Tower Seminar series – Traditional Music and Festival

Traditional Music and Festival 
Presenters: Dr Verena Commins, Dr Jessica Cawley,  Fiana Ni Conaill, Pamela Cotter
Co-Chairs: Dr Niamh Nic Ghabhann and Dr Niall Keegan

Traditional Irish music festivals have become the permanent markers shaping the tradition’s calendar. They are physical and temporal spaces for overlapping themes of community, creativity and nostalgia and are prolific in Ireland (Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Dublin Trad Fest., etc.) and internationally (Catskills Irish Arts Week, The Trip to Birmingham Tradfest, etc.).  This seminar is a reflection on the role that these festivals play in the development of, and discourse between, identities within and for traditional Irish music. It will outline how some of them are structured, as well as the significant impact that they have on the local communities that host them and those who participate.

The Tower Theatre (Theatre 2).

Admission is free and all are welcome.