This fall marks the Center for Irish Music's 20th fall term! 

Twenty years ago, the CIM was founded by Kate Wade & Jode Dowling. It was run as an independent nonprofit through the St. Paul Conservatory of Music at the old McNally Smith building in downtown St. Paul. After relocating to the Wellstone Center, and offering satellite whistle classes at Irish dance schools, the Center for Irish Music found a permanent home at the Celtic Junction in 2009. 

Since then, CIM has grown every year, becoming the heart of the traditional Irish music community - a hub where musicians, enthusiasts, and learners gather, and are inspired. We are proud to serve over 435 individual learners every year, to have presented 16 Minnesota Irish Music Weekends, and to contribute to the wider community through our rented space at the Celtic Junction and partnerships across the Cities.

We are very much looking forward to starting up our lessons and classes next week. There is still room in our group classes for more students. Register now for:

• Five Great Stories Behind Five Great Tunes with Chad McAnally
• Songs from Derry Singers with Dáithí Sproule
• A New Adult Ensemble with Danny Diamond
• Sprouting Songsters with Adrienne O'Shea (starts Oct. 7)

... and more! See our full list of classes below, or click here for our current course catalog.

Be sure to mark your calendar for important dates and deadlines coming up this year. Our full-year calendar is available on our website here.

We are thrilled to announce workshops and a concert with the Friel Sisters in partnership with the Celtic Junction Arts Center. Both the workshops and concert will take place at the Celtic Junction Arts Center on Sunday, September 8th. Register for workshops at the Center for Irish Music, and get your tickets for the CJAC concert here.

Thanks to each and every one of you who have helped the CIM to be the thriving collective that it is. I look forward to celebrating with you all year long!

Norah Rendell

Executive Artistic Director

Center for Irish Music

REGISTER NOW FOR FALL TERM CLASSES!

Click here for our Fall Term Course Catalog

Registration is now open for Fall Term private lessons and group classes at the Center for Irish Music!

Fall Term starts on Tuesday, September 3rd, and youth ensembles start the week of September 9th.

See our full list of fall classes below. Classes with low enrollment are marked with **

YOUTH CLASSES

• Celtic Cuties
• Intro to Tin Whistle for Kids, Year 1
• Intro to Tin Whistle for Kids, Year 3
• Singing Sweeties
• Sprouting Songsters: A Singing Class for Kids**

YOUTH ENSEMBLES

• Advanced Youth Ensemble
• Corncrake Beginning Ensemble
• Redwing Intermediate Ensemble
• Starling Intermediate Ensemble
• Swallowtail Intermediate Ensemble

ADULT CLASSES

• Ceol na Sidhe: Music of the Fae Folk
• DADGAD Guitar Accompaniment
• Easy Whistle Tunes for Adults**
• Five Great Stories Behind Five Great Tunes**
• Irish Pub Songs
• Session Playing
• Songs from Derry Singers**

ADULT ENSEMBLES

• An Luan Ensemble
• Open Sky Ensemble
• New Adult Ensemble with Danny Diamond

WORKSHOPS WITH FRIEL SISTERS & FRIENDS

SEPTEMBER 8 FROM 3:30-4:45 PM

CELTIC JUNCTION ARTS CENTER OPEN HOUSE

SEPTEMBER 8 FROM 1:00-3:00 PM

THANK YOU TO OUR SUMMER SUPPORT TEAM

Thanks to Carmen Pasquerella for her incredible work as CIM's 2024 summer's intern. From May to August, Carmen worked as the assistant programmer for the Minnesota Irish Music Weekend, taught and assisted in coordinating summer camps, and contributed to the general administration of the organization. Carmen, thank you for being reliable, enthusiastic, organized, and creative in all you do. 

Carmen will continue to teach at the Center for Irish Music this year as she completes her third year of studying Music Education at the University of Minnesota.

Thanks also to CIM alumnus Cathal Mee for teaching John McCormick's accordion students this summer. We really appreciate you stepping into this role, and helping to serve our accordion learners this summer. And finally, thank you to CIM alumnus Finn Coleman for assistant teaching Hannah Flowers' Introduction to Harp summer camp. 

Top: Carmen Pasquerella teaching an introduction tin whistle demo at our 2024 Open House. Bottom: Finn Coleman with Introduction to Irish Harp campers

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS

We want to extend an enormous thank you to the many volunteers who supported our information booth at the Irish Fair of Minnesota and who helped out at our annual Open House event! Their enthusiasm and dedication helped introduce hundreds of people to the Center for Irish Music community.

If you're interested in volunteering for the CIM, click here to fill out our volunteer interest form!

UPCOMING CIM & COMMUNITY EVENTS

Parentheses indicate CIM instructors, students or staff members performing with a group

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

First day of Fall Term

Center for Irish Music

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 | 1:00-3:00 PM

Celtic Junction Arts Center Open House & Children's Fair

Celtic Junction Arts Center

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 | 3:30 PM

Workshops with the Friel Sisters & Friends

Center for Irish Music

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 | 9:00 PM

Tune Pals (Mary Vanorny, John McCormick, Ryan Behnke, Brian Miller)

Dubliner Pub

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 | 6:00-8:00 PM

The Friel Sisters in Concert

Celtic Junction Arts Center

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 | 6:00-8:00 PM

Brass Lassie (Mary Vanorny)

"Live at Lincoln Center of the Block" front yard series

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.