Singer, flute player to perform

REGION -- New England Celtic Arts will present Irish singer and flute player Nuala Kennedy, with Andrea Beaton and Owen Marshall.

Performances will be held at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage on Wednesday and at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday. Curtain is at 7 p.m. at Skye and 7:30 p.m. in Unity. There is a pre-show jam session one hour prior to curtain.

Audience members are encouraged to bring their instruments and jam with the artists for a few minutes.

Based in her adopted homeland of Scotland, Nuala Kennedy performs a range of material from across the Irish and Scottish traditional music repertoires. She also composes her own idiosyncratic brand of music and tours in a variety of lineups from duo and quartet to a nine-piece festival band.

Nuala grew up in Dundalk, playing traditional music in an award-winning local ceilidh band Ceoltoiri Oga Oghrialla. She studied classical piano under Professor John O'Connor at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. Recent collaborative projects included a Scottish tour with Voyage de Nuit, showcasing songs and compositions inspired by flamenco, jazz and traditional music.

She is touring in New England with Cape Breton fiddler Andrea Beaton and Maine based Owen Marshall of the Press Gang.

One of Cape Breton's most promising young fiddlers, Andrea Beaton comes by her music honestly. Listen to her play, the power of her bow, the drive and swing of her timing, the crispness of her attack.

She's making a name for herself in dance halls, concerts, ceilidhs, and festivals. Like the compelling tradition she represents, her reputation is growing, spreading beyond the island. Andrea Beaton seems destined for great things.

She's the youngest of generations of Beaton musicians. Her father, Kinnon, is one of today's most influential Cape Breton fiddlers, and you can hear some of his timing in Andrea's playing. Her mother, Betty Beaton, is one of the great piano accompanists of her generation, contributing to that remarkable Beaton timing.

Her paternal grandfather, Donald Angus Beaton, was one of the strongest and most popular players of his generation, and you can hear some of his power in her playing. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Beaton, is a strongly rhythmic piano player, with a great love of the music.

Guitarist Owen Marshall is a highly sought-after accompanist in many genres, including Irish, French Canadian, Swedish, and New-England dance music. A multi-instrumentalist, he is also proficient on the bouzouki, banjo, and other stringed instruments. Owen appears regularly in folk venues and dance-halls throughout New England in addition to touring internationally.

In demand as a respected teacher, Owen is active teaching workshops and private lessons throughout the Northeast.

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 at the theater you wish to attend, call: Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or Unity Center for the Performing Arts at 948-7469.