An evening with harper and singer Dominique Dodge is planned at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, at the Denmark Arts Center.
Her new album, “Cànan nan Teud” (The Language of the Strings) features archivally-sourced Gaelic songs from Cape Breton and explores the relationship between Puirt-à-Beul (mouth music) and traditional dance music.
Recorded in live takes at the historic Glencoe Mills Parish Hall in Cape Breton, the project features lively groups of dance tunes played and sung with lift and skill. The sound is buoyed by the warm and resonant fiddle work of Kenneth MacKenzie and Rosie MacKenzie, while percussive dancer Jennie MacKenzie provides the clear, crisp rhythm of leather soles on the hardwood floors of the hall. Choruses are joined by a group of local Gaelic singers.
Dominique has a passion for melody-driven dance music and responsive, rhythmic accompaniment, as well as for Gaelic songs, airs, and 18th century harp tunes. A Fulbright Scholar and a 2012 graduate of the University of Limerick with an MA in Irish Music Performance, Dominique also holds a BA Honours in Scottish Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. In addition to her work as a highly regarded performing artist, Dominique is a fluent learner of Scottish Gaelic and an experienced traditional arts educator.
The Denmark Arts Center is an award-winning 501(c)3 cultural organization founded in 1994 in the rural community of Denmark. Housed in the town’s historic 1883 Odd Fellows Hall, the DAC offers year-round events and workshops in contemporary dance, theater, music and visual art to community members young and old. DAC is at 50 West Main St., Denmark. For more information, visit http://www.denmarkarts.org.
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