TG4's Gradam Ceoil Trad Awards 2009

The awards and concert will take place on the 4th of April from 20:00 - 23:00. Tickets for this very special night can be obtained by telephone on 0539122144, Monday - Friday, 9am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 5pm or on the Wexford Opera House website http://www.wexfordoperahouse.com/ Bookings for Groups of ten or more are available at a reduced rate. Additional Features: Trad lunch – a lunchtime warm up performance in the Jerome Hynes theatre with free admission. The gala concert will be recorded for broadcast on TG4 on Easter Sunday, April 12th. For More Information Contact: Proinsias Ní Ghráinne - TG4 - (091) 505050 Linda Ní Ghríofa - TG4 - (087) 917 2364

Wexfords Day of Stellar Music for TG4’s Trad Awards:

The prestigious TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2009 (TG4 Traditional Music Awards) comes to the Wexford Opera House on the 4th of April for a gala celebration of traditional music and song. Award winners and their friends will be joined in concert by many of Ireland’s best-known traditional musicians. The awards concert will be co-hosted by TG4’s Dáithí Ó Sé and singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and will include the Sharon Shannon Band, At the Racket, Four Star Trio, Des Mulcaire, Éamonn Cotter, Geraldine Cotter, local Wexford musicians John & Pip Murphy along with Rick Epping, Mike McGoldrick, Dessie Donnelly and singer Len Graham.

Those joining in the event to present awards include Hollywood star Brendan Gleeson, former civil right campaigner and MP Bernadette McAlliskey, former Wexford hurling manager Liam Griffin, musician Liz Doherty and TG4 Ceannasaí Pól Ó Gallchóir. This gala concert will be recorded for broadcast on TG4 on Easter Sunday, 12th April at 9.30pm.








Awards:

South-Galway based accordion player Charlie Harris heads the list as the recipient of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2009. Originally from Kilmallock in Limerick, Charlie spent some years in England before returning in 1981 and settling in County Galway. He is widely regarded as one the greatest exponent of that region's strong accordion tradition.

The full list of TG4’s Recipients Gradam Ceoil 2009 is...
Gradam Ceoil TG4 - Charlie Harris
Young Musician of the Year - Conor McEvoy
Hall of Fame - Roger Sherlock
Composer of the Year - Con "Fada" Ó Drisceoil
Singer of the Year - Sarah Ann O'Neill
The Musicians Award - Reg Hall


Gradam Ceoil TG4 honours the musical heroes of the modern age... Since Tommy Peoples was presented with the first award, Gradam Ceoil has grown to be recognised as the premier awards scheme for musicians, singers, composers and bearers of the tradition. The scheme was inaugurated in 1998; the brainchild of Mary McPartlan and an early signal from TG4 that traditional music was to form an essential and central element of its schedule. Each year, an independent panel of selectors chooses six award-winners in the categories of: Young Musician; Singer; Hall of Fame; Composer; the Musicians' Award; and the main award of Traditional Musician of the Year. Since 1998, the selectors have included Meaiti Joe Shéamuis Ó Fátharta, Fintan Vallely, Pat Ahern, Kevin Crawford, Ann Mulqueen, Áine Hensey, Cathal Goan, Breanndán Ó Beaglaíoch, Mary McPartlan, Robbie Hannan, Proinsias Ní Ghráinne, Muiris Ó Rócháin, Claire Keville, Liz Doherty, Mary Bergin and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. The awards are presented annually at a concert featuring recipients, their friends and families. The broadcast concert has become one of the most eagerly anticipated highlights of TG4's musical calendar. The event will be presented by TG4’s Daithí Ó Sé and singer, Muireann Nic Amhloibh. Ceannasaí TG4, Pól Ó Gallchóir says that the Gradam Ceoil is the firmly established awards scheme for traditional music. "This year we celebrate the 12th year of the Gradam Ceoil and the roll of honour of recipients over the past dozen years reads as a veritable who's who of great musicians. Our sponsorship of this great project is another important part of our role as the television home of traditional music, combining lively sessions from the heartlands of the tradition, archive-based programmes as well as illuminating documentaries on the music of the masters."

You can find out more on TG4's Website or visit www.myspace.com/gradamceoil