Kudos to Gabriel McKeagney and nameless others involved in planning this past weekend’s festivities in San Juan Capistrano, California.
The pipers club way out there in Kal-E-forn-I-ay hosted a workshop lesson by Ivan Goff. Those who missed it don’t know what great tutelage they missed out on…and I don’t either as I missed it too! I “heard” it was superb. Gentlemen pipers M. Eskin and P. d’Arcy were conspicuously absent due to other commitments…well, at least we think that was the case with the one so obsessed but debate as to his whereabouts indeed took place.
As a result of the good will of piper (and expert swordsman-really!) Larry Dunn, I was able to obtain transportation (aka “bum a ride”) from LA to the venue in time for the concert. Ivan played for just over an hour and treated us to a fine selection of slow airs, reels, jigs, and hornpipes, as well as a piece or two. Fortunately, he did not play any polkas! I was rather impressed with Ivan’s ability to incorporate variations in the phrases of the tunes he played. This was accomplished quite tastefully and subtle enough that the inattentive listener is not lost on the tune. I enjoyed Ivan’s beautiful renditions of several pieces and slow airs including Nora Criona (with jig ), The Bright Lady, Valencia Harbor, and others I can’t recall at the moment. Ivan’s regulator work was exemplary and especially so on the slip jig “The little fair Cannavans.” After, we had a few delightful tunes on C sets. Great fun.
As far as advancement of Uilleann piping by piping clubs is concerned, I’ve taken notice of several activities and events over the years and would propose that the the good folks in southern California are doing a great justice to the world of piping. They will long be remembered for their contributions. One couldn’t find a more enthusiastic, dynamic, and committed set of pipers.
Big thanks go to Dave Riddles, who masterminded the Ivan Goff extravaganza and to Gabriel and Eileen McKeagney, who never fail to open their home to the piping community. And thanks of course to Ivan, a brilliant player and very pleasant company, for being so generous with his time and talent.
Having Lewis along was nice bonus–but if he keeps making cracks about polkas, he’ll be walking next time!
-Larry
PS- Sorry about the cold Fel. You should feel better in about 10 days
As one of the lucky students able to attend Ivan’s workshop (but unfortunately not the concert) I can personally report that the class was invaluable. Only 5 of us were able to make it, but that meant that there was plenty of time for one-on-one attention. Rather than teach a tune, Ivan has us play individually and critiqued our playing. It was a great opportunity to become aware of unconscious habits and how they can affect rhythm, flow, speed and so on. I am often amazed at what my fingers are doing without my permission! Ivan also graciously fielded questions about posture, regulator playing, amplification and keeping the pipes going in various climates.
Hats off to Ivan, Dave and the McKeagneys for making it possible.
I am bummed that I wasn’t able to make it. Gaby’s recordings didn’t come out, did you record it? Also, if anyone has a recording of the concert that’d be great.
Not bottled yet for another couple of weeks. Took quite some time to go through the whole procedure. I hope it turns out okay! I’ll bring along some for sampling at the April pipers club meeting
Actually I’ve learned that if it tastes dodgy it is so it’d be up to the person drinking it to decide whether it tastes sewer or not, assuming of course that they weren’t raised on beer substitutes like Budweiser or the like. It’s like milk, it’ll tell you when something is wrong… hopefully!
