Twelve Sunshine Coast fiddle students aged 14 to 18 have just returned from a magical musical adventure in Ireland. The kids, who are all involved with the Coast String Fiddlers Association (CSF), took in a music workshop at the Joe Mooney annual Summer School of Traditional Music, Song and Dance in the rural area of Co. Leitrim. They also played in pubs and on the street in Dublin and in other small towns, mostly for fun.
For nine days they stayed in youth hostels, performed in the outdoors on the rugged cliffs of the west and gave a spontaneous performance in Galway on the occasion of the birthday of the Deputy Mayor’s wife.
One of the group’s six chaperones, Miyuki Shinkai, talked with Coast Reporter about how valuable the experience was for her daughter, the youngest of the group.
“Everybody plays music there,” she said. “At the pubs, everyone played music at all times. You could join in with your instrument – no permission needed.” The group also went busking on the street – a permit was not necessary, since spontaneous music has acceptance in the Irish culture. They played not just Celtic, but Cajun, folk and Canadiana tunes, and they learned a few new songs to bring home. One of them, Inis Oirr, refers to an island off the west coast of Ireland that the musicians could see while performing the tune.
One of the students, Rebecca Ward, called the group’s trip an “absolutely fantastic experience. One out of many highlights I had was playing fiddle during the sunset on the Cliffs of Moher. The music filling the air and with the stunning view – it was truly breathtaking.”
Another student, Genevieve Ward, noted how fiddle music is such an integral part of Irish culture. “Everywhere you go, you can hear fiddle music, and every town we stopped in seemed to have at least one music store in it.”
She said her favourite memories would have to be playing music on the Cliffs of Moher, and playing Happy Birthday for the Deputy Mayor’s wife in Galway before meeting the mayor of Galway.
“It sounds more like the kind of thing that would happen in a book than in real life,” she said.
The students and their families raised funds through much community good will, from fans who gathered at an April performance at Persephone Brewing Company, and through the ongoing support of businesses such as Strait Coffee and IGA in Gibsons and Wilson Creek.
