Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 302; Allison Reese interview

Q:

ALLISON: Um, I'm Allison Reese. A-l-l-i-s-o-n- R-e-e-s-e.

Q:

ALLISON: Well, my dad, um, actually I don't know how he found out about it but he was playing it for a while and at the age of five I decided I wanted to be like my dad and play the fiddle. So, I started that with my dad.

Q:

ALLISON: Yes.

Q:

ALLISON: Um, not much. No.

Q:

ALLISON:

Well, it’s really fun. So, you get there if you have classes at 9, 10 or 11 you'll take those and then after that we'll have lunch and a performer at lunch. So, while you're eating you'll have music to listen to and then they'll do announcements and thank people for bringing in the food cause for the food we have people bring in like soup and bread and stuff for us. And, then, um, after that we go up and everybody just joins together in a band. There's usually a kids band, a teen band and a couple adult bands.

Q:

ALLISON:Uh, no.

Q:

ALLISON: I just like Irish music in general and just playing it, I guess.

Q:

ALLISON: So, we went to St. Louis for the Fleadh which is the... and here national Irish music competition. If you place in first or second in any of the competitions you get to go to... well, Ireland and compete in the world national Irish music. So, I went there, um, last weekend I think, yeah, in, in St. Louis... it was in St. Louis and, and I played a duet with my friend Margo Hollis a fiddle, fiddle, we both play the fiddle and then we got gold. And I playing a groupo with 13 other kids and we got second in that, it was under 18. Um, and then we played Ce`ilidh, also under 18 and we got third in that.

Q:

ALLISON: Yeah, this is the first time I'm going to Ireland but it's not my first fleadh. We're going sometime in August and we're gonna be playing in Drogheda, our duet at least.

Q:

ALLISON: Um, very exciting. I can't wait to go. And, um, hoping we can maybe place there.

Q:

ALLISON: Well, I'm hoping one day to get a college scholarship in the music but also I just really like Irish music and have fun playing it.

Q:

ALLISON: Yeah, I really like playing and would like to keep Irish music going.

Q:

ALLISON: It's fun and I enjoy playing Irish music.

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