Listen to Liz Carroll and Cormac McCarthyLiz Carroll with Cormac McCarthy
Is she the best fiddler in the world? Many would say 'Yes!' and receive little argument here or elsewhere.
— The Irish American News
April 14th • 8:00pm
Glaser Center, Santa Rosa
Since she was 18, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, Liz and her fiddle have been amazing audiences around the globe. In recent years, she has been honored with many accolades, including the nomination for a 2010 Grammy, along with John Doyle, for their duet album, "Double Play." And in April of 2011, Liz was awarded the Cumadóir TG4, the first American-born composer honored with Ireland's most significant traditional music prize.
Liz published a book of her compositions in 2010. Entitled "Collected," it includes a remarkable compendium of music that Liz began composing when she was just a child. Those tunes, as well as Liz's vital performances on concert stages, television and radio, have established Liz as one of traditional music's most sought after performers.
"Lost in the Loop," released in 2000, won Liz new fans around the world, as it garnered an Indie Award and Liz being named Traditional Performer of the Year for 2000.
Not that that's the first time a solo record by Liz has been praised. Liz's first solo, in 1988, "Liz Carroll," was chosen as a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress, no less. That same recording was called "a milestone achievement in the career of a fiddler reaching beyond herself," by noted critic Earle Hitchner.
It should be noted that Liz's recordings are in the majority her own compositions, and they have given her a stature equal to that of her playing. When you listen to her, you're hearing the tunes of a composer celebrated for invigorating the traditional styles of Irish music.
Cormac McCarthy is a Cork-born composer and pianist who has recently moved to Chicago. He began studying piano aged four and soon after, discovered the joy of composition.
His teenage years saw him develop both disciplines in tandem, studying with Mary Beattie and George Dunne at the Cork School of Music whilst receiving masterclasses from the likes of Philip Martin, Eva Poblocka, Barry Harris, Carola Grindea, Dr. Billy Taylor and Edward Simon. He received a first class honours Bmus from the Cork School of Music in 2007 (majoring in piano performance) and went on to complete a Masters in Composition under C.S.L. Parker, graduating in 2009.
In 2010 Cormac received the prestigious Bill Whelan International Music Bursary, an award earmarked for young Irish composers studying abroad. As a composer Cormac is looking to explore the synthesis of the different musical styles at his disposal, and create an aesthetic of interest and genuine cultural value. He has been commissioned as a composer/arranger by such ensembles as The Dublin City Jazz Orchestra, CSM Jazz Big Band, CSM Concert Orchestra, Cork Pops Orchestra, DePaul Jazz Ensemble, and The Medium Ensemble. His arrangement of world-renowned drummer, Jeff Hamilton's, Time Passes On has just been released on a new CD recorded live at Chicago's Jazz Showcase, featuring Jeff Hamilton on drums. He is currently a graduate jazz studies student at DePaul University, Chicago.