September News


Well it has been a very busy Summer in 2007. In August I was one of twelve musicians-in-residence at the Omi International Music Residency in New York. This was one of the most amazing and profound musical experiences ever! I was given the opportunity to work with fantastic musicians from all around the world: Here is a little blurb about OMI and the people. I recommend you investigate them further for some great music!

Music Omi offers musicians from around the globe a unique opportunity to work collaboratively and intensely in a spectacular setting. Musicians from the widest possible background come here to share ideas and test new waters—they then take what they've learned back with them to share with others. They will create everything for the concerts while in residence. The 2007 Music Omi fellows are:

David Freeman (US) percussion (jazz/tablas)

Sebastian Gramss (Germany) double bass (jazz and contemporary)

Philippe Guidat (France) guitar (flamenco and kind of rockin jazz band)

Nina Katchadourian (US) vocals -visual artist

Nuala Kennedy (Ireland) Irish flutes, whistles, vocals

Jacek Kochan (Poland) percussion, composition

Rick Moody (US) vocals (novelist)

Nadje Noordhuis (Australia) trumpet (jazz.big band)

Christian Pincock (US) trombone, laptop

Sumiko Sato (Japan) piano (classical composer, free improv)

Cobi Van Tonder (south africa) laptop

Chris Chalfant (US) piano

This summer's session was guest curated by Australian saxophone virtuoso (and Music Omi alumnus) Adam Simmons, along with Director Jeffrey Lependorf, a composer and performing musician (and himself an alumnus of Music Omi), together with a panel of distinguished Music Omi alumni musicians.

So that's a bit of background. But what is really hard to explain is the fantastic open-minded spirit which pervades OMI. Everybody really tried to connect together and learn from each other, as well as find out about the different cultures and music backgrounds we all came from. As I was the only traditional musician there, I was a little intimidated at first, especially with my limited knowledge of music theory, but when it came down to it, it was just playing together which crossed the musical boundaries.

For the first time in my life I really felt something akin to what I get from traditional music, but whilst playing improvised music. I played with Sumiko Sato, a brilliant pianist from Japan, and with her, I was able to explore new musical lands with a good friend! We performed together in the two concerts in New York, and there I experienced the challenges of attempting to do this improvised music in public! In fact I had a rehearsed piece which I composed for the concert, but at the last minute ventured into the unknown with an attempt at improvisation. Mad but satisfying! Watch this space for some excerpts of our work.

What a privilege it was to spend time on this residency with no other distractions, being able to think about music round the clock. And during the two and half weeks we spent together, we formed a strong bond, and I miss my OMI family now – but on the positive side, as well as having lots of new friends around the globe, I have lots of good memories and musical ideas inspired by my time there!

I am going to put some pictures up when I can bear to gather the patience for it! I wish you could just stick them on the computer with pritt stick!




October News

Holidays!
I am playing a gig in Ireland with the New Shoes band on 11th October for the Irish Television program Blas Ceoil. BLAS CEOIL parks up at a venue in each county in Northern Ireland, a venue which already has the reputation of introducing and hosting the highest calibre of musicians in performance.

To coin a common phrase in music circles, "bringing it all back home" is true of the line-up of musicians promised in the ten half hour television programmes during the series, complimented by an enhanced radio series on BBC Radio Ulster's daily Irish language magazine "Blas", and online service. The series is due to be broadcast from mid October.


Line-up for the night's music in THE VAULT, (upstairs in the Bank Bar in Newry) will be:
Nuala Kennedy & The New Shoes, featuring Claire Mann, Marc Clement, Donald Hay, Sebastian Gramms and Alan Kelly
The 4 of Us
Luan Parle (Wexford)
Bill Coleman (Cork)

The very next day after this concert, I am heading off to Sardinia for a holiday! Can't wait for that. It's with a good friend from home and I am looking forward to a wee break from music (but going to keep my eye out for Sardinian male voice choirs!)

On the 26th I am taking part in a Distil Showcase of new music. I have written a piece based on an excerpt from Bruno Schulz' Street of Crocodiles. It's a fantastic novel, and inspired this piece which is centred around the figure of an idiot-girl 'Touya' who lives on a dump at the end of the garden!

And at the end of the month I am starting work on a new project with Philippe Guidat, who I met during my residency at OMI in August. He is an amazing Flamenco style guitarist. Check out his band here: www.azulejos-jazz.com Philippe is performing a one-off recital in Inverness on the 28th. More info on the gigs page here.

That's it - an update finally!