The short of it...
Ellen MacIsaac lived in Ireland for four years and learned her songs directly from the old folks. She would visit with them wherever she could, in the same way Canada's Edith Fowlke collected the songs of the Maritimes. Now Ellen gives lessons at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, and has started this monthly evening of song.
The session will take place on August 30, at 7:30 pm.

The long of it...
About the session:
A session for unaccompanied singing, whether solo or in a group. The session promises to be a meeting place for singers of different styles and backgrounds to come and exchange songs, stories and styles of singing. Songs from all different traditions are encouraged, such as:
En Roulant ma Boule- Quebec/France
Zum Galli Galli - Israel
Katyusha - Russia Mbube - South Africa (Zulu)
Pleasant and Delightful - English
Being able to give some background to the song, how you learned it, or what it means to you is highly encouraged.

About the host:
Ellen MacIsaac was born and raised in Ottawa to Nova Scotian parents, and has been involved in music and singing most of her life. She studied music at Ottawa U, and continued her studies at University College Dublin in Ireland. While there, she regularly attended singing sessions and learned the Irish traditional singing style and repertoire. After returning to Canada, she became involved in the Irish scene in Ottawa, where she has been known to bend ears at local ceilis and sessions. She has even taken to the stage at Rasputin's in the past, trying out for the Ottawa Folk Festival, and offering a concert of her own! She has been invited to sing at the Maxville Highland Games, and at the recent opening of the new Gaeltacht near Kingston. She also regularly delivers guest lectures on various aspects of Irish music and singing, and has taught two successful workshops on sean-nos singing (old style Irish-language singing) at the Ottawa Folklore Centre.

While in Ireland, Ellen came into contact with a wide variety of singers, in both the Irish and English language traditions. She attended festivals and sessions virtually all across the island, from teeny pubs in Irish-speaking areas where ancient traditions are still a way of life, to barbed-wire-covered community centres in the north, where somewhat less ancient traditions have held sway til recently. Wherever she went, she learned the extent to which songs are part of the warp and woof of the fabric of life in Ireland; they maintain memories of families and localities, tell the stories of the people both present and departed, and tie together those who come together to sing. In Ireland, as elsewhere, a song has the power to bring a noisy room to silence, join every voice in the room as one, and wring tears from the hardest of hearts - sometimes all at once.

The Goilin Traditional Singer's Club, a 30-year-old singing session based in Dublin, became her home base and the community from which she learned her repertoire and style. The Goilin has the simplest of rules: there are no standards set for singers, but the highest of standards for listeners. All are expected to pay attention when someone is singing. The Goilin is a meeting place for singers of different styles and backgrounds to come and exchange songs and stories. Several things distinguish the Goilin, including its bilingualism, its variety of singers and songs; and the historical knowledge and symbolism contained in the songs. Singers often introduce their song by giving context, historical background, or even describing how they learned it and from whom.