The CD is done! The promotional material is out and we head to Germany in late October for a series of concerts. I cannot wait to play with these wonderful musicians again soon! We’ll also be appearing together at Christmas time in the Pacific Northwest.
The album will be released on September 13th but you can preview it here.
I’m the type that likes to be busy so this December’s wild and wooly pace really suits me just fine. We are 2/3 of the way through the Celtic Trio’s Christmas tour. This is my second year participating in this ensemble with longtime American/Irish Contemporary Celtic duo Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning. So far we’ve been to the San Juan Islands, Seattle, Eugene, Corvallis, Albany and Portland playing to a lot of full houses. Check the schedule at Ark Music for remaining dates!
Our new CD Under the Wonder Sky was recently chosen by John Diliberto, host of NPR’s Echoes program as the CD of the month for December. Our interview airs December 14th. You can listen online and read the online review by clicking here.
When I return from tour, I’ll be presenting two concerts of my own—the 7th annual Acoustic Christmas Concerts with Wendy Goodwin & Friends. Joining me this year is a wonderful and eclectic cast of musicians including Violinist Alexandra Kazmierowicz, Cellist Ashley Peck, Bassist Nolan Staples, Mandolin Virtuoso Jacob Jolliff (home on Christmas break from a national tour with Joy Kills Sorrow), Guitarist Nate Macy, Pianist Bryan Clark, Percussionist Bill Nippoldt and vocalist Bethany Cibolski. That’s a total of nine people including myself: woooooo—hooooo!
Tuesday, December 21st
7:30 PM
Cloud Seven Cafe (NW 10th & Johnson—Pearl District, Portland)
Concert is Free. Desserts, espresso drinks and local wines available for purchase.
Wednesday, December 22nd
7:30 PM
West Chehalem Friends Church (16700 NE North Valley Road, Newberg) MAP
Concert is Free—family friendly and all are welcome.
I’m still teaching my private students too whenever I land for a moment back in town. I have a few little ones who are on the verge of completing Suzuki Book 1… I keep telling them “before the sun sets on December 31st you WILL complete Gavotte!” It’s fun having concrete goals to shoot for. I am so proud of my kiddos.
Last night I was able to join vocalist Tasha Miller for a private party as a part of her “Educated Band.” It was a real privilege to share the stage—er the fireside room—with pianist Kerry McCoy, Bassist Kevin Dietz and Guitarist Dan Balmer. Tasha knows how to entertain… decked in a red taffeta party dress and standing in 5 inch heels the lady had the room captivated with sassy renditions of Santa Baby, gospel infused Silent Night and some folk and jazz standards.
It would be easy to get a little crazy with all of this coming and going, different music to prepare and all, but I just keep reminding myself to just enjoy every new experience and not to take myself too seriously!
How is your Holiday season shaping up?
Things are buzzing here! Yesterday I recorded the string parts on two tracks for folk singer Adam Sweeney’s upcoming release. I crafted the arrangements at home over the last several weeks through listening to the basic tracks and dialoguing with Adam about his “vision for strings” and then yesterday I laid down the 2 upper voices. Cello should be added next week along with some fiddle solos.
The wearing of multiple hats is something that I would say is a strength of mine. People often ask if there is a difference between a violin and a fiddle. The answer is that it’s mostly how you play it. I like being able to do both—I like that when I sit down to write a string arrangement, I actually use the music theory that I labored through in college. Then when I’m fiddling, it’s great to be able to just focus entirely on that one feisty voice—linearly rather than horizontally.
Last month I did a combination of writing and improvising string parts for another Jeff Johnson/Brian Dunning affiliated recording project—Coram Deo. The CD features the amaaaazzzzzing vocalists Janet Chvetal and Marc Gremm. I first met Janet when I was still pregnant and no joke, my baby girl kicked like a cha cha dancer whenever Janet would sing! The CD is being mixed and I’ll have more to say soon but keep an eye out for concerts in and around Easter 2011. Some of the recording was actually done at the iconic Neuscwanstein Castle in Germany.
Also in the works is Christmas music!!!! I’ll be touring again this year with American/Irish duo Jeff Johnson (keys/vocals) and Brian Dunning (flute/pipes/whistles…lots of cool stuff). We’re promoting our new CD Under the Wonder Sky. I can’t wait. Last year’s tour was one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my entire life. We kick things off here in Portland on the 24th of November—Sunset Presbyterian Church Thanksgiving Eve service. This is one of the only local, free shows so take advantage of it if you’re not trying to figure out how to thaw your turkey!!! More info at www.arkmusic.com.
Last but not least there will be 2 Acoustic Christmas Concerts this year with my band. This is the 7th installation—one show will be at Cloud 7 in the Pearl, the other at West Chehalem Friends Church out in Newberg. Stay tuned—some details are still being finalized but I will be sure to blog all about it.
For a complete listing of upcoming concerts, please visit the concerts and news page of this site.
Blessings on your Fall!