OCEAN Celtic

About the Artist

The OCEAN Celtic Quartet (Jennifer Cutting on button accordion & keyboard, Christine Noyes on vocals, & guitars, Sean Heely on fiddle, voice, and harp, and Steve Winick on vocals and percussion) play music packed with pure pan-Celtic pizzazz, putting their unique spin on traditional songs and Cutting’s original compositions, from soaring ballads and stirring sea chanteys to blazing fiddle and accordion tunes. Folk instruments such as accordion, bouzouki, and fiddle join forces with electronic keyboards for a sizzling synergy that will appeal to fans of folk, classical, and pop music alike. As much at home in the concert hall as on the festival stage, OCEAN has played to sold-out and enthusiastic crowds at Maryland venues such as the Strathmore Mansion, Annapolis Maritime Museum, Howard County Historical Society, Calvert Marine Museum, Globe Theater in Berlin, and outdoor Festivals and Concert Series such as Southern Maryland Celtic Festival and Riverfront Concerts at Washington College in Chestertown. When outdoors, OCEAN is known for getting audiences up on their feet to dance to their electrifying Jigs and Reels; when indoors, for raising goosebumps with their soaring vocals and otherworldly Celtic beauty. Add a penchant for deep scholarship and a great sense of humor, and you have a band that will captivate all ages. There's nothing else like it...OCEAN is Celtic Music for Ancient Moderns! JENNIFER CUTTING happily blends careers as a bandleader, composer, instrumentalist, ethnomusicologist, and record producer.  Blending the formal training of her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music with a passion for both traditional and electronic musics, she is one of few women bandleaders working in her genre. With her previous band The New St.  George and her current band OCEAN, Cutting has pushed the boundaries of “Celtic,” “Folk” and “Folk-Rock,” creating arrangements with sweeping orchestral sounds, shimmering ethereal electronics, authentic traditional instruments and a hard-hitting rhythm section. Cutting is a multiple award winner in all areas of her musical career.  The New St. George earned her fifteen WAMMIE awards from the Washington Area Music Association; and later, as an individual, she won the 2003 WAMMIE for Best Contemporary Folk Instrumentalist. Most dramatically, she swept the 2004 WAMMIE awards, winning “Musician of the Year,” “Songwriter of the Year,” and “Best New Artist,” as well as “Album of the Year” and “Best Contemporary Folk Recording” for OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey.  She has won two Maryland Governor’s Citations for composition, as well as prestigious national-level songwriting awards such as First Prize in songwriting at the Merle Watson Festival, and American Songwriter Magazine’s Song of the Year. As well as directing OCEAN, Cutting is head of SunSign, her own international music production company, and has her own studio in Takoma Park, Maryland.   

Artist's Statement

“The Ocean Orchestra was a pleasure to deal with. Jennifer Cutting not only has an innovative artistic vision, but also has her feet firmly planted on the ground. Before the concert, her well organized delivery of press materials and program notes, careful coordination of logistics, and willingness to work with me in promoting the concert paved the way for a successful event. It culminated in a packed house with the ensemble delivering a magical evening of music that was highly original, yet appealing to audience members of all ages.” Busy Graham Class Acts Arts, Silver Spring, Maryland