Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra offers slice of Ireland to Las Vegas

Artemus Ham Hall gets jiggy tonight, with The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra's take on traditional Irish folk music.

"We're very excited about this," says Derek Gleeson, the 95-piece orchestra's conductor and music director. "It's kind of a unique program. There's a lot of variety in terms of the material."

The Dublin Philharmonic will mingle original compositions with new arrangements of traditional Irish folk songs.

"The melodic elements are pretty straightforward and very simple to understand," Gleeson says. "(Celtic music) also has this very strong rhythmic base."

The 10 instrumental soloists will include Frankie Gavin on Irish fiddle and flute and Aidan O'Brien on banjo and uilleann pipes, as well as vocalists Michelle Lally, Denise Brennan and Ingrid Madsen. Traditional Irish dancer Sinead McCafferty also will perform.

The highlight, according to Gleeson, is probably "Inishlacken: Concerto For Two Violins and Orchestra." Written by "Riverdance" composer Bill Whelan, the piece showcases classical violinist Cora Venus Lunny and Irish fiddle player Athena Tergis.

Audiences also respond well to the final song, Gleeson says. Called "Anthem For Ireland," it's based on the traditional "Londonderry Air" (aka "Danny Boy").

"Everybody knows that one," Gleeson says.

This will be the orchestra's first Las Vegas performance.

"(Las Vegas) is kind of known for other things," Gleeson jokes, "but I'm sure it has a percentage of the population quite attuned to what we do."

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.