Early Years

“A road-tested, audience-approved, high-octane,

fist-in-glove, laughing-out-loud trio of Irish musicians."

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Open the Door for Three is a trio that plays its Irish music powerfully.

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They mine tune books, collections, and recordings for old and new tunes and songs. They add to those discoveries fiddler Liz Knowles’s compositions, harmonies, and arrangements, Kieran O’Hare’s encyclopedic knowledge of tunes and the uilleann piping tradition, and the rhythmic bedrock bouzouki and world-class singing of Dublin-born Pat Broaders.

 

The trio's members are veterans and mainstays of the Irish music scene around the world, having played with Riverdance, Cherish the Ladies, Secret Garden, Anúna, Liz Carroll, and The New York Pops, as well as with artists like Don Henley, Paula Cole, Bonnie Raitt, and Josh Groban. They have performed around the world: on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, at L'Olympia and the Palais des Congrès in Paris, in Malaysian rainforest festivals, in theatres from Shanghai to São Paulo, and even a bullring in Mallorca.

 

Their debut release ‘Open the Door for Three’ and their brand new second CD ‘The Penny Wager’ are the culmination of years on the road, comprised of unearthed tunes, new arrangements of great songs, homages to the musicians and bands they grew up listening to, and the signature sound of a trio of good friends playing great music together.

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About the workshops:

 

The workshops will be at private homes on the west side of Ann Arbor, just minutes from downtown.  For address details, please email us at contact@detroitirishmusic.org.

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The fiddle workshop is intended for all levels, though basic proficiency on the instrument is recommended.  The beginning piping workshop is intended for those with less than 2 years playing on the pipes, or anyone who wants to focus on fundamentals of the instrument; the intermediate/advanced piping workshop is for those who have been playing more than 2 years, and are comfortably proficient learning tunes by ear.  Please bring your instrument, and a recording device.

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Payment is collected at the workshop. Cash is preferred. For any questions, or to register and get the location details, please contact us at contact@detroitirishmusic.org.

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About the teachers:

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Kieran O'Hare, Int/Adv Uilleann Pipes

Kieran O’Hare is a highly respected and sought-after performer of Irish traditional music on the uilleann pipes, concert flute, and tin whistle.

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In 1994, Kieran received the honor of being the first American-born player of Irish music invited to perform in the annual ‘Ace and Deuce of Piping’  concert, held in Ireland’s National Concert Hall. Since then, he has made  countless appearances at festivals and concerts in North and South America, Japan, China, and Europe. Among the many artists with whom Kieran has performed, toured or recorded are Mick Moloney and The Greenfields of America; fiddler Liz Carroll; Cape Breton fiddlers Jerry Holland and JP Cormier; Nashville songwriter Gordie Sampson; Irish vocalist Danny Doyle; the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; Bonnie Raitt on VH1 Storytellers; The Paul Winter Consort; Josh Groban; and Don Henley.

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Kieran has worked extensively in designing music for the stage, and is in  great demand as a session musician and as a teacher of Irish music. In 2002, Kieran appeared in a musical role in the Sam Mendes film Road to  Perdition. In 2006-2007, Kieran was the featured uilleann pipes and tin  whistle player on Broadway for the new musical The Pirate Queen, written  by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and produced by John  McColgan and Moya Doherty of Riverdance. In 2007-8, Kieran was a  featured performer on the PBS special presentation “Celtic Origins” with  the Irish choral group ANÚNA. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 as a soloist with the New York Pops Orchestra under the baton of Steve  Reineke. Most recently, with his wife the fiddler Liz Knowles, Kieran toured  the world for over four years as musical director, contractor, and performer  with the France-based show Celtic Legends.

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Kieran serves on the Board of Directors of Na Píobairí Uilleann in Dublin, Ireland, an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of uilleann piping worldwide.

 

Pat Broaders, Beginning Uilleann Pipes

Pat Broaders grew up in Dublin, the son of parents from Wexford. He began his journey in traditional music at the age of eight, and attended the School of Music in Chatham Street in Dublin. He started out on the whistle, and later moved on to the uilleann pipes under the tutelage of Leon Rowsome. He took up the bouzouki in 1988, inspired by the sounds he grew up hearing from bands like Planxty, and the popularity of the instrument in Dublin’s vibrant traditional music scene. Pat’s singing began naturally enough. His father was a singer, and having grown up around Dublin’s singing tradition, it was a natural step for him. Pat’s repertoire today reflects his interest in the great songs of the Irish tradition as well as songs and ballads from the English and Scottish traditions.

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In the early ’90s, Pat followed a girl named Sara from Dublin to Chicago, married her and today has a thriving family and career in Chicago, a city associated with many prominent Irish musicians. On top of holding one of the longest running gigs in the history of Chicago (and possibly the world), he has performed and recorded with Dennis Cahill, Liz Carroll, and Martin Hayes, as well as a host of other musicians in and around Chicago. He has also fostered a healthy career outside of Chicago, playing with such musicians as John Doyle, Paddy O’Brien, Mick O’Brien, Robbie O’Connell, and Danú. For years, he worked with the Norwegian new age musical group Secret Garden and he has had a long-standing relationship with Kongshavan Studios and their many musical projects in Norway. He has performed on numerous national commercials and jingles in the US and Ireland.

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Pat has had a long-time performing career with Jimmy Keane and their group Bohola. “Pat is a real veteran of the Irish music scene both here and abroad, playing, recording, and performing with many artists and bands over the years. Pat has this acute sense of music and rhythm that enables him to “lock in” his bouzar (bass bouzouki & guitar hybrid) playing to whatever I might do musically and rhythmically. The synergy that results spurs on Bohola and draws in the audience. And his singing is brilliant – if I could sing, I’d love to sing like Pat,” writes Jimmy.

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Pat toured with Celtic Legends in an incredibly demanding role as the sole backer and singer in the show, an Irish music and dance show that has toured Europe, Asia and South America. When he is not performing, Pat teaches the pipes and operates PipedreamStudio. He has engineered albums for Liz Knowles, Larry Nugent, and Celtic Legends, and tracks for Bohola and Liz Carroll.

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Liz Knowles, Fiddle

Liz Knowles has brought her distinctive sound—the fire and finesse of Irish fiddle music combined with the tonal richness of the classical violin—to concert stages and festivals across the world. Her auspicious beginnings as the fiddler for Riverdance and as soloist on the soundtrack for the film Michael Collins established her as a virtuosic and versatile performer, and she has since performed as soloist with such orchestras as the New York Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. Liz was a member of the renowned Cherish the Ladies, played on Broadway with The Pirate Queen, traveled the world for over four years as Music Director and performer with the wildly popular Celtic Legends and, today she performs with another all-star female super-group,the highly acclaimed String Sisters.

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Liz first distinguished herself as a violinist in New York City, performing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Broadway, with such artists such as Marcus Roberts, the Bang-on-a-Can Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Paula Cole, Steve Reich, Eliot Goldenthal, Rachel Barton, Don Henley, and Tim O’Brien. It was also in New York that she discovered her true passion for Irish music. Today, she is well respected on both sides of the Atlantic as a player, composer and teacher. Her compositions and arrangements of tunes and songs have been recorded and performed by John Whelan, Flook, Chicago’s Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, Liz Carroll, Beolach, Bachue,J.P. Cormier, Michael Black, John Doyle, and Ensemble Galilei.

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Liz is established as a well-known and sought-after teacher of Irish music. She has taught at many tionols and week-long workshops across the US and in Ireland and she is a regular at the Swannanoa Gathering for their Celtic and Fiddle weeks.

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