Music of Scotland and Ireland at Skye

REGION -- New England Celtic Arts will present The Forge at on Tuesday at The Phillips Area Community Hall, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage on Wednesday, May 30, and at Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts in Unity on Thursday, May 31.

Curtain at Skye is 7 p.m. and at UCCPA is 7:30 p.m. There is a pre-show jam session one hour prior to curtain at both venues. Audience members are encouraged to bring their instruments and jam with the artists for a few minutes before the show.

Maeve Gilchrist, Anna Coliton, Cara Frankowicz, and Nicole Rabata breath fresh life into Ireland's traditional music, and deliver it with a punch. Hailing from both sides of the Atlantic, the woman of The Forge perform a stunning fusion of tradition and today.

Maeve Gilchrist on Harp and voice. Born to an Irish mother and a Scottish father, Maeve grew up in Edinburgh Scotland under the influence of two harp playing aunts and immersed in the traditional music scene from a young age. At 17 Maeve was awarded a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she started to put down roots in the American roots music scene. Some of Maeve’s performance highlights include the Celtic Connections Music Festival, the ICONS festival and the World Harp Festival.

Fiddler Cara Frankowicz is a nationally renowned fiddle player who is currently based in Boston MA. Originally from Pennsylvania, In her early twenties Cara moved to Ireland, cutting her teeth on the cream of the Galway music scene. Cara has performed all over the world at events including the Philadelphia Irish

Music Festival and has performed with artists such as the Chieftains and the Three Irish Tenors.

Irish flutist Nicole Rabata is highly regarded both in and out of traditional music fields. She has toured America and Europe including appearances at International Flute Festivals in Stockholm and Lund (Sweden), Temple Bar Trad Fest in Dublin, the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Scotland, the National Flute Conventions in NYC and San Diego, WOMAD Festival in the UK and the Festival Interceltique du L’Orient in Brittany among others. Most recently she spent two months in India where she performed and taught music in the rural Himalayas. She spent four years in the west of Ireland where she immersed herself in the music and was influenced by the playing of many great musicians. She plays flutes by Patrick Olwell and Gilles Lehart.

Anna Colliton is one of America’s leading exponents of the bodhrán, the traditional Irish frame drum. From Chicago, a city of Irish musical excellence, Anna plays a highly intricate style of drumming with masterful tonal and rhythmic variation. She has taught and performed at festivals across the country, including Milwaukee Irish Fest, Chicago Celtic Fest, the New York Irish Dance Festival, the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, and the Dollywood Festival of Nations. Anna has numerous recording credits, recently including Cherish the Ladies’ A Star in the East and Grainne Murphy’s Short Stories. She teaches advanced bodhran at the Irish Arts Center in New York City.

“A new band shows up on the scene and immediately seems destined to make an impact. The Forge are a bright new name in the American Irish music scene.

Paying homage to their traditional roots while creating something new.” Brian O’Donovan, Producer/Host, A Celtic Sojourn, WGBH Boston

The Phillips Community Center is located on Depot Street in Phillips. Skye Theater is located three miles west of East Dixfield village at 2 Highland Dr. off Winter Hill Road and Rt. 2 in South Carthage. UCCPA is at 42 Depot St. in Unity. Ticket price is $15 at the door. For reservations call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469, and in Phillips at 639-3717. Reservations are strongly suggested at all venues.