Download pdf - presents Paddy Moloney The Chieftains - soka.edu€¦ · recorded four albums in as many years, all highly regarded to this day. ... genres including a new work by Pat Metheny, “Road

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presents

Soka Performing Arts Center

Paddy Moloney, Uilleann Pipes/Tin WhistleSeán Keane, Fiddle

Kevin Conneff, Bodhrán/VocalsMatt Molloy, Flute

Sunday, February 25, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.

Paddy MoloneyThe Chieftains

and special guests

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PADDY MOLONEYUilleann Pipes, Tin Whistle

Paddy Moloney is the founder and leader of the Chieftains. He grew up in Donnycarney, north county Dublin. His love of Irish music came from his parents’ native county, Laois, and the music that surrounded him at home. His first instrument was a plastic tin whistle and by the age of eight, he was learning to play the uilleann pipes from the great pipe master, Leo Rowsome. It was when he heard Leon Rowsome, son of Leo, play his pipes in the Scoil Mhuire school band in Marino, that he began to beg his parents to have Leo make him his very first set.

After he left school, Moloney, always aware that he needed a nine to five job to support his musical hobby, took a job with Baxendales, a large building firm, where he worked in accounting. It was here he met his future wife, Rita O’ Reilly.

Moloney always had a vision from his early days playing. A sound he wanted to create, a sound that had never been heard before. He knew it would take much experimentation with different combinations of instruments and so he formed several groups with other musicians in duets and trios. In particular he played with Seán Potts, Michael Tubridy and Sean Keane in various combinations who would all later become members of the Chieftains.

But it was not until he had formed the original line-up for the Chieftains in 1962 that he finally achieved the sound that had eluded him, a sound created by Moloney’s inspired choice of instruments, styles and players. It was only at this point did Moloney feel ready to give his group the title the Chieftains (a name which was inspired by the Irish poet John Montague) and confident enough to take his band into studio to record the very first of many, award winning albums. This recording came about at the invitation of his good friend, the Honorable Garech de Brun for his record label Claddagh Records.

The sound that Moloney created some forty years ago has become the instantly recognisable sound of the Chieftains, which lives on fresh today and has always set them apart from any other traditional line up throughout out the world. It is simply the sound of the Chieftains.

In 1968 and having recorded a number of albums with the Chieftains, Moloney decided to leave Baxendales to work full time in the music industry as the Managing Director of Claddagh Records. He ran the label for seven years until 1975 during which time he helped to develop Claddagh’s catalogue and also a market for it. During this time he also produced, co-produced, or supervised forty-five albums for the Claddagh label in folk, traditional, classical, poetry, and spoken word recordings.

Biographies


SEÁN KEANEFiddle

Dubliner Seán Keane was surrounded by traditional Irish music from an early age. Both parents were traditional fiddlers and he began playing the fiddle at a young age. He attended Dublin School of Music where he received classical training, but soon became one of Ireland’s most talented young fiddlers, winning awards and such honours as the All-Ireland Championships and the Fiddler of Dooney Competition, from which he earned the title of master fiddler.

A member of Ceoltóirí Cualann in the 1960s, Keane also performed with some of the trios and duets formed by Paddy Moloney in the sixties. It was 1968 before he joined the Chieftains on invitation from Moloney.

He has recorded a well-received solo album, Seán Keane, and a duet album with fellow Chieftain Matt Molloy, Contentment is Wealth. He has also recorded with Mick Moloney and his brother, James Keane, on the album Reel Away the Real World in 1980.

Keane lives in Dublin with his wife Marie, and they have three children and four grandchildren.

KEVIN CONNEFFBodhrán, Vocals

Kevin Conneff, the voice and rhythm of the Chieftains, joined the group in 1976 replacing Peadar Mercier. Vocals now became a new element in the Chieftains sound as up to this time, there was no regular vocalist. Conneff was born in Donore, a rare musical suburb of Dublin and one of the city’s most historical places. At first a jazz fan, Conneff discovered traditional music in his teens, and soon learnt to play the bodhrán and developed his singing, particularly sean nós, influenced by Paddy Tunney and Christy Moore.

Conneff was also a founder member of the Tradition Club at Slattery’s in Dublin. It soon became a meeting place for those who wanted to hear traditional music performed by well known performers of the tradition, allowing musicians to play with others in an organised setting. Some of the musicians and performers who played in the club even included a Chieftain or two in a solo or duet setting. In the late 1960s, Conneff joined Moore and others for the recording for the now famous album Prosperous, which laid the groundwork for the group of Planxty.

He was asked by Moloney to record a couple of tracks with the Chieftains in London for Bonaparte’s Retreat and became a permanent member soon after.

Conneff’s singing is in the old style which reflects interpretation and is generally unaccompanied. On the bodhrán, he can demonstrate a subtle rhythm or really heat things up. Conneff has also released a solo album, The Week Before Easter released in 1988.

Conneff has three children, Peigí, Ruairí and Ella and lives in Wicklow with his partner Jean.


MATT MOLLOYFlute

Matt Molloy was born in County Roscommon, into one of the long lines of flute players for which the area is famous. He learned flute and whistle from his father, was playing in the school fife and drum band at the age of eight and by eighteen had won first prize in the major traditional music competitions. He moved to Dublin in the early 1970s to work for the Irish national airline as an engineer. He started playing in the music scene where he first became acquainted with Paddy Moloney. Molloy co-founded the Bothy Band with Donal Lunny, and they recorded four albums in as many years, all highly regarded to this day. In his own words: “We made great music and had a great time but financially we were a bit of a disaster. We had too much of a good time!”

Following the group’s demise, Molloy joined the reformed Planxty before finally becoming a member of the Chieftains in 1979. In addition to his group work, Matt has featured on many other albums and was featured soloist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on the centrepiece of composer Micheal o Suilleabháin’s album Oileán/Island.

Molloy lives in Westport and has four children, Peter, Niamh, Clare, and James, with his late wife, Geraldine. Molloy also runs his famous pub, Matt Molloy’s, visited by many from far and wide, including Twiggy, Noel and Liam Gallagher, and Jerry Garcia, to name a few.


THE CHIEFTAINS

The year 2017 marked the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Chieftains beginning. Since 1962, they have won six Grammy Awards and are recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music on a contemporary and international scale. Their ability to transcend musical boundaries to blend tradition with modern music has notably hailed them as one of the most renowned and revered musical groups to this day.

As cultural ambassadors, their performances have been linked with seminal historic events, such as being the first Western musicians to perform on the Great Wall of China, participating in Roger Waters The Wall performance in Berlin in 1990, and being the first ensemble to perform a concert in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. In 2010, their experimental collaborations extended to out of this world, when Paddy Moloney’s whistle and Matt Molloy’s flute travelled with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman to the International Space Station.

Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music and accompanying musicians quickly captured a much broader audience, elevating their status to the likeness of fellow Irish band, U2.

In Ireland they have been involved in many major occasions, such as Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 when they performed to an audience of more than 1.3 million, and in 2011 as part of the historic visit to Ireland of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. In 2012, marking the Chieftains’ fifthtieth anniversary, they were awarded the inaugural National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award at a gala event in Philadelphia hosted by the American Ireland Fund “in recognition of their tremendous contribution to the music industry worldwide and the promotion of the best of Irish culture.”

Also in 2012, the Chieftains once again invited friends from all musical styles to collaborate on their latest album, Voice of Ages. Featuring some of modern music’s fastest rising artists (Bon Iver, the Decemberists, and Paolo Nutini among them), this album is proof that their music transcends not only stylistic and traditional boundaries, but generational as well.

The Chieftains are never afraid to shock purists and push genre boundaries and the trappings of fame have not altered the Chieftains’ love of, and loyalty to, their roots however- they are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. After more than fifty years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, the Chieftains’ music remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began.


Representation for The Chieftains: Opus 3 Artists

Exclusive Tour ManagementOpus 3 Artists

470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor NorthNew York, NY 10016

www.opus3artists.com

FOR OPUS 3 ARTISTSDavid V. Foster, President & CEO

Leonard Stein, Senior Vice President, Director, Touring DivisionRobert Berretta, Vice President, Manager, Artists & Attractions

Tania Leong, Associate, Touring DivisionKay McCavic, Company Manager

Don Irving, Stage Manager


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The Grammy-winning group’s inventive, critically-acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at classical music, and their interpretations of contemporary works continually break new ground. Program features a range of genres including a new work by Pat Metheny, “Road to the Sun,” commissioned for the LAGQ by a consortium of presenters, including Soka University of America.

LATIN ROCK WITH GRAMMY WINNER LA SANTA CECILIASaturday, April 28, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.La Santa Cecilia exemplifies the modern-day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock, and world music. The group draws inspiration from all over the world, utilizing Pan-American rhythms including cumbia, bossa nova, rumba, bolero, tango, jazz, and klezmer music. Their unique sounds and the experience of their colorful, passionate performances continues to captivate audiences.

DANA LOUISE AND THE GLORIOUS BIRDS - INDIE FOLKFriday, April 13, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.Joined by the Glorious Birds, Adams Collins (vibraphone and 5-string banjo), and Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood (Trout Fishing in America/guitar, percussion and bass), Dana Louise brings her vibrant, melodic vocals and finger picking to a body of complex songs. Drawing from jazz and bluegrass, carrying a contemporary beat, the sound is roots-rooted, flung-into-the-future folk.


Soka University of America Board of Trustees:Steve Dunham, JD, ChairTariq Hasan, PhD, Vice ChairYoshihisa Baba, PhDMatilda BuckLawrence E. Carter Sr., PhD, DD, DH, DRSMaria Guajardo, PhDClothilde V. Hewlett, JDLawrence A. Hickman, PhD

Soka University of America Administration:Daniel Y. Habuki, PhD, PresidentEdward M. Feasel, PhD, Vice President of Academic Affairs & Chief Academic OfficerArchibald E. Asawa, Vice President for Finance and Administration & CFO & Chief Investment

OfficerTomoko Takahashi, PhD, Vice President of Institutional Research and Assessment & Dean of

Graduate SchoolKatherine King, PHR, Vice President for Human Resources and Risk ManagementWendy Harder, MBA, APR, Director of Community RelationsHyon J. Moon, EdD, Dean of StudentsAndrew Woolsey, EdD, Director of Enrollment ServicesBryan Penprase, PhD, Dean of Faculty

We would like to thank our Board of Trustees and our Administration for their extraordinary support of

Soka Performing Arts Center.

With deepest gratitude to the donors who made Soka Performing Arts Center possible.

Kris Knudsen, JDKaren Lewis, PhDDaniel Nagashima, MBAGene Marie O’Connell, RN, MSDavid P. Roselle, PhDYoshiki TanigawaShunichi Yamada, MBA

Soka Performing Arts Center Staff:David C. Palmer, General ManagerRebecca Pierce Goodman, Marketing and Administrative ManagerShannon Lee Blas-Blair, Patron Services ManagerSam Morales, Technical Services ManagerSteve Baker, House Manager; Lindsey Cook, Production Assistant; Mitsu Hashimoto, Stage Technician; Hana Kurihara, Stage Manager; Ray Mau, Lighting TechnicianJim Merod, Director, Jazz Monsters Series and Soka University Jazz Festival

Students of Soka University of America who serve as patron and technical services crew, as well as marketing assistants. Citizens of Aliso Viejo and surrounding communities who volunteer their service as ushers and hospitality aides.

Our Sponsors and Partners:Orange County Register, KJazz 88.1, KUSC 91.5, California Presenters, California Arts Council.