Fiddler and flutist present Irish music at Georgia Southern Feb. 2

January 25, 2007

The Center for Irish Studies will present master fiddler Brian Conway in a Sligo-style fiddling performance on Friday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. He will be joined by pianist and flutist Brendan Dolan for a concert at the Russell Union Theatre at Georgia Southern University. Their presentation is free and open to the public.

Brian Conway’s CD, ‘First Through the Gate,” was named CD of the Year in 2002 by Irish Echo, the largest Irish American newspaper in the U.S. Well known in the Irish Celtic community, Conway has won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions, and has been called one of the best fiddlers of his generation. He performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in County Sligo tradition but distinctively his own.

Conway , born in the Bronx, was encouraged early on in music by his parents, both from County Tyrone. Both played the violin, his mother a classical talent and his father a good Ulster player. He studied with two exceptional teachers, Martin Mulvihill and Martin Wynne. Later, Conway was deeply influenced by the playing of his friend and mentor, the great Andy McGann, a direct student of Michael Coleman, the most famous of the great County Sligo fiddlers.

Brendan Dolan, like his father Felix, is a much sought-after musician who offers brilliant accompaniment in such diverse settings as Irish, Jazz and even Klezmer music. The multi-talented Dolan plays the keyboard, flute, whistle and is a music producer as well. He teaches at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and has recorded with many of the best traditional musicians in Ireland and the U.S. including Billy McComiskey, Brian Conway, Joanie Madden, John Whelan, Cathie Ryan and the groups Atlantic Bridge(w/Karan Casey) and Live at Mona’s.