Tributes to Mike Rafferty

Mike Rafferty died on September 13, 2011. If you're a regular or even an occasional reader of this blog, you know that Mike was very important to me.  To officially mark his passing, I have noted below the many remembrances he received.  I have compiled this list mainly for myself, but others may find such a reference meaningful or useful.

TRIBUTE FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Fatherly Connections

Ralph Mason (left) and Mike Rafferty (right)

Ralph Mason and Mike Rafferty were two very different men.  Ralph was my father, Mike was my flute teacher.  I began lessons with Mike in 2004, six years after my father died.  Over time, I found myself making comparisons between them.  A few similarities existed despite the fact that other things about them seemed to be reversed, just like their initials.

Rafferty

Updated July 4, 2012 

This post honors my Irish flute teacher and mentor, Mike Rafferty, who died on September 13, 2011.  At the time of his passing, so many people posted touching tributes on Mike's Facebook page (which was and still is maintained by his family).  The most moving of those remembrances, for me anyway, was the piece written by another one of his students, Brian Holleran. Although my association with Mike was not as long or as intimate as Brian's, the essence of my relationship with Mike --- indeed, of Mike's relationship to all his students -- has much in common with what Brian describes below.  Thanks, Brian, for giving words to what many have experienced and for allowing me to share it on my blog. 
  

Rafferty
by Brian Holleran

Photo by Tom Madden, used with permission.

Catskills Bound

The title of this post is a throwback to a similar one written last year as I prepared to go to Ireland. As a matter of fact, at this time last year I was already in Miltown Malbay, having the time of my life at Willie Clancy Week. I've been reliving many fond memories and wishing I had gone back this year. Life (and finances) dictated otherwise, so this year I'm returning to the humble hamlet of East Durham, NY, for the Catskills Irish Arts Week (CIAW) - which is, after all, the best the US has to offer when it comes to traditional Irish music festivals. I leave on July 11th and, truth be told, I'm getting pretty excited about it!

Congratulating Mike Rafferty

I want to add my congratulations to Mike Rafferty for being named a 2010 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship. This award is the highest honor the United States awards to traditional musicians. I'm very pleased to see Mike recognized in this way. He surely does deserve it - for the students he's taught, the recordings he's made, and for being such a presence in the Irish music scene in both North America and in Ireland.

Flute Lessons with Mike Rafferty

Although a fair amount of biography and some good descriptions of Mike Rafferty's playing are available online (see links at the end of this post), I have yet to find anything written on his teaching. This blog post attempts to fill that void. What follows here are my reflections about Mike as a teacher and what I’ve learned from him over the past four years.

Mike Rafferty: Comhaltas Video Clip of the Day

Linda & Mike, at the Catskills Irish Arts Festival in July, 2004.

NEWS FLASH: My Irish flute teacher, Mike Rafferty, is the subject of today's Comhaltas Video Clip of the Day! (Comhaltas is a non-profit Irish organization, with local chapters around the world, dedicated to the preservation of traditional Irish music.) In the video Mike performs with his daughter, Mary Rafferty Clancy, and his son-in-law, Donal Clancy. They play two jigs, The Lilting Banshee and another tune he learned from his father, Tom "Barrel" Rafferty. Click on the link below, then sit back and enjoy!

Mike Rafferty: Comhaltas Video Clip #242-5

Instrumentalists at the 2007 Catskills Irish Arts Week

Since I am primarily a flute player, it wouldn't be right to finish my reflections on the 2007 CIAW without commenting on the instrumental music I heard. A few performances and players stand out in my mind:  Martin Hayes, Mattie Connolly, Angelina Carberry, Joanie Madden and Mary Bergin's tin whistle duet, and Mike Rafferty along with various other flute players.