Just the Average Gig at a Metal Festival

Coming to Ireland has opened up countless new opportunities for me, and I have tried to take advantage of as many as possible.  So when my course director circulated an email from a previous graduate whose band was looking for a violin player I responded, thinking "What the hell!"  I liked their song on Youtube, but I didn't really think I was cut-out for the gig considering I was a classical violinist...

Well, that was about a month ago and sure enough I recently gave my debut performance with the Celtic rock band, Iron Mountain.  Believe it or not, the gig was this past Sunday at a metal festival in downtown Limerick.  The venue came complete with smoke machine.

Now I wouldn't say that Iron Mountain is a metal band, though at times their music can get heavy.  Nor are they strictly Celtic rock like I've labelled them above.  Their music is a fusion of Celtic, metal, rock and folk, but is somewhat challenging to label (especially now that they have a classical violinist playing for them).  The band's uniqueness is derived from the mixing of traditional Irish instruments and electronic instruments.  Drums, guitar and bass make up the core of the music and above are traditional Irish flute and the Uillean pipes. For the gig this weekend they added a fiddle and keys player.  Check out their tune Opium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpR8yDcrSX4

The purpose of adding me to the mix was to obtain additional layering of sounds, both melodically and harmonically, before their recording sessions at the end of November.  That's right! I might get the chance to help record an album, AWESOME!  This is a step outside my expertise, but the band has been really encouraging and seem to like what I'm playing.  It may be one of the strangest musical endeavours I have yet undertaken, but I am having a good time regardless and am gaining some invaluable experience.

On a funny tangent to this tale... I am still having the hardest time shaking my classical violin stereotype.  I have yet to break the habit of calling it a 'violin,' when instead it should be called a 'fiddle.'  The Irish can sense my classical training before I've even played a note.  When I was introduced to one of the festival organizers, he asked me what I played and I slipped up saying 'violin.' He gave me a bit of a strange look and said, "Have you ever done something like this before?"  Nope...  But I did get some congratulations after the show so I must have played decently enough!

And just for you disbelievers out there, though I don't really blame you, here is photographic proof that this gig actually happened.

Cheers,
Shannon

Halfway to Christmas...

I have discovered that time flies as fast in Ireland as it does in Canada.  I am already past the halfway point in my term, and I am starting to feel some of the "midterm lows."  The only thing I feel motivated to do is procrastinate ... alright it's not that bad, I just am starting to feel the looming presence of deadlines.

One of my problems is that I keep finding too many things to do outside of my schoolwork.  Last weekend my flatmates and I had a belated Thanksgiving feast.  Being the only North American in the apartment I felt it was my duty to help these unsuspecting Europeans enjoy the wonders of ridiculous amounts of feasting!

I had avoided hosting Thanksgiving because it seemed like too much work (I'd rather show up and eat what my parents had cooked!).  But I knew I had to accept the challenge when I found out my roommates Chris and George had never had pumpkin pie before.  The common opinion on pumpkin pie here is "who turns a vegetable into dessert?"  And of course I couldn't just half-ass the job either (pardon my diction); I had an entire continent to represent!

In my mind I imagined a small group dinner between the four of us.  I offered to cook a chicken and the pie and asked if the other three would bring a dish.  I didn't realize how enthusiastic my roomies would be though.  What I thought would be a four-five dish meal ended up including: chicken, beef, italian meats, two salads, potatoes, rice, carrots, parsnips, beans and carrots, stuffing, cranberry sauce, olives, bread, pumpkin pie and cake.  I was so full that I had to sit down for an hour afterwards.

It was a wildly successful group meal, and I'm sure we will have more in the future.  Here are some pictures:

 Cheers to our successful meal, with Chris, George, Roisin.

 Teamwork on the chicken!

My pride and joy! It was delicious.  I would make it professionally if it didn't take me so long... I'd have to charge about $50 per pie.

In other news I participated in the Academos Chamber project at the music school this week.  It is an intensive chamber program with the classical string students, involving two days of 6 hour rehearsals.  It was very long, but enjoyable. The principal second violinist from the Irish Chamber Orchestra was coaching our ensemble on Dvorak's Serenade and a couple short Sibelius pieces.  I had managed to get involved when I approached the cello professor about classical opportunities at the school.  It was really great to play with skilled musicians and to whip myself back into classical playing shape.  The group will meet again for a week in February and will perform a concert with the help of additional ICO players.

These are only a few of the activities I am involved in outside of school, but there are still more.  They keep me quite busy so no wonder I'm feeling tired!  No time to blog about them now, so stay tuned in the future.

Shannon

Volunteering for a Good Cause

In previous blogs I have mentioned the Irish Chamber Orchestra's (ICO) outreach program called Sing Out with Strings.  Every Thursday morning I volunteer for this program at a Limerick primary school to help teach music to children aged 4 to 12. We are a diverse group of teachers, including an Australian, Japanese and another Canadian like me!  

When Sing out with Strings began six years ago it encompassed one school and just a handful of children, but now it comprises three elementary schools and over 300 students.  Remarkably, this program has grown through government grants, corporate sponsorship and private donations.  The schools themselves contribute very little financially to the project.

Sing out with Strings operates in marginalized, regeneration areas of Limerick where many of the schoolchildren come from underprivileged backgrounds. The program inspires social change by enriching the lives of students through musical activities constructed to improve cooperation, coordination, listening, memory, creativity, respect and a sense of community.

All the children take part in class singing sessions and violin lessons three days a week.  As violin teachers, we go into a class for 20-30min to teach group activities and short individual lessons.  There is an after-school orchestra for interested students who wish to perform at ICO functions.  In addition to weekly classes, there are occasional "Meet the Musician" sessions, such as with the Venezuelan Percussion Ensemble, which help expose children to a variety of music genres and professionals.

The program also contains a unique group composition element facilitated by a community musician (who happens to be a previous graduate of my course).  Children are encouraged to work together to come up with a theme, melody and lyrics for a song.  The composed pieces are played by the school orchestra, and even arranged for and performed by the ICO. This assisted song-writing is the type of activity I am learning about in my course.  One day this could be my profession!

If you want to read more about Sing out with Strings, visit the ICO website at  http://www.irishchamberorchestra.com/community-engagement/sing-out-with-strings/.  There is also a video on the page of the kids performing Pirates of the Caribbean with the ICO!

Besides meeting many new teachers and children, volunteering for the ICO has given me the opportunity to see all their concerts for free! I've attended a couple now, the first featuring a lively Finnish violinist named Pekka Kuusisto and the second including Phillip Glass's Symphony No 3 and Dvorak's Serenade.  The other violin teachers also invited me to a one-day violin workshop with an award-winning Swedish violin teacher back in September.  It is great to pick-up some new violin teaching ideas!

Tomorrow my roommates and I are planning to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving.  Check back to find out if I can successfully bake a pumpkin pie!

All the best,
Shannon

The Venezuelan Percussion Ensemble

It was a great weekend here in Limerick.  The cool autumn weather seemed to lift as the lively Venezuelan Percussion Ensemble (VPE) rolled into town.  The group was brought in by the Irish Chamber Orchestra as part of the orchestra's educational outreach program "Sing Out with Strings," which is modeled after Venezuela's El Sistema.  As part of the weekend, students at the World Academy of Music were invited to participate in a variety of workshops.

The VPE is made up of ten musicians, many of whom were taught music in Sistema.  Six of the musicians rotate through a variety of instruments, including timpani, maracas, marimba, vibraphone, bongos and many more.  Four musicians stay on a single instrument, these being the bass guitar, drum set, Cuatro (four-string instrument which is like a ukelele) and a Venezuelan harp.

On Friday I participated in an intercultural workshop where we learned about traditional Venezuelan songs, and afterwards had a jam on an Irish tune.  The VPE invited us all to play in Sunday's concert as part of an encore.  I found it quite strange that I, as a Canadian, had my European debut playing an Irish tune with Venezuelan percussionists. However confusing, the performance was great craic (a common Irish term meaning fun).

On Saturday I observed a "Meet the Musician" session for school children.  The VPE members were great at encouraging interaction and participation, despite the language barrier.  Saturday afternoon was another jam session, this time on a Venezuelan tune El Diablo Suelto.

The talent of these musicians was incredible and the concert was the best I've seen in a while.  The repertoire ranged from Barber of Seville to fugues, Latino rhythms and even a laser light show.  It is the only time in my life I have seen a maraca solo, and then it turned into a maraca show-down between two performers.  Absolutely brilliant!  The audience responded with laughter, cheers and a standing ovation.

 

 Maraca solo which included twirls and flips!  His hands were moving so fast!

One of the highlights of the concert was the "Sing Out With Strings" school children performing the song "Wave you Flag."  The piece was arranged by program educators and involved violin students and singers from multiple elementary schools in the Limerick area.  I had seen the children perform the piece before, but this time it was extra exciting because the VPE added some Venezuelan rhythms to the mix.  You could tell all the musicians on stage had a good time!

If you want to check out VPE on Youtube here are a couple links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_mYc7AjLRU&feature=relmfu
This link showcases the skill of the group and although long it includes many great solos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9YP0H7UbXQ
This piece is pure fun! Not sure if you can tell in the video, but they really act it up for the audience.

This week I'll be learning Tribal and Samba drumming.  I may yet be a true percussionist!

Shannon

Gambling with Gamelan in "Gameland"

Well the last few days at school were jam-packed with my first experience playing Gamelan music.  Gamelan (Gam-uh-lan) is a traditional percussion ensemble from Indonesia, with ensembles unique to both Java and Bali.  The particular set of instruments we used in class was originally crafted in central Java for the Soundscape Music Program in Galway, Ireland.  Our instructor and previous graduate of my course, John Reynolds, commissioned the instruments ten years ago and has been running community music programs in Ireland ever since.

The instruments themselves are beautifully hand-crafted from wood and copper.  The detail in the carving and painting is exquisite.  The instruments involved are mostly metallophones (xylophone-like instruments with metal keys) to be struck with mallets, but there are also gongs and drums.  The tuning system is based around five notes and most instruments need to dampened after being played because of their long resonance.  Each individual Gamelan set is uniquely tuned so that it is unlike any other.  Therefore you cannot mix instruments between sets because the pitches will not match.  Here are some pictures:

Gamelan music is based on number patterns, with each number corresponding to a note in the scale.  Learning Gamelan required a fair amount of concentration, which really wore my class out by the end of the day.  Hence we came up with funny sayings like "Gambling on Gamelan in Gameland."  I really loved the experience and hope to one day see true Gamelan in Indonesia!  If you are interested in what Gamelan music sounds like check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxjDovw-47U.  It is a version of Eling Eling Banyumasan, a village dance piece which we learned (minus the vocalist).

In addition to playing, we watched videos on Indonesian dancing, discussed the elaborate Javanese shadow puppet show called Wayang kulit, told the story of Ramayana with the help of Gamelan sound effects, and dressed up in traditional Indonesian garb.

 Trying my hand at peking, which plays twice as fast as the other sarons (seen in background).

Probably my favourite instrument, the kenongs.  I felt like I was playing an Indonesian drum kit.
 

Yes, I am in a Master's program and I get to dress up!

 

Stay tuned for more in the near future.

Cheers!

 

Shannon

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! As you sit down to savour your turkey, stuffing, cranberries and mashed potatoes, please take a moment to remember to eat an extra piece of pumpkin pie for me.  My mouth is sadly watering just thinking about what I'm missing.

Although there is no Thanksgiving to celebrate here, there are some plus sides to being in Ireland.  Mainly, it has not snowed like at home!  Snow in Ireland is very unlikely, though not impossible.  Currently the leaves are turning colour, but the grass is still lush green.  Sounds like the grass will stay that way all winter.  The temperature is in the low teens during the day, and although it drops lower at night we have yet to receive a frost.

The benefit of the lower temperature is that finally campus seems less overrun by slugs.  I don't think I've mentioned these little "friends of the sidewalk" before, so let me please enlighten you.  I believe that the moist Irish climate is similar to that of coastal British Columbia, and therefore they share the common element of slugs.  These little guys love to slime their way out onto the sidewalks in the early morning when the ground is damp and the pavement has yet to warm up from the sun.  Logically they create a pretty burdensome walking hazard.  You frequently see them squished with their yellow innards sticking out, and they can make a pretty big mess considering I've seen them up to 3 inches in length.  I do not recall stepping on any myself, but I'm sort of haunted by the idea that I did unknowingly.  Perhaps the most disturbing part is their cannibalistic tendencies.  I'll find two or three slugs clustered around the body of one of their comrades... considering their lack of human characteristics I find it hard to believe they are mourning.

Along with the arrival of fall came my usual "back-to-school" cold (with Greek partying being the catalyst I believe!). I was lucky enough to learn a good tip for colds from a bartender at a campus pub - hot whiskey is a sure-fire way to beat the chills and clear sinuses.  It is a combination of Irish whiskey, hot water, sugar, lemon and cloves. Absolutely delicious, I highly recommend it!

The last thing I'll mention is that I had my first fiddle lesson this week!  My tutor is Siobhan Peoples, and she is really patient and encouraging.  I'm going to learn tunes by ear which is a real challenge for me.  Siobhan was giving me tips on how to not sound like a classical violinist, such as don't really use vibrato or don't overdue slides.  I'm really looking forward to lessons for the rest of the semester.  If you want to here Siobhan play, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qAH2ravRrU

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Shannon

Cork is all Greek to me!

I have finally found time to blog about my most recent adventure to the City of Cork. Last Friday, my flatmate George and I caught a bus to Cork to visit one of his acquaintances who is working on a PhD at the University of County Cork (UCC).  I had sort of unintentionally invited myself, but am glad I went because I did have quite a fun experience.  Let's just say it wasn't really the experience I was expecting!

Let me go back and clarify a few points.  My flatmate George is really named Georgios and he is from Greece.  The friend we visited in Cork is also Greek, and he has several Greek friends... Can you see where I'm heading with this?  My weekend in Cork was much more an exploration into Greek culture than Irish as I met over a dozen Greek people. 

Now I don't want to mislead you about the city.  I don't believe that Cork has a substantial Greek population, and in fact I'm assuming that I probably met most of the Greek people living there in one weekend.  They simply all know each other.  With a population of 120,000, Cork has a great variety of people, shopping and scenery.  It is not really considered a tourist hot-spot, but as the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland it is worth a visit.

My Greek weekend included several trips to pubs, cafes, house parties, tourist stops and a lot of walking!  After arriving on Friday evening, we ordered some traditional Italian pizza and carried it to a pub on Douglas Street, where we washed it down with the locally brewed Beamish Stout. Later we visited the larger bar Crane Lane for some dancing.

On Saturday, we headed to the famous English market for some breakfast at The Farm Gate, a local food restaurant.  The market is a wonderful permanent venue where you can find an amazing selection of fresh foods.  Our host had to go to the office in the afternoon so George and I set out on our own to explore the city.

Our main stop was the City Gaol (jail).  The Gaol opened in 1824 and held its first execution in 1828.  It was converted into an all-women prison in 1887, and eventually closed in 1923.  The Gaol was a worthwhile visit because the grounds and architecture have a hauntingly beautiful quality.

The Gaol's display mannequins were surprisingly realistic, making their presentation very effective.  One of the saddest aspects of the Gaol was the types of crimes for which people were incarcerated.  During the great Famine, many of the inmates were charged with petty theft or drunken disorderly because starving peasants would purposefully commit a crime in order to receive shelter, warmth and food in prison. Not all the prisoners were poor though. There were also periods of time when several political prisoners were held, often without trial.

 The Governor of the Gaol working at his desk.

I met a new friend at the prison... he looks a bit Greek, right??  This is by far my favourite picture of the weekend.

I don't believe that the conditions in the prison were much worse than others of its time.  There was often disease and vermin present, as well as punishment not used in common society.  As a form of solitary confinement jailers were encouraged to prevent prisoners from interacting.  Here is a picture of the circular path prisoners used to walk for exercise, evenly spaced from each other and forbidden to talk. Not fun!

After the gloomy experience in the prison, George and I walked through the UCC campus. The River Lee intersects its grounds, which nicely emphasizes nature. In one of my earliest blog posts I mentioned the tendency for massive Irish trees to grow in random places. Well I found another on the UCC campus.

I was the lone Canadian at a couple Greek get-togethers over the weekend, and thankfully they spoke English... most of the time.  I experienced several firsts on Saturday night when we visited a house-party where a Greek radio show was being aired.  I got to be on radio!!  I introduced myself as "Shannon from Canada" and shared the Canadian tune "Brother Down" by Sam Roberts.  It was broadcast to 12 people! I'm famous!

I also ate some great Greek food and tried their staple alcoholic drink Raki.  It has surprising strength, so is best sipped while eating to cleanse your palette.  The evening ended with a Greek folk song sing-a-long, complete with improvised piano accompaniment.  Sadly, I couldn't really participate because I didn't speak the language, but a few kind people translated for me.

By far my favourite part of the weekend was my unexpected look into Greek culture.  Luckily though I did also see a fair bit of downtown.  Here are a few of my favourite photos.

 City Hall at night, looking over the River Lee.

 Walking along Mardyke path, while the massive buildings of St. Vincent loom on Strawberry Hill.

 A church near the City Gaol.

Great way to top off the weekend; Irish coffee in a wine glass. Who knew the Irish were so classy?  I was expecting Baileys and got whiskey instead, but it was a nice way to combat the rainy weather.

Thank you for being a great audience in all my adventures.  I have over 1000 views on my blog, which is incredibly exciting!  Hope I persuaded you to visit Cork (or perhaps Greece)!

Until Next Time,

Shannon