San Francisco's Home for Great Concerts since 1970

Concert program for Golden Bough

Sunday, December 20, 2020 at 4 pm

Download a copy of the program here.

Golden Bough

Margie Butler, vocals, Celtic harp, tin-whistles, recorders
Paul Espinoza, vocals, guitar, accordion, octave-mandolin
Kathy Sierra, vocals, violin, viola, tin-whistle

Program

A’ Soalin’

Christmas Comes But Once a Year

I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In

Welsh New Year Song

The Boar’s Head/O’Carolan’s Draught

Crown of Light, Crown of Thorns

The Mummer’s Carol

Themes from ‘Everlasting’ and ‘The Last of the Mohicans’

Bring Us a Bowl/Welsh Tunes

The Wexford Carol

Green Grow the Holly/ The Holly & The Ivy Girl

On Christmas Night

All Soul’s Night

Sans Day Carol

Mrs. Fogarty’s Christmas Cake

The Reindeer Song 

The Gloucestershire Wassail

About the performers

“There is a love of this music by the performers that is obvious. A great example of how to do something the right way when many are just doing it, period.” Wind and Wire Magazine

Rooted in the traditional music of the seven Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, French Brittany and Spanish Galicia), Golden Bough has become a popular and in-demand group on both sides of the Atlantic. Since their formation in 1980, this trio of modern day minstrels has traveled great distances to numerous countries, to bring their music to enthusiastic folk fans the world over.

Blending their voices in pristine harmony, they back themselves on an array of rare and more common acoustic instruments; Celtic harp, guitar, octave-mandolin, mandolin, accordion, violin, viola, penny-whistle and bodhran. To date they have released over 30 recordings. In the recording studio, as well as on stage, Golden Bough captures the essence and joy of traditional music.

In April of 2001 Kathy Sierra joined Golden Bough and brought a new level of energy and excitement to the band.  Her vocal harmonies blend naturally with Paul & Margie and together the three create a rich, full sound.

Golden Bough’s first European performances were in the streets and small folk clubs of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Holland and Switzerland in the early `80’s. These simple beginnings soon led to major tours of European cities and a recording contract with a top European World Music label.

Margie Butler, vocals, Celtic harp, tin-whistles, recorders
Margie’s earliest musical influence came at the knee of her father, a talented Irish Tenor. As a child she played piano and violin. It wasn’t until she began playing the Celtic harp, however, that her true love of Celtic Music came into full bloom. Besides performing with Golden Bough for the past 24 years, Margie has also recorded a CD of Celtic lullabies and two collections of harp music. Margie received a degree in performing arts from The United States International University for Performing Arts.

Paul Espinoza, vocals, guitar, accordion, octave-mandolin
Paul’s first instrument was the accordion, which he took up at the age of nine. The guitar followed soon after and by the time he was 16 Paul was writing songs and performing in coffeehouses and folk clubs. After several years of performing as a soloist, with a folk trio and later in a rock and roll band, Paul joined forces with Margie. They performed for a time as a duo and then, in 1980, they formed Golden Bough.

Kathy Sierra, vocals, violin, viola, tin-whistle
Kathy began her violin studies at age 5 in Honolulu, Hawaii and performed in concert with the Honolulu Symphony at age 7. Kathy received her degree in drama and music from Principia College, where she was honored with the Francis Van Der Meid Smith Music Award for outstanding musicianship. Kathy has performed with the Gold Country Chamber Orchestra in Sacramento. Her other musical influences include Eastern European, as well as, Celtic fiddle styles.

Old First Concerts has volunteer opportunities available!

Our concerts rely on the generosity of volunteers to assist with simple tasks like:

ushering

distributing programs

box office

set-up and clean-up

Scheduling is flexible — you choose when to work! We especially need helping hands for our Friday and Saturday night performances.

An excellent opportunity for students, seniors, or anyone who possesses a love for music!

If you’d like to consider volunteering with Old First Concerts, please contact curtishuth@oldfirstconcerts.org for more information.