Music is an essential part of life. Without it, stories could not be told, and experiences could not be shared. Personally, I get a lot of joy from just listening to music, especially when performed by my favourite artists. I have found that I get the most out of 'my' music when I'm calm, and I set my imagination free. When I listen to this music I 'visit' those long-forgotten days in sometimes mythical lands. If you really pay attention, and listen to the meaning 'behind' the lyrics of well-written songs, you too can share in the power of the artist's thoughts and therefore you too can visit these 'other worlds'.
As I have said earlier, my taste in music has altered over the years, doesn't everyone's? Once upon a time, I listened to the likes of  Pink Floyd;  Yes; Rick Wakeman; Fleetwood Mac; ELO and The Alan Parson's Project. Classical  music has always been with me though, and I even 'dabble' at playing (keyboards) a little Bach, and Holst, etc., I am in awe of the string quartet Bond and of the artistry of Australian Flautist Jane Rutter. Sopranos Lesley Garrett, Sarah Brightman and (recently) Hayley Westenra - such a wonderful voice for one so young!
For many years now though, my pleasure has been derived from listening to the Celtic and Neo-Celtic music of artists such as Enya; Moya Brennan; Clannad; Loreena McKennitt; Kate Price; and Jennifer White.

Here's a little picture of Loreena McKennitt and I, on the occasion of Loreena's "The Mask and Mirror" Sydney concert in 1995. Loreena wasn't coming to Perth, but I was determined not to miss the chance of seeing her in concert. Hurriedly, I arranged to travel across the country and back, all in about 48 hours, just to see the show. Apparently Loreena found out about my 'little' trek, and as a result, I was treated to a meeting back stage! Loreena is fantastic in concert, and a wonderful person.  :-))

1994 - Ireland, whilst on holiday in July, I was fortunate enough to meet Leo Brennan. For those who don't know, Leo runs a small entertainment pub in County Donegal called Leo's Tavern. It is perhaps two of his daughter's fame which has turned his pub into a 'shrine' of memoribilia. His daughters are, no less, Maire (Moya) and Eithne (Enya) Brennan. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet Maire and the 'Uncle's Duggan' of Clannad at the Perth Concert Hall when she and Clannad were touring Australia in 1996. Maybe it is something about Celtic music, but just like Loreena McKennitt, Maire and the others are also lovely people. Maire, as I found out, is always on the look out for a bargain, especially when it comes to jewellery..!

2001 - England I ventured up to London just for the November / December 2001 "Travelling Light" concerts by Lesley Garrett in the Royal Albert Hall.
Prior to leaving W. A. I had approached the prestige Leeuwin Estate Winery in this state's South-West to see if they would consider asking Lesley to perform at one of their concert series. They said yes, as several people had also requested this in the preceding three weeks. I also asked them (rather cheekily I thought) if they would be interested in me volunteering to hand-deliver any invitation they may wish to extend. They said yes to that also! So, armed with an spectacularly presented official invitation and two bottles of the Leeuwin Estate's best wines supplied by the winery, I journeyed to London, setting up 'camp' in an apartment on Queensgate, literally five minutes walk to the Royal Albert Hall.
On the night of the first concert I was thrilled to hear Lesley perform LIVE for the very first time. After the show, I along with many others, waited at the very cold 'stage door' for what seemed like an eternity, just to meet Lesley. Unknown to me at the time, I had already been 'spotted' at the interval, so they must have found out about the impending offer somehow. Finally, when my turn came, I presented the wine and invitation. As Lesley stated after the second concert, she and her management(?) enjoyed the wines very much, and, following subsequent discussions with the Leeuwin Estate management, two concerts have been arranged for February 2004..!

So, if any of you are in any doubt that something can or can't be done - just try it..! Lesley is a joy to listen to live, and I am sure she will be much better known here in Western Australia after her Leeuwin Estate concerts as they usually get Australia wide media coverage.
This has already started to happen actually - have a look at this article in the West Australian newspaper.

Enya article in "The West Australian" newspaper 4th January 2001.
"Today" Page 1 - Cover Photo (.jpg) - 42Kb
"Today" Page 13 - article (.jpg) - 38Kb
Enya article - Internet version
Enya news article in Text (.txt) format - 5Kb

Loreena McKennitt article in "The West Australian" newspaper 17th December 1999.
News article in Text (.txt) format - 6.52Kb
News article in Word (.doc) format - 13.5Kb
Page 9 - News Article & Photo (.jpg) - 25.2Kb
News article Photo (.jpg) - 12.4Kb

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