Tomáseen Foley
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    • A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
    • CELTIC KNOTS: AN IRISH LOVE STORY
    • CELTIC JOURNEY WITH OMAHA SYMPHONY
    • PARCEL FROM AMERICA: THE MUSICAL
  • PRESENTERS PAGE
  • TOURS
    • 2022-2023 TOURS
    • 2020-2021 TOURS
  • BIOS/HISTORY
    • BIOS
    • HISTORY OF A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
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  • CDs
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TOMÁSEEN FOLEY
Director, Seanchaí

Tomáseen Foley grew up on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland - where storytelling ‘was as natural as breathing.’ Each year from Thanksgiving through the Christmas season, his show, Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, plays to critical acclaim and packed concert halls all over the US – from California to Maine. In conjunction with the Omaha Symphony and other orchestras, he performs in Celtic Journey - as well as occasional performances with Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. He has released two CDs: A Celtic Christmas: Parcel From America, and a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat. “He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.” - Rego Irish Records
TomaseenFoley.com

WILLIAM COULTER
​Music Director, Guitar
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Music Director William Coulter is an internationally acclaimed master of the steel-string guitar. In 2005, he won a Grammy for a track he contributed a solo guitar compilation of Henry Mancini tunes, called Pink Guitar. He has been performing and recording traditional Celtic and American folk music for 25 years. The most recent of his seven CDs on the Gourd Music label is the acclaimed solo album, The Road Home.
WilliamCoulterGuitar.com

BRIAN BIGLEY
Uilleann Pipes, Irish Flute, Whistles, Irish Dance

Brian Bigley has studied the uilleann pipes for nearly thirty years as a player, as well as a maker, of the instrument. He has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in shows such as the Omaha Symphony's 'Celtic Journey' and the Apollo's Fire Production Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain - the recording of which made it to number three on the Billboard Charts. Brian competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships and has placed second in the senior uilleann piping competition at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. Recently, he has produced and is touring a brand new show called Rambling House. Brian now lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with his fiddler wife, Kristen, and their dancing children, James and Kathleen.
BrianBigleyMusic.com, KBBproductions.net

EIMEAR ARKINS
Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer, Irish Dance

​Eimear Arkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from County Clare, in the west of Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dance Championships. She has toured with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada, and represented Ireland in France at Rennes Expo; in Spain in La Noche Negra, in Shanghai, China at World Expo 2010, and in Milan, Italy at World Expo 2015. Her new solo album is entitled What's Next.
EimearArkins.com

NATALIE WAGNER
Irish Dance

Natalie Wagner started Irish dancing at the age of twelve and immediately fell in love with the art. She competed with great distinction in Regional and North American Irish Dance Championships, including competitions in Canada and Ireland. Her passion for dance led to further education in Ballet and Modern Dance and she is most excited to be dancing in Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas.

MARCUS DONNELLY
Irish Dance
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From Ireland to Luxemburg and from Moscow to Paris, Marcus Donnelly’s leading performances with shows such as Ragús, Rhythm of the Dance, Celtic Legends, and most recently in the U.S. with Celtic Crossroads have created one of the most exhilarating, truly creative Irish dancers performing anywhere today.
He started dancing at the age of ten, in second-hand dance shoes his father bought for fifteen shillings on a visit to Dublin, and went on to compete with distinction in the All-Ireland and World Dance Championships before becoming a full-time professional dancer at the age of sixteen. 
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PDF FILE OF PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
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“2000 seats sold out!”

WEIDNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, GREEN BAY, WI

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“ . . . charmed a sold-out house at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts.” 

​​LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, LINCOLN, NE

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“A very large audience turned out and sat rapt for A Celtic Christmas, 2½ hours of jigs, reels and wordsmithing.”

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, SPRINGFIELD, IL

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“We had to move the performance to a venue with twice as many seats . . . the mix of stories, music and dance was perfect.”

ROCKPORT OPERA HOUSE, ME

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“The most popular performance this year.”

​MELLON ART CENTER, WALLINGFORD, CT

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“Like a pint of Guinness, Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” is going down rich and smooth with . . . another packed house . . . at the Keith-Albee Performing Art Center.”

​THE HERALD-DISPATCH, HUNTINGDON, WV

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“A rousing success . . . a magnificent performance.”

​WEST VALLEY FINE ARTS, LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ

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“1,800 Lied patrons joined the stage musicians for ‘Silent Night’ to close Foley’s warm, intimate and personal look at Irish history and culture.”

​THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

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​“What a terrific program! The audience was completely charmed and captivated…wonderful storytelling…the best I have ever heard.”

​THE SOCIETY FOR THE FOUR ARTS, PALM BEACH, FL

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“In the tradition of great Irish storytellers…Tomáseen Foley is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”

​TOM HORAN, REGO IRISH RECORDS

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“Like a cup of Irish coffee in a neighbor’s kitchen on a dark night, it was warm, comforting and full of cheer.”

​JUSTINE SUTTON, SANTA BARBARA NOOZHAWK

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“Move over, Garrison Keillor. As a presenter of the performing arts who’s always looking for a sure bet, I assure Tomáseen delivers. He deserves a world stage.”

​CRATERIAN GINGER ROGERS THEATER, MEDFORD, OR

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“…a masterful weaver of a good tale… One of the great charms of the evening was Tomáseen’s skill in relating a story…a gentle and easy humor made his tales fascinating and eminently human.” 

​PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS, PALM BEACH, FL

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"...people told me that they LOVED it, that it was just what a Christmas show should be, that it fit in beautifully with our Arts Series and that we should have you back every year!”

​ARLENE SHAW, HOUSE MANAGER, OLIN FINE ARTS CENTER

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“I want to thank you for an absolutely terrific show! We have not had such a large crowd since the Juilliard String quartet six years ago. You are all sooo talented.”

JANE CARTAGE

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“You’ll love his warm-hearted, poignant stories of life in the homeland.”

​MIKE STURGILL, BRITT FESTIVAL, JACKSONVILLE, OR

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“A good storyteller . . . can carry (his) audience to another time and place. It’s an art—and a gift—and Tomáseen Foley has it in spades."

​THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT

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“In between musical presentations by five wondrously talented guest artists, storyteller and Ireland native Tomáseen Foley regaled the sold-out crowd of "good people of Cleveland, Ohio" with poetry, tales and jokes, evoking a quiet evening spent sitting around the hearth."

​THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

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“Foley runs pictures and thoughts across the mind like shooting stars on a crystalline night, with emotions shaking the ground.”

​THE GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI

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“Tomáseen Foley brings to his audience a mastery of the oral tradition that has marked the Irish spirit for generations.”

ROBERT CASEBEER, PROF. EMERITUS, SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY

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​“His warm voice wraps you with vivid imagery and stealthy Irish humor.”

​DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE

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​“With dramatic impact, Foley brought his tales to a fitting close. He has captured the charm of the wit and wisdom inherent in a locality where people lived within the shelter of their neighbours.” 

​PAUL KEATING, THE IRISH VOICE, NEW YORK CITY, NY

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“Tomáseen Foley has made it nationally - and internationally - with his warm-hearted “A Celtic Christmas.”

RICHARD MOESCHL, MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OR

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​“Great storytelling swept up more than 1,000 listeners . . . "A Celtic Christmas" received a standing ovation at the end. Some people may have been standing to reach for a tissue . . . it was heart tugging."

​GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE

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​“Foley had people rapt and delighted . . . he has an engaging manner, a lightness of wit and a silver-tongued way of unwinding a tale.”

GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI

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“He’s a spell-binding storyteller.” 

ROBERT MILLER, ASHLAND DAILY TIDINGS, ASHLAND, OR

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PRESENTERS PAGE
A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
​CELTIC KNOTS: AN IRISH LOVE STORY
CELTIC JOURNEY WITH OMAHA SYMPHONY
​PARCEL FROM AMERICA: THE MUSICAL
​NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
CURRENT TOURS
BIOS
HISTORY OF A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
BOOKING/CONTACT
​CDs & DOWNLOADS
BOOKING IN USA:
​GENERAL ARTS TOURING, INC.
TOM GALLANT, PRESIDENT
845-546-3092

info@generalartstouring.com
WEBSITE DESIGN by BRIGID KRANE of ARTISTS ELEVEN, LLC
  • HOME
  • SHOWS
    • A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
    • CELTIC KNOTS: AN IRISH LOVE STORY
    • CELTIC JOURNEY WITH OMAHA SYMPHONY
    • PARCEL FROM AMERICA: THE MUSICAL
  • PRESENTERS PAGE
  • TOURS
    • 2022-2023 TOURS
    • 2020-2021 TOURS
  • BIOS/HISTORY
    • BIOS
    • HISTORY OF A CELTIC CHRISTMAS
  • BOOKING/CONTACT
  • CDs