AUBURN - The halls of Willard Chapel were ringing with the lulling tones of the harp as Thom Dutton performed what has grown into an annual show there.

“I've been coming here (to Auburn) for 14 or 15 years,” Dutton said. “When I first performed here it was in the Phoenix Building, but since that has closed down I've been performing here. This is my ninth or tenth year at Willard Chapel.”

Dutton, a graduate of the Houghton School of Music, has toured extensively throughout the Northeast, as well as Ireland, Great Britain and Europe, but he said that performing in Auburn is a one-of-a-kind experience and that the chapel, with its vaulted ceilings, makes a perfect place to perform.

“The acoustics in here are amazing,” Dutton said. “It is an amazing building. It is definitely the best place I've played in New York.”

Every year, Dutton tries to bring something different to his performance, varying styles and selections of music, covering a diverse selection, including Celtic, Norwegian and Italian compositions.

“Most cultures have a form of the harp,” he said. “It is mainly in Celtic cultures, but it has spread through the world. There are African cultures that have a harp, but it is nothing like what we might recognize, but every culture has a form of the instrument and music for it.”

For this year's performance, Dutton combined two styles, focusing in the first half of his performance on relaxation music, and then shifting gears in the second half to perform more traditional pieces from the British and Irish isles.

Year after year, the show has drawn a dedicated audience.

“This is my third year here,” Chris Molloy said. “It's always good to support local music and performances and I play the harp myself. It's always a good show to see.”

Dutton performs like a true troubadour, singing, playing and educating his audience as he goes, often peppering-in little-known facts.

“I'm doing a song called ”The Revolution of 1789,“ about the Irish rebellion,” Dutton said. “This is actually the tune to ”Danny Boy,“ but the lyrics everyone knows actually aren't Irish.”

It is this combination of entertainment and education that Dutton hopes his audiences can take away with them.

“I hope to tell people a little about Ireland,” Dutton said. “About the struggles they have had to overcome and tell them a little about the history of the music and the words and hope they enjoy what they are hearing.”