This afternoon we went to West Grove Friends Meeting to hear Irish music played by two local high-school boys, the Ladeens. Alex Weir (on fiddle) and Keegan Loesel (on the uilleann pipes) are really talented: they traveled to Sligo, Ireland, this past August to compete in the Irish Music International Competition.
I had never before seen, or heard of, the uilleann pipes (pronounced "illin"), and Keegan was good enough to explain how the instrument works. It's a lot like a bagpipe, but instead of lung power it uses a bellows controlled with one elbow. The sucked-in air expands a reservoir, which the musician controls with the other elbow-- all the while playing complicated tunes on the vertical flute part. (It reminded me a little of the pectoral machine at the gym.)
The Ladeens' website is theladeens.com, and there are some videos of their performances on YouTube videos.
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