“You must be looking forward to getting back to teaching after the long break you had all summer, ” remarked a parent to me the other day. .
Isn’t it funny what people think teachers do – and what teachers actually do!
Even when I was a full-time university lecturer, my summers were never “off”. Instead, those months of not teaching were filled with research, writing, summer schools, project planning and funding applications. These days, as a happily recovering academic, my new company, I Teach Trad, occupies most of my waking hours from September to May; I’m obsessed with helping traditional musicians teach and learn in new ways that fully takes advantage of the 21st century environment we are all working in. I also teach in person and online, which I love, do occasional consultancy work – and fit in the occasional gig from time to time. During the summer months that portfolio of activities continues – it varies a bit, but the summer certainly isn’t “off”. And I wouldn’t want it any other way!
Here’s what my summer of 2024 looked like …
June kicked off with a trip to Dublin where, along with Dr Conor Caldwell from the University of Limerick and Sinead Neville from Cork University Press, I was delighted to be involved in the launch of Fintan Vallely’s new book, The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. This is the third edition of a book that has made an immense contribution to traditional music teaching and learning. If you haven’t grabbed your copy already, do it!! https://comitm.com
Then it was off to Asturias for the inaugural Llar Trad Fest – an epic few days of great music, people, food and drink! I had the loveliest of students in my fiddle classes, took part in a fantastic panel discussion about the impact of revivals in folk music (along with fiddler and academic, Anna-Wendy Stevenson, legendary Breton flute player, Jean-Michel Veillon and festival organiser, Bree Delian), and did a concert with Josephine Marsh (our first since we did a Music Network tour together over 20 years ago!) and Alberto Ablanedo. There was a fabulous gang of Irish and Scottish musicians around including Michael McGoldrick, Simon Bradley, Fin Moore, Aoife Granville and Dermot Sheedy, as well as a raft of amazing Asturian musicians. What a treat to be there for the first year of this event – I hope it goes from strength to strength!
The first week in July only means one thing in the trad world – it’s time for the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay. I was teaching my new course – Read Music the Trad Way – making sight-reading super easy for traditional musicians and teachers. And what a week we had! I love teaching his course so much. Everyone comes in on day 1 convinced that they will never master music reading – and by day 3, they are reading and playing right off the page! Job done!
This course is Certified by the Royal Irish Academy of Music and, this year, it was also approved by the Drumcondra Education Centre for Primary School Teachers – woo hoo! It was brilliant to have these trad music legends – Nicolas Carolan, Mark Redmond and Máire Ní Chathasaigh – come by to give the new course the thumbs up!
My big project for the summer is working as Music Producer for the Fleadh TV series on TG4. Being part of the Power Pictures team, and getting to imagine, plan and make these shows happen is a joy from start to finish!
The planning for Fleadh24 had been ongoing since the start of the year, but things ramp up during the summer months and, by July, it’s round the clock meetings, planning and filming. The Power Pictures team headed off around the country filming at the Provincial fleadhs – and then it was Wexford, here we come! Live tv production is the most intense, exciting, nerve-wracking gig you could imagine – and I totally love the buzz of all those hours of planning coming to life. A massive thank you to each and every one of the musicians who totally got on board with the whole project – from Michael Flatley to Matt Molloy, to Cathal Hayden and The Bow Brothers to Wallis Bird, Dan McCabe, Maurice Lennon, Jack Warnock and The West Ocean String Quartet, Sharon Shannon, Mike McGoldrick, Ímar, ALDOC, The Whistlin’ Donkeys, inB, Jackie Daly, Matt Cranitch, The Cumas Trad Band, Music Generation Wexford, Natalie Haas and Rebecca McCarthy Kent and the many, many others – you were all amazing! A massive shout out to our fabulous presenters – Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, Aoife Ní Thuairisg and Cathal Ó Curráin (and Peadar Ó Goill). And of course to our brilliant team behind the scenes, as well as to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and the local committee in Wexford. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
If you didn’t see the shows you can, of course, catch up on the TG4 player: https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/irish-music-series/?series=Fleadh24&genre=Ceol
One of my favourite parts of putting this show together is getting to showcase lots of the fabulous young players from around the country and around the world. There are loads of really great musicians coming through who clearly love playing music, singing, dancing or telling stories! It’s brilliant to see – and a credit to all of you amazing teachers who are doing great work year round!
https://www.facebook.com/TG4TV/videos/516926204191085
In the middle of it all, this happened! It’s been 29 years (eek!) since we recorded the first Nomos album so, with Niall Vallely, Frank Torpey, Gerry McKee and myself … the band got back together!
https://www.facebook.com/gradamceoil/videos/465265372996917
All in all, it has been a busy but super fun summer!
I’m guessing if you teach trad it’s been the same for you! Summers off they say …
And now comes the transition time as we gear up for another year of teaching.
Over the coming weeks I’ll be sending lots of tips and tools your way to help you kickstart this teaching year and to make it your best ever.
If you haven’t done so already, why not sign up to our I Teach Trad email list and keep up to date with the latest traditional music teaching tips and ideas.
Here’s to your best teaching year yet!
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