What is art and how can relating to it well help us to live better lives? In this talk, Eliot will examine the nature of art not merely as finished masterworks, but as existential process.

Music is a universal human practice. Every culture that has ever been documented has created music. But how are these traditions taught and learned? How is new music created and old music documented? In this seminar, we will examine the basics of music theory–the art and practice of notating music. In this seminar, we will discuss pitch, rhythm, meter, scales, and key signatures.

Time: Saturday, May 31st, 1:00pm-3:00pm

Location: CMG Center – 19730 64th Ave W Lynnwood, WA 98036

Registration Fee: $50/person To Register click here

Famed Irish piper, whistle-player, and flautist Eliot Grasso and acclaimed Scottish fiddler Brandon Vance will be presenting a short lecture and workshop on Celtic Improvisation followed by a performance of “That Which Is Heard.”

Everyone is welcome, whether you play an instrument, have an interest in improvisation, or just want to come soak in the beautifully rich and meditative atmosphere created by these two artists and their “Shruti” boxes.

What is “That Which is Heard?”

That Which is Heard is an improvised musical dialogue in pursuit of wholeness meant to restore and console.

What’s a shruti box?

In our research on Indian classical music and music thanatology (music for end-of-life patients), we encountered the shruti box, a metal-reeded drone box from India whose name, shruti (श्रुति), means That Which is Heard in Sanskrit. The word also refers to the smallest interval or pitch that the human ear can perceive.

A shruti box has three chromatic octaves worth of drone options (that’s 36^36 combinations of drone notes) that we preset and can adjust during performance.

The vibrating metal reeds that generate the drone of the shruti box convert any room into a richly resonant sonic space.

Artist Statement

Musical improvisation has the power to unite disparate elements into a harmonious whole. It teaches us that if we listen to ourselves and to one other, distinct voices can blend into something that transcends the sum of its parts.

Event Structure: 

1:00pm-1:30pm:  Eliot Grasso & Brandon Vance Presentation on Shruti Box and Improvisation

1:30pm-2:00pm:  Interactive Component

2:00pm-2:15pm:  Coffee/Tea Break 

2:15pm-3:00pm:  Short Concert

An intimate house concert of Irish and Scottish music in beautiful Bellingham featuring Eliot Grasso (uilleann pipes & flute), Brandon Vance (fiddle), and Dan Carollo (guitar).

See website for registration and location.

Contra Dance: **special band** Dan Carollo, Brandon Vance, Eliot Grasso + Laura Mé Smith

Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Beginner lesson: 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Location: Fairhaven Library Auditorium (enter through side door). 1117 12th St., Fairhaven

Band: From Bellingham we have Dan Carollo on guitar, Seattle’s Brandon Vance on fiddle, and Portland’s Eliot Grasso on pipes.

Caller: From Kirkland we have Laura Mé Smith

Entry: $12-$15; $8 students (by donation)

Eliot Grasso and renowned Scottish fiddler Brandon Vance will bring traditional music to the Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts along with their new work That Which is Heard. They will also be conducting class lecture-demonstrations for local schools.

Larsen Center concert starts at 3:00pm

Tickets: https://partnersforthepac.org/events/current/eliot-grasso-brandon-vance/

We’ll be playing tunes and singing songs for St. Patrick’s Day! Come on out, grab a pint, and have a listen!

Welcome aboard the 8th Annual Shamrock Cruise!

Boarding at the Caruthers Street with free and secured parking. 4-7pm.

Come enjoy the annual Shamrock Cruise onboard the Portland Spirit for a three-hour cruise on the Willamette with the music and dance of Ireland all communities and ages.

Each deck has live entertainment of music from DREOS and The Katie Jane Band and dancers, the Rowan Fae Irish Dance Company Troupe!

There is a bistro, no-host, food on one level and full bars on all levels for your pleasure to purchase.

Community Comments

• "This is our new familiy tradition!"

• "A floating St. Patrick's Day that we loved! Truly the best family event in Portland."

• "Our family hopes this will go on every year. So much fun and the views of our river are great!"

#shamrockcruise

Adult Tickets: GA Online - $55 | GA Door - $60

Childrens Tickets: Add a GA ticket to your cart to select the following tickets

• Ages 12-17: $35 online | Door $40

• Ages 6-11: $20 online | Door $25

• Ages 0-5: Free | Accompanied by paying adult

ADA: Accessible boarding is on the first level, please call the Portland Spirit to arrange and visit www.portlandspirit.com/faq for more information.

All ages are welcome.
Tickets are non-refundable

The Selah Service puts a great trust in the power of silence and communal prayer and singing. A typical service will include singing choruses and hymns, instrumental passages often combined with readings from the Psalms or Christian Celtic traditions along with an extended period of silent prayer.

I'm excited to be leading a Great Books Symposium for Gutenberg College of Lewis's classic work "The Screwtape Letters."

I find Screwtape Letters to be one of Lewis's most psychologically insightful works. As a fictional dialogue in which a senior demon instructs a junior demon in the art of temptation, Lewis pinpoints a number of fascinating thought patterns that are well worth a discussion.

Here are a few tantalizing excerpts in which the senior demon recommends getting people to live in the future, rather than the present:

"It is far better to make them [people] live it the Future…in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities…the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. ...Our [man's] worst qualities are aimed at the Future. Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead…He [God] does not want men to give the Future their hearts, to place their treasure in it. We [demons] do. ...We [demons] want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the Future every real gift which is offered them in the Present…If, on the other hand, he [man] is aware that horrors may be in store for him and is praying for the virtues wherewith to meet them, and meanwhile concerning himself with the Present because there, and there alone, all duty, all grace, all knowledge, and all pleasure dwell, his state is very undesirable and should be attacked at once."

Details:

When: Monday, March 3, 7-8:30pm

Cost: $10

Where: Zoom (when you register, we'll email a link!)

Who: If you are a classical educator who is leading a discussion on Screwtape Letters, or a Lewis enthusiast wanting to get more out of this provocative work!

Whether you are leading a discussion on this work, or a Lewis enthusiast, I invite you to join the discussion!

An evening of improvised music in a Celtic style.

King Henry V of England has a sketchy past but is preparing to take on the mantle of kingship to rule over all of England and has his eye on France. Does he become a model leader or does he, like so many figures, succumb to the temptations of power and prestige? In this Great Books Symposium, we will discuss the nature of leadership in Shakespeare’s Henry V.

A webinar for K-12 teachers in the private school, the public school, and the homeschool.

Maximum Attendees: 20, so be sure to reserve your spot early. The session will be recorded and made available to those who have registered.

At CiRCE’s second symposium in January 2025, we will explore the Quadrivium. In this upcoming FORMA conference and subsequent journal, scholars from the home to the university will come together to explore both the traditional role of the Quadrivium in classical education and how we can practice these arts today. Topics may include (but are not limited to): better understanding one of the four arts within the Quadrivium, contemplating challenges we face in teaching the Quadrivium in a contemporary context, exploring different ways the Quadrivium was approached or understood within the tradition, considering a master teacher within the Quadrivium, considering a contemporary college or school as a case study for teaching the Quadrivium, casting a vision for the Quadrivium in American education, etc.

Dr. Eliot Grasso will be presenting on the role of music in education.

As Composer and Music Director for The Odyssey of These Days Art Exhibit, Eliot will be discussing and presenting his original chamber music composition The Odyssey of These Days alongside artist Wes Hurd as part of Gutenberg College’s Winter Institute.

Dréos featuring Eliot Grasso (uilleann pipes, flute), Brandon Vance (fiddle, voice), and Glen Waddell (guitar, voice) will be playing original and traditional Celtic tunes and singing songs, 2-4pm on January 19 at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

Eliot Grasso (uilleann pipes, flute, whistle) and Glen Waddell (guitar, voice) will be playing tunes and singing songs at the Public House from 7-9pm. Come on out, grab beverage of choice, and have a listen!

A Christmas concert featuring Jeff Johnson (keys and vocal) with special guests Eliot Grasso (flute, whistle & pipes) and Brandon Vance (violin). Suggested donation: $20

The Hosanna Performing Arts Foundation presents its annual show, Adventures in Narnia. Now entering our 22nd season, this family-friendly event features more than 70 local performers, and combines ballet, modern, tumbling, and theater, all original choreography, and music by Eliot Grasso & Dréos.

Tickets begin at $22 per person. 
Advanced ticket purchase is encouraged.
​Limited tickets may be available at the door at $27 per person.
All theatre guests must have a purchased ticket, including lap-held infants and toddlers. 

Three performances to choose from: 
Saturday, December 14 at 1:00 pm & 6:00pm
Sunday, December 15 at 4:00pm 

An evening of traditional dance accompanied by live music.

Eliot and Adam will present an evening of introspective and lively Irish traditional music on uilleann pipes, whistle, guitar, and voice.

Once Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and took the city of Rome, he was on top of the world–for a time. But his monarchical approach to leadership made the Senate increasingly uncomfortable and led ultimately to his bloody demise on the Senate floor. In this Great Books Symposium, we will discuss Shakespeare’s history play about Caesar to gain insight into the nature of leadership, betrayal, and politics in ancient Rome.

A webinar for K-12 teachers in the private school, the public school, and the homeschool.

Maximum Attendees: 20, so be sure to reserve your spot early. The session will be recorded and made available to those who have registered.

We’ll be playing Irish traditional music and songs in the peerlessly energetic environment of Springfield’s Public House! Bring a friend, grab yourself a drink, enjoy a tasty meal, and have a listen!