The Central Virginia School of Irish Traditional Music and Arts is a non-profit organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, dedicated to teaching the living art of traditional Irish music, as well as to fostering a dynamic environment for it in our community. This music was developed by the Irish people, both at home and in countries where they have emigrated in the last several centuries, and is now played and enjoyed by many without any familial connection with Ireland. An oral tradition, Irish traditional music is ideally transmitted from one generation to the next and from musician to musician. Deeply committed to learning and sharing this tradition, the Central Virginia School of Irish Traditional Music and Arts currently includes three teachers (fiddle, bodhran, guitar, mandolin), eight students, aged 10 to 18, and eight family members. Many of these students are homeschoolers or are enrolled in innovative school programs, and all have shown a great deal of dedication to learning the music. Our members perform extensively in the local community, both formally and informally, contributing to its cultural richness and diversity.

      The group plans to travel to Ireland in April 2000 as part of its commitment to teaching and to keeping the tradition alive and true to its roots. By traveling to Ireland, the students of CVSITMA will discover the music in its original contexts, learn repertoire, technique, and perspective from local musicians, and return to Central Virginia enriched and able to further enrich the community through performances, session playing, and presentations in the area. Or, as Alex Davis, a 13-year-old fiddle student, writes, "I hope to bring back to the community more tunes to share, stories of new Irish friends, and a deeper sense of what my music and instrument are all about." Irish traditional music is alive and well in the United States, and its popularity has been steadily growing in Irish-American communities and beyond. Paradoxically, for those who want to experience the music beyond what Riverdance or the local record store can offer, this search for the music and its historic means of transmission becomes increasingly difficult as individuals seek the real tradition that feeds pop culture's current adoration of all things Irish.

      With the quick rise to prominence Irish music and culture have seen in the last few years, the average American listener has access to productions such as Riverdance and even to concerts by Altan, Dervish, and other traditional groups. These increasingly commercialized means of getting the music to the consumer, however, often leave little room for the transmission of context or the traditional musician's perspective. To musicians in Charlottesville, VA, the urban centers of the East Coast are both geographically and conceptually distant, and without convenient access to urban Irish-American centers such as New York City or Boston, most of these students first discovered the music at concerts and through recordings. They later learned of the non-commercial, social contexts in which the music is most usually found, and now seek opportunities to experience the living tradition, not its commodified counterpart. For these young musicians and their families, this trip to Ireland will be a journey to discover the culture--people, history, literature, language, and geography--that produced this music, and that still nourishes it.

      On a more practical and less metaphysical level, the students will be able to learn directly from bearers of tradition in Ireland. From these musicians, instrument makers, and storytellers, the students will experience the tradition in a way their teachers in Central Virginia cannot hope to completely replicate at home. Obviously, with this participation in the tradition in its place of origin, we will meet many people, develop friendships with some, and above all, gain a sense of our place in the ever-evolving tradition of Irish music and arts.

      Specifically, the group plans to spend two weeks in Ireland. Students, teachers, and families will spend time in Clare (Ennis and West Clare), Kerry (Dingle and the Sliabh Luachra region), Cork city, and Dublin. In all places the students will meet and hear local musicians, participate in special demonstrations and classes arranged along the way, and explore some of the historical and cultural sites these areas have to offer. Opportunities for learning the music and its context will include master classes with musicians representing the regional styles of West Clare, Sliabh Luachra, and Donegal, demonstrations of the traditional arts of flute and bodhran making, and participation in community gatherings such as Frank Custy's Friday night music classes. Both teachers, Tes Slominski and Sara Nisenson, are well-traveled in Ireland and know many musicians in the areas the group will visit. In her travels this autumn as a Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Living Tradition scholarship award winner, Tes will arrange classes and activities for the group's trip next spring.

      Opportunities for community enrichment when the group returns are numerous. The region supports two Irish sessions, the Tighe School of Irish Dance, an Irish Cultural Society, and undergraduate and graduate Irish interest groups at the University of Virginia, so traditional music fits a definite and growing niche in Central Virginia. The group intends to offer performances and elementary and secondary school presentations, and will find many opportunities to share their experiences and tunes, not only with other players of Irish music, but also with musicians in the local old-time music scene. Last, this group takes seriously its role as representatives of Central Virginia, and by traveling to Ireland will demonstrate the cultural richness and diversity our region offers.