The Musicial Journey of Turlough O'Carolan

Turlough O'Carolan was a blind musical genius who brought much needed light and happiness by playing his harp during one of the darkest periods in Irish history. His original compositions are a unique blend of ancient Celtic tunes with the Italian Baroque. In order to bring his harp compositions to life, we have Shelley Phillips, voted Santa Cruz County's "2017 Artist of the Year". Shelley is doing this concert as a tribute to one of her favorite composers, and to raise money for the Community Music School of Santa Cruz. Taelen Thomas' performances imbue the essence of larger-than-life people with his golden voice and powerful stage presence, and captures the complexity and humour of Turlough O'Carolan as he grows from a boy into a man. The script, written by Anne Downs, portrays his adventures as he overcomes all adversity to become Ireland's best-loved harper. Based on years of research, Anne has also used her imagination to fill in missing parts of the puzzle.