Redlands, CA - The Redlands Community Music Association is proud to present "A Celtic Christmas" featuring Celtic Spring and the Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Pipe Band. Celtic music and dance will ring in the joy of the season on at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 14 at the beautiful University of Redlands Memorial Chapel.

 

Celtic Spring delighted audiences at the 2007 Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, and audience members have been requesting that they come back ever since. A fiddle and dance band, Celtic Spring includes six Wood family siblings, ages 8 through 22, and their parents. They play traditional Irish songs and perform spirited reels, jigs, and hornpipes.

           

The second-generation Irish-American children all received their musical starts with classical violin lessons and Irish dancing lessons at age 4. Elizabeth, Deirdre, Sean, Patrick, Maire, and Aidan and their parents reside in the rural Ojai Valley. The younger children are home-schooled, practicing their music and dance, playing the youth symphony, and enjoying life in the country. The older daughters teach violin and dance lessons. Their classical music study gradually yielded to their love of Irish dance music, and they pursued study of the fiddle at fiddle camps. Celtic Spring has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe at theaters, festivals and on national television, including NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” The Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, WB’s Steve Harvey Show, the Tom Joyner Show, PBS, EWTN, and Japan’s Nippon Television. In 2002 Celtic Spring was named Grand Champion of the World at the seventh annual World Championships of the Performing Arts. 

 

Joining Celtic Spring will be the Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Pipe Band, adding Scottish flavor to the event. The Pipe Band will perform Scottish favorites and also join Celtic Spring onstage for some group melody-making. In addition, prior to the event’s start, pianist Eddie Gao a Redlands High School Student and Young Artist Auditions Winner, will get everyone in the holiday spirit by playing some pre-concert Christmas music.  

 

All proceeds for this second annual Celtic Christmas event benefit the Mission Gables Bowl House which is the future home of year-round programming for the Redlands Community Music Association.

 

Tickets are $50 for preferred seating, $35 for general seating and $15 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets call the University of Redlands Events Office at (909) 748-8116 or go online to www.redlands.edu/events.