Live Traditional Irish Music

Is Coming To Newtown

Mary Bergin and Antoinette McKenna will be featured in concert on Thursday, July 13, at 8 pm, at Newtown Meeting House. Ms Bergin is widely hailed as the world’s greatest tin whistle player, while her sister, Ms McKenna, is acknowledged as one of Ireland’s foremost harpists and singers.

There are only a few instances in the 20th Century where a musician was so transcendent that they were actually able to raise the stature of their chosen instrument, yet Ms Bergin is one of those rare few, having taken the Irish music world by storm in the mid-70’s with her debut recording, Feadoga Stain, which almost single-handedly elevated the tin whistle to the status of serious musical instrument. This concert is even more noteworthy in that it represents the Connecticut debut of both Ms Bergin and Ms McKenna.

Mary Bergin is universally acclaimed as perhaps the greatest virtuoso of all time on what is the most widespread of all Irish musical instruments. Born into a very musical family in Dublin, she was an All-Ireland Champion by her teens. Feadoga Stain is now widely acknowledged as one of the most influential and important recordings of the 20th Century, which almost single-handedly elevated the tin whistle to the status of serious musical instrument.

In 1990 she formed the acclaimed group Dordan, while continuing to perform as a soloist and with her sister, Antoinette. Throughout the 90s she made four recordings with Dordan, and in 1992 released her second solo recording, Feadoga Stain 2, again to widespread acclaim. Her delicate tone and ornamental nuances are drawn from the Irish vocal tradition of sean nos (old style) singers.

She has toured extensively throughout the world, and is a much sought-after instructor in addition to being a highly regarded composer. She resides in Spiddal, Galway.

Antoinette McKenna is one of the foremost players of Ireland’s national instrument, the harp. Her professional career began in the early 70s when she played in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, followed by international tours to America, Europe and Australia with her husband, the renowned uilleann piper Joe McKenna.

In addition to playing the classic harp repertoire, she is a skilled accompanist for traditional dance music, a most challenging task for harpists at which only a handful of players in the world excel. She is further noted for her own compositions for harp, and is a superlative singer with a wide repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs in both Irish and English.

She performs regularly with her sister as well as with her husband, with whom she frequently records and tours. The McKennas reside in Dublin.

The concert is being sponsored by the Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the promotion of traditional Irish music. A donation of $10 is requested for adults and only $5 for children.

For reservations or more information about the concert, call 203/256-8453.

Newtown Meeting House is at 31 Main Street/Route 25 (at the flagpole). It is opposite the top of Church Hill Road. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the meeting house, or in the lot behind Newtown Savings Bank.