Acclaimed Fiddler of Irish Tunes Coming to Björklunden

Fiddler Liz Carroll. Submitted photo.

Liz Carroll, described as one of the finest living fiddlers of Irish music and most highly-regarded composers of tunes in the Irish tradition, has charmed audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada and in Asia, Scandinavia, the British Isles and New Zealand, but never in Door County. That will change Aug. 21 when she will be a special guest at the 4th Annual Door County Nordic Fest at Björklunden Lodge.

The 7 pm concert will also feature Eric Segnitz, a violinist, composer/arranger, who has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony and has held concertmaster positions with several regional orchestras. The music of Ireland and Norway will be showcased, exploring the commonalities and differences between the two cultures.

Growing up in Chicago with Irish-born parents, Carroll made her first trip to visit family in Ireland at age five, about the time she began to compose little Irish tunes. Her parents, Kevin and Eileen, often took Liz and her brother Tom to Hanley’s House of Happiness on 79th Street, an historic Irish pub where lots of Irish musicians were featured on the live radio show on Sunday nights.

“I loved it,” Carroll says. “That’s what really got me interested in performing.” Her dad played accordion – also Liz’s first instrument – and her husband, Charles Lacey, is a former blues musician.

Carroll’s early interest in Irish music grew into an exceptional career as a performer and composer. At 18, she won the senior division of the All-Ireland Fiddle Championship – one of the few Americans to do so. In 1994, she received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her influence on Irish music in America. She has twice been nominated for a Grammy.

The honor of which Carroll is most proud is being the first American-born composer to receive Ireland’s Cumadóir TG4 award for traditional Irish music. Another special memory is playing for President Obama on the first St. Patrick’s Day after his election at a luncheon at the capitol. In an interview for a Women of Distinction piece in the Chicago Tribune earlier this year, she recounted a phone call from her brother, who said, “There’s a gig, and it’s on St. Patrick’s Day, and it involves travel, and there’s no money, but it’s the best gig in the world.” Carroll recalls that it was “very fun.”

She has been featured on 11 CDs, the most recent of which, On the Offbeat, includes music she was commissioned to compose as a companion for Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840, an exhibit that opened on St. Patrick’s Day this year at the Art Institute of Chicago. She has also published Collected, a book of 185 of her compositions, including examples of her handwritten original manuscripts.

“My life love is tunes,” she says, “learning them, making up some and knowing that people around the world are playing them.”

To hear Liz Carroll in person, pick up in advance one of the 100 ticket vouchers available from the Baileys Harbor Visitors’ Center, 8061 Highway 57. Admission to the concert at Björklunden on Friday evening, Aug. 21, is $15. Call 920.839.2366 to check on Visitors’ Center hours and ticket availability. Carroll’s website is lizcarroll.com.