A musical experience with the Hooligans promises to be fun, eclectic, and pretty amazing. The major talents of the group are two youngsters who are rapidly expanding their musical horizons.

Connor, the groups fiddler, drives most of the music with his energetic fiddling, which may go from very precise traditional Irish, then veer off to a funky bluegrass, a rag, or oldtime shuffle. You never know though, as he may segue from a Nova Scotia reel into a wild Klezmer dance. Educated in classical, as well as Celtic and American folk music since the age of 6, Connor can pull a concerto out of his back pocket as fast as a jig. He was a member of the NJ Youth Symphony family of ensembles for 6 years, and is presently a violinist in the Baroque Orchestra of North Jersey. Connor earned the first place championship in the North Atlantic Irish Fiddle competitions twice in a row, the Fireback Fiddle Adult Celtic, Oldtime, and Bluegrass championships, and the Sussex Fair Fiddle Contest. He’s placed in the top three in the adult divisions of the Pocono Mountain Bluegrass and the Howell Farm Oldtime Fiddle competitions.

Sharlys started playing the harp at age 4, and at 6 won her first North Atlantic Irish Harp championship, which she held for 3 consecutive years. In addition to studying classical and Celtic harp, she is a champion tin whistle player, a fine vocalist, flautist, and an engaging Irish dancer. She’s a multi talented bundle of joy on stage. Sharlys often joins the Baroque Orchestra as a guest harpist or soloist.

Mom/Nancy plays the harp and keyboards, and Dad/George plays bodhran. They call it "parenting with a backbeat". Their role, aside from musical guidance and being roadies involves arranging music, percussive enhancements and accompaniments.

Leap-frogging musical genres, eras, countries, and traditions comes naturally to these young musicians. Amidst the fun, you come to realize that though they make it look easy, the kids are hard workers, highly trained, and musically disciplined.

Check out their schedule now, and come see a show!

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