MARTIN HAYES
Even before he began playing the fiddle at the age of seven, Martin Hayes’ life was immersed in traditional music. His father, P.J., and his uncle Paddy Canny are both renowned fiddlers, and the family home has always been a frequent gathering place for music sessions. By age 13, Martin was participating in national competitions and he won his first title at age 14. Throughout his teen years he continued to win all the major national competitions in Ireland, and captured the prestigious All-Ireland Championship a total of six times. During this time, Martin was also a member of the famed Tulla Ceili Band, playing every week for traditional dancers throughout Ireland and performing concerts in England and the U.S. His accolades include Traditional Musician of the Year from Ireland’s National Entertainment Awards, and Best Traditional Act from the Hot Press/Heineken Rock Awards of Ireland, and his numerous albums consistently appear in traditional music ‘Top Ten’ lists. Martin’s style of fiddle playing comes from a desire to capture the styling and rhythm of the tunes as played by the older generation of musicians in his native locality of east Clare, a style known for its slow, lyrical sound, and, where appropriate, to enhance them with his own personal interpretation. The result is one of the most distinctive sounds in traditional Irish music, and we are pleased to welcome Martin back for his third Swannnanoa Gathering. www.martinhayes.com

LIZ CARROLL
Since Liz Carroll was 18, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, her third title, Liz has become one of traditional music’s most sought after performers, and cemented her reputation as one of the world’s greatest Irish fiddlers. It is hard to imagine a list of higher accolades than those in her resumé. Her self-titled album, Liz Carroll, was chosen as a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress, and her Lost in the Loop, won the Indie Award for Best Celtic/British Isles Recording. In 1994, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Liz a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship for her great influence on Irish music in America, as a performer and a composer. Many of her tunes have become part of the modern repertoire of Irish music, and have been recorded by Dervish, Four Men and a Dog, Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin, Michael McGoldrick, and by Darol Anger’s American Fiddle Ensemble. Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago proclaimed September 18, 1999 as “Liz Carroll Day” in Chicago, her hometown, and in 2000, the Irish Echo, the largest-circulation Irish-interest publication in America named her its Traditional Musician of the Year. Liz continues to tour with guitarist John Doyle, with whom she appeared on the Violin Shop’s Fiddle Masters Concert Series, Vol.II DVD alongside fiddle greats Darol Anger, Sara Watkins, Luke Bulla and Stuart Duncan. She also performs as one of the String Sisters, whose recording, String Sisters Live, was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy. In addition, she has taught at numerous camps around the country and we are pleased to welcome her back for her third Swannanoa Gathering. www.lizcarroll.com

JOHN CARTY
Born in London, Carty developed his love for fiddle, banjo and flute from his multi-instrumentalist father who was a member of the Glenside Ceili Band in the 1960’s. Soon after relocating in Boyle, Co. Roscommon, John released his 1994 debut banjo album, The Cat that Ate the Candle, to positive reviews. His first fiddle album, Last Night’s Fun, described as a milestone in recorded fiddle music, soon followed on Shanachie Records. In 1997, he formed At the Racket, a fun, loose, free-spirited dance band named after an old Flanagan Brothers 78 recording, and with whom he recorded two highly acclaimed CDs. In 2000, he teamed up with guitarist Arty McGlynn and began work on his second fiddle release, Yeh, That’s All It Is, and his third record for Shanachie, At It Again, arrived in 2003. His latest banjo and tenor guitar CD, I Will If I Can, features Alec Finn, Brian McGrath and Johnny McDonagh. John performs regularly with Chieftain’s flutist Matt Molloy, and a CD of their music accompanied by Arty McGlynn will be released soon. He currently tours the U.K., U.S. and Ireland with the re-formed supergroup, Patrick Street, including legendary musicians Andy Irvine, Kevin Burke, Jackie Daly and Ged Foley, and he has also appeared as a special guest with the Chieftains and De Danaan. John’s solo and group careers have him in demand at major festivals throughout Europe, North America and Australasia. It’s little wonder then that John is considered one of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, and was named the Irish Television station, TG4’s, Traditional Musician of the Year in 2003, joining fellow acclaimed winners Matt Molloy, Tommy Peoples, Mary Bergin, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, Paddy Keenan and fellow Celtic Week staffer Seán Keane, all of whom are considered to be the leading exponents of their instruments within the Irish tradition. www.johncartymusic.com

GERRY O'CONNOR
Gerry O’Connor is one of Ireland’s finest fiddlers. He recently earned the award for “Best Male Artist 2006” from Live Ireland. His album, Journeyman, was selected as “Traditional Album of The Year” for 2004 by Irish Music Review, and his albums from his bands La Lugh and Skylark have received much critical acclaim, including “Best Album of 1996” for La Lugh’s album Brigid’s Kiss. Gerry breathes new life and intensity into many long-forgotten tunes from his home area in the northeast of Ireland. His family has played fiddle for at least four generations and Gerry is able to draw on a wealth of music first learned from his mother, Rose O’Connor, and also from hand-written manuscripts passed down through the family. Later he came under the influence of Joe Gardiner, the great Sligo fiddle player, who lived nearby in Dundalk for many years. Gerry’s unique personal style and splendidly fluid bow-hand combined with technical virtuosity have brought him to concert stages throughout the world and have earned him international renown. He is a founding member of the band, Skylark, with whom he recorded four albums and toured Europe for 10 years. Gerry is also a trained violin maker and repairman, and often performs with his son Donal and the Breton guitarist, Gilles Le Bigot. www.gerryoconnor.net

PETE CLARK
Born in Dunfermline, Fife, Pete Clark started violin lessons at the age of nine with Harry Grant of Saline, “a truly inspirational teacher”. After Harry Grant’s death, Pete continued his studies with David Davies at Dunfermline High School. His interest in all kinds of music continued beyond school and led to involvement with many musicians, including Dunfermline accordionist Bert Shorthouse and the Dunfermline-based folk band, Heritage. Pete now lives in Perthshire and regularly plays for ceilidh dances throughout the country with the Benachally Ceilidh Band and frequently guests with other groups. He has played for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society at their annual summer school in St. Andrews, and also performs in concert, solo or with an acoustic ensemble featuring cello and piano. He has frequently appeared with Dougie MacLean and most recently collaborated with Dunfermline rock band Nazareth in two concerts at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the enthronement of King Robert The Bruce. This included the premiere of a specially composed piece by Pete. With six recordings to his credit, Pete is also much in demand as a fiddle teacher, serving as senior fiddle tutor on the Scottish Music course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama in Glasgow, and teaches a regular and enthusiatic fiddle group which meets weekly at the Taybank bar in Dunkeld, as well as private students. In recent years Pete has presented workshops and masterclasses at Edinburgh’s annual FIDDLE event, at Stirling University Summer School, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Common Ground Scotland and at fiddle schools throughout Scotland, Canada and the U.S. He has twice been on the adjudication panel at the annual Glenfiddich Fiddle Competition at Blair Castle, Perthshire. www.musicinscotland.com/peteclark/

JAMIE LAVAL
Jamie’s music making was born out of his Scottish and Irish heritage and further influenced by his studies in classical music, jazz, and ethnic music from around the world. In 2002, Jamie won the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship and now concertizes throughout the U.S. and Scotland. He has been acclaimed as “one of North America’s finest practitioners of traditional Scottish music,” – San Jose Mercury News and “the next Alasdair Fraser,” – Scotland Press and Post. After his student years at the Victoria Conservatory of Music Jamie simultaneously pursued careers as a solo fiddler and a professional symphony violinist. He has been an active contra dance and ceilidh band fiddler in the Pacific Northwest and recently moved to Asheville. Jamie has performed for Her Majesty, The Queen; on NBC’s Today Show, numerous Highland Games, and well-known venues throughout the U.S. His critically acclaimed CD, Shades of Green, can regularly be heard on NPR. Last year, Jamie met mandolinist Ashley Broder, with whom he now tours full-time. Their inaugural album, Zephyr In The Confetti Factory was one of five nominees for Best Traditional Song in the 2007 IMA Independent Music Awards. www.jamielaval.com

JANE MacMORRAN
Jane was the United States National Scottish Fiddle Champion in 1992 and the winner of many Scottish Fiddling competitions across the country. She now serves as an official judge for Scottish fiddling competitions. Jane has performed as a duo with her son, William, and with former fiddle students in the band Celtic Air. In 2006, the band made its sixth concert tour to Scotland with performances at Speyfest and The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention. Over the past several years, Jane has taught Celtic fiddling to over 2000 students at camps and workshops throughout the U.S. She teaches Celtic and bluegrass fiddle in the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Program at East Tennessee State University, directs the ETSU Celtic Band, and also serves as Director of the Appalachian, Scottish, Irish Studies Program at ETSU. Within the world of classical music, Jane serves as concertmaster of the Symphony of the Mountains and Artistic Director of Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia. She has an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance and studied with Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. Jane also has a graduate degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Appalachian/Scottish Studies. This is Jane’s fifth year at the Swannanoa Gathering. www.janemacmorran.com

SEÁN KEANE
Seán Keane, a member of the famous Keane family of traditional musicians from Caherlistrane, Co. Galway, needs no introduction to lovers of folk and traditional music. His background in music and singing stretches back to early childhood, where as a youth singing traditional songs in a traditional style he collected an astonishing 13 All-Ireland titles. His early career remained close to the traditional, as played flute and sang with such groups as Shegui, (featuring the Gathering’s own John Skelton) Reel Union and Arcady, featuring Sharon Shannon. His solo career is now ten years strong. In that time he has released seven solo albums, with material ranging from unaccompanied traditional songs, through folk and newly penned offerings, to country songs and even some blues. Seán has performed at such prestigious world festivals as the Cambridge Folk Festival, Galway Arts Festival, Tonder Festival (Denmark), Lowell, U.S. and many others. Seán’s rendition of “May Morning Dew” was used as part of the soundtrack for the docufilm, The Irish Empire, and “Stor Mo Chroi” in the soundtracks of two other American documentaries. His unmistakable voice has been called “the greatest Irish musical find of the ’90’s” – London Independent, and “the fastest rising star of the Irish music scene,” – Irish Times. In 97/98 and 98/99, Seán was selected as “Performer of the Year” by the readers of Irish Music magazine, and “Traditional Musician of the Year” in 2004 by TG4, Ireland’s Irish language television channel. www.seankeane.com

JOHN DOYLE
John Doyle is one of Ireland’s most talented and innovative musicians. Originally from Dublin, and now a resident of Asheville, John is an accomplished singer and songwriter, and an extraordinary master of the Irish guitar whose hard-driving style has influenced a generation of players. A founding member of the acclaimed group Solas, his powerful guitar playing provided the signature rhythmic backbone for the band, and his delicate and emotional finger-style playing and creative vocal harmonies can be heard on all four of Solas’ recordings for Shanachie Records. John regularly performs in a stellar duo with fiddler Liz Caroll, and has toured the world with the likes of Eileen Ivers, Tim O’Brien, Mike McGoldrick and John McCusker, Alison Brown, Linda Thompson, Mick Moloney, Kate Rusby and a host of other world class performers. John has been featured on over 100 recordings of traditional and contemporary Irish, folk and Americana music. His most recent solo recording, Wayward Son, on Compass Records, received rave reviews and his nearly non-stop touring, producing and recording schedule attests to his high standing in the world of traditional Irish music. He is a great lover of traditional song, and is an encouraging and enthusiastic teacher. We’re pleased to welcome John back for his fifth Gathering. www.johndoylemusic.com

KATHLEEN CONNEELY
Born in Bedford, England to a father from Errislannan, Co. Galway, and a mother from Newtown Forbes, Co. Longford, Kathleen first took lessons in her hometown at an early age from Clare whistle player Brendan Mulkere. She was also heavily influenced by her father, Michael, a well-known fiddle, accordion and tinwhistle player. The Conneely home was often filled with music from records, tapes and live sessions with such visitors as her uncle Willie Vernon, an accordionist who lived nearby, and Eddie Corcoran, a whistle player from Gurteen, Co. Sligo. In the mid-80’s Kathleen often visited Birmingham (England) to play in the thriving session scene there, and in 1991, she appeared with her father, Mick Sr., brother, Mick Jr., fiddle and banjo player John Carty and flutist Roger Sherlock on RTE’s, The Pure Drop. In 1993, she emigrated to Chicago, where she played with Liz Carroll, Martin Hayes and John Williams, among other Windy City musicians. Kathleen moved to Boston in 1997, and now lives in Rhode Island. She has taught for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (parent organization of the All-Ireland Championships) in Dublin and Boston, at the Boston College Irish Studies Program, the Irish Arts Week in the Catskills. and four years at the Gathering.

DÓNAL CLANCY
Dónal was born in 1975 and spent most of his early childhood in Canada and the U.S. before his family settled back in An Rinn, Co. Waterford, Ireland, in 1983. He grew up in a household and community rich in music and started to play the guitar at the age of eight. In 1995, he co-founded the group Danú, but departed soon after to tour with his father, the famed Liam Clancy, and his cousin, Robbie O’Connell. Since then, Dónal has performed with many other top names in Irish music, including Solas, The Eileen Ivers Band and The Chieftains, and appears on dozens of recordings. In 2003, Dónal rejoined his friends in Danú, and the band was awarded the prize for “Best Group” at the 2004 BBC 2 Folk Awards. 2006 saw the release of Dónal’s critically-acclaimed solo debut, Close To Home, which The Boston Globe declared to be “a sweet masterpiece of melodic grace and riveting groove.” www.donalclancy.com

JIM MAGILL
The Coordinator of Celtic Week is an award-winning songwriter and instrumentalist and a three-time finalist for College Entertainer of the Year. He is the founding Director of the Swannanoa Gathering Folk Arts Workshops at Warren Wilson College, directs the Celtic Series of Mainstage Concerts at Asheville’s Diana Wortham Theatre, and in 1994, was awarded the first Fellowship in Songwriting and Composition from the North Carolina Arts Council. He performs solo and with his wife Beth (flute) and son Andrew (fiddle) as the Celtic trio, The Magills. With numerous album and performance credits, including appearances with Emmy Lou Harris and Tom Paxton, Jim’s original songs have been covered by such artists as Mike Cross, The Smith Sisters, Cucanandy and the Shaw Brothers, and have been featured on NPR’s The Thistle & Shamrock. www.magills.net

BILLY JACKSON
Billy Jackson has been a major figure in traditional Scottish music for over twenty-five years, and was a founding member of the influential folk group, Ossian, whose outstanding recordings remain a benchmark for Scottish music. Acclaimed for his musicality on the Celtic harp, he is also a renowned composer whose work is inspired by the history and landscape of Scotland. In 1999, his song, “Land of Light” was selected as the winner of The Glasgow Herald’s year-long Song For Scotland competition, coinciding with the restoration of the Scottish Parliament, to select a “new anthem for a new era in Scotland.” As a solo performer, he has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, and has taught harp at many festivals, including the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, Somerset Folk Harp Festival and Ohio Scottish Arts School (Oberlin). Billy is also a trained music therapist, and in 2004, he received our Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement. October 2007 saw the premier of a new composition for traditional and classical ensemble, Fantasia on Scottish Themes, by the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, which was commissioned to accompany the performance of Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony. www.wjharp.com

AOIFE CLANCY
Aoife (pronounced “eefa”)was born in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Her father, Bobby Clancy of the legendary Clancy Brothers, placed a guitar in her hands at age ten, and by age fourteen was playing with her father in nearby pubs. She later moved to Dublin, where she studied drama at the Gaiety School of Acting. After a season at the Gaiety, Aoife was invited to do a tour of Australia. There she performed at festivals and concerts sharing the stage with some of Ireland’s greatest performers, including Christy Moore and the Furey Brothers. Her performances also include Caribbean cruises with the Clancy Brothers, the Milwaukee Irish Festival and a seven week tour of the United States with the renowned Paddy Noonan Show. In 1995 Aoife was asked to join the acclaimed group, Cherish the Ladies. Aoife toured all over the world with Cherish and during that time completed six recordings with the group, one of which was the Boston Pops’ Grammy-nominated The Celtic Album. She also has recorded three solo CDs, It’s About Time, and Soldiers and Dreams, on Rego Records, and Silvery Moon, on Appleseed Records. Aoife now tours solo and also with her cousins Robbie O’Connell and Donal Clancy. www.aoifeclancy.com

MARGARET BENNETT
Originally from the Isle of Skye, Margaret comes from a long line of traditional singers, pipers and storytellers – Gaelic on her mother’s side and Lowland Scots on her father’s. As one of the world’s foremost authorities on Scottish folklore, she is featured in several films, TV documentaries and on radio. With an MA in Folklore and a PhD in Ethnology, Margaret is a former lecturer at the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh and is widely regarded as Scotland’s foremost folklorist. A prize-winning author, she has published several books and numerous articles, and, as the great Scottish folklorist Hamish Henderson writes, “There can be few scholars on either side of the Atlantic who succeed in combining such a wide range of skills as Margaret Bennett. A folksinger of great sensitivity and versatility, she is undoubtedly one of the major figures of the modern Scottish Revival... Margaret embodies all that is best of the spirit of Scotland.” She has recorded several CDs, teaches part-time at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, sings at festivals and lectures on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the most popular of our instructors, in 1998 Margaret was presented with our Master Music Maker Award for lifetime achievement, and in 2003 received the Celtic Women International award for “lifelong service to Scottish and Celtic Culture.”
www.margaretbennett.co.uk www.margaretbennett.co.uk