Celtic Indian Arvel Bird, Nashville, TN
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, Arvel 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.
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 folk and Celtic rock orchestrations.
Arvel'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.”
For two years, Arvel attended Arizona State University on music scholarship and later transferred to Champagne/ Urbana, IL where he studied classical violin with renowned Hungarian violinist and teacher, Paul Rolland at the University of Illinois. Although he had been playing for several years, Arvel credits Mr. Rolland with perfecting his performance technique.
As he worked to develop his own music style and a large and loyal following, Arvel 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, Arvel won the Indiana State Fiddle Contest four times while still perfecting a variety of performance styles. Arvel returned to Arizona in 1986 and hired by Glen Campbell to tour worldwide for the next six years.
In 1991, he continued touring with Campbell and moved to Nashville, TN, later adding tours with Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, Ray Price, Louise Mandrell, and Clay Walker; but 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 Arvel'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.
A prolific songwriter, Arvel released his 24th and 25th CDs in 2015 adding to his two EPs and two DVDs. Five of his releases have earned him international 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.
Arvel's continuously evolving music is delighting audiences worldwide. His 25th release is a World Music CD reflecting the mood, environment and flavors from around the globe. His 24th release, "Celtic Indian" is a reflection of his live 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, Arvel built a master recording studio to help him launch his own independent record label, Singing Wolf Records, which still supports his 17 active recordings. Initially the studio provided him with a haven to write and record his own music and later to record hundreds of songs and album projects for songwriters and independent artists in many countries.
While enjoying the life of concerts and festivals, Arvel is also active in community outreach projects for local schools, community centers, and social clubs where he facilitates music and spiritual workshops, performances at retirement centers, nursing homes and more.
Although based in Nashville, TN, Arvel 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.
Contact: Kimberly Kelley (615) 406-3689 or kkelley@arvelbird.com
