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Bands bring international music to MUH Art Series

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer 6:23 PM Thursday, January 28, 2010

HAMILTON — Miami University-Hamilton’s Artist Series starts the new year with a double dose of international sounds via Solas and the April Verch Band.

The two groups play at  7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at the university’s Parrish Auditorium.

“We had not done some Celtic music in awhile and we wanted to see how that would work for us,” sad Howard Epstein, the director of the series. “We thought these would be a good combination. Both groups have female fiddle players.”

April Verch is a fiddler, singer and step-dancer from the Ottawa Valley region of Ontario, Canada, but her musical roots are truly international. Being raised in the Ottawa Valley gave Verch early exposure to a wide variety of music, with influences ranging from German to Scottish to Polish to French.

“We do a little bit of bluegrass and a couple of things have Latin in them,” Verch said. “We kind of play a mix of stuff from our albums and we supplement that with some of our favorites. We’re passionate about a lot of things, and that’s why we try so many.”

Asked what makes the band’s sound stand out, Verch said, “For me, it starts with the instrumentation and the arrangement. How we treat (the music) between the instruments is a big part of it.”

Solas is well known as one of the most popular Celtic groups from the U.S. and has played numerous well-known folk festivals, including Alberta, Canada’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and Milwaukee’s Irish Fest; but also the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the chamber music summer series at Steamboat Springs, Colo.

The founding members still with the group include Seamus Egan, who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistle, guitar and bodhran; and fiddler Winifred Horan. According to its official Web site, Solas is set to release a new album in February called “The Turning Tide.”

Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and staff and $15 for students and children younger than 12. Purchase tickets online at www.tickets.muohio.edu or by phone at (513) 529- 3200.

Upcoming concerts in the MUH Artist Series include Bela Fleck on Feb. 22 and Blue Highway on Feb. 27. On March 27, the John Cowan band replaces Hal Ketchum, who canceled due to illness.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.

How to go

What: Solas and the April Verch Band

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30

Where: Parrish Auditorium, Miami University Hamilton, 1601 University Blvd.

Cost: $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and staff and $15 for students and children younger than 12. Purchase tickets online at www.tickets. muohio.edu or by phone at (513) 529-3200.

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