‘There is a Misconception of What Constitutes Irish Music’ Says Fiddle Master Brian Conway
By MAURA McCAY
VANCOUVER - Leslie Wilson has a mission. A former student of the Moore School of Irish Dance, Leslie established her own school of Irish dance in 2000. In forming her own school, Scoíl Rínce De Danaan, she combines her love of dancing and teaching with her background in cultural anthropology.
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| LESLIE WILSON (centre) with Brendan Dolan (L) and Brian Conway (R). |
A student of indigenous cultures, Irish history and lore, Leslie introduces her students to Celtic mythology and Irish history, in addition to Irish dance technique and choreography.
One of the most distinguishing aspects of the Scoíl Rínce De Danaan is that her students are not only trained in Irish dance, they also study traditional Irish music.
On January 20-21, Scoíl Rínce De Danaan hosted its inaugural feis at the Best Western Richmond Inn in Richmond, B.C. One of the highlights of the weekend was a concert presented at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby on January 20 featuring Brian Conway and Brendan Dolan.
Leslie said while shows like Riverdance have done a great deal to raise the bar in terms of awareness regarding Irish music and dance, there is also a downside where the authenticity of Irish tradition has becomes blurred and distorted as a result.
In her effort to maintain the purity of the music and dance, Leslie welcomed two of the finest traditional Irish musicians to participate in her feis. Former All Ireland Champion fiddler Brian Conway performed along with keyboard, flute and pennywhistle player, Brendan Dolan.
Brendan Dolan is the son of renowned Irish musician Felix Dolan and is recognized as a brilliant player in his own right. The duo captivated their audience with the simplicity and clarity of their music. It was particularly enlightening to hear Brian Conway give an informative description about the history and background of each piece prior to playing it.
Conway is an acclaimed musician who plays the fiddle in the Sligo-style. He first won the All Ireland Championship in 1973 when he was only 12 years old. Later he also won in the senior category in 1986. He was recently inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Hall of Fame for his contributions to traditional Irish music.
He began playing the fiddle as a child and he was inspired by his father who also played the fiddle as a youngster. Both his parents were from the same area in County Tyrone – his late father from Plumbridge and his mother from Newtonstewart – and later immigrated to New York.
Brian said his father played with a real Northern Ireland style. “He was one of the better known fiddlers in his area and he used to hold the violin down to his waist – the way you would see Bluegrass or old Appalachian style players play – but he was a huge fan of the Sligo-style.
“He talked about the Sligo-style like it was the holy grail of Irish music and his love for that style was reinforced by his chance encounter with Martin Wynn. They ended up living together in the same rooming house in the South Bronx in the 1950s.”
It was this influence that led Brian to his devotion to the Sligo-style of fiddling, despite the fact that he has no Sligo roots whatsoever. He began playing at the age of 10 after being informed that he was going to learn to play. He said he wasn’t really given an option. Fortunately he took to the instrument like a duck to water.
A whole new generation of young players has reaped the benefits of this passion as Brian Conway has shared his knowledge of the Sligo-style of fiddling with them. He said, “I’ve taught a lot of people and if success is measured by winning competitions, then I’ve been very successful. The older you get, the more you influence players.”
Rose Flannagan, Brian’s sister, also has a school with about 50 students and over the years, between the two of them, they have taught hundreds of kids to play the fiddle. He said, “I think we’ve passed on to another generation the Sligo/New York-style of playing.”
In the Lower Mainland there is a noted lack of good traditional Irish musicians. Leslie Wilson, along with Brian Conway and others, are working to help correct this situation. One of the most significant efforts has been the Ceili Irish Music and Dance Camp at Harrison Hot Springs in B.C., which Leslie has produced for the past two years at great personal expense and sacrifice.
Speaking about traditional Irish music, Brian said, “I think there is a misconception among the really good young players of what constitutes Irish music. We are working to correct that misconception because what they think of as Irish music is not Irish music.
“The students are very receptive to a better understanding of Irish music. In this area, the first time I came for Ceili Camp at Harrison, the young people were playing all Cape Breton and Scottish music. Those two styles are virtually interchangeable and in some cases, the Cape Breton is more authentically Scottish.
“Even the Irish tunes were played in the Cape Breton style which is a very different style of playing. It tends to have more single bowed notes and the ornamentation is very different. While the students understood they were playing in an Irish session, they knew very few tunes from the Irish tradition.
“It seemed to me that they had not been exposed to the Irish tradition. They didn’t know who Andy McGann was, they had never heard of Michael Coleman. To me, it seems like a prerequisite to learning how to play in the tradition of Irish music, is to know who those two players are and what they do, and where they came from.
“Initially, I found a little bit of resistance but by the end of the second Ceili Camp, there was a real hunger to learn more about that. That would not have happened if not for Leslie Wilson and she deserves a lot of credit.”
Aside from his calling to play music, Brian’s other lifework is completely in another realm – he is an assistant district attorney in New York. He said, “as my friends and colleagues like to joke....that’s my ‘B’ job.”
Not only has Leslie Wilson aspired to bring the best traditional musicians to her students, she has also endeavoured to give them positive role models such as Brian Conway and Brendan Dolan who can offer so much in the way of authenticity – a characteristic unfortunately in very short supply in an age of glitz and showmanship.
Brian Conway is awaiting confirmation about the next Irish Music and Dance Camp at Harrison Hot Springs. He plans to be there, along with a number of others who can offer the best instruction in Irish traditional Irish music and dance.
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For more information about Scoíl Rínce De Danaan and the Ceili Irish Music and Dance Camp at Harrison Hot Springs in B.C., e-mail: de_danaan@shaw.ca, call (778) 288-5695, or visit: www.internetimage.ca/dedanaan.
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