Celtic

Now in its 23rd season, the Canadian Celtic Choir is a London-based SATB choir of more than fifty voices that was founded in 1996 to sing and promote Celtic choral music and culture in Southwestern Ontario. The CCC has built a solid reputation as one of the most in demand choirs in this area. Since 2010 we have been led by conductor William “Bill” Zadorsky and accompanied by Jean Willadsen on piano. Our vocal coach, alternate conductor and emcee is Paul Grambo.

The Canadian Celtic Choir won the Best Classical Vocal Group category of the London Music Awards in both 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2010 the CCC was inducted into the London Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 2012 we were nominated for the Most Popular Classical Choir at the 2012 Forest City London Music Awards and won the award in 2015. Also, we received the Mayor’s Award from the City of London for our cultural contributions.

The CCC’s repertoire features songs primarily from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and the Canadian Maritimes ranging from the traditional to the more contemporary. Recently we have commissioned exclusive arrangements of fifteen songs by London’s own Jeff Christmas including iconic compositions such as “Pier 21” by John Wort Hannam, “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon, and “Sonny’s Dream” by the late Ron Hynes.

The CCC has performed at the Canada Summer Games, Windsor Celtic Festival, Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, Owen Sound Celtic Festival, Fergus Highland Games, Home County Music & Art Festival (London, ON), Canterbury Folk Festival (Ingersoll), Fieldcote Summer Music Series (Ancaster), Lighthouse Theatre (Port Dover), Wolf Performance Hall (London, ON), and several times with Orchestra London Canada (now known as London Symphonia). We have performed with the Men of The Deeps, The Irish Descendants, John McDermott, Lighthouse, Denise Pelley, Jeans ‘n’ Classics, and John Tesh.

In March 2008, the choir travelled to Maui, Hawaii for our first international tour. In July 2014, the choir toured Scotland and England for 10 days singing in historic venues such as Stirling Castle, St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, the Robert Burns Museum in Ayr, and at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare is buried. In June of 2017 the choir toured the Canadian Maritimes with stops in Moncton, Norton, Charlottetown, Cornwall, Baddeck and Halifax (where we sang the National Anthem for the Citizenship Ceremonies at Pier 21 on Canada Day). Our next tour is planned for 2020 when we will visit Ireland.

The Canadian Celtic Choir is a London-based SATB choir of more than fifty voices and was founded in 1996 to sing and promote Celtic choral music and culture in Southwestern Ontario. The Choir has provided the city of London and surrounding communities with high-quality choral music for more than 20 years and has built a solid reputation as one of the most in-demand choirs in this area. Since 2010 the CCC has been conducted by William “Bill” Zadorsky and accompanied by Jean Willadsen on piano. The choir’s repertoire features songs primarily from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and the Canadian Maritimes ranging from the traditional (including a few songs sung in Irish, Gaelic and Welsh) to the more contemporary. The CCC has played many of Ontario’s most popular music festivals and has toured Hawaii (2008), England & Scotland (2014), and the Maritimes (2017). The Choir has opened for the Men of The Deeps, The Irish Descendants, John McDermott, Lighthouse, John Tesh, and many others. In 2010 the CCC was inducted into the London Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 2015 the CCC won the Jack Richardson London Music Award for Most Popular Classical Choir. The Canadian Celtic Choir has released five CDs, Here’s To Song (2001), Christmas Remembered (2004) and We Rise Again (2007) which are all out of print. The two most recent CDs are: A Celtic Noel (2013), and Celtic Inspiration (2014). More info at celticchoir.ca.

The Ennis Sisters have weathered a lifetime of phases, and a series of musical explorations together. Their latest album, Stages, is a return to their roots – singing contemporary folk songs with a traditional Irish Newfoundland twist.

“That’s all we knew growing up,” says Maureen Ennis. “Newfoundland is a very unique province and because of this, we have a different perspective of our surroundings.

“We identify very strongly with coming from an island in the middle of the North Atlantic. There is definitely a ruggedness and a tenacity that comes with being from a place like Newfoundland.”

With multiple accolades – a Juno Award, SOCAN Award, multiple East Coast Music Awards, and Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards, The Ennis Sisters, comprised of Maureen, Teresa and Karen Ennis, are world renowned, celebrated songbirds. With their buttery harmonies, and voices as powerful as the Atlantic, it’s in their bones to sing.

Stages is a love letter to old world Newfoundland with a modern flair. Songs like “Dreaming My Dreams With You,” “The Pines,” “Rock Yourself On The Ocean,” and “Out From St. Leonard’s,” conjure up the island’s otherworldly beauty, deep rooted history and seasoned resilience.

Stages“The name represents the workstations that our forefathers toiled over when the fishery was alive and well in Newfoundland,” says Teresa. “It also represents the way we’ve made our living, having built our career performing music on so many stages around the world, and we’ve gone through so many stages to get to this point in our nearly 20 year musical journey, personally and professionally.”

Recorded over a month at The Sound Solution in St. John’s, Stages is an 11-track collection of contemporary folk songs charting life cycles, love, and loss, produced by Maureen Ennis and Billy Sutton. Stages features the island’s finest musicians, including: fiddle player Emilia Bartellas, Craig Young on dobro, Paul Kinsman and Louis McDonald on piano, percussionist Greg Hawco, piano accordionist Catherine Allan, Glenn Simmons and Jason Whelan on electric guitar, Joel E. Hunt on mandolin, as well as a string ensemble, comprised of Heather Kao, Kate Read, and Theo Webber.

After wading in and out of pop and country waters, with albums such as The Fortunate Ones (2012), Lessons Learned (2009), Be Here For Awhile (2007), Can’t Be The Same (2003), Ennis Sisters (2001), Three (2000), Christmas On Ennis Road (1998), and Red Is The Rose (1997), The Ennis Sisters took a break, and returned with Stages: a homecoming.

“I think we lost ourselves a bit along the way and it was really necessary for us to take a hiatus in order to regain our focus,” says Maureen. “We’ve come to realize that we feel most satisfied singing songs inspired by our roots, especially when we sing them together. Stages is a direct reflection of that.”

The Ennis Sisters were born and raised on Irish Newfoundland tunes. Their father is a traditional button accordion player, and mother grew up on the southern shore of the Avalon, surrounded by music. Throughout the Ennis Sisters’ childhood, if their parents weren’t making music, it was coming through the radio – particularly the Irish Newfoundland radio shows, which aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“There was just no escaping the Irish Newfoundland, Traditional music growing up,” says Karen. “When we first began singing for an audience, these were the songs we sang. It’s what came easiest and most natural, and still does.”

Maureen plays Stonebridge Guitars
Karen plays Michael Burke Whistles

Séan McCann bought his first guitar in 1989 which he affectionately calls "Old Brown". Old Brown has been around. He was there for the first song Séan ever wrote. He was there as Séan founded the acclaimed and multi-million selling band that would change his life. He was there to hold Séan up many a night as he struggled with alcoholism, and he has been there to help guide Séan out of the darkness with music as his medicine.

John Lennon once sang "You can live a lie until you die. One thing you can't hide is when you're crippled inside." After exiting the internationally renowned folk group Great Big Sea and publicly admitting a secret past in which he used alcohol to mask the pain of sexaual abuse by a priest, Séan stopped lying to himself and found his truth and his voice. With the release of his 5th solo album, "There's a Place", he continues his journey as a singer, songwriter, and now a sought-after speaker and mental health advocate with Old Brown by his side and a simple message: "You are not alone."

His 2014 album "Help Your Self" was a battle cry; a line in the sand which announced that he was ready to change and it resonated with people in a way Séan never could have expected. It helped him understand that he wasn't alone and that telling his story could help others as much as it helped him. 2015's "You Know I Love You" was inspired by the love he found in sharing that story and an attempt to find a new and real connection in a world that had turned inward to its smartphones. Now comes "There's a Place", produced by Jeremy Fisher and featuring the beautiful voice of Nova Scotia singer/songwriter Meaghan Smith, a collection of songs from a man who is trying to keep his head up when we are tempted to keep them buried in our screens; it's the story of a man no longer crippled by a lie and who has changed his narrative by not letting his history define him and never forgetting ...... that he is not alone.

They're baaa-aaack!

 
Join Rant Maggie Rant as they present their 9th Annual Frost & Fire Christmas Show. Recipients of the 2013 Jack Richardson Award for Folk Roots/Traditional and 2015 International Artist of the Year at the Australian Celtic Music Awards, Rant Maggie Rant took their Christmas show out of province for the first time last year to Alberta to welcome ears.

 
Lindsay Schindler, Glen Dias & Barry James Payne will be joined by their longtime and regular guest support musicians, Londoners Rob Larose (percussion) & Steve Clark (bass) and Toronto's Daev Clysdale (whistles/accordion) for a beautiful Christmas show, which has become a bit of a London tradition. Lindsay and Barry also hail from London, while still residing in the area, Dorchester and Stratford respectively.

This band was one of the hits of this summer's Home County Music & Art Festival where they performed on the Saturday night Main Stage to enthusiastic response.

 
Rant Maggie Rant incorporates all sorts of instruments and styles, mixing traditional fiddles, whistles and guitars, with vocal harmonies and an array of percussion, driving exotic Latin rhythms, African beats, with a foray into Mediterranean instrumentation. Folk, rock, trad, jazz and Celtic fuse together on their regular repertoire and seasonal gems you may or may not have heard.

 
The band is engaging, entertaining, musically unique and tight. This is one of the best Christmas concerts you will experience. Don't miss it!

“Best of all, RUNA sounds like no one else!” - Travis Rogers, Jr., Music Life & Times

Quickly gaining recognition as one of Irish music’s new “super-groups,” RUNA has been enchanting audiences by pushing the boundaries of Irish folk music into the Americana and roots music formats since their formation in 2008.  Interweaving the haunting melodies and exuberant tunes of Ireland and Scotland with the lush harmonies and intoxicating rhythms of jazz, bluegrass, flamenco and blues, they offer a thrilling and redefining take on traditional music.

Seeking to preserve and continue a traditional culture in a modern age, RUNA creates the backbone of its signature roots sound from the musical and geographical diversity of its individually established band members.  Their strive for excellence and creativity blazes a trail for the future of folk music, earning them the reputation as one of the most innovative Irish folk groups of this generation.

RUNA consists of vocalist and step-dancer, Shannon Lambert-Ryan of Philadelphia, Dublin-born guitarist, Fionán de Barra, Cheryl Prashker of Canada on percussion, Maggie Estes of Kentucky on the fiddle and mandolin, and Zach White of Missouri on mandolin, vocals, banjo, and flat-picking guitar.

“Timeless and flawless…” – Jim Allford, PA Music Scene

The group has been honored internationally, winning Top Group and Top Traditional Group in the Irish Music Awards and three Independent Music Awards including Best LIVE Album, Best World/Traditional Song, and Best Bluegrass Song.

RUNA recently released their fifth album, RUNA: LIVE, which was recorded at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD on Thursday, March 17th, 2016 Receiving lavish praise on both sides of the Atlantic, the album has been hailed as “an incredible masterpiece” (Marcene Bronson, The Celtic Crier).

The band has performed at numerous festivals, including….

Milwaukee Irish Festival
Michigan Irish Festival
Kansas City Irish Festival
Bethlehem Celtic Festival
Great American Irish Festival
Music City Irish Festival
Gaelic Park Irish Festival
Peoria Irish Festival
Durango Celtic Festival
An Rí Rá Montana Irish Festival
Chicago Irish American Heritage Festival
Cleveland Irish Festival
Philadelphia Folk Festival
MusikFest
California World Fest
Marisposa Folk Festival
Lunenberg Folk Harbour Festival
Goderich Celtic Roots Festival

- “Genuine and with endless innovation…” – John O’Brien, Jr., Ohio Irish American News