Featuring Ashley MacLeod
with Clann Na Cara Irish Dance
General Admission $15
($13 Opera House Members)
Folk in Fredonia Music Series
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day a wee bit early with this special performance of Celtic music and dance!
Ashley MacLeod is from Dalkeith, Ontario, in the county of Glengarry, a hotbed of Scottish culture in Canada. At the age of 10, she literally picked up a fiddle and began playing. In the next few years, she proceeded to win many awards at fiddle competitions throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. At age 14, she was invited to play at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championships as a Junior Showcase artist - an honor given to only four young people across Canada each year!
Bulding from there, MacLeod has gone on to perform her musical magic before thousands of captivated fans all over North America. She has collaborated with many outstanding musicians, including the four-time world champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and Celtic rock band Hadrian's Wall. She also has performed on recordings with artists The Paperboys, The Shiners and Rathkeltair, among others.
In 2002, she released her first CD titled From the Heart of Glengarry, a collection of traditional Scottish fiddle tunes arranged in Ashley's inimitable style. Her much-anticipated follow-up CD Hold Fast was released in August 2006 to rave reviews.
In 2003, MacLeod performed with the Ottawa Police Services Pipe Band at New York's Carnegie Hall as part of a Canadian presence in September 11th Memorial observations. She has performed on Country Music Television (CMT) with country music artist Johnny Reid. Most recently, she toured Europe with the Juno Award-winning band The Paperboys.
Living in a community so steeped in its Scottish heritage and raised on a farm that has been in the family for more than 200 years gives MacLeod a spirit and depth in the music she plays. Her strathspeys, jigs and reels vibrate with strength, and her waltzes and airs are colored with an aura of peacefulness. It is a gift; and it flows freely from the heart - from the heart of Glengarry.
Clann Na Cara Irish DanceJoining MacLeod will be dancers from Clann Na Cara Irish Dance. Clann Na Cara was established as a western New York Irish dance school in 2006 by four National and World Champion medalists. Prior to receiving their dance teacher certifications, all four founders were regular performers at the Opera House during St. Patrick Day celebration events. In addition, each has led dancers in performances with such notable artists as The Chieftains, Cherish the Ladies and Natalie MacMaster. The students at Clann Na Cara range in age from 4 to 21 and include numerous Preliminary and Championship dancers.
