Musicians rally in concert for quake children
MORE than 20,000 people were killed or remain unaccounted for following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 last, in Japan.
At least 200 children were orphaned and over 1,100 lost parents in the disaster on the Pacific coast of Tohoku. For those who remain, life has completely changed.
At St. Ann’s Church, on Dublin’s Dawson Street on Thursday night next, a benefit concert (Aid Japan for Children) featuring some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, will take place to raise funds to assist charities working to provide relief to earthquake victims in Japan, particularly children.
Triona Marshall, harpist with The Chieftains and one of the main organisers of the gig, explains: “This concert is in aid of those children who were affected by the tsunami in March. There are a lot of people in Japan trying to create situations where these children improve their lot. They’ve been taken care of in terms of their physical needs, but many are suffering post-traumatic stress,” she says. “We are putting the effort in to try and help these children. So the fundraising from this concert will go directly to charities and organisations that are helping the children,” according to Marshall.
Who can we expect to see taking the stage on Thursday night?
“Well we’ve got Ciaran Tourish from Altan, as well as Kevin Conneff and Sean Keane of The Chieftains,” she replies. “Tim Eady is a fine guitarist and we’ve also got flute-player Paul McGrattan.
“Martin Tourish, who plays piano-accordion, is an amazing composer and he’s written a piece especially for this concert. So we’ll finish off the night with it,” she says. “My brother, who’s called Ranjo on the poster but whose real name is Thomas Charles Marshall, will play an instrument called the biwa — it’s basically a Samurai lute. When Charlie was over there for 11 years, he studied with a master. The Samurai learn history and recite it through singing and accompanying themselves on the biwa,” reveals the harpist. “I’ll be performing in the company of Alyth McCormack. She a wonderful Scottish singer from the Isle of Lewis — she and I work as a duo as well as touring with The Chieftains. Sean McKeon, the uillean piper, will be there as well as soprano Frances Marshall, who’s a cousin of mine. We’ll also have Philip Horan playing an instrument called a shakuhachi, which is a type of Japanese flute. We’ve got Conor McEvoy on fiddle, John Blake on guitar and Michael Lee will be the presenter for the night.”
Triona’s musical links with Japan are strong and longstanding, so it’s no surprise that she is a major driving force behind this worthy and commendable fundraiser.
“Well, as I said, my brother Charlie lived in Japan for 11 years, so we have a lot of friends there. I’ve been there on numerous occasions with The Chieftains and other groups. I’ve worked a lot with Japanese musicians, so there is a link there all the time."
“When the idea came up for the concert and people approached me about it, obviously I was delighted to get involved. Anyway, most of the other musician’s on Thursday’s bill have also been to Japan, so it’s nice to be able to do something for the people affected by the tsunami,” she states.
Marshall would also like to make it known that all her fellow musicians in The Chieftains have been incredibly supportive in helping to get this special concert off the ground.
Right now the six-time Grammy award-winning ensemble are putting the finishing touches to a new album Voice of Ages, to celebrate their 50th anniversary, which occurs next year. Release date is February 21.
“We’ve been busy in the studio for the last few months and I seem to be in there every second day for a while now,” says Marshall. “Paddy (Moloney) went to the States recently. He’s off in LA mastering the album at the moment. It was co-produced by Paddy and T-Bone Burnett.
“It’s interesting because of the many guests on it, such as The Decemberists, The Punch Brothers, The Secret Sisters, The Low Anthem, The Civil Wars, Pistol Annies, Lisa Hannigan, Paulo Nutini, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Imelda May and Bon Iver. The stuff we’ve been doing in the studio is really great,” professes Triona, “and I’ve been enjoying it very much. It’ll be a lot of fun to get that out next year.”
The Chieftains 2012 US tour will kick off in Santa Barbara on February 17th and will culminate with a special 50th Anniversary St. Patrick’s Day show at New York’s Carnegie Hall on March 17.
Aid Japan For Children at St. Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin tomorrow at 8pm. Doors 7.30pm. Tickets €15.00, in advance from www.tickets.ie or at the door on the night.
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