Edmonton's Celtara is an ensemble of five accomplished musicians who entertain audiences with a range of Celtic instruments that transport audiences to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.
Described as “new world Celtic music” the group blends traditional Celtic instruments such as the fiddle, harp and flute with some rather usual instruments such as the bouzouki, bodhran and djembe.
Combining their diverse musical backgrounds and skills, the group has forged a unique sound that is sure to captivate the audience at the Jasper United Church on Oct. 11.
“We don’t just try to play the same old tunes, we take the raw material, which are the traditional tunes or songs, and then we arrange them to make them really interesting to listen to,” said Tami Cooper, who plays the flute, whistle and sings for the band.
“There’s a lot of change happening within each arrangement and the textures are changing all the time and we really want to make use of all the instruments so that it’s a rich listening experience,” she said.
The group has entertained audiences large and small since 2004, from sold-out shows in soft-seat theatres to intimate settings at house concerts, on a VIA Rail train and Edmonton’s Riverboat Queen, as well as in churches.
“It’s lovely to play in a church because the acoustics are so beautiful and it just feels like it pulls the sound out of you,” said Cooper.
If it wasn’t for a telephone call 11 years ago, Celtara may have never discovered its unique sound.
Sitting at home one day, Cooper received a phone call from a woman who wanted her former band to play a wedding. Unfortunately, the group was no longer active.
Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, and keen to play in a group again, Cooper quickly mulled over her options.
“I thought to myself, my goodness I’m being handed an opportunity here, so I said to her, ‘You know I have an idea for a group that I’d really like to put together, would you be OK to let me see what I could put together?’”
With a lead-time of seven months, the woman happily obliged.
With the new goal in mind, Cooper started contacting musically inclined friends who she thought might be interested and, within a few short weeks, Celtara was formed.
“We met in my living room in July of 2004 and three weeks later we played three sets on the River Boat here in Edmonton,” said Cooper, explaining the wedding wasn’t until Thanksgiving of that year.
“We did quite a few performances before the wedding, it was just like an itch that really needed to be scratched.”
Since then the band hasn’t looked back, releasing two albums over the past decade, including their most recent one in 2011 called More Than One True Love.
The group will play two 45-minute sets at the Jasper United Church on Oct. 11. The show starts at 2 p.m. and tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased at Tekarra Color Lab at 600 Patricia St. Tickets are also available at the door for $15.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
