VISIT OUR PRESENTERS PAGE FOR A DOWNLOADABLE PDF OF PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
TOMÁSEEN FOLEY
Director, Seanchaí (Storyteller)
Tomáseen Foley grew up on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland - where storytelling ‘was as natural as breathing.’ Each year from Thanksgiving through the Christmas season, his show, Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, plays to critical acclaim and packed concert halls all over the US. He also tours annually with Brian Bigley's An Irish Rambling House. In conjunction with the Omaha Symphony/Edmonton Symphony/Nashville Symphony he features as narrator/storyteller in A Celtic Journey. His story, Parcel from America was developed into a musical and produced to critical acclaim at Ireland's oldest theatre, the Smock Ally Theatre in Dublin in May 2022. He has released several CDs: A Celtic Christmas: Parcel from America; a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat, and, most recently Celtic Knots: An Irish Love Story.
“He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”
- Rego Irish Records.
TomaseenFoley.com
Director, Seanchaí (Storyteller)
Tomáseen Foley grew up on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland - where storytelling ‘was as natural as breathing.’ Each year from Thanksgiving through the Christmas season, his show, Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, plays to critical acclaim and packed concert halls all over the US. He also tours annually with Brian Bigley's An Irish Rambling House. In conjunction with the Omaha Symphony/Edmonton Symphony/Nashville Symphony he features as narrator/storyteller in A Celtic Journey. His story, Parcel from America was developed into a musical and produced to critical acclaim at Ireland's oldest theatre, the Smock Ally Theatre in Dublin in May 2022. He has released several CDs: A Celtic Christmas: Parcel from America; a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat, and, most recently Celtic Knots: An Irish Love Story.
“He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”
- Rego Irish Records.
TomaseenFoley.com
WILLIAM COULTER
Music Director, Guitar
Music director for Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas since 1998, William Coulter is an internationally acclaimed, Grammy-award winning master of the steel-string guitar. He has several Gourd Music label recordings, including his most recent, The Rolling Waves, a collection of original arrangements of folk and original music. Coulter has performed with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Grammy-award winning Apollo’s Fire and many other ensembles. In March of 2016, he debuted Celtic Journey, a full-length pops concert with the Omaha Symphony orchestra.
Collaborations have been a mainstay of his career including tours and recordings with Gourd Music artists Neal Hellman and Barry and Shelley Phillips; classical guitar virtuoso Benjamin Verdery, and Irish flute wizard Brian Finnegan. Tours have taken him around the states and to Ireland, Europe, Taiwan, New Zealand, Chile, and most recently Australia. Coulter teaches classical guitar at UC Santa Cruz and elsewhere. He has earned music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
WilliamCoulterGuitar.com
Music Director, Guitar
Music director for Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas since 1998, William Coulter is an internationally acclaimed, Grammy-award winning master of the steel-string guitar. He has several Gourd Music label recordings, including his most recent, The Rolling Waves, a collection of original arrangements of folk and original music. Coulter has performed with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Grammy-award winning Apollo’s Fire and many other ensembles. In March of 2016, he debuted Celtic Journey, a full-length pops concert with the Omaha Symphony orchestra.
Collaborations have been a mainstay of his career including tours and recordings with Gourd Music artists Neal Hellman and Barry and Shelley Phillips; classical guitar virtuoso Benjamin Verdery, and Irish flute wizard Brian Finnegan. Tours have taken him around the states and to Ireland, Europe, Taiwan, New Zealand, Chile, and most recently Australia. Coulter teaches classical guitar at UC Santa Cruz and elsewhere. He has earned music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
WilliamCoulterGuitar.com
BRIAN BIGLEY
Uilleann Pipes, Irish Flute, Whistles, Irish Dance
Brian Bigley has studied the uilleann pipes for over thirty years as a player, as well as a sought out maker of the instrument. He has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in shows such as the Omaha Symphony's Celtic Journey and Grammy-winning Apollo's Fire production Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain - the recording of which made it to number three on the Billboard Charts.
Brian competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships and has placed second in the senior uilleann piping competition at the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. He produces and tours his show called An Irish Rambling House and has several recordings available on CD.
Brian lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with his fiddler wife, Kristen, and their dancing children, James and Kathleen.
BrianBigleyMusic.com, KBBproductions.net
Uilleann Pipes, Irish Flute, Whistles, Irish Dance
Brian Bigley has studied the uilleann pipes for over thirty years as a player, as well as a sought out maker of the instrument. He has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in shows such as the Omaha Symphony's Celtic Journey and Grammy-winning Apollo's Fire production Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain - the recording of which made it to number three on the Billboard Charts.
Brian competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships and has placed second in the senior uilleann piping competition at the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. He produces and tours his show called An Irish Rambling House and has several recordings available on CD.
Brian lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with his fiddler wife, Kristen, and their dancing children, James and Kathleen.
BrianBigleyMusic.com, KBBproductions.net
EIMEAR ARKINS
Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer, Irish Dance
Eimear Arkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from Ruan, County Clare, in the west of Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dance Championships. She has toured with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada, and represented Ireland in France at Rennes Expo; in Spain in La Noche Negra, in Shanghai, China at World Expo 2010, and in Milan, Italy at World Expo 2015. Eimear was selected to be part of the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, and for over eight years has performed with the renowned show, Brứ Borứ.
She has toured and performed with numerous groups, including Cherish the Ladies, The Paul Brock Band, Trinity Irish Dance Ensemble and Téada.
She teaches at St. Louis Irish Arts and has given many workshops in the US and Canada.
Eimear was awarded Newcomer of the Year 2019 by liveIreland, and her debut solo album is entitled What's Next.
“She is a lovely singer, wonderful fiddle player and a truly accomplished step dancer. Triple threat time! Count us as major new fans of her and what will surely be a terrific career. Eimear Arkins – remember THAT name!” Bill Margeson, liveIRELAND.
EimearArkins.com
Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer, Irish Dance
Eimear Arkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from Ruan, County Clare, in the west of Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dance Championships. She has toured with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada, and represented Ireland in France at Rennes Expo; in Spain in La Noche Negra, in Shanghai, China at World Expo 2010, and in Milan, Italy at World Expo 2015. Eimear was selected to be part of the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, and for over eight years has performed with the renowned show, Brứ Borứ.
She has toured and performed with numerous groups, including Cherish the Ladies, The Paul Brock Band, Trinity Irish Dance Ensemble and Téada.
She teaches at St. Louis Irish Arts and has given many workshops in the US and Canada.
Eimear was awarded Newcomer of the Year 2019 by liveIreland, and her debut solo album is entitled What's Next.
“She is a lovely singer, wonderful fiddle player and a truly accomplished step dancer. Triple threat time! Count us as major new fans of her and what will surely be a terrific career. Eimear Arkins – remember THAT name!” Bill Margeson, liveIRELAND.
EimearArkins.com
MARCUS DONNELLY
Irish Dance
From Ireland to Luxembourg and from Moscow to Paris, Marcus Donnelly’s leading performances with shows such as Ragús, Rhythm of the Dance, Celtic Legends, and in the U.S. with Celtic Crossroads, have created one of the most exhilarating, truly creative Irish dancers performing anywhere today. He has been delighting audiences as the lead dancer in Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas for several years.
Marcus first started dancing at the age of ten, in second-hand dance shoes his father bought for fifteen shillings on a visit to Dublin, and went on to compete with distinction in the All-Ireland and World Dance Championships before becoming a fulltime professional dancer at the age of sixteen.
Irish Dance
From Ireland to Luxembourg and from Moscow to Paris, Marcus Donnelly’s leading performances with shows such as Ragús, Rhythm of the Dance, Celtic Legends, and in the U.S. with Celtic Crossroads, have created one of the most exhilarating, truly creative Irish dancers performing anywhere today. He has been delighting audiences as the lead dancer in Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas for several years.
Marcus first started dancing at the age of ten, in second-hand dance shoes his father bought for fifteen shillings on a visit to Dublin, and went on to compete with distinction in the All-Ireland and World Dance Championships before becoming a fulltime professional dancer at the age of sixteen.
NATALIE WAGNER
Irish Dance
Natalie Wagner started Irish dancing at the age of twelve and immediately fell in love with the art. She competed with great distinction in Regional and North American Irish Dance Championships, including competitions in Canada and Ireland. Her passion for dance led to further education in ballet and modern dance. She has been delighted to dance in Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas since 2021.
Irish Dance
Natalie Wagner started Irish dancing at the age of twelve and immediately fell in love with the art. She competed with great distinction in Regional and North American Irish Dance Championships, including competitions in Canada and Ireland. Her passion for dance led to further education in ballet and modern dance. She has been delighted to dance in Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas since 2021.
VISIT OUR PRESENTERS PAGE FOR A DOWNLOADABLE PDF OF PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
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“2000 seats sold out!”
WEIDNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, GREEN BAY, WI
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“ . . . charmed a sold-out house at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts.”
LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, LINCOLN, NE
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“A very large audience turned out and sat rapt for A Celtic Christmas, 2½ hours of jigs, reels and wordsmithing.”
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, SPRINGFIELD, IL
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“We had to move the performance to a venue with twice as many seats . . . the mix of stories, music and dance was perfect.”
ROCKPORT OPERA HOUSE, ME
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“The most popular performance this year.”
MELLON ART CENTER, WALLINGFORD, CT
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“Like a pint of Guinness, Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” is going down rich and smooth with . . . another packed house . . . at the Keith-Albee Performing Art Center.”
THE HERALD-DISPATCH, HUNTINGDON, WV
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“A rousing success . . . a magnificent performance.”
WEST VALLEY FINE ARTS, LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ
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“1,800 Lied patrons joined the stage musicians for ‘Silent Night’ to close Foley’s warm, intimate and personal look at Irish history and culture.”
THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
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“What a terrific program! The audience was completely charmed and captivated…wonderful storytelling…the best I have ever heard.”
THE SOCIETY FOR THE FOUR ARTS, PALM BEACH, FL
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“In the tradition of great Irish storytellers…Tomáseen Foley is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”
TOM HORAN, REGO IRISH RECORDS
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“Like a cup of Irish coffee in a neighbor’s kitchen on a dark night, it was warm, comforting and full of cheer.”
JUSTINE SUTTON, SANTA BARBARA NOOZHAWK
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“Move over, Garrison Keillor. As a presenter of the performing arts who’s always looking for a sure bet, I assure Tomáseen delivers. He deserves a world stage.”
CRATERIAN GINGER ROGERS THEATER, MEDFORD, OR
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“…a masterful weaver of a good tale… One of the great charms of the evening was Tomáseen’s skill in relating a story…a gentle and easy humor made his tales fascinating and eminently human.”
PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS, PALM BEACH, FL
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"...people told me that they LOVED it, that it was just what a Christmas show should be, that it fit in beautifully with our Arts Series and that we should have you back every year!”
ARLENE SHAW, HOUSE MANAGER, OLIN FINE ARTS CENTER
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“I want to thank you for an absolutely terrific show! We have not had such a large crowd since the Juilliard String quartet six years ago. You are all sooo talented.”
JANE CARTAGE
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“You’ll love his warm-hearted, poignant stories of life in the homeland.”
MIKE STURGILL, BRITT FESTIVAL, JACKSONVILLE, OR
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“A good storyteller . . . can carry (his) audience to another time and place. It’s an art—and a gift—and Tomáseen Foley has it in spades."
THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
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“In between musical presentations by five wondrously talented guest artists, storyteller and Ireland native Tomáseen Foley regaled the sold-out crowd of "good people of Cleveland, Ohio" with poetry, tales and jokes, evoking a quiet evening spent sitting around the hearth."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
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“Foley runs pictures and thoughts across the mind like shooting stars on a crystalline night, with emotions shaking the ground.”
THE GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI
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“Tomáseen Foley brings to his audience a mastery of the oral tradition that has marked the Irish spirit for generations.”
ROBERT CASEBEER, PROF. EMERITUS, SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
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“His warm voice wraps you with vivid imagery and stealthy Irish humor.”
DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE
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“With dramatic impact, Foley brought his tales to a fitting close. He has captured the charm of the wit and wisdom inherent in a locality where people lived within the shelter of their neighbours.”
PAUL KEATING, THE IRISH VOICE, NEW YORK CITY, NY
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“Tomáseen Foley has made it nationally - and internationally - with his warm-hearted “A Celtic Christmas.”
RICHARD MOESCHL, MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OR
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“Great storytelling swept up more than 1,000 listeners . . . "A Celtic Christmas" received a standing ovation at the end. Some people may have been standing to reach for a tissue . . . it was heart tugging."
GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE
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“Foley had people rapt and delighted . . . he has an engaging manner, a lightness of wit and a silver-tongued way of unwinding a tale.”
GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI
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“He’s a spell-binding storyteller.”
ROBERT MILLER, ASHLAND DAILY TIDINGS, ASHLAND, OR
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OLD WELL ON LACKEN WALK IN KILKENNY PHOTO BY WILLIAM MURPHY, FLICKR