Monday, October 12, 2009

First Five Shows and Foxy Fender!












Hiya Everyone

We are well on the way into the start of the Fall leg of our Isle of Hope Tour with the first five shows done.
The shows have been going so well and the support of the audiences and our dedicated fans has been second to none! Thank you all so much!

We are on our way to Sioux Falls for our sixth show of the tour. It is supposed to be snowing there tomorrow and we're looking forward to seeing a white blanket and having our first snow ball fight this year!

Tinker Bell The Lost treasure CD is out and I had the pleasure of signing a few copies at our Meet and Greet tonight in Moline. Thank you to those who said they love it and keep an eye out for the DVD that's out very soon!
Both Lisa and myself enjoyed working on the beautiful score by Joel McNeely so much.
I can't wait to see it!

We're very excited to have our new DVD and CD Songs from the Heart coming out for the holidays. We will be having our own screening soon with the whole company. It will be so great to watch it in a relaxed space and make a night of it! Those of you who made the long trip to Powerscourt House and Gardens to see the show, know how beautiful the place is and how amazing it will look. I am very excited to see and hear the end result!

The material for my concert in the New Year with the Berne Symphony Orchestra is shaping up nicely and I am so excited about it. My brother Karl is going to grace the stage with me with his versatility on all those instruments that he plays so well.
The brilliant harpist Andreja Malir is orchestrating a suite by Colm Ó Foghlú, Joel McNeely has composed and orchestrated the stunning Tinker Bell Suite and of course David Downes has a gorgeous Suite composed and orchestrated by him. I am incredibly fortunate to have all this inspired and inspiring music to play to ring in the New Year in beautiful Berne, Switzerland.

Lastly and certainly not least, I want to thank three fantastic men who, along with the rest of our crew, work so hard with us on tour. In the middle of all this work, they organized, set up and presented me with the most amazing gift, with so much thought and detail. Larry Jacobski and Joe Fronek gave me a beautiful Fender Violin called Foxy! Those are the pics above! Foxy also has been 'blessed' by an Indian lady which the baby Eagle feathers convey. The feathers are only used when they have fallen off the Eagle. She also named me Little Running Fox, a name which I am honored to have.
Larry and Joe also went and got a Marshall Amp and a row of pedals called the Pod. This was all set up by Doug Trez in a room very secretly on our first show day!
I was, and am, completely blown away! All this in a clever road case to house everything. Being Hendrix fans like myself, they suggested that since the violin is called 'Foxy', the amp should be called 'Lady'!
That's a great idea! I will definitely be practicing my Hendrix now! I still can't believe it!
Thank you so much guys for this incredibly thoughtful gift which I will treasure forever.

That's all the news for now! Keep well and enjoy the music!

Le grá,

Máiréad.