The sounds of the season are about to kick off at the Salem Grand Theater with a one-of-a-kind Celtic concert. Seasonally-themed music will put you in the holiday spirit. Musicians Hanz Araki and Kathryn Claire are proud to present a series of unprecedented concerts that bring some of the strongest and most beautiful elements of the Celtic tradition.
Kathryn Claire, violinist, and Hanz Araki, Irish flute player, bring ancient carols and foot-stomping jigs and reels. They share the spotlight with poetry, dance, and even a short Mummers’ play from songwriter Matthew Hayward-Macdonald.
Hanz is looking forward to coming to the Grand. “Salem has always given us such a great response. The Grand is a beautiful place. We look forward to playing every year.”
Music, like food, has seasons. “I love playing the seasonal shows. I like having things in a theme,” said Hanz. “There is so much beautiful winter music that it is nice to play in its appropriate season.”
“People can expect a feeling of a show,” said Claire. “A lot of times Celtic music is a fun feeling, but in a relaxed pub atmosphere. This theater is so beautiful and people can expect to hear vibrant, alive Celtic music that is very much arranged and has a crisp feeling. It’s not stuffy, but it is celebratory.”
This year’s concert features, in addition to Claire and Araki, Cary Novotny on guitar, all-Ireland harp champion AnnaLee Foster, Welsh-born Bodhran (Irish framed-drum) player Matty Einion Sears, and vocalist Jody Katopothis.
“Each of us brings to the table a varied collection of songs and stories that reflect the same themes of longing, love, loss, beauty, and celebration. These concerts give us the freedom to explore some of these experiences thoroughly through the music that has arisen from the last several hundred years of human existence,” said Claire.
Claire has always played music. “I started playing the violin when I was seven years old, and I have sung my whole life. I kind of feel like it is a noble and important profession. It is important to put good music into the world. I like folk music. It has a way of connecting people and something about it really creates that connection.”
When: December 22nd 7 p.m.
Where: Grand Theater, 187 High St. NE #400
Cost: $10/$12
