The first night she got here we learned from our new colleague, Elizabeth Ursic, that she had been harboring a dream since the last time she visited Dublin in the summer of 2005. Her dream, tenderly nurtured these many years, was to play the spoons. She already played the piano and the cello, but the problem with them is that neither is portable or percussive. She said the spoons were the perfect third instrument for her since they met both of those criteria.
When we were at the South Roscommon Singers Circle last Saturday night, Elizabeth asked Declan Coyne if he knew anybody who could teach her how to play the spoons. He discouraged her in the strongest terms from undertaking such a task. Now, if an Irish musician had told me that the spoons weren’t a proper instrument, and in fact were considered a nuisance, I would have skulked off in humiliation and abandoned my goal in an instant. Not Elizabeth; she held on tight to her dream.
Her constancy paid off quickly. It turned out that Danielle Allison actually had some experience with the spoons. She came in with us late Saturday night – actually early Sunday morning – and gave Elizabeth a quick lesson.
But the big payoff came the next day. Elizabeth told her students about her dream, and one of them introduced her to Barry Brady, a local friend of our colleague Bob Farwell. Barry is a musician and he sat Elizabeth down on the apartment steps and gave her accelerated and highly effective training in the spoons. Within a matter of moments she was playing them with verve and style.
Then she and Barry were joined by Peter, also known as “Mouse,” with his twelve-string guitar. Next, out came one of our SAI participants, Jared Corder, and his six-string guitar. Barry ran home and got his tin whistles and they all began to play, with Elizabeth accompanying them on the spoons. Then several other students came to sit on the steps for the impromptu concert.
Within eight days of arriving in Ireland, Elizabeth had achieved her dream. By early the following week she was teaching others. It’s moving and inspiring to see such a powerful connection between a musician and her instrument. The woman was born for it!
Leave a Reply