Irish melodies with Tra le Gael

Audience members chatter and mill about, and the buzz of anticipation is palpable in the auditorium. A gaggle of instruments lay unceremoniously on the stage.

With no flourish or grand entrance, four musicians enter the stage. There is no fanfare, and the group smiles and exchanges quiet jokes before taking their places.

And then, they play.

What Tra le Gael lacks in showmanship, they make up for with beautiful melodies and vocals that wind their way through the theater.

It is like the audience has stumbled upon a gathering in someone’s living room. Each musician is in their own little world, smiling as they hit the high notes, or playing with eyes closed. When the song is done, the group humbly accepts applause before inviting the listeners into the private gathering.

Tra le Gael, a Celtic-style band based in the Flathead, is comprised of four diverse musicians — Barbara Calm on the hammered dulcimer, octave mandolin, penny whistle; Katy Meyers on Celtic folk harp and tenor recorder; Ed Boggs on guitar and fiddle; and Jason Foy on Irish flute, penny whistle, mandolin, Irish Bouzouki and a variety of percussion instruments. Each musician also sings during the performance, adding to the group’s depth.

Over the years, Tra le Gael has taken various forms with many different musicians. The band was originally formed by local musician Gary Morris, who taught a Celtic music class through North Valley Music School. As students finished the class they wanted to continue playing, and so formed Tra le Gael.

“We really enjoyed it, so it was really natural to just keep going,” said Meyers, the only original “founding” member of the band who is still with the group. Meyers, Morris, and several other classmates joined together to form Tra le Gael, and put out their first album, “Celtic Turns,” in 2001. In 2002, Calm joined the group to replace some members who transitioned into other work.

That formation — Morris, Meyers, Calm and a flute-player Karin Hilding — performed and worked together for 10 years. The group performed at community concerts, festivals, dances and private events throughout the northwest, and eventually became an area staple. The group recorded another album, “Sailing Home to Glacier,” in 2012, and even appeared on the Montana PBS program, “11th and Grant with Eric Funk.”

The band suffered a loss in 2012 with the unexpected death of Morris, who passed away at his home.

“My first thought when Gary [Morris] died was, ‘I can’t play music without Gary,’” Calm said. “And then, about a minute later, it was like, ‘I have to play music without Gary.’”

Regardless of the devastating loss, the group knew the show must go on. Tra le Gael had signed numerous contracts and had several obligations it had to go through with.

Only nine days after the death of their co-founder, the group performed at another festival.

“We hit the ground running after Gary died; we had to,” Calm said.

“There was a lot of grief, and it was devastating on a personal, emotional level,” Meyers added. “But that being said, you’re right. We hit the ground running.”

Around the same time, Hilding transferred out of the band as well, leaving two holes in the group. Both Boggs and Foy had jammed with the band previously and had a passion for Celtic music, so they stepped up to fill the roles.

“It’s been almost three years in this configuration, but we’ve become very comfortable since then,” Calm said. The other musicians smile and nod in agreement.

While the group enjoys playing together as often as possible, the musicians also have individual jobs and lives.

Calm grew up in Colorado and now runs a veterinary practice in Kila.

Meyers took up the Celtic harp in the mid-1990s, and is a certified music practitioner, providing therapeutic music at bedsides at North Valley Hospital.

Boggs has spent much of his life as a professional painter.

All members of the group have given lessons and play in different bands and configurations, depending on the specifics of the event.

Tra le Gael said some of the most interesting gigs have been played at local farmers’ markets, in classic Montana springs filled with sleet, snow and rain. However, the group has also been able to play at beautiful churches and outdoor festivals across the country.

Tra le Gael classifies its music as “traditional Celtic,” most of which is hundreds of years old.

“A lot of people have never heard straight-ahead traditional Irish music,” Boggs said. “But I think that once people hear that kind of music, especially if they’re into traditional music, I think they really like it.”

The group will play a contradance at the Kalispell Senior Center on March 7 at 7:30 p.m., and three group members will play as part of another band on March 17 at the Great Northern Bar and Grill in Whitefish.

For more information on Tra le Gael or to purchase one of the group’s albums, visit www.tralegael.com.

Reporter Brianna Loper can be reached at 758-4441 or bloper@dailyinterlake.com.