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The Priest & the Acrobat
Stories and Music from the Irish Tradition

Announcing the arrival of Tomaseen Foley’s newest recording on CD The Priest & the Acrobat. Choosing two very popular stories from his acclaimed stage shows, and five cuts of traditional Irish music on fiddle, uilleann pipes and guitar, Tomaseen offers another authentic slice of Old Ireland for his second release --- this time recorded live in concert.

According to this consummate storyteller, “storytelling is perhaps the last aspect of Irish culture to find its way into the strange world known as entertainment. Yet in the culture itself it has always been first and foremost. The Celts regarded it as man’s first form of communion, and thought that, without it, there could be no community. We have shown over and over that there is a tremendous hunger in the human heart for it still.”

The CD opens with music of William Coulter on guitar, Deby Benton Grosjean on fiddle, and Todd Denman on uilleann pipes playing some lively Irish tunes which set the perfect mood for the hilarious story of surprise and foolery, where ordinary people outsmart an educated outsider in Tomaseen’s unique rendition of The Wake. The setting is the remote parish of Teampal an Ghleantain in the West of Ireland, where Tomaseen himself was born and reared. The outsider is an Englishman and the people of the village gallantly attempt to find their way into the history books. The title story, The Priest and the Acrobat shows us that even men of the cloth can dream a little when a life-long fantasy comes true for Father Tom, parish priest of Teampal an Ghleantain.

Don Harriss, composer and producer, recorded The Priest live at The Old Siskiyou Barn in Ashland Oregon, and produced the audio and graphics for the project at Orbital Arts Multimedia in Ashland. Don has been a Top Ten Billboard-charted recording artist/producer for the past ten years, and has produced six solo CDs of his own music. He is one of the music industry’s most accomplished, consistent and innovative musicians. Tish Steinfeld, artist manager, produces and promotes Tomaseen’s tours, markets his recordings and books, and oversees his artistic career.

Future plans of Tomaseen, Don, and Tish include several multi-media projects, including more audio recordings, videos, and books-on-tape --- all of which will reflect the warmth of the fire of bygone days --- and cast an antique glow of simpler times and gentler places.

Beannachtai