Tom Rota will play the uillean pipes at the Oasis of Music, held at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, from 12:30-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. For this performance, Tom will focus on some of  his favorite tunes from the past 25 years of piping that highlight the different types of Irish tunes and emphasize the influence of the uilleann pipes in the music.

Originally from New Milford, New Jersey, Rota began playing bluegrass music on the 5-string banjo at the age of 11. He later developed an interest in acoustic and electric guitar and was involved in several rock and roll bands. Rota came back to the banjo in 1990 and was fortunate to study with legendary banjo master Tony Trischka for several years. In 1993, Rota began working for an Irish music record label and his obsession with Irish dance music and the uilleann pipes began. Having received his first “practice set” as a Christmas bonus, he began studying the pipes in 1995 under the tutelage of famed piper and teacher Bill Ochs in New York City. He studied with Ochs consistently for the next 4 years and eventually moved to Maine in 1998 where he began to perform Irish music for the first time. In 2001, he attended the University of Limerick, Ireland, and received a masters degree in traditional Irish music performance. While there, he was fortunate to study with some of the masters of modern piping like Tommy Keane, Jimmy O’Brien Moran, Maire Ni Ghrada, Mickey Dunne, Mick Coyne and more. After a short tour of Finland with the Limerick-based group Sionna, he returned to Maine where he has been a staple of the Irish session scene ever since. He is the founder of the long-running Maine Irish traditional group Boghat and, more recently, helped to form the Portland-area quartet, The Vacationland Ceili Band. In 2006, he began hosting and booking the Irish Night at Blue series in Portland which has now been running weekly for over 14 years and has been host to some of the area’s best homegrown talent as well as some of the leading players from around the world today.

Rota currently lives in South Portland, teaches uillean pipes and banjo, plays gigs whenever he can and continues to host multiple sessions and curate the Irish Night at Blue series. He plays a full set of concert pitch pipes and a ¾ set of flat pitch “C” pipes, both made by David Quinn of New York.

Admission to the Oasis of Music is free, with donations accepted. Face masks are required, as is social distancing. For more information, call (207) 344-3106.

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