The Magic Of The Emerald Isle is Coming To The Omaha Symphony In CELTIC JOURNEY

Come home to Ireland this March with the Omaha Symphony and the Celtic Journey Band in Celtic Journey: Magic of the Emerald Isle, Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m., at the Holland Performing Arts Center.

Led by Principal Pops Conductor Ernest Richardson, Celtic Journey features authentic Irish music, dance, and storytelling, combined with the orchestra to celebrate the majesty and charm of Celtic culture. The show, previously performed in 2016 and 2018, has been updated, bringing back new and familiar favorites to the Holland. Selections include "The Green Mountain," "Rocky Road to Dublin," "Whiskey in the Jar," and more.

Featured performers include Omaha Symphony and concertmaster Susanna Perry Gilmore on Irish fiddle, William Coulter on guitar, Samantha Harvey on accordion, Brian Bigley on pipes and whistles, and Ross Hauk on vocals. Storyteller Tomáseen Foley will relate tales of his boyhood in Ireland, and dancers Garrett Coleman and Caitlin Golding will entertain with toe-tapping selections alongside Dowd's Irish Academy. Anne's Merry Band of Fiddlers, student musicians from Omaha Symphony violinist Anne Nagosky's private studio, will also perform, as well as local Irish dancers.

The Omaha Symphony debuted Celtic Journey in 2016, a brand-new program conceived partly to highlight the fiddling talents of Gilmore, who is a frequent guest violinist/fiddler with the Cleveland Baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire while not acting as Omaha Symphony concertmaster. The program was created by and orchestrated exclusively for the Omaha Symphony, under the expertise and guidance of Coulter.

It was a huge success, garnering praise from enthusiastic audiences. "[It] will take its place as one of the most ebullient programs in the orchestra's Holland Performing Arts Center decade," wrote the Omaha World-Herald.

The Omaha Symphony performed Celtic Journey again in 2018, to the acclaim of many, and the show has also been performed with several other orchestras, including the Edmonton Symphony. The Nashville Symphony will perform it this March as well.

Since joining the Omaha Symphony in 2011, Susanna Perry Gilmore has been called a musician who is "luminous and hypnotic," and plays with a "heartbreakingly mellow tone" by the Omaha World-Herald. Prior to her appointment in Omaha, she held the position of concertmaster for 15 years with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She has recorded three CDs with Apollo's Fire: Sugarloaf Mountain and Appalachian Journey, which features her performing Celtic and Appalachian fiddle, and Sephardic Journeys: the Wanderings of the Spanish Jews.

Storyteller/director Tomáseen Foley was born on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland. Each Christmas season, his show, Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, plays to critical acclaim and packed concert halls around the U.S. Tomáseen Foley's Irish Times tours throughout the remainder of the year. The Oregon Cabaret has developed a hit musical from his story Parcel from America. He has released two CDs: A Celtic Christmas: Parcel from America, and a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat. Rego Irish Records says, "He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture."

Tickets to Celtic Journey: Magic of the Emerald Isle start at $19. They can be purchased by visiting www.omahasymphony.org, or by calling 402.345.0606. Student Rush tickets are available one hour prior to the concert. Any student with a valid student ID may purchase up to two Student Rush tickets for $10 each.

Celtic Journey: Magic of the Emerald Isle is part of the Omaha Symphony Pops series.

Programs, artists, dates, times, prices and availability are subject to change.

The Omaha Symphony is a non-profit organization that presents more than 100 live orchestral performances from September through June. In addition to MasterWorks, Symphony Pops, Symphony Rocks, Movies, Symphony Joslyn, and Family series concerts, the Omaha Symphony's nationally recognized education and community engagement programs touch the lives of more than 40,000 people each year. For tickets or information regarding the Omaha Symphony, call 402-345-0606 or visit omahasymphony.org.

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