Kyle Pitcher, Wayland High School Class of 2012, will bring his band, The Founding, to Wayland Friday, Feb. 2, to visit classes and perform in concert.
Members of the group will speak to students in the Wayland orchestra program before performing in concert at 7 p.m. at the Wayland Union Fine Arts Center. They will play with the students and sing some of the new songs they have written as well as some old Irish favorites. The concert is free and open to the public.
During the school day, middle and high school orchestra students will meet in the Wayland Middle School orchestra room to rehearse with The Founding Band from noon until 2:40 p.m. The band will show students how to play some Irish tunes and prepare students to play at a concert that night.
Besides playing with the band, Pitcher, also a graduate of Western Michigan University, teaches music in Goshen, Ind.
The Founding is a Progressive Celtic band from Kalamazoo. With their unique, energetic, and powerful approach to songwriting, they strive to constantly push the boundaries of the Irish and Scottish music traditions.
Over the past two years The Founding has become one of the premier acts in their genre in Michigan. This young band has performed at venues throughout the Midwest, making appearances at the Michigan Irish Music Festival (2017), the Sparta Celtic Festival, the Kalamazoo Irish Festival, and many more. Their discography includes Form. (2017) To a City, Fair (2016), and the single “Silhouettes Against the Soil” (2016).
Their recordings have been featured on NPR affiliates WMUK Kalamazoo and WUTC Chattanooga, as well as Michigan Irish Music Café, Sounds Like Ireland, and The Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.
