November 15 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Live in Concert!
Tickets are only $20 in advance or $25 at the door!
BRIAN CONWAY performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in tradition but distinctively his own. 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. His fiddle students, including students in the Baltimore-Washington region, have won multiple local, regional, and all-Ireland championships. He is a leading exponent of the tastefully ornamented Sligo fiddling style made famous by the late Michael Coleman. The winner of two All- Ireland junior titles and the All-Ireland senior championship of 1986, Brian’s early studies were with his father Jim of Plumbridge County Tyrone and with Limerick born fiddler/teacher Martin Mulvihill. However, it was the legendary fiddler and composer Martin Wynne who taught him the real secrets of the County Sligo style. Brian is currently promoting his latest CD titled Wallace Avenue.
DON PENZIEN has long been a top-flight performer of Irish traditional music. He frequently is on the road playing concerts and festivals with Gailfean (Brian Conway, John Whelan, Máirtín de Cógáin), The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and Haley Richardson, and he has served as accompanist for numerous other well-known performers (e.g., Gerry O’Connor, Randal Bays, Tim Britton, Jimmy Crowley, John Williams, Pat Broaders, Gabe Donohue, Ben Jaber, Tony DeMarco, Billy McComiskey, Sean Clohessy, Bridget Fitzgerald, Kevin Doyle). Widely recognized for his reserved backing style, Don’s dexterous work on DADGAD-tuned guitar provides solid, driving rhythms to traditional tunes as well as perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs. Don is a Michigan native with strong roots in Irish culture and an affinity for Irish traditional music. He now resides in NC where he works as Professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.