Uilleann Pipes & Fiddles Workshop

Uilleann Pipes: Beginner and intermediate pipers are invited to attend workshops with Tom Creegan, a skilled Uilleann piper who brings his talents in both performance and instruction to his students. Beginners to the pipes will meet from 10:00AM-11:30PM; intermediate pipers will attend from 1:00PM-3:00PM. Held at the beautiful and acoustically superb Littlefield Celtic Center in downtown Mount Vernon, students will enjoy both the high-level instruction and intimate, small class sizes the workshops have to offer. Tom Creegan grew up in Dublin and learning in one of the best possible environments, the Pipers’ Club in Thomas Street. He played extensively in Europe and Canada before moving to Seattle where he fell in with a bad crowd, joining the Irish Pipers’ Club, at that time under the aegis of Denis Brooks. Tom was blessed to learn much of the depth and breadth of the tradition from Denis. He has many years of teaching experience, first at the Thomas Street Pipers’ Club, and later in Seattle with Cumann na bPíobairí (Irish Pipers’ Club), as well as at many music festivals and schools. Tom has served two terms as editor of The Pipers’ Review, the club newsletter that is distributed throughout North America and to many points beyond. He continues to live in Seattle along with Lisa and sons, Dermot and Niall. Fiddles: All level of fiddlers are welcome to participate in a one-hour private lesson with Dale Russ, an excellent opportunity to develop Celtic fiddle skills, techniques, and tunes. Time slots are available at 10:00AM-11:00AM, 11:00AM-12:00PM, 1:00PM-2:00PM, and 2:00PM-3:00PM. Dale Russ has enjoyed a career of performing fiddle in the United States and abroad and has an extensive background and expertise in fiddle instruction. He first began playing the fiddle in 1973 when he moved to Washington. His intuitive talent on the instrument is evidenced through the fact that he is a self-taught fiddler, contributing as well to his excellent abilities as a fiddle instructor. Dale has taught fiddle at many workshops and music camps, including the Lark in the Morning Summer Camp in Mendocino and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend. As a performer, Dale has enjoyed touring as part of “The Suffering Gaels,” a traditional Irish band, and “Jody’s Heaven,” which has toured in Japan. Lodging: We are pleased to be able to offer our workshop participants special rates at the Best Western Skagit Valley Inn in order to allow for quick and convenient travel to and from the Littlefield Celtic Center. Guests of the Best Western can enjoy a complimentary breakfast as part of their stay. For those workshop participants who will be traveling to Mount Vernon who would like to take advantage of this special promotional rate, please call the hotel directly at 360-428-5678 and inform them you are booking under the Celtic Arts Foundation Pipes & Fiddle Workshop rate. Information about cancellations, refunds, and exchanges can be found on our Ticket Policy page.