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"We have before us one of the best singers in folk music today, and probably, one of the female voices of this generation who is destined to stay at the forefront for a very long time . . . interpreted with emotion and an exotic, enduring passion.' - Salvador Rodriguez, Faro Del Ocio, Spain Acclaimed by the Boston Globe as "the finest folk ballad singer America has produced since Joan Baez", Connie Dover collaborates with conductor Bruce Sorrell and the composers of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra to create a lush new holiday collection. In this album of traditional songs of Advent and Christmas, Connie's voice is wrapped in the instrumental richness of one of America's premier chamber ensembles - - guitar, highland bagpipes, tinwhistle and hurdy gurdy entwine with strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion in a set of nine winter carols arranged just for this CD. A recording of transcendent loveliness, sacred in atmosphere, The Holly and the Ivy captures the warmth and hope of the winter season, performed by a singer whose vision continues to be at the forefront of traditional music. Connie Dover is a singer, poet and Emmy Award-winning producer and composer. Her soaring, crystal-clear voice and inspired arrangements of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland and the American West display a depth and breadth of range that have earned her a rightful place among the world's finest traditional singers. Connie began her Celtic music career as a lead singer for the Kansas City-based Irish band, Scartaglen. She has collaborated with musical friends on both sides of the Atlantic, performing on radio, television, and in concerts around the world. She has been a guest on NPR's Weekend Edition, A Prairie Home Companion, Thistle and 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's solo CDs established her reputation as a world-class vocalist, garnering rave reviews. She has twice been a finalist for the AFIM Indie Music Award, and other accolades 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 two New Age Voice Music Awards for Best Vocalist and Best Celtic Release. Connie founded the Taylor Park Music record label to release her music, which is distributed worldwide, and she has contributed songs to compilations on the Narada, Sony, Virgin, EMI, and Rounder record labels. She has been a guest on numerous collections of folk and world music, and on film and television soundtracks, including the PBS programs Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie and Water and Fire: A Story of the Ozarks (which won two Emmy awards for music), and she was a music consultant for the Ang Lee Civil War film epic, Ride with the Devil. Born in Arkansas and raised in Missouri, Connie Dover is of English, Cherokee, Mexican and Scots/Irish descent. She discovered the wealth of the Celtic music tradition as a teenager, and began a search which continues to this day, devoting her life to the collection, preservation and performance of traditional songs and ballads. Her history degree, earned from William Jewell College, and her undergraduate work at Oxford University have further enriched her unique perspective of the cultural context of folk music, and her insightful interpretations bring ancient ballads to life. Her classes and workshops exploring the creative core of writing and performance are a hallmark of her work. When Connie is not performing, she works as a ranch cook in the beautiful country between Wyoming's Wind River and Absaroka Mountains (and where she can often be heard singing old-time songs around a roaring campfire to the accompaniment of hoarse cowboys and lowing cattle). The theme which runs through her work is the exploration of the common ground between British Isles and American folk music, and she offers the modern listener a musical experience that transcends cultural boundaries and affirms our connection with the past. A warm and engaging performer, and a singer and composer of the highest order, Connie's diverse background and interests are reflected in the depth and richness of her approach to traditional music. 'Connie Dover possesses that most rare of instruments, a voice so evocative, so perfect, that it makes other great voices pale. Hers is a universal voice, following the thread of history, so steeped in tradition it conjures images of Scotland, of Ireland, of Appalachia, of the Old American West . . . a consummate singer of Celtic music.' - Jon Chandler, Old West Journal 'Some singers, though singing in a foreign language, have very moving voices. Even if the audience does not understand the words, it will be attracted by pure feelings that are expressed naturally . . . so Connie's singing, like a crystal spring, drives away our fatigue and brings vitality to our lives.' - Chinese Press, Singapore.