Key Chorale Opens the Season with Equinox: A Celtic Celebration

September 9 – Sarasota

With the change of the seasons from the haze of summer to the cool of fall, comes the Celtic autumnal equinox festival, called Mabon. It is a time when we recognize the need for balance in our lands, our lives, in what we harvest, and what we store for the coming winter months.  

Key Chorale’s season kicks off on September 24 with “Equinox: A Celtic Celebration.” Tenor Brad Diamond joins Foley’s All-Star Irish Band and Key Chorale performing jigs, reels, folk songs, and timeless choral music inspired by the Emerald Isle. 

Guest artists include Dylan Foley, one of the great fiddle players of our time and a 4-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion; Brian Hanlon, renowned singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; Northern Ireland born uilleann piper and whistle player Eamonn Dillon; Sean Cunningham on Irish flute and tin whistle; and Stephen Humphries, national hammered dulcimer champion and freelance percussionist. 

“I am so excited about making music with Foley’s All-Star Irish Band,” said Maestro Joseph Caulkins. “This music has such a rich heritage, and each of these gentlemen are among the best in the country performing authentic Celtic music. To hear these instruments played by such consummate musicians will be an unforgettable experience.”  

Audiences will enjoy traditional favorites like “The Rocky Road to Dublin,” “Annie Laurie,” and “Danny Boy,” alongside lesser-known gems like “Lanigan’s Ball,” “Paddy Works on the Railway,” and an original work, “I Will Arise and Go Now,” by Shawn Kircher scored for choir and soprano Lily Wohl, with Stephen Humphries on dulcimer.  

Come early and experience the pageantry and grandeur of Scottish pipes and drums. Blue Skye Pipes and Drums, an all-female band, showcasing bagpipes drums, harp and guitar, will present pre-concert music from 3:15-3:45 PM.  

The performance will take place:  

Saturday, September 24, 4:00 PM at Church of the Palms, Sarasota  

Tickets are $35-$45. For tickets, go to keychorale.org or call the box office at 941-552-8768.