CARTHAGE – New England Celtic Arts will host Irish-born fiddler Maeve Donnelly and Scottish guitarist Tony MacManus at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center, Wednesday, April 15, and at Lakeside Theater in Rangeley Thursday, April 16.

Both concerts will begin at 7 p.m. A pre-show jam will start at 6:15 at Skye Theatre when audience members can bring their instruments and play with featured artists.

Hailing from East Galway, Donnelly won her first All-Ireland fiddle competition at age 9. She subsequently won two more All-Ireland fiddle titles as well as the National Slogadh Competition for Solo Fiddle and The Stone Fiddle Competition in County Fermanagh (1981).

In 1976, Donnelly was the youngest of 25 musicians invited from Ireland to perform at the Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in Washington D.C. During this tour, she and her friends, Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill, Sean Corcoran and Eddie Clarke, recorded the album “Sailing into Walpoles Marsh.”

As founder of the group Moving Cloud (1989-2000), Donnelly has recorded and toured in North America. Her solo debut fiddle album, “Maeve Donnelly,” captures not only the unique East Galway and Clare sound, but also the spirited and rhythmic music from Nova Scotia and Quebec.

For the last few years, Donnelly has been touring with McManus in Ontario, California, the East Coast and Ireland. Their collaboration resulted in a recording “Flame on the Banks,” released early in 2008.

With support from Greentrax Recordings in Scotland, McManus’ first self-titled recording in 1996, followed by “Pourquoi Quebec” in 1999, led to worldwide recognition. However, it was his “Ceol More” release in 2002 that elevated him to first-class musician status. He was nominated Musician of the Year by both the BBC Folk Awards and The Scottish Traditonal Music awards. And in 2002, “Ceol More” hit the Critic’s Album of the Year list in Acoustic Guitar magazine and was named Album of the Year by Live Ireland Awards.

Tickets are $10 at the door. Reservations recommended. Call Skye (2 Highland Dr.) at 562-4445 or Lakeside (Main Street) at 864-5000.