The Softer Side of Celtic

Jeff Snow, on stage with "The Softer Side of Celtic."

Lacing his performance with stories of English, Irish and Scottish history, Jeff Snow easily switches from one instrument to another. The audience, in a recent performance, especially enjoyed when he played his "custom made for me" autoharp. It's an instrument he has been asked to include more in his performances. The reason he introduced it originally in his show, he says was,"variety in the performance and it's more interesting for both the audience and me. The autoharp is special."

Asked about the history of the songs he chooses to play and relate their background to the audience, Snow claims the music speaks for itself.

"The songs do a good job of giving an snapshot of the times but when you add the history , along with names and dates, it becomes more powerful and gives the audience a better idea of what life was like."

Snow says his first performance on stage, which he was paid for took place at the age of 15. At that time, he played the guitar. He now gives private lessons as well, "Lessons from beginner through advanced out of my home." As to his background, he's a New England boy " born, raised and still live in Western Mass."

http://www.jeffsnow.net/lesson...

Snow varies his performances throughout his travels ,"My normal concert setup is the guitar , autoharp and bouzouki. Sometimes I will include a Bodhran." He added, "The Softer Side of Celtic is the standard title of the concert . At Christmas it becomes "A Gathering of Celtic and Christmas"

Some of Snow's personal favorites, "I play Greensleeves and Moonstar a lot along with various Autoharp pieces." He also said the "favorites" for him also "change from time to time."

Snow is also a performer who is very much aware of his audience. It appears throughout the performance that he is enjoying watching the audience and their reactions as much as the audience is enjoying his performance. At times that can lead to some interesting and/or funny stories the he, as a performer can tell. One of the first that came to his mind during the interview was, "At a concert in a very small village in Northern NH a woman, who was sitting in the front row, got up in the middle of a song and left the building. She returned a few minutes later with a 4 foot tall Bart Simpson figure. She put the Bart Simpson in a chair next to her and they watched the rest of the concert together."

Away from the stage, snow enjoys photography, cycling and golf.