Irish fiddlers Ellery Klein and Laurel Martin, along with dancer Kieran Jordan and accompanist Jim Prendergast, present a concert of traditional Irish melodies that invite us to consider our connection to the natural world. All the tunes are named after birds, farm animals, plants and natural features, composed by musicians whose lives were intertwined with the local land.

They'll be joined by Mystic River Watershed Association, who will offer a program of nature education open to people of all ages, enabling them to better observe and enjoy the natural world around them.

The traditional music of Ireland was rural music, often written by people who spent much time outdoors. As they tended their crops and flocks, they observed the changes of the seasons and the ecology around them. Hidden in the melodies and ornamentations of the tunes are bird calls, bleating ewes, and a sweet melancholy that famed fiddler Martin Hayes called the "nya."

What can these tunes offer us in today's fast-paced world? Stop and listen to these tunes from a time and people more intimately connected with, and dependent on, the natural world. Perhaps they challenge us to see if we can find an invitation to do the same in the world around you.
What is the ecology around us telling us?
What is it asking of us?
What can it give us? What can we give it in return?

Mystic River Watershed Association will offer some ways to engage with these questions. Whether in our own back yards, a local park, or the rivers that run through Medford, we don't need leave the city to find nature, and its changes with the seasons.
What is there to see, hear and experience right here in the Medford area?
How can we engage with, connect with and support the local ecology all around us?

This program is free and open to all, supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local commission that is supported by the Mass Cultural Council and the City of Medford.