By Oregon Coast TODAY
If the bright tunes and fiery fiddle playing of many Celtic music orchestras isn’t enough for you, check out the Celtic Light Orchestra, whose mix of modern technology and classic-style music will leave you reeling.
Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day early with the group at the Lincoln City Cultural Center on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9.
The multimedia production involves rousing Irish jigs and reels, dazzling LED lights, Irish dance, soaring stilt walkers and more.
The Celtic Light Orchestra is the world’s only such orchestra. Each one-of-a-kind production features Celtic fiddle music played on the group’s revolutionary patented LED light up violin bows that react to players’ movements and dance with the music. The performance includes traditional Celtic instrumentation, Irish step dancing, Celtic folklore, dazzling lights and theatrical storytelling.
The orchestra features Celtic fiddle virtuoso and Portland-based music teacher Katie Jane Lubiens, also of the Katie Jane Band. The spirited fiddler started the light orchestra to share her love of Celtic music and culture with audiences of all ages. Many of the orchestra members are students of Lubiens, and many are school music teachers with a shared passion for making Celtic music and traditions accessible to everyone.
Lubiens’ dynamic performances with the orchestra and the Katie Jane Band feature virtuosic, high-speed fiddling. The Katie Jane Band performs traditional and original fiddle music spanning Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada and the U.S. Their music includes a joyful journey through the folklore of Celtic music and engaging storytelling.
With the Katie Jane Band, Lubiens has performed at Celtic festivals, the Scottish Highland Games and theaters up and down the West Coast. Some notable performances include the Pleasanton Scottish Gathering, headlining the Celtic Fantasy Faire in Portland, headlining the Douglas County Scottish Highland Games and performing the live music for Artist Repertory Theater’s production of “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart.”
Lubiens grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied classical violin and then under the world touring gypsy violinist Greg Mazmanian. In 2008, she attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where she led the symphony orchestra under the baton of Jason Altieri. While at the university, she performed up and down the West Coast with the classically driven Silver Strings Quartet and the traditional Irish band Whisky Before Breakfast.
In addition to performing, Lubiens also started the musical outreach program Hands On Music, where she takes old or damaged instruments and gives them a new life with fun painted themes and inviting colorful lights. The Katie Jane Band takes these instruments to school assemblies, music festivals and family-friendly events all over the Northwest so that kids of all ages can try playing an instrument for the first time. Their Magical Music Petting Zoo has been a huge part of their passion and goal to share the love of music making with future generations.
The St Patrick’s Day parties start at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, at 540 N.E. Highway 101. For more information, go to www.lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.
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