sings traditional
Irish songs in Irish and English,
composes original songs for voice, piano, and
flute,
improvises musical embellishment for storytellers,
writes and teaches about Celtic languages and
literatures,
invents stories for young and old,
shapes sounds and sense into poems.
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Kate Chadbourne has built her life’s house
at the crossroads of song, scholarship, poetry, story, and music. She holds
a Ph.D. in Celtic from Harvard where she teaches courses in Irish language,
folklore, literature, and storytelling. The stories she tells are mainly
Irish folktales and medieval legends, often embellished with harp accompaniment.
In her musical life, she travels between the world of Irish traditional
music and the worlds she imagines and creates in her original songs for
voice, piano, Irish flute, whistle, and harp. She is also a published poet
and essayist. Responding to this freedom and range, one reviewer hailed
her as a modern troubadour.
- "We were so pleased to have Kate Chadbourne
grace our stage just before Christmas. Her captivating story telling combined
with her beautiful voice and eloquent harp playing led to a wonderful evening
of song and story."
~ Ben Burdick, Events Coordinator for Kripalu Center
for Yoga & Health
- "Kate Chadbourne has twice had audiences
at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology standing in the aisles, enthralled,
and singing along to songs they barely knew, led by her silver voice and
the crystal-clear tones of her harp, as they effortlessly learned the depths
and mysteries of traditional Celtic culture. We hope to have her again."
~ Kevin P. Smith, Deputy Director/Chief Curator of the Haffenreffer Museum
of Anthropology (Brown University)
Kate’s performances often set a traditional
Irish tale alongside an original song, or a newly-minted poem next to a
set of reels. Listeners encounter a blend of the ancient, the modern, and
the quirkily idiosyncratic. Whether she is singing, telling stories, teaching,
or sharing a poem, she aims to leave her audiences moved, enlivened, and
eager for their own adventures. Kate has performed at the following:
Colleges and Universities ~ Harvard
University; Boston College; University College Galway (Ireland); Magee College,
University of Ulster (Derry, Northern Ireland); University College Cork
(Ireland); Johnson & Wales University; Providence College; Bridgewater
State College; Plymouth State College; Western Michigan University; Celtic
Institute of North America
Libraries, Festivals, Conferences, and Museums
~ Castle Hill (Ipswich); The Haffenreffer Museum (Providence); The Mariposa
Museum (Peterborough, NH); The Goodnow Public Library (Sudbury); The Irish
Cultural Center (Canton); The 1714 Meeting House, Lynnfield Historical Society;
Smithsonian Odyssey Tour of Ireland; Sharing the Fire Storytelling Festival;
The Saco Museum (Saco, ME); Cary Memorial Library (Lexington); Maine Writers’
Conference; Revels Salon Series, Commander’s Mansion (Watertown)
Art Centers, Coffeehouses, and Concert Halls
~ Club Passim (Cambridge); Red Door Coffeehouse (Framingham); The Center
for Arts (Natick); First Parish Church (Watertown); Amazing Things Art Center
(Natick); Bookseller Café (Medford); The Emerson Umbrella (Concord);
Springstep Performing Arts Center (Medford); Portland Stage Company (Portland,
ME); The Performing Arts Center (Westford); Café Ziba (Acton); The
Java Room (Chelmsford); The Side Door Coffeehouse (Jamaica Plain); King
Hooper Café (Marblehead)
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