Patrick Ball performs The Christmas Rose

We welcome back Patrick Ball, who has honored our series by appearing six times before, with completely different shows and different musical configurations, combining elements of music, storytelling, theater and literature. Patrick is an extraordinary steel string Celtic harpist and an equally talented storyteller. The notion of Patrick's show for this evening began with the recording of a CD entitled The Christmas Rose, which went on to win the National Association of Independent Record Distributors' Indie Award for Best Seasonal Recording of 1991. The title piece was one of his mother's favorite tunes and because of the great response to the recording, he began to include a selection of beloved Holiday stories when he performed the song.

Patrick writes:
"So, I stepped into a magical world of English and Irish literature, Celtic legend and traditional folk beliefs and drew out tales such as A Child's Christmas in Wales, chapter from The Wind in the Willows, and passages from Shakespeare, William Butler Yeats and Thomas Hardy, and mingled them with beloved pieces of seasonal music. All of the stories and all of the music touch on what is, to my way of thinking, the central message of the Christmas/Winter season: hope. Hope for something wondrous. Hope for a light in the darkness."

Don't miss this chance to be swept away by this master storyteller as he transports you to Ireland and treats you to achingly beautiful harp music.