The sound of lively Celtic jigs and reels filled the East Halls Game Room last night as members of Callanish tried to take students on a musical journey through the British Isles.
Callanish, a band based in Central Pennsylvania, played their traditional music at The Customs & Traditions of St. Patrick's Day event, a part of the East Halls Cultural Lounge Series.
"When I play the Irish music, I get a scene in my head," flutist and concertina player Patty Lambert said. "I hope some of those pictures come across to the people in the audience."
The inviting music and the smell of a traditional Irish meal enticed Mike Macielak (freshman-chemical engineering).
"I just came from a chem exam, heard the music, smelled the food, so I decided to come in," he said.
Food services provided the meal, which consisted of soda bread, potato bread, potato pancakes and corned beef and cabbage.
Macielak, who is of Polish descent, said that he has tried the Polish version of potato pancakes, but said they're much different than the Irish dish. He added he wasn't the only non-Irish person at the event. Joe DeLuca, the band's guitar and bouzouki player, is Italian.
"I get grief sometimes. [People ask,] 'How can you be in an Irish band with a name like DeLuca?' " he said. Joking, Lambert said the band calls him "O'DeLuca."
With Irish pride, Justin Heisey (sophomore-biology) came "dressed for the mood" donning a T-shirt and hat with the word "Ireland" written on them. "I'm just proud of my Irish heritage," he said.
Gaining insight into a culture was the main focus of the evening.
"We just want to expose the students to something that they might not get -- another culture," Kadian McIntosh, Residence Life coordinator, said.
DeLuca's instrument, the bouzouki, looks similar to a guitar but is double-stringed. Drummer Carol Lindsay also plays traditional instruments like the bodhran, which is a frame drum, the spoons and even the bones.
Customarily, Irish bands used real wooden spoons and bones from sheep and cows. Lindsay's instruments are more modern: the spoons are not used for eating, and the bones are filed down. Lindsay explained her instruments to the audience between songs.
Passionate about Celtic music, Lambert said, "I love it because it's happy. Even the sad things are happy."
