Bio

Kate Chadbourne

Kate Chadbourne is a singer, storyteller, and poet whose performances combine traditional tales with music for voice, harp, flutes, and piano. She holds a Ph.D. in Celtic Languages and Literatures from Harvard where she teaches courses in Irish language and folklore – but the heart of her understanding of Irish folk tradition comes from encounters with singers, storytellers, and great talkers in Ireland.

She has been a “tradition bearer” in the Revels Salon series and in the Gaelic Roots Concert Series at Boston College. Her music was featured recently on NPR’s programs, “Cartalk” and “All Songs Considered,” and songs from her latest CD, The Irishy Girl, are played on Irish radio programs throughout the country. The Harp-Boat, a collection of poems about her father, a Maine lobsterman, won the Kulupi Press 2007 Sense of Place Chapbook Contest and was published in 2008. Whether she is singing, telling stories, teaching, or sharing a poem, she aims to leave her audiences moved, enlivened, and eager for their own adventures.

Kind Words
A lovely performance…spellbinding!
~ Janet Sartor, Coordinator of Public Programs, Harvard Art Museum

“Sheer delight” is how one patron summed up the evening.
~ Ann Wilson, Coordinator, Adult Programs, Groton Public Library

Kate’s magical aura and haunting melodies affected listeners of all ages in the audience… Kate ably switched from Irish flute to harp to whistle to keyboard and to an especially enchanting, pure voice. The distance between the Emerald Isle and an American city vanished for an hour as we enjoyed Kate Chadbourne’s lilting melodies and charming tales.
~ Susan Alatalo, Arts Alliance, Hudson, MA

We were so pleased to have Kate Chadbourne grace our stage just before Christmas. Her captivating story telling combined with her beautiful voice and eloquent harp playing led to a wonderful evening of song and story.
~ Ben Burdick, Events Coordinator for Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

Kate Chadbourne has twice had audiences at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology standing in the aisles, enthralled, and singing along to songs they barely knew, led by her silver voice and the crystal-clear tones of her harp, as they effortlessly learned the depths and mysteries of traditional Celtic culture. We hope to have her again.
~ Kevin P. Smith, Deputy Director/Chief Curator of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology (Brown University)

Kate wove her spell on all attending last Tuesday evening's uplifting and entertaining performance at the Brookline Chapel in Brookline, NH. The program was a perfect mix of Irish music, enchanting Celtic stories and her poems about the sea; the music ideally suited the venue as Kate's melodic voice reverberated in the stone chapel along with flute and songs and stories accompanied on harp or piano. The audience also had fun participating in several sing-alongs, getting a taste of the Irish language. As the program organizer, Kate was a real pleasure to work with!
~ Debra Reilly, Program Coordinator, Brookline, NH Public Library

Kate has performed throughout New England including:

Art Centers, Coffeehouses, and Concert Halls ~ Club Passim (Cambridge); Red Door Coffeehouse (Framingham); The Center for Arts (Natick); First Parish Church (Watertown); Amazing Things Art Center (Natick); Bookseller Café (Medford); The Emerson Umbrella (Concord); Springstep Performing Arts Center (Medford); Portland Stage Company (Portland, ME); The Performing Arts Center (Westford); Café Ziba (Acton); The Java Room (Chelmsford); The Side Door Coffeehouse (Jamaica Plain); King Hooper Café (Marblehead)

Colleges and Universities ~ Harvard University; Boston College; Brown University; University College Galway (Ireland); Magee College, University of Ulster (Derry, Northern Ireland); University College Cork (Ireland); Johnson & Wales University; Providence College; Bridgewater State College; Plymouth State College; Western Michigan University; Celtic Institute of North America

Libraries, Festivals, Conferences, and Museums ~ Castle Hill (Ipswich); The Haffenreffer Museum (Providence); The Mariposa Museum (Peterborough, NH); The Goodnow Public Library (Sudbury); The Irish Cultural Center (Canton); The 1714 Meeting House, Lynnfield Historical Society; Smithsonian Odyssey Tour of Ireland; Sharing the Fire Storytelling Festival; The Saco Museum (Saco, ME); Cary Memorial Library (Lexington); Maine Writers’ Conference; Revels Salon Series, Commander’s Mansion (Watertown)