On Wednesday, August 3 at 7:30 PM The West Kortright Centre presents the renowned Irish band, Cherish the Ladies. There will be a Members Appreciation Reception at 6:30 PM. This performance is sponsored by Boynton Pro Audio. For the past twenty-five years Cherish the Ladies has displayed a spectacular blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements, and stunning step dancing, combining many facets of Irish traditional culture and delivering it with humor and polish. They are one of the most engaging ensembles in the history of Irish music.
The band took its name from a traditional Irish jig when it began in 1985 with a series of concerts in New York City organized by Dr. Mick Moloney and the Ethnic Folk Arts Center. Celebrating the rise of female musicians in a once-male-dominated scene, the troupe initially won recognition as the first all-woman traditional music and dance ensemble but soon established itself as a group of musicians and performers without peer. Under the leadership of the dynamic and irrepressible Joanie Madden on flutes and whistles, the Ladies are Mary Coogan (guitar, mandolin, and banjo), Mirella Murray (piano accordion), Grainne Murphy (fiddle), and Kathleen Boyle (piano).
The Ladies have toured all over North and South America, the United Kingdom and Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand, and have performed at the White House. They have shared the stage with the likes of James Taylor, Joan Baez, Emmy Lou Harris, The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, The Chieftains, and with dozens of symphony orchestras. The Celtic Album, their collaboration with the Boston Pops Orchestra, led to a 1999 Grammy nomination. The group has recorded twelve highly acclaimed albums, including its Christmas Album, which was chosen as one of the top Albums of the Year by the New York Times, Washington Post, Village Voice, and many other nationally syndicated newspapers.
Numerous awards and achievements include being named Best Musical Group of the Year by the BBC, Top North American Celtic Group at the Irish Music Awards, Entertainment Group of the Year by the Irish Voice newspaper, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall’s International Group of the Year at the Celtic Connections Festival, and Top North American Celtic act by NPR’s “Thistle and Shamrock.” The group has appeared on “CBS This Morning,” “Good Morning America,” “Evening at the Pops,” and on C-Span, PBS, and National Public Radio in the United States and on BBC and RTE radio and television overseas.
Tickets are $28, $24 for West Kortright Centre members, and $18 for under 19. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (607) 278-5454, or visit www.westkc.org. The Centre is located at 49 W. Kortright Church Road, East Meredith NY, 13757, midway between Oneonta, Delhi, and Stamford. Follow signs from state Route 23 in Davenport Center or state Route 10 east of Delhi. Exact travel directions can be printed from www.westkc.org.
The West Kortright Centre is funded in part by its members, donors to the 2011 Program Fund Drive, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Arthur, Dewar, O’Connor, and Robinson-Broadhurst foundations. The Centre is an active member of New York State Multi-Arts Centers Consortium, which receives funding from the New York State Council on the Arts.
