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Arvel Bird Celtic Indian Brand And Ancestry

Arvel Bird's Celtic Indian brand is a reflection of his mixed-blood American Indian and Celtic heritages -- With his violin, fiddle, Native flutes and Irish whistles, Bird weaves a powerful tapestry of music and stories. He performs at a variety of venues from music festivals to concert halls where the audience gets a glimpse into his Native American heart and Scottish soul. American Indian - Maternal Grandmother Rhoda Carpenter passed down much of the information and some is substantiated by her "adoption" birth certificate, correspondence from official and unofficial channels. Scotland - The Kennedys on his father's side are well-traced through his genealogy and began in the 1700's with James Pratt Kennedy from Kilmarnock, Ayreshire, Scotland (near Glasgow).

Maternal Grandmother Rhoda Carpenter was born in a tipi in the "Indian Village" at the Silver Reef mine in Silver Reef, Utah in the 1880's. Rhoda's father Jack Bob Bee Queets and her mother Tsuununk died in the late 1880's leaving Rhoda an orphan prior to the tribe receiving federal recognition in 1891. The tribe, which later became the "Shivwits Band Of Southern Paiutes", traded Rhoda to a non-Indian Mormon family for a horse and buggy. She was raised by the Carpenters away from her people and culture.

Musical Training And Dynamics

Classically trained as a violinist, Arvel Bird's compositions and performances are a confluence of styles informed by his extraordinary love of diversity—from traditional Celtic tunes and bluegrass standards to his original Native American and Celtic rock orchestrations.

In his youth, Bird’s first private violin teacher in Salt Lake City, UT encouraged him to play from his soul. Prophetically, she said, “Arvel, no one will remember if you’re the best or the fastest, but they will remember your passion.”

Bird attended Arizona State University on music scholarship later transferring to Champagne/ Urbana, IL where he studied classical violin with renowned Hungarian violinist and teacher, Paul Rolland at the University of Illinois. Bird credits Mr. Rolland with perfecting his performance technique.

As he worked to develop his own music style and a large and loyal following, Bird went wherever the music called him, which led him away from classical and towards Bluegrass, Appalachian, Folk and Celtic. During his years in the Midwest, Bird won the Indiana State Fiddle Contest four times while still perfecting a variety of musical styles. Bird returned to Arizona in 1986 and hired by Glen Campbell to tour worldwide for the next six years.

In 1991, he continued to tour with Campbell and moved to Nashville, TN, later adding tours with Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, Ray Price, Louise Mandrell, Clay Walker, and others.

Once he began composing and recording his own music, the result was a fusion of both his Scottish and Native American roots that are uniquely his own and intricately woven throughout his songs.

One of Bird's favorite aspects of touring is the worldwide travel to Scotland, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and in prestigious locations including the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Royal Albert Hall in London, England, Smithsonian Museums in DC and NY, Hochstein Performance Hall in Rochester, NY and the Kennedy Space Center in Cocoa, FL just to name a few -- with symphonies, chamber orchestras, large festivals and more, logging over 500,000 road miles. Arvel has been touring full-time since 2004, giving no indication he’s ready to slow down, yet.

Bird has released 24 CDs, two EPs and two DVDs, earning him numerous music awards. One of his most cherished is for his classical recording, Tribal Music Suite: Journey of a Paiute, a Celtic and Native American concerto for violin and Native American flute, that earned him Best Instrumental Album and Best Producer/Engineer (with Grammy-winning producer Tom Wasinger and Nashville engineer Chas Williams) at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Other awards include Artist of the Year as voted by peers and fans as well as numerous Best Instrumentals.

His continuously evolving music is delighting audiences worldwide. His most recent release, "Celtic Indian" is a direct reflection of his heritage and musical experience. Arvel compiled many of the songs he performs and that have been released on other CDs, included 2 previously unreleased but popular performance songs and created a signature CD to make Celtic Indians everywhere proud!

During his 13 years in Nashville, Bird built a master recording studio, to help him launch his own independent record label, Singing Wolf Records, which still supports his recordings. Initially this gave him his own haven to write and record his own music and later to record hundreds of songs and album projects for songwriters and independent artists all over the world.

While enjoying the life of concerts and festivals, Bird is also active in community outreach projects for local schools, community centers, and social clubs where he a variety of music and spiritual workshops, performances at retirement centers, nursing homes and more.

Although based in Nashville, TN, Bird is permanently on the road, connecting with audiences the old-fashioned way. . . live. This is where Arvel’s emotionally driven performances thrive, igniting concert venues, symphony halls, festivals and more, leaving his audiences inspired, transfixed and transformed.