Communiversity to host Celtic House Party at Music on Square

Guitarist Chris Lewis and cellist Mike Block will join U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Hanneke Cassel for a “Celtic House Party,” a Spring 2018 Communiversity offering co-hosted by Music on the Square and Bridges on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30–9:30 p.m.

Courtesy photo

The DePauw University School of Music invites the Greencastle and university communities to come together for a “Celtic House Party” on Wednesday, March 14 when U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Hanneke Cassel, cellist Mike Block and guitarist Christopher Lewis will converge for a traditional Ceilidh that’s bound to be one of the best St. Paddy’s parties this side of Chicago.

The Spring 2018 Communiversity event will take place from 6:30–9:30 p.m. at Music on the Square, 21 N. Indiana St., Greencastle.

The Boston Globe describes Cassel’s playing as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”

Local music lovers have had repeat opportunities to hear first-hand Block’s contagiously energetic music-making as the director of Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop, which DePauw has hosted each of the past three consecutive summers.

Cassel, Block’s spouse, also served on the music faculty during GMW’s inaugural 2015 season. Her latest release, “Trip to Walden Pond,” fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with grooves and musical innovations from the Boston Americana scene and Cassel’s Texas-style fiddle roots.

Canadian Chris Lewis, a frequent collaborator from Berklee School of Music, will join the couple at M2. Lewis has been involved with album production and performance in the Boston indie rock scene. Together, the trio creates a fresh, cutting-edge acoustic music sound that retains the integrity and soul of the Scottish fiddle tradition.

Two levels of tickets are available to the Communiversity event, both of which include hospitality by Bridges restaurant:

Tier 1 Light Bites and a Concert: $15 — Grab a drink from the cash bar, tap your toes and stomp your feet and indulge in Bridges light bites: Irish Nacho Bar, Mini Shepherd’s Pies and Pretzel Bites.

Tier 2 Sit, Dine and Dance: $40 — Lite bites plus dinner by Bridges, including: Irish Beef Stew, Bangers and Mash (Smoking Goose brats, potato puree, sausage gravy, and cranberry mostarda); or, for vegetarians, Irish Vegetable Stew, Mushrooms and Mash; topped off with a decadent slice of Irish Whiskey and Stout Chocolate Cake.

“Come downtown and soak in some Gaelic music and storytelling, pour back a stout and dance a reel at Music on the Square,” invites 21CM director Mark Rabideau, who conceived the event. “What could be luckier than that?”

Tickets can be obtained online at music.depauw.edu. For assistance or more information, contact M2 coordinator Chris Flegal at (717) 919-3692.

This activity is made possible, in part, with support from the Indiana Arts Commission, Arts Illiana and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.