Leaping like their homeland from earthy and moving tradition to world-wide notoriety, the acclaimed Irish sextet Altan celebrates a quarter century with Altan: 25th Anniversary Celebration (Compass Records), a new recording of lush, sensitive orchestrations by renowned Irish composer Fiachara Trench performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra. To celebrate, Altan will be touring North America in March.
Altan, 25th Anniversary Celebration (Compass Records):
Full Tour Schedule
03/06/2010, Sat
Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square
Tix: $28, Show: 8:00 pm
03/07/2010, Sun
Lebanon, NH Lebanon Opera House
51 North Park Street
Tix: $28, Show: 7:30 pm
(603) 448-0400
03/09/2010, Tue
Northhampton, MA Iron Horse
20 Center Street
Tix: $28/25, Show: 7:00 pm
(413)586-8686
03/10/2010, Wed
Brownfield, ME The Stone Mountain Arts Center
695 Dugway Road
Tix: $40, Show: 8:00 pm
(207)935-7292
03/11/2010, Thu
New York, NY Symphony Space
Broadway & 95th
Tix: $30/27.50/25, Show: 8:00 pm
(212)864-5400
03/12/2010, Fri
Troy, NY Troy Music Hall
State & 2nd
Tix: $29/25/20, Show: 8:00 pm
(518)273-0038
03/13/2010, Sat
Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
24 W Temple Ave
Tix: $37.50/27, Show: 7:00 pm
(215)257-5808
03/14/2010, Sun
Columbus, OH Southern Theatre
21 East Main Street
Tix: $27.50/22.50, Show: 7:00 pm
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Southern-Theatre-tickets-Columbus/venue/41425
03/15/2010, Mon
Vienna, VA Barns At Wolftrap
1635 Trap Road
Tix: $24, Show: 8:00 pm
(877)965-3872
03/17/2010, Wed
Modesto, CA Gallo Center for the Arts
1000 I Street
Tix: $27.9, Show: 7:00 pm
(877)488-3380
03/18/2010, Thu
Arroyo Grande, CA Clark Center for the Performing Arts
487 Fair Oaks Ave
Tix: $40, Show: 7:30 pm
(805)489-9444
03/19/2010, Fri
Berkeley, CA Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley
101 Zellerbach Hall #4800
Tix: $0, Show: 11:00 am
(510)642-9988
03/19/2010, Fri
Berkeley, CA Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley
101 Zellerbach Hall #4800
Tix: $36/28/20, Show: 8:00 pm
(510)642-9988
03/20/2010, Sat
Chico, CA Laxson Auditorium
Cal State University, First & Salem St
Tix: $17.75, Show: 7:30 pm
(530) 898-6333
03/21/2010, Sun
Sebastopol, CA Community Center
390 Nirrus Street
Tix: $30, Show: 7:30 pm
707-823-1511
03/25/2010, Thu
Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
316 South Main Street
Tix: $24, Show: 8:00 pm
03/26/2010, Fri
Charlotte, MI Charlotte PAC
378 State Street
Tix: $29, Show: 7:30 pm
(517)541-5690
03/27/2010, Sat
Chicago, IL The Abbey
3420 W. Grace
Tix: $20, Show: 8:00 pm
(866)468-3401 18 and over only.
03/28/2010, Sun
Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
416 Cedar Avenue South
Tix: $24, Show: 8:00 pm
(612)338-2674 ext 2
Ireland's Gift to the World:
The Celtic Masters of Altan Celebrate a Quarter Century of Tradition and Innovation
The Sydney Opera House and the mist-strewn heather of Donegal. Jigging Japanese and Bill Clinton. Lonely lighthouse keepers and Dolly Parton. The roar of the Celtic Tiger and eerie fiddle tunes inspired by forest birds.
These moments and milestones capture the quarter century-long journey of Altan, one of Ireland's most striking and reputable groups. Leaping like their homeland from earthy and moving tradition to world-wide notoriety, the acclaimed sextet celebrates a quarter century with Altan: 25th Anniversary Celebration (Compass Records), a new recording of lush, sensitive orchestrations by renowned Irish composer Fiachra Trench performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra, as well as a spring tour of North America.
It all started when singer and fiddler Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh was still in the cradle in her strongly traditional native region of Donegal, listening and trying desperately to sing to the songs her parents used to soothe her. Her family's home was a hub for poets, musicians, and writers who would share their work into the wee hours. "People would come and stay at our house and tell stories and play songs," Ni Mhaonaigh recalls fondly. "Sometimes it would end up like a party, with people playing outside the house until late at night. We were in the country, though, so we weren't bothering anybody."
The homes, fields, and forests all around were populated by traditional singers-and traditional songs. "People would say that a song was composed by a local person, and we would see the house where they lived. So there was a lot more involved than just learning tunes; we learned the social history, too."
