An Evening of Traditional Irish Music
The Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies presents an Evening of Traditional Irish Music with Chicago musicians Liz Carroll, John Williams and Katie Grennan on Monday, February 23rd 7:00 PM Legends of Notre Dame.
Liz Carroll was born in Chicago of Irish parents. She’s a junior and senior All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, and has toured as a solo artist and with the Greenfields of America, Trian, String Sisters, and as part of the duo Liz Carroll & John Doyle. She’s featured on ten albums and has appeared on many more. Liz is a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship Award (1994). In 2010 she became the first Irish-American musician nominated for a Grammy. In 2011, she became the first American-born composer honored with the Cumadóir TG4, Ireland’s most significant traditional music prize.
John Williams is one of the most highly regarded artists in Irish music today. From concert halls to the silver screen, his talents as a performer and composer on piano, flute, button accordion, and concertina distinguish him as a vital contributor to the music scenes of Ireland and his hometown Chicago.
Born and raised on the southwest side of Chicago, John Williams spent summers working on the southwest coast of Ireland in his father’s village of Doolin, County Clare. Like Chicago, Doolin became a major musical crossroads for John and countless other local and international artists to meet and exchange music. Gigging every night in the pubs of Doolin and Lisdoonvarna soon led to performances in Galway, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Paris, Britanny, Zurich, and New York City.
Katie Grennan is currently a lead instructor at the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance and performs both locally and around the world, and her recent touring success and background story was a feature article in the August 2014 issue of the Irish Dancing Magazine. Notably, she was a dancer and fiddle player with Star Entertainment’s Magic of the Dance throughout
2012-2013, where she performed for thousands of people in over 30 cities across Europe and Asia, including major concert halls in Berlin, Germany and Taipei, Taiwan. Throughout Saint Patrick’s day season 2014, Katie joined the highly acclaimed Women of Ireland’s 2014 U.S. tour as the lead fiddle player, visiting over 20 cities across the country. Additionally, Katie has recently teamed up with 7-time World Irish Dance Champion Michelle Lawrence for an exciting new touring show Flames of the Dance that visited 30 cities across China in the later part of 2014 to mid-February 2015 as the featured solo fiddle player and troupe dancer. On a local level, she has danced at the Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music with Cherish the Ladies and at played at various events with well-renowned musicians such as Maurice Lennon, John Williams, Kathleen Keane, and Irish Tenor Paddy Homan.
Originally published at irishstudies.nd.edu.