A Leahy Family Christmas...

A wonderful Christmas show at the Nation Arts Centre: A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra. It was an amazing show; more diverse than I'd imagined. The National Arts Centre Orchestra played some Christmas music on its own, and the Youth Choir sang beautifully, but it was the Leahy Family that stole the show, and made up the greater part of it. Their music is... well, it sounds utterly Canadian to me, though I'd be hard put to describe exactly why, since they do the kind of music that would be familiar in Ireland, Scotland, or parts of the US. But... different. A little different. Substantial but informal.... Foot-stompin', fiddle-playin' music for the most part, with electric guitar and banjo and percussion and piano. Not to mention the NAC Orchestra backing them up, with instruments from xylophone to cello. No harp, though. Not this time.

The Leahys are a family of eleven siblings from Lakefield, Ontario - near Peterborough. Some have relocated to Ottawa. Nine of them did this concert - the line-up varies a little depending on who's available. They also featured five children of the next generation step-dancing and playing fiddles, and the highlight of the show was a fifteen year old niece singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - she was wonderful. We also liked their inclusion of ragtime music and Czardas. They also performed and sang their own Wedding Day Jig.

We groaned about how untalented we felt. They all play three or four instruments each, sing, and dance. Maybe it's because they have siblings. Lisa and I are only children, and Lynne has only one brother. Maybe musical talent comes in large families. Look at Johann Sebastian Bach.

Before the concert, I had dinner with Lynne and Lisa at the Richtree restaurant at the Rideau Centre. I had grilled salmon, beet salad, and cucumber salad, with blueberry cheesecake for dessert - which Lisa and I shared.

The joys of Christmas.