KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes

I received an email from flute and tin whistle teacher Margie Mulvihill of Pearl River in upstate New York this morning. Margie and her fiddler husband John Reynolds are very involved in teaching and performing Irish traditional music and are raising funds to take a group of local children to Ireland for the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2007 in Turloughmore, Co. Offlay in August.

Margie and John make up half of the Irish traditional music group Morning Star which also features Irish-born singer, guitarist, and bodhran player Mary Courtney and John Nolan on button accordion.

Morning Star was formed in 1982 when Irish born singer, guitarist, and bodhran player Mary Courtney teamed up with Margie Mulvihill, a tin whistle wizard from a renowned Bronx musical family and Carmel Johnson, fiddle player. For more than a decade, they were the only all woman Irish trio on the eastern seaboard. Now, the group’s dynamic sound also features the talents of popular fiddler, John Reynolds and noted button accordion player John Nolan. (Source: Craft Ireland)

Margie and John really impressed me when they took the trouble to deliver a Martin Doyle flute to me while I was staying in New York last August. Margie had just returned from Ireland and bought the flute back with her. They drove an hour or more from Pearl River to Queens in pouring rain late at night during a summer thunderstorm to deliver the flute – which says much about their character and commitment. Great people!

Here’s the message in it’s entirety:

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Hello Friends in Music,

I’m anxious to get the word out that we are having our annual fundraiser for the kids going to compete in the Fleadh 2007 in Turloughmore, Co. Offlay in Aug. We are once again asking everyone to support this event by donating a few sets of tunes if you play or coming out for the day with family and friends to support the kids. We are trying to send about twenty kids from various schools including Rose Flanagan, Patty Furlong, John Nolan, Frankie McCormick, Brendan Dolan, Brian Conway, Kathy Linnane and myself Margie Mulvihill. We donate all proceeds to the children only to help with expenses, some familys tell us every year that they could not have considered going were it not for the help they receive from the benefit monies. Please if you can donate your time to play a tune we’d greatly appreciate it. Please support the children who are going to Ireland and their families even if you’re not sending children of your own this year. You’re turn will surely come around again and we would like to keep this benefit going and continue to support the families with their efforts to keep their children active in the music and all it involves.

Thanks again to all of you who have so generously supported us in the past. Please feel free to reply to myself by email.

Don’t forget the Catskills Irish Arts Week 2007 starts this Sunday and it’s not to late to sign up for a workshop or two. I’ll be teaching whistle and tune sets and Rose, Brendan, Frankie are more of the local crew teaching and what a crew of fabulous musicians they have on staff from Ireland. They even have Master classes with world class musicians including James Keane. Hope to see you all there and we’ll be passing out fliers about our benefit.

God Bless

Gra
Margie Mulvihill

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So there you have it folks – plenty happening in Pearl River and upstate New York. The music is everywhere. Please be generous and support our future musicians…

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