts will be available. Emphasis will be on technique over repertoire. Feel free to bring an audio recorder if you wish.

2:00 - 3:15pm
Melodic Variation in Traditional Irish Dance Music

taught by Grey Larsen

This workshop is for intermediate and advanced players of melodic instruments such as fiddle, accordion, concertina, Irish flute, tin whistle, uillean pipes, banjo, mandolin, harp, etc.

This workshop will explore a number of techniques widely used by traditional Irish musicians to create small-scale melodic variations, and we will apply these techniques to several well-know Irish jigs and reels. You will leave the workshop being able to apply these techniques to any Irish dance tune.

The material we will cover in this workshop is the subject of Grey’s book “Down the back Lane: Variation in Traditional Irish Dance Music”. No music reading is necessary, though handouts will be available. Feel free to bring an audio recorder if you wish.

NOTE: Grey’s books will be available to purchase at the workshop, including The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox and The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle. If you wish to view free excerpts from these books, you may do so at https://greylarsen.com/webstore/books.

Grey will also bring some whistles and flutes that you can try out, and they will be available for purchase. The whistles are from Carbony Celtic Winds and the flutes are the Grey Larsen Preferred model made by Terry McGee.

The Irish Music School of Chicago strives to bring the best of traditional Irish music to students and the community from both local talent as well as visiting musicians.  As such, we collaborate regularly with expert musicians to visit our School and conduct master workshops on a variety of instruments and topics.  Workshops may be instrument-specific or may cover broad topics such as, "How to Accompany Irish Dance Tunes with John Doyle"  or "Tunes of the Dingle Peninsula with Brendan Begley".