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Tomaseen Foley brings Christmas home for the holidays New to "A Celtic Christmas" this year is vocalist Kara Matthew - fresh from her studies of the ancient art of Irish singing at the University of Limerick in southwest Ireland. Photo courtesy of Tomaseen Foley Tuesday Dec 20, 2016 at 9:00 AM Dec 20, 2016 at 9:27 AM Laurie Heuston Mail Tribune "Long, long before Riverdance," Tomaseen Foley says, “ordinary country people knocked sparks off the bare flagstones of their floors as they danced jigs, reels and hornpipes in their hob-nailed boots, and the rafters rang with the music of fiddles and pipes.” "A Celtic Christmas" is a re-creation of such a night before Christmas in 1940s West Ireland — before automobiles, television and telephones. In the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanáin — Foley’s birthplace — neighbors gathered at farmhouses, bringing their fiddles, uilleann pipes, flutes, whistles and bodhrans for a night of traditional Irish music, carols, Irish dancing and, of course, storytelling. Shows are set for 3 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23, at Craterian Theater, 23 S. Central Ave., Medford. Tickets are $29, $32 or $35, $20, $23 or $26 for ages 18 and younger, and can be purchased online at craterian.org, at the box office, 16 S. Bartlett St., or by calling 541-779-3000. The Dec. 23 performances will mark the 20th season at the Craterian Theater for Foley and his troupe of Irish dancers, singers and musicians. "Twenty years, 40 shows, believe it or not," he says. "It's amazing to me." Foley told his stories of yuletide merry-making more than 20 years ago at spots around Talent and Ashland, performing with guitarists Brian Freeman and James Keigher and harp player Molly McKissick. Music educator and composer Tish McFadden first managed the show. "We did a small portion of the show at the Ashland Community Center," Foley says. "Everyone said we should take it to the Craterian Theater. I couldn't imagine that we could sell the show there." He was storytelling at a summer Celtic festival in Klamath Falls when he met guitarist William Coulter and fiddle player Debbie Benton-Grosjean from Santa Cruz. "I really liked what they were doing and made it my business to meet them. I wrote Debbie about working together, and William was well known back then in Irish music circles. I didn't think he'd want to tour with me, but he did. He still teaches ethnomusicology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He's been with me and the show from its beginning. "Stephen McCandless (Craterian's executive director) offered to show me the theater, and I thought, 'No way, if I rent this, I will just lose money.' But there was a fellow on the Craterian board named Rick Soud at the same meeting. He said, 'Look, I saw your show. If you lose any money at the Craterian, I will cover your losses. I thought, 'OK, if someone's going to cover my losses, we'll give it a try. "When Bill and Debbie came on board, they brought a certain sophistication to the show," Foley says. "They were seasoned performers, and William had an agent in New York City who he recommended the show to. The agent took the show on, and things changed dramatically. We were immediately booked all over the country." Foley and his Celtic troupe regularly performed at the Craterian, the Ross Ragland in Klamath Falls, in Grants Pass and in Redding, California. The group's first huge gig came when the new agent booked Madison Civic Center in Wisconsin. With a capacity of 2,000 seats, the venue sold out for the show. Foley was so terrified of going on stage, he says, that he only remembers looking out the window of his hotel room and looking at the rented minivan in the parking lot. "I was thinking I could get in it and drive away, and never be found again," he says. "I was amazingly close to it. I had the keys in my hand. I thought the show was something completely beyond me. If you're a guitarist or some sort of musician, then you're doing something with an instrument. As a storyteller, it's just me up there talking about life. "Once we got on stage, the feeling of sheer panic went away, and I thought I'd probably survive it. There is still that bit of stage fright before each show. One of the things that's helped me is reading other performers' biographies. Laurence Olivier had many tricks up his sleeve to help him get over his panic, including peering out from behind the curtain and swearing at the audience." The larger shows in the big cities feel like another world to Foley, he says. "The Craterian seems like home to us compared to other theaters in Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle." Foley brings performers from Ireland for his shows, and, along the way, he's worked with some amazing musicians, singers and dancers. "A Celtic Christmas" refreshes itself each year with new talent. Back again this year is dancer Marcus Donnelly from Galway City; uilleann piper, flute and whistle player and traditional Irish dancer Brian Bigley; accordion player and traditional Irish dancer Samantha Harvey; fiddler Edwin Huzinga; and, of course, steel-string guitarist Coulter. The troupe met Huzinga while doing shows with the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra a couple of years ago. "We called the shows 'Countryside Concerts with Apollo's Fire,' featuring me, William, Brian and the orchestra," Foley says. "It was a mix of storytelling, Celtic and classical music. That's where we met Edwin. He took an interest in Irish music, delved in and started touring with us." New to this year’s show — fresh from studies of the ancient art of Irish singing at the University of Limerick in southwest Ireland — is vocalist Kara Matthews, singing traditional Irish Christmas carols. "As long as people keep coming out to see the show, I'll keep doing them," Foley says. "It's been an unbelievable experience. I had no thought of ever doing anything like this in my life. It's a complete joy and sort of a miracle for me. It's magic."