Submitted by Timberland Regional Library
Experience traditional live Irish music at an Irish Seisiún at a reunion of Olympia’s “Columbia Street Seisiún.” An after-hours gathering at the Olympia Timberland Library features locals Burt and Di Meyer, Dusty Rhodes and other regulars on Thursday, November 8 at 7:15 p.m. Listen, join the players or dance; the event is free and open to the public.
Burt Meyer’s website provides the uninitiated a picture that describes what a seisiún (or session) is all about: “Half a dozen ‘regulars’ lay down a strong foundation on fiddle, concertina, guitar, banjo, flute, mandolin, and penny whistle. The sound swells as the ‘occasionals’ add instruments, such as bodhran (Irish frame drum), button accordion, harmonica, bass, cittern, bones, and several sorts of bagpipes. After 3 or 4 tunes the musicians give their fingers a rest as an unaccompanied voice leads a song with a chorus for all, patrons included, to sing along.”
The website, http://home.comcast.net/~burtdabard/seisiun.html, includes a link to a printable list of tunes frequently played at seisiúns.
Irish seisiúns take place all over the world, usually in pubs and taverns. Burt Meyer and Kevin Gow started open seisiúns at Clancy’s Public House on Columbia Street in downtown Olympia in the early 1990s. The gatherings caught on and 15 to 20 players and an appreciative audience would show up to play and enjoy the music of the group that became known as the “Columbia Street Seisiún.” Over the years it changed venues and finally ended a few years ago.
The Olympia Timberland Library will host one more world music concert for the season: holiday music with Cantabile, the advanced women’s group with the Olympia Youth Chorus on December 14. The library is at 313 8th Avenue SE. For more information, call (360) 352-0595 or visit www.TRL.org.
