Vermont School of
Irish Traditional Music

Welcome to our

Spring 2026

6- Week Repertoire Series!​

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Ever since we began teaching Irish music way back in 2008, we have advertised our traditional music classes as “Irish session repertoire”.

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Here’s our confession:

Our real goal was to foster community - a community of musicians who had enough repertoire in common that they could enjoy playing music together inside Vermont and also throughout the world.

And we had another quiet goal: to pass on the concept that playing traditional music is about much more than just accumulating repertoire.

We are proud that our secret goal of fostering community has been more successful than we could have possibly imagined. And we’re proud that our students, past and present, have a wide reputation of of being knowledgeable and respectful when it comes to Irish music.

Most of all, we’re happy to have met so many wonderful people and to have made such good friends, in Vermont and beyond.

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Registration opens

March 10th, 2026

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Registration deadline:

April 1st 2026

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Classes begin:

April 8th, 2026

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Here is a quote from a post on learning Irish music:​

"Dont spend your time worrying about anyone being better than you. The wonderful thing about music is that there's always someone who is at a different stage in their journey."

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You are welcome to choose one or both classes!

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A choice of classes

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​​​Introduction to

Core Irish Repertoire

(in-person only)

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This in-person series is designed for people who can already play a melody instrument, but want to learn more about Irish traditional music. 

​More experienced Irish musicians who would like to review and practice core repertoire are also welcome to this class.

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The goal of the Core Repertoire class is to help you meet other musicians,  learn some solid Irish repertoire, and enjoy the art of playing Irish music with others.

 

One tune will be assigned each week, accompanied by the story behind the tune, videos, and instructional sound files.

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We'll go through the assigned tune in class, review tunes already assigned, and practice playing them with each other.  We will also work on speed, with exercises to help you work up to "session speed" in your playing.

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By the end of the series you'll have learned some popular Irish session tunes and some of the history behind the music we play.

But you will also make some new friends and be introduced to both the local and the world-wide community of people who love to play Irish music.

 

Dates :

Wednesdays

April 8th through May 3rd​

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Time (Core Repertoire)

6:30 - 7:45 pm

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Location for in-person classes:

St. Leo's Hall

(behind St. Andrew's Catholic Church)

109 South Main St., Waterbury Vermont

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Advanced Online Classes

(See theme below)

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​​​​​​​​This class aims to give musicians a deeper look into Irish music and repertoire. It is geared to musicians who play at an intermediate to advanced level, and who want to learn more about iconic musicians, composers, and styles of playing.​​

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We hope that learning about the players and composers of this music (and some of the stories behind the tunes) will help make both the music and the playing of it more meaningful to you.

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The self-paced online “classes” will feature weekly assigned tunes, teaching sound files, video clips, and stories behind the tunes using both email and Google Drive. 

We will also offer practice suggestions to help increase speed and "lift" in your playing.

You can download and work with the audio files at your convenience.

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Advanced In-Person Classes​

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In-person students will receive all of the above.  In addition, in-person classes focus on socializing with other musicians, learning to play a tune at different speeds, from moderate to fast, as well as learning to play comfortably in small to large group settings.

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Time

7:45- 9:00 pm

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Location

St. Leo's Hall (behind St. Andrew's Catholic Church)

109 South Main St., Waterbury, VT

 

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Theme for the Spring 2026 Advanced Series:

 

"The Quiet Man Behind So Many Popular Tunes"

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​Learning Irish traditional music is about much more than simply amassing repertoire. So every year we try to offer the musicians in our classes a deeper sense of this enduring tradition and the people who have kept it alive.

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Although you might have heard Tommy Whelan’s name associated with a few tunes that you might already know, this series on the compositions of Tommy Whelan will likely surprise you. 

 

We were inspired to explore the music of Tommy Whelan after we  bought a book, “The Compositions of Tommy Whelan” collected by Sean Moloney (son of Eddie Moloney). As we listened to the recordings which were included with the book, we were amazed at how many of Whelan’s compositions were in the bedrock of Irish session repertoire. And yet, we never knew who had composed them! 

 

Tommy Whelan's compositions come from the iconic Ballinakill area of East Galway, noted for its noted for its music.  In class, we'll be sending you links  to some documentaries which will give you a full picture of this hotbed of Irish music, along with YouTube links and recordings.

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Tommy's music is widely recorded, even almost 70 years after his death.

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Who can register?

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This series is open to Vermonters and out-of-staters alike - with the understanding that

no class audio files may be shared outside the class. 

 

What is the tuition?

 

We want to keep classes affordable for everyone, so we’re asking for a suggested registration fee of just $100 USD 

 

If you are able to chip in more to support this effort or to help those who can't afford it, we're hugely grateful.

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If you are not able to afford $100, just contribute whatever you can.

 

How to register:

 

You can register simply by emailing us at benedictandhilari@gmail.com.

Specify which class you are registering for, and what instrument you play.

 

We will confirm your registration and let you know how to pay tuition.

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