May 2023 Newsletter

Dear CIM supporters,

Happy belated May Day, or Bealtaine! We hope you'll join us by coming to the Beltane Céilí this Friday (featuring the CIM céilí band), or by attending our spring recitals this Sunday - in person, or remotely.

Friday's Taking Flight Collective concert was a brilliant night of tunes and craic! Over 90 audience members ages 5-80 were wowed by powerful flute & whistle duets, jokes from the stage and an impressive show of musicianship. Thanks to the Celtic Junction Arts Center for the generous sponsorship of the concert venue, Cormac O'Sé's expert sound engineering, equipment and for including the concert in Irish Arts Week.

Looking ahead, the Midwest Fleadh in St. Louis, Missouri is next weekend, May 12-14. Dozens of our students are competing this year, including four bands. We are all looking forward to the competitions, sessions, and chats with friends from across the Midwest region.

I know you are aware of the Minnesota Irish Music Weekend, June 8-11, and many of you are waiting to sign up and buy event tickets! I'm happy to announce that the final weekend schedule is now posted on our website. Registration will be open very soon.

Summer registration will also be open. Due to popular demand, we are adding two half-day Irish music summer camps during the week of July 31st-August 4th.

Stay tuned!

Norah Rendell

Executive Artistic Director

Center for Irish Music

REGISTRATION OPENS SOON FOR

MINNESOTA IRISH MUSIC WEEKEND

JUNE 8-11, 2023

Join us for the 15th annual Minnesota Irish Music Weekend, presented by the Center for Irish Music. This unique festival pairs world-class traditional Irish musicians and teachers with learners of all ages for a weekend of workshops, lectures, sessions and concerts.

Each of our visiting artists is recognized for their musical mastery, and will offer insights and techniques to help learners tap into the deep roots of traditional Irish music. Registration and event ticket sales will be open soon, so watch your inbox for updates!

NEW TEACHING ARTISTS ANNOUNCED: Danny Diamond (fiddle), Asher Gray (flute/whistle), and Kate Wade will teach on the teen and adult programs this year. We are delighted that Dáithí Sproule will join us for an interview with Máirín Uí Chéide.

See the MIM Programs & Pricing page for more details.

SUMMER TERM REGISTRATION

Registration will be open soon for Summer Term at the Center for Irish Music. Be sure to mark these important dates and deadlines on your calendar:

Wednesday, May 17: Financial Aid Applications due for Summer Term and Minnesota Irish Music Weekend
Monday, May 22: Registration deadline for returning students to keep their lesson times, early bird registration deadline for Minnesota Irish Music Weekend
Friday, May 26: Registration deadline for group classes and ensembles

SPRING TERM RECITALS

All spring recitals will take place in person at the Celtic Junction Arts Center Performance Hall and will be streamed as Zoom webinars.

Sunday, May 7th - Youth Recitals

12:30 pm - Redwing Ensemble & all solos

2:00pm - Beginning Ensemble & all solos

3:30pm - Advanced Youth Ensemble, Grúpa Ceoil & all solos

Friday, May 19th, 7pm Adult Open Mic

Sunday, May 21st - Youth Recitals

2:00pm - Intro to Tin Whistle for Kids & all solos

3:30pm - Starling Ensemble, u15 and u18 céili bands & all solos

UPCOMING CIM & COMMUNITY EVENTS

FRIDAY, MAY 6 | 5:30 PM

Cumar (with Sean Egan, Jode Dowling) at 'A Global Celebration Gala'

Global Minnesota

FRIDAY, MAY 5 | 6:30 PM

Beltane Ceili Dance with CIM céilí band

Celtic Junction Arts Center

SUNDAY, MAY 7 | 12:30-4:30pm

CIM Youth Recitals

Center for Irish Music

TUESDAY, MAY 9 | 7:30 PM

Brass Lassie (with Mary Vanorny)

The Parkway Theater

MAY 12-14

Midwest Fleadh Cheoil

St. Louis, MO

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

CIM Financial Aid deadline for Summer Term and Minnesota Irish Music Weekend

FRIDAY, MAY 19 | 7:00 PM

CIM Adult Student Open Mic

Center for Irish Music

SATURDAY, MAY 20 | 10:30-11:00 AM

CIM Advanced Youth Ensemble

Fraser Festival

SUNDAY, MAY 21 | 2:00-4:30 PM

CIM Spring Youth Recitals

Center for Irish Music

MONDAY, MAY 22

CIM Summer Term registration deadline for returning students to keep their private lesson time, Early Bird registration deadline for Minnesota Irish Music Weekend

FRIDAY, MAY 26

CIM Summer Term Registration Deadline for Group Classes & Family Discount

FRIDAY, MAY 26 | 7:30 PM

CIM's Taking Flight Collective (Carmen Pasquerella & Ava Sackaroff)

MetroNome Brewery

SATURDAY, MAY 27 | 1:00 PM

Áit Ait (Aja McCullough & Patrick Maun)

The White Squirrel

FRIDAY, JUNE 2 | 7:30 PM

Noctambule (Marla Fibish & Bruce Victor)

Celtic Junction Arts Center

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 | MID-MORNING

Music at Irish On Grand for Grand Old Day

SUNDAY, JUNE 4 | 1:00 PM

Youth Session

Metronome Brewery

This is not an exhaustive listing of all events in the Twin Cities Irish community. For more listings, visit the IAM Event Calendar and the Celtic Junction Arts Center (CJAC). CJAC concerts are free for ages 18 and under.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE CIM!

The Center for Irish Music is a 501c3 nonprofit, and we depend on your support to continue passing down the tradition of Irish music and song. Please consider joining us as a volunteer or making a gift to the CIM today!