Celtic music touches the heartstrings of the community

Southampton United Church was filled to capacity on Saturday, September 22nd for an evening of Celtic music.

             Southampton United Church filled to capacity for the Celtic                                                                    Concert fundraiser

The concert featured a wide variety of melodies from old English to Welsh, Canadian Folk to Scottish and traditional spirituals to Irish.  In Southampton where many, if not most, can claim a descendancy from the  the British Isles, the concert was a harkening back to ancestral roots.  The evening began when piper, Steve Wolfe, lead the performers into the church.

Piper Steve Wolfe leads in the performers
Aria 21, who hosted the evening – (L) Christina Edwards, Liz Coates and Meghan De Jager
Liam Nicoll performed My Love is like a Red, Red Rose, a Scottish traditional

Performed in Southampton United Church, with its almost perfect acoustics and grand piano, the setting was ideal for the Celtic format that featured several performers, including the A Cappella Chamber Choir under the direction of the vivacious Jeanette Steeves, violinist Liam Nicoll, Tenor John De Jager, flautist Heather Bolton and pianist Anne Little. 

A Cappella Men’s Chorus performs Irish folksong ‘Black Velvet Band’
directed by Jeanette Steeves

Aria 21, a trio of young women, hosted the concert and performed a variety of selections that included Scarborough Fair, Frobisher Bay, Skye Boat Song, Ye Banks and Braes and many others.

Aria 21 performs the Scottish folksong ‘Skye Boat Song’

A Cappella Women’s Chorus performs the Irish folksong ‘ Mairi’s Wedding’
directed by Jeanette Steeves

When it came to the finale, all the performers sang a rousing chorus of Will Ye No Come Back Again?, a Scottish Folk Song arranged by Mark Sirett, which called for an encore where the audience also joined in.

Celtic Finale – Will Ye No Come Back Again – a Scottish folksong, directed
by Jeanette Steeves

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