(Posted November 26, 2012)

Eileen Ivers, with guest Juniata College Concert Choir, will perform a holiday concert at Juniata College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.
Eileen Ivers, with guest Juniata College Concert Choir, will perform a holiday concert at Juniata College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- World-renowned Irish fiddler and founding member of the Celtic group Cherish the Ladies, Eileen Ivers, with guest Juniata College Concert Choir, will perform a holiday concert at Juniata College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts on the Juniata campus.

For tickets and information about the Juniata College Presents series, please call (814) 641-JTIX (5849). General admission tickets for single performances are $20, except where otherwise noted. Single-show tickets for seniors over age 65 and children age 18 and under are $12. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.

Ivers wil perform "An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas" which is comprised of "tunes that have been lovingly passed down through the generations," according to Ivers. She will play such standards as "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" as a jig, and "Do You Hear What I Hear" as a reel. Even classical selections will be given a Celtic cast. The J.S. Bach classic "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," is played with a lilting flavor.

She also will play a variety of traditional Irish tunes associated with Christmas and Dec. 26, the feast of St. Stephen, also known as Wren Day in Ireland. She even has an original song, "Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake," that commemorates a case of Christmas food poisoning.

Called the "Jimi Hendrix of the violin," Ivers has performed with Sting and will bring her backing band, Immigrant Soul. Members of Immigrant Soul are: Buddy Connolly, accordion; Greg Anderson, guitar; and Leo Traversa, bass.

"Eileen Ivers' originality and rhythmic swing (might) well provide the bridge Irish music needs to break through to a mainstream audience."

Los Angeles Times.

In addition, the Juniata College Concert Choir also will perform on stage, singing the chorus to three classics: "The Holly Tree," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and "Circle Be Unbroken Finale." The choir also will sing the entire song, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

A local Irish dance troupe, Tir na Nog Irish Dance School, from Bellefonte, Pa., will perform onstage as well. The group is directed by Sue Garner. Ivers also involves the audience into the show and also donates parts of her tour CD sales to local chapters of the Salvation Army.
Ivers is from New York City and is a nine-time All-Ireland fiddle champion. She was the original fiddler in the production of "Riverdance" and helped found the group Cherish the Ladies. She has played on countless albums and performed with The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Patti Smith and Al DiMeola.

In addition to her Christmas show, Ivers also has created a multimedia production, "Beyond the Bog Road," which combines music, story, dance and film, which was recently released on CD. She also occasionally tours with two other performers, classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and jazz violinist Regina Carter, in the show "Fiddlers Three."

"She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle," wrote Geoffrey Himes, critic for the Washington Post. "Eileen Ivers' originality and rhythmic swing (might) well provide the bridge Irish music needs to break through to a mainstream audience," wrote Don Heckman for the Los Angeles Times.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.