Sheila
Shigley was raised in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was there that she
and younger sister Candace acquired a deep love for Irish, Scottish
and Welsh music from their
parents, Barbara and Gordon Shigley, themselves avid musicians. Nestled
beneath majestic Hi Junk Peak in the jungled hills overlooking Clearwater
Bay, the tightly-knit missionary community spent a good deal of time
engaged in musical pursuits, including frequent hymn-singing. Sheila
was always particularly fond of the early American hymns, sung as they
were in English or various dialects of Chinese! Her interest in Irish
music was rekindled in the early 1980’s when she and Candace began to
listen regularly to public radio broadcasts of The
Thistle and Shamrock, writing out phonetic lyrics from
Máire Ní Bhraonáin’s
solos or dancing unrestrained “Irish" dances to the faster tunes
(usually at this point banished by Mama to the basement.) When Enya
came out with an album which included printed Irish lyrics, the sisters’
interest turned towards the language; with the help of this and other
albums by groups such as Clannad
and Altan, they began learning to
read Irish. In 1997, Sheila attended an Irish-language weekend featuring
sean-nós singers Lillis Ó Laoire and Áine Ní Mhuineacháin. This was
her first exposure to the live sean-nós tradition. Lillis and Áine generously
tolerated and encouraged the little cluster of enthusiasts gathered
round them each night and into the wee hours; by the time the last song
had died away, Sheila was hooked. She currently divides her time between
researching Celtic music traditions and teaching a beginning Irish class
in her now-hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.
Elizabeth
Simcock (still the same girl, but married in October!) has spent
most of her life living in Madison, with short stints in Ireland
and Germany. She spent a year living in Dublin and studying Geography
at Trinity
College only
to come away addicted to the language and the music. She is grateful
to the people who were around her when she first tried hopelessly
to say go raibh maith agat! In the last few years she has had the
opportunity to spend time in Hannover, Germany, performing as a
guest singer with various top German Irish groups including Steampacket,
The More Maids, DeReelium,
and An Tor. This also allowed
the chance for a side trip to France to hear a local choir perform
Navan's
"Tuar Guil, a Cholaim, Do Cheol" (magical) and to join for
part of a tour with Donegal-based L'Echappée Belle.
Paul
Gorman was born in Madison, WI and has lived in and around the area
ever since. His interest in music began as early as grade school, leading
him to involvement in a number of choral groups. Following the production
of a choral Christmas album with his high school (the only one of us
to have made it onto vinyl!), he continued to pursue his interest as
a member of the Blue Falcon Air Force Choir. Paul received a degree
in photography in 1994, and now dedicates his time to his life as a
photographer, his love of a cappella vocals, and his study of the Irish
language (actually he's been wandering further into Welsh just lately...).
26
June 2000
