Headlining this year’s Corvallis Celtic Festival is Rakish, a duo with an unusual twist to their Celtic music.
In the band is Maura Shawn Scanlin, a two-time United States National Scottish Fiddle champion and winner of the Glenfiddich Fiddle Competition alongside Conor Hearn, an excellent guitarist, according to Jennifer Parke, member of the Corvallis Celtic Festival steering committee.
Rakish will perform at PRAx on the Oregon State University campus on July 26. The Celtic Festival will take place from July 25 to 28, and is its second time being hosted by Corvallis.
“At the heart of our duo is fiddle and guitar … we both sing as well,” Scanlin said.
Parke is excited the festival is bringing “wonderful” musicians to Corvallis.
“They have a unique duo sound together,” Parke said. “They blend traditional Celtic music, traditional tunes from Scotland and Ireland, with sort of American folk traditions as well. And then they put it in an innovative twist where they are also improvising.”
The PRAx concert will start at 7:30 p.m. but attendees can come as early as 6:30 p.m. for the prelude and enjoy a Celtic harp performance in Toomey Lobby by Laura Zaerr, a harp professor at the University of Oregon. Wine, beer and cider will be available for purchase.
Tickets for the concert are available to purchase on the Corvallis Celtic Festival and PRAx websites. General public tickets cost $25, but OSU students can purchase them at $5.
“We would like to get lots of OSU’s students to come to this concert,” Parke said.
Scanlin and Hearn will also teach Celtic music workshops on July 27 at the First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis. Scanlin will teach fiddle from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Hearn will teach guitar from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Both these workshops are aimed for intermediate or advanced players of the instruments, and will have the opportunity to learn Celtic tunes.
Rakish will also give a workshop together about how to play in a band or a duo, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The duo has never played in Corvallis before and is really excited about performing here this summer, according to Hearn.
“If you haven’t heard Celtic music before this is your chance.” Scanlin said.
