The Rock Island Public Library welcomes the next Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artists in residence, Grosse Isle, to the Watts-Midtown Branch at 1:00 pm on Monday, March 18. The traditional trio specializes in the music of Quebec and Ireland.
The Rock Island Public Library is one of several community sites to welcome the next Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artists in residence, Grosse Isle.
Grosse Isle brings the traditional tunes of Canada’s Irish and French cultures to the Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch at 1:00 pm on Monday, March 18. The performance starts at 1:00 pm in the Watts-Midtown Branch auditorium, 2715 30th Street. The event is free and open to all ages.
According to “The Irish Music Magazine”, the traditional music trio Grosse Isle was born out of the “absolutely magical” collaboration between three exceptional musicians from Quebec and Ireland. Together the band shines with their rich and enveloping music, featuring Sophie Lavoie du Lac-St-Jean on fiddle, piano, and vocals, with André Marchand on guitar and vocals, and Fiachra O’Regan, Irish champion on the uilleann pipes, whistle, and banjo,
The band name refers to the story of the mass arrival of the Irish in the 19th century, on Grosse Île in the St. Lawrence River, as they fled the Great Famine. It is a striking encounter between two peoples and two cultures. This special trans-generational trio take traditional Irish and Québécois traditional music and fuse them through Lavoie’s “lithe and masterful” compositions.
During their week in residence, Grosse Isle will visit eight local schools in six school districts, six area libraries, and a community organization. Students and families attending their residency activities will hear how the histories of the Irish and Quebecois people carry through the melodies of the band’s music to bring us stories and lessons from the past.
For information about other Visiting Artist performances at the Rock Island Public Library, please visit the library website, call 309-732-READ, or follow Library social media sites.
About the Visiting Artist Series
The full 2023-2024 roster of artists participating in the Visiting Artist Series includes 14 professional performing artists providing educational activities in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts creation. Residencies featuring artists from across the U.S. and around the world are scheduled through May 2024 and will focus on presenting educational performing arts-based engagements in and around the Quad Cities. For more about the series, visit the Quad City Arts website.
Since 1974, the Visiting Artist Series has engaged Quad City residents of all ages in quality arts experiences with professional performing artists. Artists of various disciplines present demonstrations, workshops, and master classes at pre-K sites, elementary, intermediate, and high schools as well as college campuses and community organizations.