Newsletter
of the Buffalo Irish Arts Society (Martin Wynne Branch Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann) October 2004
Jigs and Reels
Draiocht
Concert & Workshops
It’s about time we brought a traditional harp player to the
The following day, June will hold a workshop for flute and
whistle players, while Michael leads a harp workshop. Both take place on Saturday, October 16 at 1
p.m. in the
Ceili
Our first ceili of the fall features the Buffalo Irish Arts
Musicians on Saturday, September 25 at 8 p.m. in the Emerald Room of the
As always, anyone is welcome at our ceilis regardless of dancing experience as all the dances are called. Bring a pair of hard-soled shoes. Members of the Buffalo Irish Arts Society are requested to bring finger foods for the desert break or a donation for the raffle.
Emerald Ball Returns
Put on that tux and enjoy an evening of fun in the Golden
Ballroom of the Statler Hotel on Saturday, October 2 at 6 p.m. The cost is $75 per person, providing ten
people reserve a table together.
Otherwise the cost is $85 per person.
The main entertainment is being provided by a showband from
Samhain Party
Margaret McGrath’s Irish Language class at UB will hold its annual Samhain Party & Ceili on Thursday, October 28 at 7 p.m. somewhere on the UB campus. Dancers and musicians are needed. Please check with Margaret margaretmcgrath@msn.com for more information.
Hall of Fame Nominee
Speaking of Margaret McGrath, the members in attendance at
our September meeting voted to induct Margaret into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri
Eireann Northeast Regional Hall of Fame, based upon her long-time teaching of the
Irish language and advocacy of Irish culture in
Nominations
The following people have been nominated as officers for the 2004-2005 year. The elections will be held at our next meeting on Sunday, October 17 at 5 p.m.:
Chair: Jim Lonergan
Vice-Chair: Diana Straube
Secretary: Marian McLellan
Treasurer: Deb Andrasko
Public Relations: Tim Straube* (* has not formally accepted yet. Keep twisting his arm!)
Auditor: Bob Williams
Delegates: Joe Brown
Bill Raffel
At the September meeting, there was some discussion as to whether our organization should have music and dance officers once again. The conversation will continue at the beginning of our October meeting.
Tunes of the Month
Our secretary and tune of the month editor must be getting burned out. This month, she has selected the Road to Lisdoonvarna. The reel or the slide you ask? Both.
Teada Concert
All in attendance enjoyed some fabulous music when Téada returned for the second year in a row. A number of the students from Abram O’Ciar Celtic Music school were present through the generosity of Mark Warford and the musicians at the Nietchzes seisiun. Music from the tip jar covered the students’ admission, and some even treated us to step dancing during the second half of the concert. Thanks to Bob Williams, Tim Straube, and Dave Johnston for setting up the audio, to Deb Andrasko for selling tickets, and to Jim & Marian McLellan along with Brendan and Glenda Brown for housing the musicians.
See Jim Lonergan’s photos of not only Téada but the concert at the Pier with Andy M. Stewart & Gerry O’Beirne from September 8th, plus a number of our members at the Rochester Irish Festival that weekend. That’s the good news.
The bad news concerns the attendance and the finances. We took in approximately $560 dollars for an evening that cost a little over $1200 to put on. We finished with a loss of about $660. While we do not exist to make money (and in fact any money over our expenses would have gone to the musicians), it is disappointing that so few of our own members chose to attend this concert. Less than half of our members were present, and very few were dancers.
“Hey, Hey Anybody Listenin?”
A fairly recent Christmas song has this refrain, “Hey, hey anybody listenin’? Hey, hey anybody there? Hey, hey anybody listenin’? Anybody care?” As I write this final newsletter as chair, those are the same questions I find myself asking, given the poor attendance at our recent events. That is largely why we lost so much money at the Téada concert, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Attendance at past concerts and ceilis has not been as good as we would have liked either.
Our treasurer Deb Andrasko looked over the revenue from recent concerts and has determined that can only afford to put on concerts costing between $500 and $700 without co-sponsorships from outside organizations. If you would like to see us bring larger acts to town, then you need to support our concerts through your attendance. It’s as simple as that.
We have discussed the possibility of partnering with other Irish organizations to sponsor concerts. In fact, we approached a major Irish cultural organization to support Téada, but never heard back from their officers. However, until we have our own members actively supporting our events, how can we approach other organizations looking for their help? We know that many people in these other groups prefer other styles of Irish music to traditional, so that makes the effort even more challenging.
This lack of support is one of many factors that quite honestly has made me quite frustrated as Chair. I see a lot of potential for Irish traditional music and our organization but also see many major shortcomings for traditional music to thrive in this area the way we would like. We do not have enough members attending our meetings and offering to help make concerts, workshops, etc. a reality. Some of the people who do attend and work are getting burned out. We need more people especially to help with publicity: publishing the newsletter, making flyers, sending news releases, etc. We also need more people who are not musicians participating in our meetings. You don’t have to play an instrument or dance to be part of the team!
Generally speaking, you’re only supposed to say positive things in newsletters, but having worked as a professional journalist (one of those negative types…..), I have a tendency to describe things truthfully, for better or worse. Quite honestly, being the chair is too much on top of producing the Celtic Kaleidoscope on WBFO. I have “done my time” and feel it’s time for someone else to do theirs.
So in parting, if you would like to see more concerts, workshops, dances, activities, etc., why not attend one of our meetings and find out how you can help? Or if you can’t make it, send e-mail volunteering to help with something. If you’re not a member, follow the link to join! If you’d like to see us languish, do nothing.
I will continue attending meetings and will help the new officers adjust to their new positions as needed. So as I look forward to the simpler role of “member,” I leave with best wishes for the future of the Buffalo Irish Arts Society and to the chair-elect, Jim Lonergan.