The 2020 Irish Cultural Workshop Day at Fisher has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Below is a summary of last year's event.

Irish Cultural Day, November 2, 2019

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Want to learn an instrument? Step dance? Sing?

Join us for an afternoon of free workshops in Irish music, dance, and culture, led by members of the Rochester Irish community. This event, which had been run for 14 years at Nazareth College, has moved a mile up the street to St. John Fisher College! The Tom Finucane Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann are excited to have the event back for its fourth year at Fisher in 2019.


Location

Kearney Hall
(The building with a spire, visible from East Ave)
St. John Fisher College
3690 East Ave
Rochester, NY 14618

We'll get together on the 1st Floor in Cleary Auditorium, and disperse to classrooms at 12:30.

Parking is free! Visitors can park in the A lot, which is very close to Kearney Hall, straight ahead from the East Avenue entrance.
If parking lot A is full, lots C, D, E, and F (parking map) are also free for visitors on that day.

Gallery

Photos from previous Irish Cultural Days, courtesy of Missy Rosenberry.
Class Schedule
The schedule of workshops below is subject to change, of course. Our instructors are volunteers, and we're incredibly grateful for their help!

Gathering in Cleary Auditorium (12:00-12:30)
Bring a snack to share if you like!

Workshop Section A: 12:30-1:30
  • Irish Step Dance (competition style)
    Fisher Irish Dance Club
  • Highland Pipes (Practice Chanters ONLY)
    Gates Keystone Police Pipe Band
  • Tin Whistle (Beginner)
    James Hallahan
  • Bodhrán (Irish Drum)
    Kate Ballard
  • Harp (Demo harps available -- like a petting zoo!)
    Mary Lester
  • Fiddle (Intermediate)
    Steph Benson
  • Session Standards (All Instruments)
    Tony Scalise
  • Variation and Ornamentation (All Instruments)
    Mark Gowman
Workshop Section B: 1:45-2:45
  • Old-Style (Seán-Nos) Step Dance
    Kathy Whitfield
  • Uilleann Pipes
    Tim Benson
  • Tin Whistle (Intermediate)
    Ralph Minervino
  • Tenor Banjo and Mandolin
    Mike Keyes
  • Irish Song/Language
    Brian Clancy
  • Fiddle (Beginner)
    Mark Ballard
  • Anglo Concertina
    Jim Kimball
  • Guitar Accompaniment
    Cathy McGrath
Workshop Section C: 3:00-4:00
  • Irish Social Dance (Ceili and Sets)
    Kathy Whitfield
  • Irish Flute
    Tim Benson
  • Pipe band drumming (Practice Pads ONLY)
    Gates Keystone Police Pipe Band
  • Singing
    Mary Lester, Becky Ferrigno
  • Fiddle (Intermediate)
    Ben Goehring
  • Accordion
    Robert English
  • Hornpipes (all instruments)
    Mike Keyes​
  • Playing By Ear (starts at 3:15)
    Alyssa Rodriguez
Brief performances by dancers and the Gates Keystone Pipe Band at 4:00, followed by a Traditional Music Session!
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