25th Annual St. Patrick's Open Day

Isaac Alderson was born in Chicago and grew up there until he reached the age of 18. Growing up, his father often played several instruments at home and encouraged him to experiment with music. At age 12, Isaac first heard the captivating sound of the uilleann pipes and was immediately hooked. For the rest of his teenage years, he took advantage of access to the Irish music community in Chicago and the greater region, studying with pipers such as Al Purcell, Kieran O'Hare, and Patrick Cannady. He also studied the Irish flute and tin whistle with the great Laurence Nugent, who made the greatest impact on Isaac’s understanding of music at that time in his life. In 2002, Isaac was named senior champion at the the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil on each of his three instruments. He remains the only American ever to achieve such a victory. At 18, Isaac moved to New York and enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College while immersing himself in the city’s music scene. After finishing his studies, he became a full-time musician, and has had the good fortune ever since to travel the world as a performer. He has been a member of several groups over the years, including the great fiddler Eileen Ivers’ band, the baroque and Celtic music group Ensemble Galilei, the iconic show Riverdance, and the hit Broadway musical Come From Away. He also founded, together with his friends and collaborators, the acclaimed group The Yanks, whose two albums have received much attention and praise in the traditional music community in Ireland and beyond. As an instructor, Isaac has conducted bagpipe, flute, and tin whistle classes and workshops at many events throughout the United States, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, and Belgium. He is also a dabbler on the saxophone, a lover of cats, a dedicated student of the Spanish language, and an enthusiastic experimenter with Indian cooking.

Anna Colliton’s lively and inventive playing has made her one of America’s leading exponents of the bodhrán. Based in New York City, she has shared the stage with Cherish the Ladies, Eileen Ivers, the Paul McKenna Band, and many more. Anna lived in Orlando, Florida, from 2013 to 2017 and performed daily as part of a residency at Walt Disney World. After returning to New York, she was a sub for the bodhrán chair with the original company of the Broadway hit Come From Away. 

Anna has performed and taught at festivals across the country, including Catskills Irish Arts Week, The Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week, The O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, CCE MAD Week, and Augusta Celtic Week, to name a few. As a teacher dedicated to advancing the tradition of bodhrán playing, she inspires students of all levels to incorporate both “the old” and “the new” into their playing, emphasizing the importance of both personal style and ear training in traditional music.

Brooklyn-based fiddler Pat Mangan is a two-time All-Ireland champion. He studied with Brian Conway, one of the most prominent exponents of the “New York/Sligo” style, and was mentored by legendary fiddlers including Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds. Pat made his Broadway debut at age 16 with Riverdance on Broadway and has since performed with the Grammy award-winning Irish dance production and other luminaries of Celtic music in over 30 countries on every continent. 

Recent performance highlights include the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Moya Brennan of Clannad, Lincoln Center with Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, and frequent appearances on Broadway and on tour with the hit show Come From Away. Pat is also a regular featured guest at renowned New York traditional Irish music session spots such as the 11th Street Bar and the Dead Rabbit. 

Pat has extensive experience teaching privately and in group settings, at Irish Arts Center, the Swannanoa Gathering, the Catskills Irish Arts Week, and online.

Neasa Ní Chuanaigh is a performer and puppeteer from An Spidéal, a small Gaeltacht (an Irish-speaking area) village in Connemara, Co. Galway.  Neasa is a B.A Honor graduate of drama and theatre studies from Trinity College, Dublin, and also studied at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She has primarily worked in theatre for children and young people, as a performer, facilitator, and puppeteer. Neasa has worked closely with Branar for many years, touring nationally and internationally with many shows, including Clann Lir, Croí á Mhúscailt, The Way Back Home, and How To Catch a Star. She is currently touring with the Danish theatre company Theater Refleskion, touring worldwide with the show The Bench/Baenken. Neasa has also worked with companies such as Dead Centre Theatre Company, Rosan Sensory, Fíbín, Macnas, and An Taibhdhearc. Neasa is also creating her own show, a puppetry show for children.

Autumn Rhodes is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, playing on flute, concertina, tin whistle, and uilleann pipes, as well as singing in Irish and English. She has been a professional musician since the age of 14, touring the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the UK with such groups as Soltré, The Jammy Dodgers, Mira, The Golden Gate Céilí Band, Gránna, and Buncrana, as well as with artists Maldon Meehan, Tim Hill, and Julie Henigan. She grew up in rural Northern Indiana before moving to San Francisco to start an Irish music instruction studio. She has recently relocated to New York City.

Schrey and Gareiss are members of a generation exploring new frontiers through traditional modes of movement and sound. Drawing from fiddling and percussive dance practices from Ireland and Appalachia, they combine elements of traditional repertoire, improvisation, and experimental composition, highlighting melody and sonic texture. The New York Times writes, "The two are virtuosos in their respective forms, but also in the shared art of listening." Schrey and Gareiss have presented their duo work internationally at Celtic Colours International Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Wesleyan University, the University of Michigan at Oxford University Press, Wheatland Music Festival, and New York's Irish Arts Center.

Matt Stapleton, a predominantly self-taught guitarist from upstate New York, is a sought-after accompanist for the Irish traditional music scene in New York City, where he operates two popular weekly sessions: Hartley’s in Brooklyn and Grace’s in Manhattan. He has backed up some of the great traditional musicians from the U.S. and Ireland and has been an artist in residence at a number of venues around the country, from Washington DC to Las Vegas, to St. Louis, to name a few.

Caitlin Warbelow hails from a family of bush pilots in Fairbanks, Alaska, and resides in Brooklyn. Formerly the violinist/fiddler for Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Come From Away, Caitlin has also performed in Riverdance's latest production, Heartbeat of Home, and as a substitute violinist for Sting's musical on Broadway, The Last Ship. Caitlin has toured and performed with Cherish the Ladies, Mick Moloney and the Green Fields of America, The Brock McGuire Band, Michael Londra and Celtic Fire, The Mickey Finns, The Prodigals, and many others. Caitlin holds honors from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the National Suzuki Conference, the New England Fiddle Championship, and the Fleadh Cheoil (All-Ireland Competition). Her 2012 CD Manhattan Island Sessions was nominated for an Independent Music Award. Caitlin received a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University and double bachelor’s degrees from Boston University in Violin Performance and Anthropology.

Alexandra Williamson was awarded the Meg Hunt Artist In Residence at the Wrangell Mountains Center, in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska for the summer of 2021. She has taught and performed at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and the Alaska Folk Festival. Alexandra attended Montclair State University receiving a BFA in dance and a minor in musical theatre. She studied Irish dancing with the Davis Academy. Alexandra attended the Morris County Academy for Visual and Performing Arts High School where she was encouraged to integrate modern and contemporary dance with traditional Irish step dancing. Alexandra has performed on the TODAY Show and Good Morning America, and has toured

Brooklyn Irish Dance Company was created for dancers, by dancers to develop new opportunities to grow as performers and establish new and innovative creative works. Since 2018, we’ve developed new choreography each year and performed throughout NYC and the surrounding Tri-State area for a variety of venues, audiences, and communities. We love to introduce the world of Irish dance to communities across NYC, and with community-based social dances like GAYLI and multi discipline events like DANCE BROOKLYN, we’ve shown how making Irish dance accessible makes everyone happier!

The IAC  Céilí band has been in existence since the 1970's.  They have performed annually at IAC’s community events, at nursing homes throughout the city, and at the NY Athletic Club. Several of their members started off as students with Irish Arts Center’s education programs. If you are interested in IAC’s class offerings our spring term just went on sale this week and will begin the week of April 11. If you are interested in joining the Céilí band please feel free to speak with the musicians after the performance.