Sláinte, the college's Irish Dance Group, will be among the performers at this year's Pre-St. Patrick's Day Concert March 5. The group includes several regional, national and world champion dancers.
GENESEO, N.Y.—The 37th annual Pre-St. Patrick’s Day Concert will take place on March 5 at 7 p.m. in Wadsworth Auditorium. Directed by SUNY Geneseo faculty member James Kimball, the event will include music and dance performances in the Celtic tradition.
The program will feature pieces by the Geneseo String Band, Geneseo’s Sláinte Irish Dancers, the Drumcliffe Irish Dancers of Rochester, Ted McGraw, John Ryan, Bill Henrie, Adie Maher, Glenn McClure, Gavin Barry, Marta Driscoll, Brianna Kelly and more.
“The concert is a celebration of the St. Patrick’s day season, including mostly Irish music and dance, a few Scottish numbers and perhaps a Welsh tune,” said Kimball, who specializes in ethnomusicology. “Several of those who are active on the Rochester area Irish music scene are former Geneseo students, mirroring—of course—many on the Geneseo campus who can claim Irish-American heritage or just have a love of the lively—sometimes poignantly beautiful—musical and dance traditions from that culture.”
A plethora of the Pre-St. Patrick’s Day Concert performers are from Geneseo, demonstrating Geneseo’s commitment to the Irish music scene. Of the performers, Henrie, Ryan, Driscoll, McClure and Barry all studied at Geneseo, while the Geneseo Sláinte Irish Dancers comprises Geneseo students who actively compete in the national Irish dance events. This includes several regional, national and world champion dancers. The Geneseo String Band also consists of Geneseo students and faculty members who perform Irish folk dance music.
“This is a concert for all ages—also mirroring the participants and the popularity of Irish music and dance in this region,” said Kimball. “The Drumcliffe Irish Dancers of Rochester—directed by Edward Murphy—are one of the best and most active of the many Irish dance groups in central and western New York and they regularly send dancers off to the all-Ireland competitions in Ireland.”
Additionally, the concert will feature traditional Irish instruments, such as the flute, tin whistle, bodhran, concertina, button accordion and fiddles. Tickets will be sold at the door only; admission is $5 for the general public and free for children age 12 and under.
The Pre-St. Patrick’s Day Concert is sponsored by the SUNY Geneseo Music Department.
News release written by College Communications intern Alexandra Ciarcia.
Media Contact:
David Irwin
Media Relations Director
(585) 245-5529
Irwin@geneseo.edu