"The Clearing," album release, Eugene, 29 Jan 2016.
Dréos is an ensemble of performing composers who create new music and reimagine old music using a traditional vocabulary. Led by two internationally acclaimed melody players in Eliot Grasso (uilleann pipes, flute, whistle) and Brandon Vance (fiddle), backed by Glen Waddell (guitar, bouzouki, accordion, percussion), Dréos offers listeners exciting, handcrafted music in a living tradition, bringing audiences into a centuries-old dialogue.
NEW RELEASE — SEPTEMBER 2023
Much has happened since Dréos recorded The Clearing. Among the things that have changed little, however, are the majestic mountains, surging rivers, ancient forests, and rugged coastlines of the Pacific Northwest. Cascade Mountain Aire invites you into musical moments of adventure and uncertainty, energy and reflection, peace and tranquility, inspired by the place we call home.
Listening options: Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify
Odyssey of These Days is original chamber music composed by Eliot Grasso in response to the artwork of Oregon painter Robert Wesley Hurd. This three-movement work features uilleann pipes, violin, hardanger fiddle, vielle à roue, and cello. The composition earned Eliot a composer’s grant from the Oregon Art Commission and was given its world premiere at the Hult Center in Eugene, Oregon in 2017
Listening options: Bandcamp, Amazon Music
Together in the studio for the first time, their debut recording was released in 2015. The Clearing was hailed by New York’s Irish Echo as “a taut, accomplished work that plays at the crossroads between Irish and Scottish music” and was named one of the year’s top ten recordings by Folk, World & Roots Music.
Listening options: Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora
Photo: "The Clearing" album release, Eugene, 29 Jan 2016.