Wind On The Bay

"My favourite weekend of the year ... lessons, sessions, a beautiful setting, catered meals, wine and above all ... flutes!"
-- John Skelton

Setting a new course for Wind on the Bay 2012

So, here we are after 10 great years of teaching, tunes, great food and the odd beverage or two… Loads of laughs with friends old and new with lots of new faces each year along with a set of dependable regulars.  New and old stories are told and new and old tunes played as well, each year different in its own way. The economy has brought things down a bit for the past couple of years but we’ll “turn her nose into the wind and hoist our main sail” (uh, that’s sailor talk by the way) and put out to sea once again!

My initial concept for WOTB was to keep it as much as possible a weekend for all things flute like. This meant mainly flutes, flutes, and more flutes with some American fife and drum mixed in as well since if not for American fife and drum music (which then led me to Traditional Irish music) I would not be playing Irish flute music at all. WOTB’s past have been very fortunate to have some of
the finest musicians in traditional music on the teaching staff and I thank them all for their efforts…

However, the truth is that there is more to Traditional Irish music than just flutes.

I am now going to be expanding the teaching staff beyond the world of flutes and fifes to bring in other friends of mine who will bring their own special talents with them.

With that in mind I would like to announce our Instructional Staff for WOTB 2012. I’m bringing in two men for whom I have the deepest respect.  I met both of them a few years back in Sligo and have wanted to bring them over ever since...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you two of the cornerstones of traditional Irish music and dance.

Mr. Ronan Regan of Salthill, Co. Galway Ireland is a Master of the Sean-nos dance style having won the All – Ireland Fleadh in Cavan in 2010. If you have never seen this style, it is NOT what you are used to. This is more the forerunner of American tap and clog dance, a very fluid
and exciting style of dance that is really something to see not the more "stiff armed" style we in America are used to seeing. You can visit Ronans’ web site at www.ronanregan.com to see some footage of the man in action. Ronan is also a wonderful fiddle player with a soft flowing style that he has perfected from his years of playing with the great Ben Lennon. If that is not enough, he is also an Irish language scholar and will be giving a class or two at WOTB about this ancient language.

I am equally proud and so very excited to announce that our third instructor is a man who has had an enormous impact on every aspect of the instrument that he plays. As a player he has led the way in developing the "top end" style of bodhran playing. As a maker he has revolutionised the design of his instrument creating the first tension tuned bodhran. As a story teller, few can equal him... Another friend that I met in Co. Sligo a few years back, I am truely honored to announce that Mr. Seamus O'Kane will also be on the Instructional Staff for WOTB 2012!!! I strongly suggest that you visit his web site  www.tradcentre.com/seamus to learn more about Seamus and his beautiful instruments.

We've had some great Instructional Staffs in the past but this one is as great as I could ever have hoped for both on a talent and personal friendship level. It has been a dream of mine for several years now to bring these two great friends over to WOTB, and now it is a reality. I AM SOOOOOO PSYCHED!!! 

See you at WOTB 2012!!!

All the best,

Skip Healy
Founder and Artistic Director of W.O.T.B.

Skip Healy
Founder and
Artistic Director
Flute, Fife

Seamus O'Kane
Bodhran

Ronan Regan
Sean-nos dance, fiddle, Irish language