"Fiddler extraordinaire Jeanne Freeman...a casual virtuosity...the music is light, airy and fun, and...really, really good...fabulous...the overall effect is just about perfect" - John Thomas, The Fretboard Journal
"Set an enviable standard of proficiency" -Earle Hitchner (Wall Street Journal; Irish Echo)
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to my website -- I'm a traditional Irish fiddler in Connecticut and enjoy sharing my love of Irish music with others, whether in concerts, traditional sessions, or teaching Irish fiddle. I also founded and teach at the Connecticut Academy of Irish Music, which offers group lessons on a variety of instruments.
Fall 2021: I'm honored to be teaching and performing at Fiddle Hell On-line this fall, Nov. 4-7 - visit https://www.fiddlehell.org/ for complete listings of this amazing event.
Summer 2021 - Happy to be hosting a new Irish session in Hartford, two Mondays a month at Parkville Market, with funding from the Richard P. Garmany fund through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Hartford Blooms/Knights of Columbus. We ended the summer with special guests Joanie Madden and Mirella Murray of Cherish the Ladies, for a fantastic night of music and fun. Sessions will continue into the fall, check my calendar listings for details.
Spring 2021 update: After the long Covid shutdown of live music, things are starting to come around finally! I'll be posting things here as they come along so check back in.
I was honored to be the Guest Artist for the Simsbury Public Schools town-wide String Festival for Simsbury Public Schools in 2018-2019; it was wonderful to conduct workshops through the year and teach traditional Irish music to all of the string students in grades 5-12, culminating in an amazing concert with the students and music friends Loretta Murphy, Dan Ringrose, and Ryan Ford.
Had a blast joining the great Fergal Scahill (We Banjo 3) as part of his phenomenal "Fiddle Tune a Day 2017" project!
Thank you to Celtic Life International magazine for the nice feature in the June 2017 issue! Read it here:
A session at Comhaltas North American Convention in May 2015, featuring two jigs - “Paddy’s Return” and “Willie Coleman’s”, by musicians L/R Jeanne Freeman, Connecticut {fiddle}, Haley Richardson, New Jersey (fiddle), Patrick Hutchinson, Providence, Rhode Island (pipes), Aaron Olwell, Central Virginia (flute) and Joey Abarta, Boston (pipes).
Created By Willie Fogarty; Source: Comhaltas live - https://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_469_7a_session_at_comhaltas_north_american_convention_in_may/