R - Comhaltas Archive

Convention 2000in WashingtonIrish Music and Dance Festival at Glen Echo park, Glen Echo, Maryland2he Was,hington, DC Branch willhost CCE Convention 2000, tobe held M arch 31, Apri I 1 st and2 nd at the Hyatt Regency Hotel inCrysta l City, Virginia, overl ooking theWashington DC skyline. TheMillennium Convention promises to beone of the most exciting destinati ons forconventio(l goers in recent years. Inaddition the Convention will ta ke pl aceduring the world famous CherryBlossom Festival. The hotel is minutes'away from the Washington Monument,the Lin coln Jefferson, and VietnamMemori als, the many museums of theSmithsonian Institution, the WhiteHouse, the US Capital, Union Stationand other places of interest. The HyattRegency is located nea r the ReaganNational Airport, close to M etrorail andconven ient to major hi ghways.The CCE 2000 Convention Committeeanti cipates a se ll-out crowd and suggestthat reservati ons be made ea rl y andallow extra time for sightseeing w hile intown. Please note, separate reserva ti onsare requ ired for the ConventionProgram and the Hyatt Regency Hotel.The O' Neill Malcom Branch wasfounded in 1995 to bring severalcommittees and groups operatingindependently in the Washington areaunder a single organisational umbrella.The Branch took over the operati ons ofthe Irish Dance Festi va l of NorthernVirginia, w hi ch was founded in 1975 byM aureen M alcom. The new Branchbecame the sponsor of a major EastCoast Feis held at the end of May atGlen Echo Park in Maryland. TheBranch also assumed sponsorship of ahighly successful monthly ((:~ ili originallystarted in 1976, and held every secondSaturday of the month in Fairfax, VAFrom the early 1970's Peggy O'Neill(RIP) and Maureen M alcom ran theonly two area dance schools, and heldregular ce iHs. The Branch was namedin honour of these two women whowere vital to the estab lishment andcontinuation of trad itional Irish musicand dance in the Washington DC areaover the past several decades.Five active yearsIn the five yea rs sin ce its inception, theO'Neill M alcom Branch has institutedthe CCE Irish Festiva l held the lastSunday in May at Glen Echo Park inMaryland. This festival showcases loca lmusicians, dance schools, and bandsand is free to the Community. TheBranch also sponsors concerts andspecial events and annually hosts theNorth America n Comhaltas Tour inOctober. Classes a're an importantactivity in th e Branch, and the setdance cl asses, taught by M arilyn Moorein Virginia, and Jim Keenan inMaryland, are usually filled to capacity.The Branch award s an annual $1000scho larship. In 1998 it was awarded tobanjo player Betsy O'Malley, w hofounded Music in the Glen, a school oftraditional Irish mu sic, and, in 1999 therecipients were fiddler Tes Slominskiand uillean piper Eliot Grasso w hoeach wanted to spend time in Irelandworking on their mu sic.In addition, members of the O'NeillMalcom Branch have applied for andwon the coveted Aer LingusScholarship, awarded annually to twodeserving members from each NorthAmerican Region . Patrick Olwell, theflutemaker from Nellysford, VA was thefirst recipient from the loca l Branch.Patri ck ca me back from his trip toIreland and gave a workshop at theCCE Irish Festival on the history of theflute in Irish music. The next yearGraham DeZarn, a young fiddler whosits in at all the ceilis, wanted to attendScoil Eigse and was award ed the AerLingus scholarship.And this yea r Marilyn Moore and TesSlominski won w ith requests to studysean-n6s step dancing, and SliabhSession in Fa irfax, VA. Matgot Herrmann(piano), Brendan Ca llahan (fiddle), JimEgan (fiddle), Eliot Grasso (uilleannp ipes), Paddy League (bodhran)15