An energetic folk music and dance production that melds the traditions of American, Celtic, and Baroque.
Grammy Winning Music. ​World Class Dancing.​

"​Can you be mesmerized yet have your soul dancing in rhythm at the same time? It happened for me last Saturday, while watching Brian Bigley's Rambling House at Medina Performing Arts Center.
"Songs and stories, dance and music, poetry in motion, passionate delivery that touches, teaches and wraps you in a hug because it speaks to a part of you that is below the surface, longing to connect, from roots that may run many generations deep."
- John O'Brien, Jr., Ohio Irish American News

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Rambling House: Fifteen Minutes with Violinist Edwin Huizinga

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​Rambling House to perform at Medina Performing Arts Center March 2

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Rambling House Celebrates St. Patrick's Day Early

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Rambling House: This Show Delivers

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Like An Irish Rambling House on Facebook for upcoming shows and exclusive content!

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BIOGRAPHIES 

PHOTO GALLERY

AUDIO

MEDIA KIT

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BRANDON ASAZAWA
joins Rambling House on a break from his tour with Riverdance.

BILL COULTER & EDWIN HUIZINGA
​performing as Fire & Grace.

BRIAN BIGLEY
dances and plays Irish Uilleann pipes, flute and whistle. Accompanied here by Edwin Huizinga, Bill Coulter and Amanda Powell.

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An Irish Rambling House melds the heart of Celtic and American folk music with the discipline and sophistication of Baroque music under the direction of Grammy-winning guitarist William Coulter and former Stevie Wonder Band collaborator Edwin Huizinga. Soprano Amanda Powell, of Apollo's Fire notoriety, sings with untethered joy. This presentation of music is accented with the percussive brilliance of modern Irish step dancing as choreographed by Riverdance veterans Brandon Asazawa and Alyssa Reichert. Brian Bigley, uilleann pipes, and Kristen Capp Bigley, violin are the producers of this show and A Celtic Christmas, which performed to about 1,000 people last December at the Medina PAC.

In Ireland, the neighbors would pick a house to ramble to in the evenings to share music, dance, and story. It was these settings that bore their humor, charm, and a sense of community and togetherness which is what Rambling House exemplifies. It is a joyful culture that’s rich in spirit and warmth - like a steaming hot mug of Irish Coffee in a neighbor's warm kitchen. 

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CURRENT PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

TOMÁSEEN FOLEY - NATIVE IRISH STORYTELLER
Storyteller Tomáseen Foley was born on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland. Each year from Thanksgiving until Christmas, his show Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas plays to critical acclaim and packed concert halls around the US. Tomáseen Foley’s Irish Times tours throughout the remainder of the year. The Oregon Cabaret has developed a hit musical from his story Parcel from America.
He has released two CDs: A Celtic Christmas: Parcel from America, and a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat. Rego Irish Records says “(He) is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”
tomaseenfoley.com

BRIAN BIGLEY - ​UILLEANN PIPES, IRISH FLUTE, WHISTLES AND TRADITIONAL IRISH DANCE
Brian Bigley has studied the Irish uilleann pipes for nearly 25 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 Tomàseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas, the Omaha Symphony's Celtic Journey, and the Apollo's Fire Countryside Concert Series. In 2002 and 2003 Brian competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships held in Glasgow and Killarney. He has recently released his fourth recording of traditional Irish music Dance the Town Green in conjunction with the New York School of Irish Dance.
Brian now lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with his fiddler wife, Kristen, and their dancing children, James and Kathleen.
brianbigleymusic.com

​WILLIAM COULTER – GUITAR
​William Coulter is a Grammy Award winning guitarist who has been performing, recording, and teaching traditional, classical, Celtic and folk music for the past 25 years. He is an internationally acclaimed master of the steel-string guitar. In 2005 he won a Grammy for a track he contributed to a solo guitar compilation of Henry Mancini tunes, called Pink Guitar. William performs as both a soloist and a member of ensembles, including Isle of Skye, Orison, and the Coulter-Phillips Ensemble.
He has recorded many albums for Gourd, including the best-selling Shaker music CD Simple Gifts, and the critically acclaimed Celtic Sessions. The most recent of his seven CDs on the Gourd Music label is the acclaimed solo album The Road Home.
William earned his BA in music from UC Santa Cruz and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory. During his classical studies he was always drawn to traditional Irish and American folk music. This led to a second Master's degree from UCSC, earned in 1994, in ethnomusicology with an emphasis on traditional Irish music, language and song.
​​williamcoulterguitar.com

EIMEAR ARKINS - MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, VOCALS, IRISH DANCE
Eimear Arkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer from Ruan in County Clare, Ireland.
She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dancing Championships. Eimear has toured extensively with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann on concert tours throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada. She has represented Ireland in France as a performer at Rennes Expo and in Spain as a participant in La Noche Negra a cultural collaboration and exchange between the Mid-West of Ireland and the province of Asturias. 
In 2014 Eimear was selected to be part of the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, which was put together to perform the Boróimhe Suite, a newly composed suite of music, written and directed by Michael Rooney, commemorating the life of Brian Ború. 
For the past seven summers, Eimear has performed with the internationally renowned show Brú Ború and was part of the troupe that represented Ireland at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. In August 2015, Eimear traveled to World Expo 2015, in Milan with St. Louis Irish Arts where she promoted not only Irish culture but the expression of Irish culture worldwide. 
Eimear has toured and performed with numerous groups including Cherish The Ladies and Téada. She is a regular teacher at St. Louis Irish Arts since and has given workshops at various festivals throughout the world including Catskills Irish Arts Week, New York; Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival, Estonia; St. Louis Tionól, St. Louis; Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France, Winnipeg Irish Fest, Canada and Canadian Celtic Celebration, Thunder Bay, Canada.
eimeararkins.com

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ALTERNATE PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

SAMANTHA HARVEY - PIANO, ACCORDION, IRISH DANCE
Samantha Harvey is an award-winning step dancer, pianist and accordionist. She has performed throughout the world including gigs in the US, Canada, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia with groups Téada, IRELAND - the show, Irish Christmas in America, Atlantic Steps, Cosa, and Tomáseen Foley's Irish Times. Samantha also enjoys the more intimate performance setting with her accordion and mandolin duo - Sam 'n Ash. 
samanthaharvey.net

AMANDA POWELL - SOPRANO
Amanda Powell is praised for her "inspirational and expressive singing" (Classical Candor) and "abundant vocal technique" (ClevelandClassical.com).  She enjoys a diverse performance career, including classical, folk, jazz and global music. Amanda appears often as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, appearing as soprano soloist in the Praetorius Christmas Vespers, second lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, and as lead female vocalist in Jeannette Sorrell's crossover programs Come to the River (national tour) and Sugarloaf Mountain - An Appalachian Gathering, which became a Billboard bestselling CD in 2015.  She has sung in concerts around the world, including at concert halls in Italy, Spain, France, Mongolia and China. 
Amanda holds a degree in vocal performance with an opera concentration from Shenandoah Conservatory and a certificate in jazz improvisation from the Jazz in July Institute (University of Massachusetts).
amandapowell.info

​EDWIN HUIZINGA - VIOLIN
​Canadian-born violinist Edwin Huizinga is quickly establishing a reputation as one of North America’s most versatile violinists, performing music from baroque to rock n’ roll to Celtic. He performs worldwide with musicians from many genres, including The Wooden Sky, A Far Cry, Tafelmusik, Opera Atelier, Brandywine Baroque ensemble, Broken Social Scene and Jazz Mafia. Mr. Huizinga has recorded with The Mars Volta and Vanessa Carlton, Great Bloomers, and the Minators, and recently had the honor of performing with opera singer Renee Fleming at Senator John McCain's funeral.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Edwin has performed with the San Bernardino Symphony, the Note Bene Ensemble, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, the Georgetown Bach Chorale, the Carmel Bach Festival, the Sweetwater Music Festival, the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, and Banff Summer Arts Festival, among others. As a baroque violinist, Edwin has toured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Edwin has a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
​edwinhuizinga.com

​KRISTEN BIGLEY – VIOLIN
Violinist Kristen Bigley has been playing the violin for 23 years. She studied classical violin at the University of Akron and Youngstown State University. Kristen often performs with small local ensembles in both classical and folk genres, but most of all loves teaching violin/fiddle to local musicians out of her home near Cleveland, Ohio. Kristen and piper husband, Brian, live near Cleveland, Ohio with their dancing children, James and Kathleen, where they have formally started a family business sharing their love of music and manufacturing traditional Irish instruments, The Bigley Music Workshop LLC.
brianbigleymusic.com

​​ALYSSA REICHERT – IRISH DANCE
Alyssa Reichert has been dancing since the age of 5. A national medal holder, Alyssa qualified for the World Irish Dance Championships four times. After competing, Alyssa danced locally as well as an American tour with Women of Ireland. In 2017, she was chosen to dance with Riverdance at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. She toured a second time with Riverdance in late 2017, this time to China for two months. Alyssa has been a private lesson teacher and assists with classes at the Leneghan Academy of Irish dance in Cleveland, Ohio.

​BRANDON ASAZAWA - IRISH DANCE
​Brandon Asazawa began dancing at the age of 4 with the Leneghan Academy of Irish Dance in Cleveland, Ohio. During his 17 years of competitive dancing, Brandon became a five-time Mid American Champion, a National Champion and placed 3rd at the 2016 World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. In 2015 at the age of 18, Brandon joined Riverdance. During his four years of touring with Riverdance, Brandon performed in countries including the United States, China, and Ireland. Additionally, Brandon has danced in shows such as Romeo and Juliet, Flames of the Dance, and Tomáseen Foley’s: A Celtic Christmas. Brandon feels extremely fortunate to continue to share his passion with audiences worldwide.

MARCUS DONNELLY - IRISH DANCE
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. 

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AN IRISH RAMBLING HOUSE LIVE AUDIO RECORDING

Lagan Love: 0 - 6:00
Humors of Ballyloughlin - Don Oiche - Cregg's Pipes: 6:00 - 13:00
American Tunes: 13:00 - 18:15
The Last Pint: 18:15 - 22:20
Parting Glass: 22:20 - End

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AN IRISH RAMBLING HOUSE PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Brooklyn Media LLC and John O'Brien, Jr. (where indicated)

AN IRISH RAMBLING HOUSE
Downloadable Media Kit and Promo Items