SINGING PILGRIMS is an intergenerational trio performing Celtic, traditional and original music that is so much more than melody and rhythm. Their songs are personal expressions of the path they have walked together for over two decades and their story is woven into the fabric of each tune.
The SINGING PILGRIM band members have been making music together for over 20 years–beginning when Bria and Natasha were small children in “The Apple Mountain Harp Kids” ensemble directed by Jeanne. Their musical journey morphed through their growing up years and most recently, Jeanne and Natasha played with the band “The Next Chapter,” (New Mexico Talent Showcase Champions) with performance credits such as the World Bodhran Festival near Killarney, Ireland, the North Texas Irish Festival, the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highland Festival, and Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, to name a few. Thousands of Albuquerque residents attended their hugely popular “Celtic Christmas Concert” series held annually for a decade.
When “The Next Chapter” retired from performance after 10 years together, Natasha and Jeanne invited Bria, (Natasha’s sister) to join them in continuing their musical journey. They recently traveled to Ireland, sharing their music all along the way and are planning a return trip there in 2017.
Jeanne Page is the matriarch of the group (affectionately called “Mama J” by her fellow band-mates) , and is a best-selling author of Hammered Dulcimer books with Mel Bay Publications. While the hammered dulcimer was Jeanne’s main instrument in previous bands, in “Singing Pilgrims,” she focuses on her first love, the guitar.
Natasha Coffing is a multi-instrumentalist composing on the piano as well as the Celtic harp, but long ago, the fiddle became the instrument that felt most at home in her hands. Tasha’s aggressive and passionate playing stye has become the centerpiece of the “Singing Pilgrims” signature sound.
Gabrielle Coffing (Bria) rounds out the trio and it has been harder to nail her down to one primary instrument. She provides a strong rhythmic heartbeat on bodhran or dumbek for Tasha’s sparkling jigs and reels but moves to the keyboards for most of the vocal numbers.
Soulful ballads in three part harmony fill out a Singing Pilgrims program and all three ladies take a turn on the Celtic harp–the instrument that brought them together and solidified their life-long friendship.
