REVIEW BY PADDY O'BRIEN: Over the past several years, musicians in the U.S. have developed a strong awareness of what makes up the core of Irish traditional music. This has come about from many hours of listening to older players whose recordings have preserved some of the best of Irish regional and local styles of music making in Ireland. Many of this younger generation of musicians have often visited Ireland where they have met and sat in with well known solo players and lived the experience of sharing music with them. This has enabled people like Laura Byrne to reach into deeper aspects of the tradition. On this, her first solo flute album, we hear the result of many years of careful listening. What we have is artistic value, respect for melody and interpretation, and a fine spirited delivery of a wonderful choice of tunes. All of this is complemented with an effortless flow of sensitive phrasing that engages and rewards attention. Laura has included a number of her musician friends as guests on some of the selections. The overall effect of accompaniment and varied performances by guest artists serves as a further enhancement of our listening pleasure. Sláinte, Paddy O'Brien REVIEW BY PAUL KEATING (Irish Voice - July 27, 2005 - August 9, 2005 Vol. 19 No. 30) An impressive effort for her first solo-flute album in Irish music for this Vermont native, who has crossed over from the classical realm to become a key cog in the vibrant Baltimore Irish music scene. Having witnessed her holding her own among the seasoned veterans Billy McComiskey and Pat Keogh at the late lamented Erin's Melody manic fests at the end of the Catskills Weeks, Byrne has proved that she can play with the best of them. This recording reveals an artist who has a great appreciation for traditional music and the storied people who make it, as she captures the essence and spirit of it as if she were playing it all her life, instead of in her post Peabody Conservatory years. Blessed with a fine ear and practiced form on the flute, she deftly balances the role of student and teacher as she distinguishes herself in the Irish American scene with a sense of history learned from her Baltimore colleagues, McComiskey, Peter Fitzgerald, Pat Egan, Donna Long and Myron Bretholz with whom she shares some mighty fine music with as well on the new CD. Her versatility and sympathetic rendering of the reels, jigs, hornpipes and some lovely airs and a waltz make this a compelling recording to students of Irish music as well as the devotees who love to stock the larder with the good stuff. BIO Laura Byrne is one of a handful of musicians to successfully cross over to Irish music from another discipline. A native of Vermont, Laura began studying the flute at age nine. She received a Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in 1995 and it was there that she first played a wooden flute as a member of the Peabody Baroque Ensemble. Soon after, she started playing Irish music and began seeking out tunes in Baltimore, Washington and in Ireland - making 4 trips to Clare and Galway that first year. After first learning tunes from old Matt Molloy recordings, fellow Baltimorean and acclaimed flutist Chris Norman, and from various sessions, she went to Billy McComiskey for tunes and his playing is probably her largest influence. In 1999, Laura was the winner of the U.S. Eastern Fleadh Championship in New York. Laura has performed at countless festivals and venues in Ireland and across the United States. In 2001, Laura was a featured performer in the Emmy nominated Christmas with Choral Arts concert, which aired on WMAR-TV ABC2 and WBJC-FM. She performs frequently with accordion player Billy McComiskey, Irish singer/guitarist Pat Egan and pianist Donna Long. A sought-after flute instructor, Laura teaches Irish Flute at Goucher College and also founded and directs the Baltimore Irish Arts Center which holds Irish music classes on Saturday mornings in Spring and Fall. She also teaches flute at the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham. Laura also leads a weekly session at J. Patrick's Pub and at Ryan's Daughter Irish Pub in Baltimore, Maryland.