Concert: The Trousers and Kyle Burghout, at LIVE! on Elgin, Sunday 11 Feb 2018

Join Ottawa's The Trousers at LIVE! on Elgin, Elgin St., Ottawa, Sunday 11 February, at 2PM for a wonderful ride through a grand selection of traditional acoustic Celtic music. Doors open 1:30.

TICKETS

Making a name for themselves as Ottawa’s hottest trad band, The Trousers are a dynamic duo that showcase music from their roots. Seasoned multi-instrumentalists Karson McKeown (right) and Ross Davison (left) are sure to have audiences unable to resist nodding and tapping their toes along to the beat of unique arrangements consisting of traditional Irish, Scottish, and Cape Breton tunes.

After forming the band in Jan. 2016, The Trousers are thrilled to have released their first EP, which unites sets influenced by the members’ most influential idols, new music, and, of course, old favourites.

Karson McKeown, who comes from a long line of fiddlers in western Prince Edward Island, began playing the fiddle at age 10 following step dancing for six years. He has a classical background, and studied music at Holland College, where he focused on jazz, blues, rock, and Celtic. McKeown loves incorporating tunes his great, great, aunts and uncles taught him into their performances.

Davison also started applying his love for music at 10 years old when he took up learning to play the saxophone. Davison attended Michigan State University to study classical and jazz. Also, he is one of few people in Ottawa who play the uilleann pipe, which isn’t typically heard live outside of Ireland. He relishes the opportunity to share such a rare instrument with music-lovers at shows.

Kyle Burghout (Facebook / webpage) Having performed across Canada, the USA, Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Hungary, Kyle Burghout has established himself as one of Canada’s best young fiddlers. Kyle and his music have been featured on CBC radio and television, as well as in Irish Music Magazine and The Canadian Fiddler. His many awards include North American Irish Fiddle Champion, runner-up at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship, and two-time finalist at the All-Ireland Fiddle Competition in Sligo, Ireland.  Learn more at Kyle's webpage!

Learn more at THE TROUSERS webpage!

Follow The Trousers  on Facebook!

ALL OF THE ABOVE ARTISTS HAVE CDS.

"Strike the Harp," Celtic Music for Christmas

Susan Toman has two upcoming Celtic Christmas concerts with her group Hibernia (Susan Toman, harp; Ellen MacIsaac, singer) with special guest piper/whistle Ross Davison. 

Friday December 2, 7:30PM - Metcalfe United Church, 2677 8th Line Rd, Metcalfe ON. Tickets $20 at the door or on Eventbrite here: www.eventbrite.com/e/strike-the-harp-tickets-28951744447

Saturday December 3, 7:30 - Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar, Ottawa ON. 

Tickets $20 at the door or on Eventbrite here: www.eventbrite.com/e/strike-the-harp-tickets-29411200693 

Traditional Irish Instruments - Irish bagpipes

In Ireland have been two types of bagpipes. The first ones to be documented in the 1500’s was the Great Irish Warpipes (píob mhór; literally "great pipes"), an instrument similar in design to the Scottish bagpipes. It is called Warpipes because they were, like in Scotland, used as an instrument of war. An Irish Gaelic version of “Fierabas” may contain the first reference to warpipes: the quote “sinnter adharca agus piba agaibh do tinol bur sluaigh” translates as “let horns and pipes be played by you to gather your host.” The manuscript may date to the 15th century and the writer may have had bagpipes in mind.  Even Galilleo’s father (musician Vincenzo Gallilei), mentions the Irish pipes in a 1581 work. In “The Image of Ireland,” poem by John Derricke, published in the same year, there is mention of the Irish warpipes as form of communication in battle.

“The Image of Ireland,” by John Derrick 1581http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Irish_Warpipes

It seems that the Warpipes disappeared from Ireland in the 19^th century. By then another type of Irish bagpipes became popular. The “new kids in the block” were the ‘pastoral’ or ‘union pipes’ or píobaí uilleann (literally, "pipes of the elbow").

Uilleann pipes (pronounced ill-in or ill-yun depending upon local dialect), are a hard instrument to master, local lore mentions that a musician requires seven years learning, seven years practicing, and seven years playing before a piper could be said to have mastered this complex instrument. 

 

Uilleann pipes, full set

Amongst the bagpipes the Uilleann pipes are the most complex, they come as a learning set, the half-set and the full-set.  As an instrument, the Uilleann pipes are composed of the following parts: bag, bellows, chanter, drones and regulators.

The Uilleann pipes  appeared in the 1700’s, played by gentlemen and clergy alike. The most known players in the 20^th century are Paddy Moloney, Liam O’Flynn, Paddy Keenan, Davy Spillane and others. Uilleann pipes has been an instrument played mostly by ‘traveller’ families, most notably by the Keenans, Dorans, and Fureys.

Paddy Keenan, Ottawa 2011

For more information on the history, structure and the playing of the Uilleann pipes, check Na Píobairí Uilleann (The Society of Uilleann Pipers).