Enjoy an evening of Celtic holiday music, poetry and dance at A Celtic Christmas, as Na Fidleiri, the Taylor Festival Choir and Friends join together for delightful evening of festive fiddling alongside seasonal songs celebrating the holiday spirit.
Two performances of A Celtic Christmas are scheduled: Saturday, December 12th at 8pm at John Wesley United Methodist Church in West Ashley (admission $25 or $5 for students, with a Ceilidh dance following); and Sunday December 13th at 4:30pm at the renowned Woodlands Inn in Summerville (reservations $60). Sunday’s performance is by reservation only, and includes light Holiday food and drink. Reservations should be made by calling 452-4442 or via email at admin@taylormusicgroup.org
In its eighth season, Na Fidleiri, directed by Mary Taylor, is Charleston’s internationally renowned Irish fiddling ensemble. Members range in age from 9-18 years old, including 20 violinists, pennywhistle, bodhran and guitar. Na Fidleiri, which means "the fiddlers" in Irish, are busy with a full season of thrilling performances of Celtic fiddle music.
The Taylor Festival Choir is a professional chamber choir based in Charleston, comprised of singers from around the country. They have garnered acclaim from critics and choral specialists alike since its inception in 2001, including being one of the two domestic professional choirs featured at the prestigious American Choral Directors Association Golden Jubilee National Convention.
Founded by Robert Taylor, the Taylor Festival Choir is named for and honors the legacy of Robert Taylor’s father, Bob Taylor (1935-1997), a highly respected music educator in Arkansas and Texas. The Taylor Festival Choir also serves as the professional-choir-in-residence at the College of Charleston.
Mary and Robert Taylor serve as Artistic Directors of the Taylor Music Group which is comprised of Na Fidleiri and the Taylor Festival Choir. In addition to leading Na Fidleiri, Mary Taylor is a full-time member of the strings faculty at Ashley Hall School. Robert Taylor also serves as the Director of Choral Activities at the College of Charleston, and Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
The Taylor Music Group is a non-profit organization serving to support and incorporate "art" music (classical) and "folk" music, both in performance and education.
To make reservations or for more information, please see our website (www.taylormusicgroup.org) or call 452-4442.
The Taylor Music Festival returns to Charleston June 8-12 on the beautiful Ashley Hall School campus. One of world’s truly unique music festivals, the Taylor Music Festival distinctively combines musical performance with education and instruction in the classical and folk genres into one unified festival, bringing an array of musicians to the Charleston area for 5 days of world-class musical activity, including evening concerts, individual instruction, workshops, lectures, and master classes. The Taylor Music Festival features many of North America's and Europe's finest classical and folk instrumental artists, instructors, and composers—all of whom are experienced in a wide variety of musical styles and disciplines.
Founded by Artistic Directors Robert and Mary Taylor and named for Robert Taylor’s father Bob—a noted choral conductor in Arkansas and Texas— the Taylor Music Festival is designed for children and adults of all ages and skill levels. By day, participants will attend the Suzuki Institute, the Celtic Institute, or vocal/violin classes. In the evenings, the Taylor Music Festival Concert Series is open to the public, and features the festival’s world renowned teaching faculty and the festival's flagship ensembles Na Fidleiri and the Taylor Festival Choir.
Instruction forms the core of the Taylor Music Festival. Private and group lessons, workshops and classes in classical and Celtic/folk are available for musicians of all skill levels and ages. Students may choose a flexible schedule and attend all day or half a day, taking anywhere from 1 to 6 classes. Instrumental and dance classes are open to anyone playing violin, cello, piano, viola, mandolin, guitar, bodhran (Irish drum), Irish and Scottish dance, banjo, Celtic harp, bagpipes, recorder and penny whistle. Some classes require no prior experience. Suzuki violin students may also attend and will receive a full day of classes and may choose electives. Final Registration deadline: June 1
9:00 Suzuki Group I / O’Carolyn Class
10:00 Beg. Scottish fiddle/Celtic harp/ Celtic Cello/ Music Reading/ Suzuki Group II
11:00 Rhythm Class/ Improvisation/ youth Scottish dance/
12:00 Lunch and Arts and Crafts
1:00 Suzuki Group II / Irish Guitar/ Intermed. Irish Fiddle/ Adult Scottish Dance/ recorder
2:00 Folk Song with John Doyle/ Beg. Irish Fiddle/ Intermediate Scottish Fiddle/ Suzuki Group I
3:00 Children’s Choir / Irish Whistle/ Advanced Irish Fiddle/ Bodhran (irish drum)
Admission $15, $10 students and seniors unless otherwise noted
Bring your Na Fidleiri or TFC Piccolo Ticket Stub and get in for $10
June 8 - 7 pm Na Fidleiri and Ferintosh
Circular Congregational Church
150 Meeting Street
The southeast’s most beloved Irish fiddling ensemble is joined by world renowned Ferintosh, who perform the vibrant folk music of Scotland and of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where Scottish Highland music has continued in a living tradition since the 18th century. This event will be followed by a silent auction.
June 9 7 pm John Doyle and Liz Carroll (guitar and fiddle)
Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub
160 Church Street
Cover - $5
Irish traditional music’s greatest Irish duo performs in downtown Charleston’s greatest Irish Pub! One of the masters of traditional Irish music living in America today, Chicago-born Liz Carroll has been amazing audiences with her fiddle ever since she won the Senior All-Ireland Championship at the age of 18. An award-winning recording artist known for her fiery performances full of inventiveness and intense emotion
John Doyle is among the most talented and innovative musicians to come out of Ireland in recent years. An extraordinary acoustic guitarist as well as an accomplished singer and songwriter, John can be heard accompanying Joan Baez, many top Irish artists and has performed on such film and TV soundtracks as The Brothers McMullen and Out of Ireland..
June 10 7:00 Taylor Festival Choir followed by a Ceilidh (Irish group dancing)
Circular Congregational Church
150 Meeting Street
The award-winning Taylor Festival Choir, a professional choir comprised of singers from throughout the U.S., performs a program featuring exciting arrangements of Irish traditional music, as well as classical repertoire from their recent performance in the nation’s most prestigious choral festival, the National ACDA convention.
Immediately following will be a traditional Irish Ceilidh, featuring Fidleiri members and musicians from the Taylor Music Festival performing faculty.
June 11 7:00 Irish Jam Session – Kudu Coffee House (all instruments welcome)
4 Vanderhorst Street
Ring your instrument and join a traditional Celtic music session. Refreshments to wet your whistle will be available!
Mary and Rob Taylor - Directors
John Doyle – Irish Guitar and Folk Song
Liz Carroll – Advanced and Intermediate Irish Fiddle
Abby Newton – Celtic cello, O’Carolan class, Improvisation
Kim Robertson – Harp, Improvisation
Rosie Newton – Scottish Fiddle, Scottish Dance, Irish Dance
Danny Mallon – Bodhran, percussion
Tiffany Rice – Suzuki Violin, Private Violin
Mary Taylor – Beginning Irish Fiddle, Private violin
Jim Carrier – Irish Whistle, Recorder
Taylor Festival Choir
Aprill Raines – Children’s Choir
Arts and Crafts and more…
The Artistic Directors
Robert Taylor is the Director of Choral Activities at the College of Charleston, the Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the CSO Chamber Choir, and the Founding Artistic Director of the Taylor Music Festival and Festival Choir. Called by critic Lindsay Koob a “rising star in the national choral scene,” Taylor’s choirs have been described by the late, noted critic Robert Jones (Charleston Post and Courier) as sounding “more musical than would seem possible,” and have received numerous plaudits from critics and choral specialists for their technical proficiency, musicalty and beautiful sound production. Dr. Taylor’s ensembles have performed throughout the U.S., Great Britain, and Ireland, and have been featured in numerous festivals and special concerts, including the 2004 American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Convention, and in the nation’s most prestigious choral festival, the 2005 American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Los Angeles.
Mary Scott Taylor is a professional violinist and Irish fiddler who is also a certified Suzuki violin instructor. Ms. Taylor possesses extensive teaching experience with string players young and old. String ensembles under her direction have performed throughout the country at Suzuki Institutes and Festivals in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Currently Ms. Taylor serves as the Founding Director of Na Fidleiri, a 20 to 25 member performing ensemble that includes predominantly fiddles, but also penny whistle, guitar and bodhran. The group has performed extensively throughout the Southeast, and will travel to Ireland in April 2007 for a week long concert tour.
Registration for Workshops can be done online at
www.taylormusicgroup.org
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Clap You Hands Concert & Ceilli Press release
In ages past, elite musicians such as Handel, Mozart and Brahms presented formal concerts, then "retired" to a local dance hall for post-concert folk dance and song. Celebrate a similar evening with the Taylor Music Group, as the Taylor Festival Choir, South Carolina's premier professional choir, presents an afternoon of choral music entitled "O Clap You Hands," followed by a Celtic-style Ceilidh (country dance) featuring rousing fiddle tunes performed by Charleston's ever-popular Na Fidleiri. This unique event will also include a silent auction, with proceeds benefitting the Taylor Music Group. The concert, held in the sanctuary of The Unitarian Church in Charleston, (8 Archdale Street) will begin at 4 pm. Immediately following, at 5 pm, is the Ceilidh dance, held in historic Gage Hall. Admission is $25, $20 seniors, and $5 students. Dance only admission is $10.
Click Here to Download the PDF
Taylor Festival Choir Press release
The Taylor Festival Choir is a 26-voice professional chamber choir based in Charleston, SC. Proudly representing the Lowcountry, Taylor Festival Choir has the auspices of being one of only two adult chamber choirs from the US asked to perform in the largest choral conference in the world: the 2009 American Choral Directors Association National Convention
(http://acda.org/ ). The choir presents a full concert season in the Charleston area, and serves as the flagship ensemble for the annual Taylor Music Festival, held on the campus of Ashley Hall immediately following Piccolo Spoleto.
Na Fidleiri Press release
Na Fidleiri is Charleston’s internationally renowned Irish fiddling ensemble with members ranging in age from 9-18 years. Na Fidleiri is comprised of approximately 20 violinists, plus pennywhistle, bodhran and guitar. Na Fidleiri means "the fiddlers" in Irish, and is in its eighth exciting season, with a full schedule of thrilling performances of Celtic fiddle music. Called the “one of the world’s finest youth ensembles” by the Dublin Arts Council, this ensemble is not to be missed!
Mary and Rob Taylor Press release
Mary and Robert Taylor serve as Artistic Directors of the Taylor Music Group, and of Na Fidleiri and the Taylor Festival Choir respectively. In addition to leading Na Fidleiri, Mary Taylor is a full-time member of the strings faculty at Ashley Hall School. Robert Taylor also serves as the Director of Choral Activities at the College of Charleston, and Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Taylor Music Group Press release
The Taylor Music Groups is a non-profit organization which supports the incorporation of both "art" music (classical) and "folk" music, in performance and education.
