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Tartan Day on Ellis Island to Feature Top Performers Fifth Annual Gathering Set for April 1, 2006
The Clan Currie Society returns to Ellis Island on Saturday, April 1, 2006 for their fifth annual observance of National Tartan Day. The Ellis Island program will include performances by a whole host of Scottish performers and the announcement of the 2006 Tartan Day Award winner. "We're so grateful to Ellis Island for inviting us back for a fifth year," said Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society. "This event provides an important opportunity to recognize the vast contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. Our program for 2006 represents some of the best of demonstrations of Scotland’s wonderful music and dance heritage and has been designed to be fun for the entire family.” Ellis Island is a fitting place to observe Tartan Day. The island and its historic buildings represent America's "Golden Door." From 1892 to 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island. Although many Scots arrived during the colonial period of our history – helping to build the new nation - an additional half-million Scots came through Ellis Island. It has been estimated that 40% of Americans today can trace at least one ancestor's entry into the United States through Ellis Island. The Tartan Day event runs from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Featured performers include Celtic fiddler Lisa Gutkin, Scottish storyteller Jeslyn Wheeless, the Mary Morrison Scottish Country Dancers, John Grimaldi - the Scottish Juggler and the St. Ann’s of Hampton Pipes and Drums. For complete ferry schedules to Ellis Island, visit: www.circlelinedowntown.com/statueFerry.html.
Lisa Gutkin – Scottish Fiddler Born in Brooklyn to a musical family, Lisa's early memories of sitting under the piano while her grandmother played, and of folk dancing with her mother, have shaped her career. While earning her Bachelor of Music degree at the Aaron Copland School, Queens College, N.Y., Lisa placed first in the Redwood Mountain Fiddle Contest, traveled to Ireland, and as part of the Fast Folk collective, performed with The Roches, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Richard Shindell, Rod MacDonald, and Jack Hardy, to name a few. For many years Lisa focused mostly on traditional Irish and Scottish music, playing and recording with some of the best musicians on either side of the Atlantic: Tommy Sands, John Whelan, Jerry O'Sullivan, Steve Cooney, Cathie Ryan, and Ed Miller, as well as with Steeleye Span's Peter Knight and Tim Harries. Respected as well for her teaching abilities, Lisa leads fiddle styles workshops at folk festivals, as well as master classes for universities and folk organizations, and many of her private students are or have gone on to become professional musicians. Her newly released solo album of original compositions, Sidewalk Angel, can be obtained from Quarket Music. Lisa is also featured on Clan Currie’s documentary film, The Crafter’s Song.
Jeslyn Wheeless – Scottish Storyteller and Folk Singer Jeslyn’s first recording, Hoot Owl Blues: Tales and Tunes to Conjure
Up a Mood, won a major national award, being named to the American Library
Association’s Notable Children’s Recordings for the Year
2000. Jeslyn’s goals as a storyteller are to share the joy, wonder, and often humor of the stories she has been fortunate to discover and learn. She especially enjoys the rapport that develops between storyteller and listeners. Her favorite quotation from a story is from Ruth Sawyer’s version of “The Peddler of Bellaghedereen,” “and he knew how to tell the stories in such a way that the children would hold them close in their hearts until they were old.”
The St. Ann’s of Hampton Pipes and Drums The band most recently celebrated their sixth appearance in the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade on March 17th. It is one of the few New Jersey Pipe bands to have this honor. In addition to their Ellis Island debut, the band will also be marching in the NY Tartan Day parade on Saturday, April 8.
About Tartan Day on Ellis Island The Clan Currie Society began its successful collaboration with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in 2002 in the coordination and sponsorship of their first Tartan Day celebration. Clan Currie and the National Museums of Scotland joined forces to host the traveling exhibit, "Home and Away: Highland Departures and Returns." The following year, the Society returned to Ellis Island, bringing with them four of Scotland's top crafters for a hands-on demonstration of their unique talents. The 2003 event was captured in the form of a documentary film entitled, "The Crafter's Song." Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor and Scottish-American, Cliff Robertson, “The Crafter’s Song” is the first documentary produced in America about National Tartan Day. The award-winning film premiered on Ellis Island as part of the 2004 Tartan Day celebration. That year, Clan Currie hosted “Loyalty & Exile: The Jacobites and America,” which examined Scots during the Jacobite era in 18th century Scotland. Clan Currie plans to screen “The Crafter’s Song” as part of the April 1 ceremonies. For 2005, Clan Currie produced a new exhibit in honor of John Muir, the conservationist, author, and environmental activist largely renowned as the “father of America’s national parks”. The exhibit traced his remarkable life journey from his days exploring the moors, mountains, and shoreline surrounding his childhood home in Scotland, to his lasting legacy as America’s first passionate conservationist. Since 2004, Tartan Day on Ellis Island has been home to the announcement of the national Tartan Day Award recipient, honoring a leading contributor to the recognition of Scottish-American values. About National Tartan Day
About The Clan Currie Society The organization started as a family name society in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959 to further the knowledge and appreciation of the MacMhuirich bardic dynasty. The MacMhuirichs (the Gaelic name for Currie) served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. The Red Book of Clanranald, one of Gaelic Scotland’s literary treasures, was penned by successive generations of the MacMhuirich family. Today, the organization is a leading American-based foundation that focuses on celebrating the Scots-Gaelic origins of the Currie name as well as producing outstanding programs and events to honor Scotland’s rich culture and ancestry. For additional information about Clan Currie and the Ellis Island Tartan Day observance, contact the Clan Currie Society at (908) 273-3509, via e-mail at clancurrie@mail.com or by visiting their Web site at www.clancurrie.com.
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