Connie Dover
Encyclopedia
Connie Dover is an American
singer-songwriter
who primarily writes and performs Celtic music
and American folk music
. Born in Arkansas
and raised in Kansas City, Missouri
, she started her career playing bluegrass
before joining Celtic band Scartaglen
in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, she began a solo career and has released four solo albums since 1991's Somebody, all on the Taylor Park Music label, with noted Scottish musician Phil Cunningham
of Silly Wizard
serving as producer. She completed recording a CD of traditional Christmas songs and carols with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, entitled The Holly and the Ivy, which was released in 2008.
Her broadcast performances include guest appearances and features on NPR
's Weekend Edition
(Saturday and Sunday), A Prairie Home Companion
, The Thistle & Shamrock
, Mountain Stage and E-Town.
Connie's work as a writer and composer has flourished alongside her performance career. She received a 2007 Emmy Award
for her production of acoustic music for the KCPT public television production Bad Blood: The Border War that Triggered the Civil War. Her original music earned a Grand Prize in the 2007 Yellowstone & Teton Song Contest, sponsored by the Western Folklife Center (Elko, Nevada), and she is a recipient of the Speakeasy Prize in Poetry, sponsored by The Loft, America's largest independent literary center. Her book of poems, Winter Count, was published in 2007 by Unholy Day Press.
Connie has twice been a finalist for the AFIM Indie Award, and other accolades for her music include being named a Top Ten Folk Release by Tower Records' Pulse! Magazine, a Winning Favourite Folk Release by The Scotsman, Scotland's National Newspaper, a Boston Globe Top Ten Folk Release, a nomination for Scotland's Living Tradition Award Album of the Year and a Creative Achievement Award from Time Warner's Hollywood On-Line. She has been a finalist for two Native American Music Awards, and for two New Age Voice Music Awards for Best Vocalist and Best Celtic Release.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who primarily writes and performs Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
and American folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Born in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and raised in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, she started her career playing bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
before joining Celtic band Scartaglen
Scartaglen (Celtic group)
Scartaglen was a Kansas City based Celtic music group, that formed in the summer of 1982, and produced three albums before disbanding in 1994...
in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, she began a solo career and has released four solo albums since 1991's Somebody, all on the Taylor Park Music label, with noted Scottish musician Phil Cunningham
Phil Cunningham (folk musician)
Phil Cunningham, MBE, born 1960 in Edinburgh, Scotland is a Scottish folk musician and composer.-Biography:Phil played accordion and violin from a very young age. He attended school in Portobello, and was raised Mormon, attending church regularly and playing organ...
of Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas...
serving as producer. She completed recording a CD of traditional Christmas songs and carols with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, entitled The Holly and the Ivy, which was released in 2008.
Her broadcast performances include guest appearances and features on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
(Saturday and Sunday), A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
, The Thistle & Shamrock
The Thistle & Shamrock
The Thistle & Shamrock is a weekly American syndicated radio program, named after the national emblems of Scotland and Ireland, specializing in Celtic music. It is heard on 380 National Public Radio stations, and is available internationally on WorldSpace via NPR Worldwide; according to NPR...
, Mountain Stage and E-Town.
Connie's work as a writer and composer has flourished alongside her performance career. She received a 2007 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for her production of acoustic music for the KCPT public television production Bad Blood: The Border War that Triggered the Civil War. Her original music earned a Grand Prize in the 2007 Yellowstone & Teton Song Contest, sponsored by the Western Folklife Center (Elko, Nevada), and she is a recipient of the Speakeasy Prize in Poetry, sponsored by The Loft, America's largest independent literary center. Her book of poems, Winter Count, was published in 2007 by Unholy Day Press.
Connie has twice been a finalist for the AFIM Indie Award, and other accolades for her music include being named a Top Ten Folk Release by Tower Records' Pulse! Magazine, a Winning Favourite Folk Release by The Scotsman, Scotland's National Newspaper, a Boston Globe Top Ten Folk Release, a nomination for Scotland's Living Tradition Award Album of the Year and a Creative Achievement Award from Time Warner's Hollywood On-Line. She has been a finalist for two Native American Music Awards, and for two New Age Voice Music Awards for Best Vocalist and Best Celtic Release.
Discography
- Somebody, Taylor Park Music, 1991
- Wishing Well, Taylor Park Music, 1994
- If Ever I Return, Taylor Park Music, 1997
- The Border of Heaven, Taylor Park Music, 2000
- The Holly & The Ivy, Taylor Park Music, 2009 (with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra)
External links
- Official website
- [ Entry on Allmusic]
- NPR Story