AUBURN - Jim O'Looney does everything he can to keep Irish music traditions alive.
Growing up in Killarney County, Ireland, in the 1940s, O'Looney played the accordion with musically minded friends, the boys spending many hours rehearsing with their fiddles, guitars and pipes in O'Looney's kitchen.
After immigrating to Utica, a few years later, O'Looney continued playing music with a group he formed called “Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann-Craobh Dugan,” which entertains at venues throughout the area #) and once again, they rehearse in the kitchen of O'Looney's Utica home.
O'Looney and his band were one group on hand Saturday at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center as part of a Folk Arts Festival and Concert.
The program, sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, was held in the center's basement and included Native American, African and Irish musical and visual artists.
“For this program, we bring together artists from throughout central New York who have usually immigrated here from other countries,” said Dr. Felicia McMahon, the Syracuse folklorist responsible for coordinating the affair, prior to Saturday's program.
“We have people from different cultures demonstrate their art side-by-side in order to encourage interaction with American audiences,” she added.
Saturday's festivities began with a performance by O'Looney's group, which played jigs and waltzes like “The Gentle Maiden” and “The Cook in the Kitchen.”
Next up were musicians from Ghana, Kwasi Owusu Anane and Etse “David” Nyadedzor, who gave a recital combining drums with traditional African dance. An interesting characteristic of the pair's performance was that they had made the drums themselves, including djembes and shekeres, having learned how to construct drums in their native Ghanaian villages.
Meanwhile, several artisans were stationed at tables set up outside in the center's rear parking lot.
Melissa McCann, of the Oneida Nation, demonstrated the technique of making corn-husk dolls, a longstanding Iroquois tradition. The dolls, which have no faces, have a spiritual meaning to the Native Americans, McCann said.
“The no-face doll was sent by the Creator to teach us that it isn't someone's outward appearance that makes them beautiful, it's what's inside the heart,” she said.
After immigrating to Utica, a few years later, O'Looney continued playing music with a group he formed called “Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann-Craobh Dugan,” which entertains at venues throughout the area #) and once again, they rehearse in the kitchen of O'Looney's Utica home.
O'Looney and his band were one group on hand Saturday at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center as part of a Folk Arts Festival and Concert.
The program, sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, was held in the center's basement and included Native American, African and Irish musical and visual artists.
“For this program, we bring together artists from throughout central New York who have usually immigrated here from other countries,” said Dr. Felicia McMahon, the Syracuse folklorist responsible for coordinating the affair, prior to Saturday's program.
“We have people from different cultures demonstrate their art side-by-side in order to encourage interaction with American audiences,” she added.
Saturday's festivities began with a performance by O'Looney's group, which played jigs and waltzes like “The Gentle Maiden” and “The Cook in the Kitchen.”
Next up were musicians from Ghana, Kwasi Owusu Anane and Etse “David” Nyadedzor, who gave a recital combining drums with traditional African dance. An interesting characteristic of the pair's performance was that they had made the drums themselves, including djembes and shekeres, having learned how to construct drums in their native Ghanaian villages.
Meanwhile, several artisans were stationed at tables set up outside in the center's rear parking lot.
Melissa McCann, of the Oneida Nation, demonstrated the technique of making corn-husk dolls, a longstanding Iroquois tradition. The dolls, which have no faces, have a spiritual meaning to the Native Americans, McCann said.
“The no-face doll was sent by the Creator to teach us that it isn't someone's outward appearance that makes them beautiful, it's what's inside the heart,” she said.
The Citizens' Say
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