Events
Sukin Series
ARKINS, BIGLEY & COULTER: A CELTIC EVENING
Thursday
Mar 7, 2024
7:00PM
The Billings Depot
2310 Montana Ave.
$25 - $42
Eimear Arkins, multi-instrumentalist, singer, & Irish dancer
Brian Bigley, uilleann pipes, Irish flute, whistles, & dancer
David McKindley-Ward, guitar
Eimear Arkins’ pristine vocals and dexterous fiddle playing complement Brian Bigley’s ethereal and evocative piping, all supported by the solid, rhythmic foundation of David McKindley-Ward’s guitar playing. Eimear and Brian will also delight with their world-class dancing.
To get tickets:
- When Eimear Arkins was nine years old, she entered into the Fleadh Cheoil, which she explained as the World Championships of Irish Music. She qualified from her county and province and went on to compete in Fleadh Cheoil na heireann, the All-Ireland Final.
Eimear was named winner of the All-Ireland Final at age nine.
- Brian Bigley has studied the Irish uilleann pipes for more than 25 years as a player and builder of the instrument.
Guest artists
EIMEAR ARKINS | Multi - Instrumentalist, Singer, & Irish Dance
Eimear Arkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from Ruan in County Clare, Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dancing Championships. Eimear has toured extensively with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann on concert tours throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada. She has represented Ireland in France as a performer at Rennes Expo and in Spain as a participant in La Noche Negra a cultural collaboration and exchange between the Mid-West of Ireland and the province of Asturias. In 2014Eimear was selected to be part of the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, which was put together to perform the Boróimhe Suite, a newly composed suite of music, written and directed by Michael Rooney, commemorating the life of Brian Ború. For the past seven summers, Eimear has performed with the internationally renowned show Brú Ború and was part of the troupe that represented Ireland at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. In August 2015, Eimear traveled to World Expo 2015, in Milan with St. Louis Irish Arts where she promoted not only Irish culture but the expression of Irish culture worldwide. Eimear has toured and performed with numerous groups including Cherish The Ladies and Téada. She is a regular teacher at St. Louis Irish Arts since and has given workshops at various festivals throughout the world including Catskills Irish Arts Week, New York; Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival, Estonia; St. Louis Tionól, St. Louis; Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France, Winnipeg Irish Fest, Canada and Canadian Celtic Celebration, Thunder Bay, Canada.
BRIAN BIGLEY | Uilleann Pipes, Irish Flute, Whistles, & Dancer
Brian Bigley has studied the Irish uilleann pipes for more than twenty-five years as a player and builder of the instrument. He has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in productions such as Tomàseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, Apollo’s Fire’s Sugarloaf Mountain Christmas, and The Omaha Symphony's Celtic Journey. In 2002 and 2003 Brian competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships held in Glasgow and Killarney. In 2019, he was awarded second place at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in the piping competition. Brian has four self-produced albums of traditional Irish music in addition to various contributions including a solo on the Sugarloaf Mountain Christmas album that reached number three on the Billboard Charts. Brian now lives near Cleveland, Ohio with his fiddler wife, Kristen, and their dancing children, James and Kathleen. There, they have started a family business producing stage productions and building Irish pipes and flutes. In 2019, they debuted their very own show called Rambling House which will be on tour in 2020.
DAVID MCKINDLEY-WARD | Guitar
Award winning musician and singer, David McKindley-Ward, grew up in the DC area steeped in folk, American and old time music. His traditional singing style and versatile accompaniment skills meant a transition to Irish music was a great fit. David has collaborated with Irish singers and instrumentalists alike including Billy McComiskey; Eimear Arkins; Liz Hanley; and Joey Abarta and Brenda Castles as The Sheep Stealers. He has recorded a number of albums with long-time friend and songwriter Letitia VanSant. Over the last few years, he has made a name for himself as a touring artist across the US, Ireland and the UK and a regular performer and tutor at festivals including Catskills Irish Arts Week, Baltimore TradFest and The Philadelphia Céilí Group. He recently moved to the Boston area and has found a musical home amongst the fine traditional Irish musicians based there.
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