Redbird School of Irish Music

To purchase concert tickets or workshops on-line via PayPal (a PayPal account is not required), see below: look for the Add To Cart button to purchase.

If you would like to send a check, please make check payable to Andi Hearn and mail to PO Box 50708, Columbia, SC 29250. Be sure to note which concert/workshop and please include your contact information. Checks should be mailed in time to be received at least 2 days prior to the event.

Tickets will be held for you to pick up at the concert.

Please note that since the school is located at our home we do not advertise our address here. Please call or email for directions to events.

Please email or call (803) 254-3461 if you have any questions.

Friday July 11, 2008: Angelina Carrberry and Martin Quinn House Concert near downtown Columbia. 8PM $15. Angelina Carberry & Martin Quinn are a husband-and-wife duo with deep family and musical roots in Irish music. They combine their talents on tenor banjo and button accordion for a performance of tightly-knit music honed by years of old-fashioned family music-making and modern-day tours with bands. Come join us for a wonderful evening of Irish music! Space is limited. Directions will be provided with ticket purchase.

Repertoire workshop preceeds concert: 5:30-7. $30. Come learn some of Angelina and Martin's tunes passed down through their families. A rare chance to learn about, hear and pick up some special tunes from two of the best! All levels of melody instruments welcome - fiddle, whistle, tenor banjo, etc.. Register online or call to reserve your spot. Don't forget to bring your recorder to the workshop!

Saturday, October 18 - 8PM at Bill's Music Shop and Pickin' Parlor: We welcome back Masters of the Celtic Harp - Gráinne Hambly from County Mayo, Ireland and William Jackson from Glasgow Scotland. Rarely has Irish and Scottish music been heard together in a way that compares with the music of these fine musicians. A special treat for fans of the harp and Celtic music fans! Bill's is located at 710 Meeting St. 796-6477.

Harp (with Gráinne) and Penny Whistle (with William) Workshops! 2-4pm on 10/18 at the Columbia Museum of Art!! Registration is closed.

Saturday, January 17, 2009: Redbird School of Irish Music presents Workshops and House Concert near downtown Columbia with All Ireland Champ and multi-instrumentalist, Alex Reidinger from Asheville, NC. Alex plays traditional Irish music on the fiddle, concertina, and harp. She has won medals at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Ireland and the Mid-AtlanticFleadh Cheoil in New York among other competitions. " In her talented hands, the music is safeguarded and will be nurtured for the foreseeable future,"-Brian Conway

Concert starts at 8. $15 adults, $7 children 12 and under. Seating is limited. Directions provided with ticket purchase. Tickets are no longer available online. Looks like we are getting close to a full house!! Please call (803) 254-3461 if you would like to attend the concert, we'll squeeze you in if we can.

9/20: Paddy O'Brien and Pat Egan! Two of the finest and most respected musicians in Irish music will stop by Columbia on their Southeastern tour for a concert and workshops.

In concert at Delaney's 5-7. Delaney's is located in 5 Points, 741 Saluda Ave. 803-779-2345. No cover. Come join us for an evening of extraordinary music in a friendly setting. Delaney's is a smoke-free restaurant and pub with a great menu, great drinks selection and wonderful staff.

Plus workshops at the Redbird School of Irish Music - Reaching for
the Draíocht: Exploring Irish Traditional Music with Paddy and Irish Guitar Workshop with Pat. Workshops from 2-3:30, cost $35.

A product of County Offaly in the midlands of Ireland, Paddy O’Brien is regarded by serious players and collectors of Irish traditional music as one of the tradition’s most important repositories; in a musical career that spans nearly forty years, he has collected more than 3,000 compositions—jigs, reels, hornpipes, airs, and marches, including many rare and unusual tunes. His mastery of the two-row button accordion was also acknowledged through prestigious awards: he was named Oireachtas champion four times, and All-Ireland senior accordion champion in 1975.

Pat Egan is becoming a recognized force on the contemporary folk scene. A native of Tipperary, Pat grew up singing and playing, and has been a professional musician since 1985. His performance on the internationally acclaimed recording Music at Matt Molloy’s brought his talent to much wider attention, and in 1994 he produced a highly regarded solo tape, Songs for the Candle. Now based in Baltimore, Maryland, Pat has made extensive tours of the United States, and has also performed in Sweden, Norway, Holland, Germany, and Scotland. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, in the U.S., Ireland, and abroad.

The two formed and perform regularly with the trio Chulrua and have recorded 3 albums with the group: The Singing Kettle, Down the Back Lane and Barefoot on the Altar in addition to their individual recordings.

Questions? Email us at redbird@cornerhousemusic.com

9/26: Redbird School of Irish Music presents Workshops and House Concert near downtown Columbia with Little Windows: Julee Glaub and Mark Weems.

Concert starts at 8pm. $ 5 advance, $18 day of concert, $7 children 12 and under. Seating is limited. Directions provided with ticket purchase. See below to purchase.

Spend a day singing! Julee and Mark are offering great workshops:

1pm-3pm Traditional Irish Song with Julee. Students will discover their voice through the art of Traditional Irish singing. We will learn the fundamentals of Irish song as we explore ornamentation, repertoire, phrasing, storytelling through song, and specific Irish styles. We will also develop the foundations of vocal techniques within the context of unaccompanied song such as breath control, warm up, pitch, volume, intonation, improving range, performance techniques, and finding your voice. Students will increase their Irish song repertoire and will receive individual tutoring within the class. Tape recorders are encouraged and the only experience necessary is a desire to sing.

1pm-3pm Song Arrangement and Accompaniment with Mark. The first hour will be an overview of song arrangement ideas, which will include: unaccompanied vs accompanied; different instrument choices; how various tunings effect overall sound of song; and tempo decisions. In the second hour, a hands on learning trial and error experience, we will apply the approaches we have discussed in the first hour to songs brought in by participants. Please come with a song you would like to work on!

4pm-6pm Duet Harmony Singing with Mark & Julee. Learn some of the specific techniques and nuances of duet singing. We will work towards choosing keys, finding parts, exploring different types of harmony, building harmony mathematically, blending voices, feeling and phrasing, and listening skills. We will learn how to adapt harmonies to different songs and various genres but will focus specifically on Irish, Scottish and a bit of Appalachian. We will focus on singing without instruments. This freedom from chordal structure will encourage experimentation with more diverse kinds of harmony. We will also introduce instruments anad consider how they affect the overall harmonic sound. It is not necessary to read music, as we will be learning by ear. Bring a partner or find one in the class! **For those of you that participate in the 4-6 class and are staying for the concert - bring a dish to share for dinner! Potluck dinner from 6ish - 7ish.

11/8: Redbird School of Irish Music is honored to welcome back Randal Bays for Workshops and House Concert.

Randal Bays is an American musician whose mastery of the intricate art of Irish fiddle playing has earned him an international reputation among fans of Irish music. He’s known as an exciting and dynamic performer whose music grows out of a deep respect for the ancient wellsprings of the Irish tradition. A lovely clip of Randal: click here

Randal & Dave

Concert starts at 7pm. $15 adults advance purchase, $18 day of concert, $7 children 12 and under. Seating is limited.

1/10/10: Redbird Repertoire Workshop at 3PM: Increase your repertoire of traditional Irish tunes! All instruments appropriate to Irish melody are welcome. All levels are welcome provided that you are comfortable with your instrument and open to learning by ear. Tunes are taught by ear in a group setting. We will teach 1-2 tunes per one-hour session and review as time allows. Participants are encouraged to participate in our monthly slow session to review tunes further (dates for slow sessions are listed on our site). Cost for the repertoire workshop is $10 per participant. A minimum of 3 participants is required. Please reserve your spot in advance or pay on-line at our lesson info page.

Bring your tape/digital recorder! Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

10/25: Mike Simpson CD Launch! House concert and Workshops at the Redbird School of Irish Music. Concert 7pm $10, $5 children 12 and under. Simpson (from Atlanta, GA) is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and teacher on fiddle, Irish flute, tin whistle, tenor banjo and guitar and brings his great talent together on his first CD "Other Forms of Magic". Many of you have met and heard him at our SC Irish Arts Weekend and I hope you'll take this opportunity to get to know Mike and his music even better! Mike will offer private lessons for fiddle, flute, whistle, guitar, tenor banjo, bodhran. Lessons will be filled on a first come basis and will be held Sunday afternoon, prior to the concert.

2/14/10: Redbird Repertoire Workshop at 3PM: Increase your repertoire of traditional Irish tunes! All instruments appropriate to Irish melody are welcome. All levels are welcome provided that you are comfortable with your instrument and open to learning by ear. Tunes are taught by ear in a group setting. We will teach 1-2 tunes per one-hour session and review as time allows. Participants are encouraged to participate in our monthly slow session to review tunes further (dates for slow sessions are listed on our site). Cost for the repertoire workshop is $10 per participant. A minimum of 3 participants is required. Please reserve your spot in advance or pay on-line at our lesson info page.

Bring your tape/digital recorder! Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

1/29/10: Slow Irish Tunes Session 8 - 9:30. Please bring your favorite Irish tunes to play slowly and share with the gang. From 9:30 on, we'd like to have a "regular" Irish session, but we can see how things go... We'd like to encourage everyone (all levels of musicians) to come at 8 and share your tunes and expertise - and everybody is requested to bring your recorder to record tunes you'd like to learn.

For the slow session: we like to keep the focus on melody instruments - but any rhythm players interested are welcome (and encouraged) to come hang out and listen/record tunes. Beginners are also very welcome - its ok if you don't play all or any of the tunes - its a nice opportunity to hear and record common session tunes, and maybe pick a new one to learn! We hope the "regular" session will give us a bit of a chance to share tunes more in an Irish session format and tempo - again with the focus on the tunes; (intermediate/advanced) Irish accompaniment players are welcome to join.

Please bring a snack or beverages to share, if possible. Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

2/26/10: Slow Irish Tunes Session 8 - 9:30. Please bring your favorite Irish tunes to play slowly and share with the gang. From 9:30 on, we'd like to have a "regular" Irish session, but we can see how things go... We'd like to encourage everyone (all levels of musicians) to come at 8 and share your tunes and expertise - and everybody is requested to bring your recorder to record tunes you'd like to learn.

For the slow session: we like to keep the focus on melody instruments - but any rhythm players interested are welcome (and encouraged) to come hang out and listen/record tunes. Beginners are also very welcome - its ok if you don't play all or any of the tunes - its a nice opportunity to hear and record common session tunes, and maybe pick a new one to learn! We hope the "regular" session will give us a bit of a chance to share tunes more in an Irish session format and tempo - again with the focus on the tunes; (intermediate/advanced) Irish accompaniment players are welcome to join.

Please bring a snack or beverages to share, if possible. Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

3/7/10: Redbird Repertoire Workshop at 3PM: Increase your repertoire of traditional Irish tunes! All instruments appropriate to Irish melody are welcome. All levels are welcome provided that you are comfortable with your instrument and open to learning by ear. Tunes are taught by ear in a group setting. We will teach 1-2 tunes per one-hour session and review as time allows. Participants are encouraged to participate in our monthly slow session to review tunes further (dates for slow sessions are listed on our site). Cost for the repertoire workshop is $10 per participant. A minimum of 3 participants is required. Please reserve your spot in advance or pay on-line at our lesson info page.

Bring your tape/digital recorder! Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

3/19/10: Slow Irish Tunes Session 8 - 9:30. Please bring your favorite Irish tunes to play slowly and share with the gang. From 9:30 on, we'd like to have a "regular" Irish session, but we can see how things go... We'd like to encourage everyone (all levels of musicians) to come at 8 and share your tunes and expertise - and everybody is requested to bring your recorder to record tunes you'd like to learn.

For the slow session: we like to keep the focus on melody instruments - but any rhythm players interested are welcome (and encouraged) to come hang out and listen/record tunes. Beginners are also very welcome - its ok if you don't play all or any of the tunes - its a nice opportunity to hear and record common session tunes, and maybe pick a new one to learn! We hope the "regular" session will give us a bit of a chance to share tunes more in an Irish session format and tempo - again with the focus on the tunes; (intermediate/advanced) Irish accompaniment players are welcome to join.

Please bring a snack or beverages to share, if possible. Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

4/11/10: Redbird Repertoire Workshop at 3PM: Increase your repertoire of traditional Irish tunes! All instruments appropriate to Irish melody are welcome. All levels are welcome provided that you are comfortable with your instrument and open to learning by ear. Tunes are taught by ear in a group setting. We will teach 1-2 tunes per one-hour session and review as time allows. Participants are encouraged to participate in our monthly slow session to review tunes further (dates for slow sessions are listed on our site). Cost for the repertoire workshop is $10 per participant. A minimum of 3 participants is required. Please reserve your spot in advance or pay on-line at our lesson info page.

Bring your tape/digital recorder! Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.

4/30/10: Slow Irish Tunes Session 8 - 9:30. Please bring your favorite Irish tunes to play slowly and share with the gang. From 9:30 on, we'd like to have a "regular" Irish session, but we can see how things go... We'd like to encourage everyone (all levels of musicians) to come at 8 and share your tunes and expertise - and everybody is requested to bring your recorder to record tunes you'd like to learn.

For the slow session: we like to keep the focus on melody instruments - but any rhythm players interested are welcome (and encouraged) to come hang out and listen/record tunes. Beginners are also very welcome - its ok if you don't play all or any of the tunes - its a nice opportunity to hear and record common session tunes, and maybe pick a new one to learn! We hope the "regular" session will give us a bit of a chance to share tunes more in an Irish session format and tempo - again with the focus on the tunes; (intermediate/advanced) Irish accompaniment players are welcome to join.

Please bring a snack or beverages to share, if possible. Call 254-3461 or email for more info or to reserve your spot.