An Evening of Irish Music with Seán Gavin, Liz Hanley, and Don Penzien

An Evening of Irish Music with Seán Gavin, Liz Hanley, and Don Penzien
Enjoy an unforgettable evening of traditional Irish music featuring three acclaimed artists whose roots, careers, and passion for the tradition span generations and continents. Uilleann piper, flutist, and whistle player Seán Gavin joins award-winning singer and fiddler Liz Hanley and renowned guitarist Don Penzien for a performance that blends masterful musicianship, rich storytelling, and deep connections to Ireland’s musical heritage.
From spirited dance tunes and haunting airs to timeless songs passed down through family and community, this concert showcases the living tradition of Irish music at its finest. Drawing on decades of performance, teaching, and international touring, Gavin, Hanley, and Penzien bring warmth, authenticity, and artistry to a program that celebrates both the history and continued evolution of Ireland’s musical culture.
Seán Gavin – A master of the uilleann pipes, Irish flute, and tin whistle, Seán Gavin is one of the most highly regarded performers and teachers of traditional Irish music. He is the first musician born outside Ireland to win the prestigious Seán Ó Riada Gold medal, and the author of a popular tin whistle book published by Hal Leonard. Seán is the founder and director of the Irish Music Institute – a non-profit music school based in Southeast Michigan, and also serves as coordinator of celtic week at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina. With recordings, lectures, and performances around the globe to his credit, Seán is back in his native Detroit, where he continues to play, teach, and promote traditional Irish music. Liz Hanley is a Brooklyn based singer and fiddle player across many genres.
Growing up in Boston in an Irish Hungarian American family, Liz Hanley learned traditional fiddle tunes from her father/fiddle player Andy Hanley, songs and stories from her grandparents Martin Hanley, Rita McNamara and Ray Nagy and family friends Brian and Lindsay O’Donovan. She attended the New England Conservatory Preparatory school where she studied under Blanka Bednarz and then Eric Rosenblith. Hanley continued on to earn a BM in violin performance from NYU studying under Arturo Delmoni. It was at NYU that Hanley met and studied with the late great Dr. Mick Moloney. She has toured globally with Moloney and the Green Fields of America, as well as prog folk rock ensemble Frogbelly and Symphony and chamber rock band Emanuel and the Fear.
Don Penzien has long been a top-flight performer of Irish traditional music. He frequently is on the road playing concerts and festivals with Haley Richardson, Gailfean, Brian Conway, Gerry O’Connor, Randal Bays, and The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and he has served as accompanist for numerous other well-known performers (e.g., Seán Gavin, John Whelan, Liz Hanley, Nuala Kennedy, Tim Britton, John Williams, Pat Broaders, Gabe Donohue, Tony DeMarco, Billy McComiskey). Widely recognized for his reserved backing style, Don’s dexterous work on DADGAD-tuned guitar provides solid, driving rhythms to traditional tunes as well as perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs. Now residing in NC, Don is a Michigan native with strong roots in Irish culture and an affinity for Celtic music