Many people spent a lifetime on their own musical journey — people who were kind enough to share their passion with me. This page lists the people to whom I am most indebted.
In my martial arts training, it is humbling to think that I am the recipient of 5,000 years of tradition, during which time people have honed their skills and their training techniques, finding out what works, and eliminating what doesn’t. It is similarly humbling to be the recipient of the centuries-old tradition of music and dance in Ireland.
There are many people who have helped me learn about and begin to understand that tradition. Each has opened my eyes in some unique and special way.
I’d like to thank:
- The people mentioned in these pages, Chris Smith, Roger Landes, Ian Law, Brian Howard, Jeremy Kammerer, Joe O’Donovan, Michael Flatley.
- As well as some who should have been mentioned, but weren’t: Linda Preston, Lucy Geever, Richard and Lynn Ferry.
- Those wonderful “slow session” organizers: Michael Duffy, Greg Douglas, JoAnn Rees, Angeline LeLoux.
- And my music instructors: Radim Zenkl, Art Friedman, Margaret Sloan, Danny Carnahan, Chris Caswell, Richard Mandel, Erin Shrader.
- Plus my dance teachers: Valerie Deam, Brian Cleary, Jean Denney, Michael Murphy, Patrick O’Dea, Mick Mulkerry.
- And the wonderful music and dance camps that increased my exposure and accelerated my understanding: Gaelic Roots, Lark in the Morning, and the Willie Clancy Fesitval.
- Additionally, some wonderful musical influences who embody the spirit of love and fun that music represents at its best: Slavko Silic, Georgios Leftheriotis, Sue Williard, Evan Kumar, Gerald Trimble, Carol McComb.
Finally, I’d like to thank all of the people, too numerous to mention, with whom I’ve shared dances and music sessions. And all of the remarkably friendly people in Ireland, who set a new standard for the words “hospitality to strangers”. To all of you, and to all of my future teachers, thank you for introducing me to this tradition and for helping me grow in it.
