Day: April 12, 2016

Rose Sheehan and Colin de la Barre Sing Songs of Spring at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church Saturday, April 16 at 7:00 PM

Mother and son acapella duo Rose Sheehan and Colin de la Barre of Gloucester, MA will sing traditional and traditionally inspired songs of the British Isles and North America in celebration of Spring on Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church vestry. Entrance is at 10 Church Street. Admission is $10 at the door.

Rose Sheehan, a life-long native of Massachusetts, grew up enjoying music of all genres, happily singing in church and school choirs.  At age 19, she was introduced to the world of traditional music and dance and was smitten with the sound.  After settling in Boston, she formed a musical duo with Bob Doucet. They performed throughout the Northeast region at coffeehouses and small taverns including the Nameless Coffeehouse, Cambridge, the Pressroom, NH, the Thirsty Whale, ME and at Toronto’s Fiddler’s Green.

Following that partnership, Rose became a dance musician for Morris Dance, an English ritual dance form. She was soon attending dance events where she learned songs from John Roberts and Tony Barrand, Ian Robb and others.  She studied vocal technique with Anabel Graetz and Frankie Armstrong.  John Langstaff cast Rose as a solo vocalist in a production of the Spring Revels.

Eventually Rose moved to the Greenfield area and started a family.  Her musical interests became community oriented.  She founded two participatory events: Montague May Celebration and Welcome Yule! A Midwinter Celebration.  Both events have run for over 30 years and continue to be presented annually, involving hundreds of participants of all ages in song and dance.  During that time, Rose sang in a small vocal ensemble directed by Susan Waters alongside Rani Arbo of Salamander Crossing.

Colin de la Barre grew up in western Massachusetts in a musical household, attending his first musical event at age two months.  When asked, Colin says he began singing with his mom in his late teens.  Rose asserts that they’ve been “singing together since before he was born!”

Colin demonstrated his talent for music and rhythm as a very young child, dancing before he could speak.  He played fiddle during his middle childhood years, easily picking up tunes by ear.  He performed annually in the children’s chorus of Welcome Yule! and sang in school choruses.  One day he started singing along with his parents in harmony and soon began making performance appearances with them at venues including the Mystic Sea Music Festival and the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival.

As a duo, Rose and Colin are especially known for their inspired harmonies and rich blend of familial voices.

They have led workshops and presented concerts for the Folklore Society of Greater Washington and once paired with Ann Mayo Muir and her daughter Christina Muir to co-lead a harmony singing workshop.  They have performed at the Indian Neck Folk Festival, the New England Folk Festival and at local north shore coffeehouses. In 2014 they were selected as juried showcase performers for the North East Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Kerhonkson, NY.