First Church is sponsoring an enchanting evening of traditional music of Ireland and Scotland featuring fiddle, harp and songs. The concert will be held Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. in the church sanctuary with monetary donations for Suffield Community Aid.
The traditional Irish fiddle will be played by Jeanne Freeman. Jeanne is the founder and Director of the Connecticut Academy of Irish Music, where she has taught Irish fiddle to students of all ages. Classically trained early on, Jeanne studied Irish fiddling with friend and mentor, the late Donegal O’Donnell with whom she played and performed regularly. Jeanne has performed as the featured Irish fiddle with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and was the guest artist for Simsbury Public School’s town-wide String Festival, teaching traditional Irish music to over 200 string students. Jeanne has appeared on a number of recordings, including her solo CD, The Fiddler You Are.
Haley Hewitt is a Connecticut-based performer, composer, arranger, educator and harpist. Steeped in music from North America, Scotland and Ireland, her music has a distinctly traditional flavor. Haley has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Hartt School of Music in pedal harp performance and a Master’s Degree from the Conservatoire of Scotland in Scottish Traditional Music. Her harp playing has taken her to Carnegie Hall, Benaroya Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and won her the New England Open Scottish Harp competition in 2006 and the U.S. National Scottish Championship in 2013.
First Church is excited to welcome and host these distinguished artists and invite our Suffield community to join us in this special Concert for a Cause.