GWEN OREL
The only NY journalist who writes for both Irish Music Magazine and The Forward
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Gwen Orel : Publisher
Your Jirish Girl!
Email Childsplay to win a pair of tickets to see the fabulous fiddle orchestra TONIGHT, Friday, Nov. 18, at Symphony Space
I love Childsplay, the unique Fiddle Orchestra made up primarily of musicians playing instruments by luthier Bob Childs. I love them so much I wrote about them for Irish Music Magazine.
There is nothing quite like the sound of this group: like a choir made up of family members, the fiddles harmonize and blend. Tonight singer Karan Casey performs with them at Symphony Space.
We had Bob on the podcast when we were just starting out; you can hear that here.
Bob writes: After three years of not making it down to NYC, Childsplay is getting ready to come back again on tour this fall (Friday November 18th) to Symphony Space and I am hoping that you might be willing to spread the word about our concert to anyone down there you think might enjoy it. We have this absolutely incredible singer from Ireland with us this year so it promises to be a wonderful evening. Anyway, as you know well, getting the word out about a concert in NYC is pretty difficult to cut through the din so if you can pass the word around a bit that would be great. best wishes Bob Childs
The blurb:
Fiddling supergroup Childsplay, with Irish singer Karan Casey, is a who’s who of fiddlers from the United States and the Celtic world. They will be celebrating 30 years of touring by bringing their band of 14 fiddlers and 9 all-star instrumentalists, dancers and singers back to Symphony Space in NYC for an 8 pm concert. All the fiddlers in Childsplay perform on instruments made by violinmaker Bob Childs of Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to virtuosic fiddling, ranging from all-Ireland fiddle champions to members of the Boston Symphony, Childsplay features a wide range of outstanding instrumentalists including the exquisite voice of Karan Casey, known for her many years of touring with Solas and her collaborations with the likes of James Taylor, Bela Fleck and Tim O’Brien.
When I wrote about them in 2011, I said:
Childsplay are less an orchestra than a “fiddle choir,” says Bob Childs. He’s a luthier, and all twelve fiddlers in the group, performing at Symphony Space on Dec. 1, play fiddles that he made—hence the name. Fiddles have unique voices, and fiddles made by the same person blend together like voices in a family singing group. The fiddlers also come from different traditions. Bonnie Bewick plays with the Boston Symphony; Sheila Falls-Keohane is an Irish fiddler, and Lisse Schneckenburger both plays New England/Scottish style. And Bob Childs himself. But that’s part of the appeal of the group, Childs explains: everybody’s a little outside of their comfort zone and has to learn and work together.
“Everyone is an all-star in their band, so there’s a great potential for harmony and rhythmic syncopation. Everyone’s so talented, picking up the bow patterns and ornaments is very simple, they’re very good at it. But they’re out of their home base of music, and it opens everybody up and makes for a very creative rehearsal time.”
You can read the rest of that article here!
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Yours,
Gwen
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