Folk Artists Gallery Lesl Harker: Irish flute and tin whistle

Lesl Harker of Dauphin County, PA plays and teaches Irish traditional music on flute and tin whistle. In spring of 2024, she spoke with folklorist Amy Skillman about the importance of learning and teaching traditional music in the traditional way: passing it from ear to ear, from hand to hand.
(Her name is pronounced LESS-il)

“My purpose is to carry on the music of Old East Galway, one tune at a time.”

portrait of Lesl Harker by Bill Harker

About Lesl Harker

Ireland is a tiny country — two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania! — but people all around the globe love and play its traditional music. Lesl plays and teaches a specific style of that music: the East Galway manner of playing. She learned that music in the traditional way, and is passing it on to others in the same way.

Mike Rafferty (at left) and Lesl Harker (at right) play flutes together in his basement. They sit on folding chairs, and there are cassette tapes and photos and instrument cases on shelves behind them. Their flutes are black wood with silver or brass rings, and have no keys. Mike is an elderly man who appears to be in his 80s, with white hair and glasses. Lesl appears to be around age 40, casually dressed in flannel shirt and gray sweater vest. — Lesl and her teacher, the late Mike Rafferty, during a lesson in his basement. On Mike’s lap is a set of Irish uilleann (ILL-inn) pipes, which he also played well.

Discovering the music

When Lesl was a very young girl, her father had her listen to Irish music on the radio, and later she listened to the Clancy Brothers and other musicians who were part of the “folk revival” in the 1960s. As a young adult, she became part of the folk revival herself: playing guitar, singing and researching old ballads. She worked for eight years as a professional minstrel in England, and performed with her own band back in the States after that.

Lesl had always been drawn to find the roots of the music she enjoyed. Over time, she realized that the music she loved most had its source point in the Irish tradition. She also realized she wanted to go beyond books and archives, and learn from a primary source: a living Irish musician.

A friend recommended she contact Mike Rafferty, an Irish emigrant living in New Jersey who was a highly-regarded traditional flute player. He agreed to take her on as his pupil, and began teaching her to play the tin whistle, since she did not yet have a flute.

Teacher, mentor, friend

Lesl studied with Mike Rafferty for 13 years, until his passing in 2011, and was his New Jersey State Council on the Arts apprentice twice. “He became like a second father to me, and he also showed me how to teach the music.” Lesl published two books of his music, containing the first six hundred tunes that Mike taught to her over those years. The books can be purchased through Amazon Books, and may be available directly from Lesl.

A modern Boehm-system flute (bottom) alongside three of Lesl’s wooden flutes: a 6-key Concert D flute made by John Gallagher, a keyless Concert D flute made by Patrick Olwell, and an 8-key E-flat flute (top, unknown maker) which, being slimmer and shorter, plays a semitone higher than the others.

The Irish flute sound

It is certainly possible to play in the Irish style on a modern silver flute; Rafferty himself played one for years. But the traditional instrument is the older “simple system” wooden flute, which has open holes and few or no keys. The photo above shows three of Lesl’s flutes, with a silver flute for comparison.

A big part of the Irish flute sound is the breath: rhythmic emphasis, musical phrasing, and a player’s unique timbre. Another big part is the fingers: shaping notes by tapping a finger briefly over a hole, or slightly lifting it off the hole, or sliding it across a hole, or covering holes firmly and completely. But the most important factor for a player is neither flute, nor breath, nor fingers — it is listening to master players and understanding how the music should sound.

This video is a short concert Lesl gave at the Pipers Gathering in August 2024. Notice the relaxed energy, the rhythmic pulse of her breath, and the way she uses her fingers. Her tone and phrasing are pure Rafferty.

The pure drop: the music of East Galway

Mike Rafferty passed along to Lesl the unique musical style and repertoire of his home region: Ballinakill Parish in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. Mike Rafferty had learned his music from his father, Tom “Barrel” Rafferty, and from other neighbors in his community.

A map of Ireland showing county lines. Galway is about halfway up the western coast. A lake divides it into two parts. West Galway is about a third of the county and has quite a lot of Atlantic coastline. East Galway is about two-thirds of the county and is almost all inland except for the bit facing Galway Bay. — By land area, Ireland is about two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania. County Galway is about the same size as the combined area of Pennsylania’s Lancaster, York, Dauphin and Lebanon counties.

Rafferty played “the pure drop” — meaning that his sound, repertoire, and performance style were truly authentic. As he taught it to her, Lesl strives to pass on that authentic sound to her students and apprentices, and hopes that they will pass it on to others.

In 2010, the year before his death, the (United States) National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) formally recognized Rafferty as a national living treasure by awarding him a National Heritage Fellowship. The NEA observed:

“Rafferty has devoted a lifetime to exploring, performing, and teaching traditional Irish music to students on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Mike Rafferty’s legacy

Mike Rafferty sits in a chair in his home, with a stone fireplace to his left and a wood-paneled wall to his right. He is an elderly man (age 83 in this photo) with white hair, bushy white eyebrows, and large squareish glasses with brown frames. He is smiling slightly, as if about to speak. He wears a pale yellow dress shirt and khaki slacks. Across his body he holds a wooden flute at an angle; it is black wood with gold rings and keys. — National Heritage Fellow Mike Rafferty, photographed in 2010 by Tom Pich for the National Endowment for the Arts

When Rafferty immigrated to America in 1949 as a young man, he brought the music of Galway with him. Settling in New Jersey, he found work, raised a family, and hosted legendary Irish music sessions in his basement. After retiring in 1989, he devoted more time to music: teaching, playing, and performing all across North America.

In addition to appearances on other artists’ recordings, Rafferty made three albums with his daughter Mary, an accomplished flute and accordion player, as well as a solo CD in 2004 and (at age 82!) a duo CD in 2009 with New Jersey fiddler Willie Kelly, whom he mentored. He also helped Ireland’s traditional music organization Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCE) establish itself in North America. A Comhaltas branch in New Jersey now bears his name.

Read more about Mike Rafferty in his short biography on the NEA’s website and in this article in the Irish Echo about the award.

“No Irish traditional musician on either side of the Atlantic has created a more impressive body of recordings over the last nine years than flute, whistle, and uilleann pipes player Mike Rafferty”
— The Irish Echo [in 2005, quoted from arts.gov]

A distinctive pulse

“The East Galway style is unhurried and with a distinctive pulse in the music that is very different from the more driving rhythms” heard elsewhere in Ireland, observes noted Irish flute player Brad Hurley. Rafferty himself put it this way: “You’ll hear a lot of players saying: ‘Well, I’m playing for the dance, and you have to play it fast,’ ” he said. “And it gets into your bloodstream. You’ll play it fast all the time.”

Mike Rafferty said: “My ambition is to play it slow. You’re pronouncing it better, you’re getting more feelings, you’re getting more satisfaction, there’s more fun in playing, anyway.”
source: MastersOfTraditionalArts.org

But as Lesl says, “You can’t really talk about music; you have to listen to it” — so here are some samples of her playing in the East Galway style.

The Humours of BallyLoughlin is a celebrated, centuries old, big piping jig. This recording is of the second time these two ever played it together. The first time was in their sound check: an example of how universal the Irish tunes are.
Played by Lesl Harker (flute) and Jerry O’Sullivan (uilleann pipes).

The Boyne Hunt and The Shannon Breeze (AKA Rolling in the Ryegrass) are two reels, recorded in 1938 by the Ballinakill Ceili Band, the first Irish ‘country’ dance band to be recorded commercially. Those musicians played with Mike Rafferty’s father Tom ‘Barrel’ Rafferty, who was unable to formally join the group because of blindness.
Played by Lesl Harker (flute) and Jerry O’Sullivan (uilleann pipes).

Father Newman’s and Eddie Moloney’s (the Kinvara) are two reels given to Lesl by Mike Rafferty, on tin whistle. Father Newman’s is a composition of the late County Offaly flute player John Brady, founder and leader of the Longridge Ceili (Dance) Band. The Kinvara reel is from Eddie Moloney, the son of one of the Ballinakill Traditional Players. Eddie was a renowned flute and fiddle player in the Ballinakill area, and Mike played with him frequently.
Played by Lesl Harker on tin whistle.

Lesl Harker plays a wooden flute. It is black wood with silver rings, and has no keys. She is a slim woman who appears to be in her 50s, with wavy auburn hair that falls over her shoulders and bangs that cover her forehead. She is wearing a pink lace blouse, and her eyes are closed. A very rough stone wall is in the background. — Here, Lesl plays a keyless simple-system wooden flute.

Irish music in revival — but still in danger

In the early 20th century, even as early recordings were capturing the music of master players and popular dance bands, Ireland was losing its traditional music. Fortunately, the 1950s marked the beginning of a revival that continues vigorously to this day.

The advent of recordings, radio and video meant that great examples of playing in a variety of styles became easily available. But it also meant that learners could combine bits that they liked, rather than learning only what was played in their local area. As a result, distinctive regional styles of Irish music, including the East Galway style, are at risk of fading out altogether as the older generation of musicians passes away.

Lesl has made it her mission to pass along Mike’s music by teaching it directly, in the way it is meant to be played, in the way it has traditionally been taught.

Photo courtesy of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts

Lesl teaches apprentice John Emerich a tune on tin whistle. She plays a phrase and he repeats it, continuing until he has learned the whole tune.

Little tube full o’ tunes

The tin whistle is a simple, inexpensive instrument, and many Irish children are taught to play it. It is a metal tube (made of tin in the 19th century, now usually brass or aluminum) with six finger holes and a mouthpiece at one end. Flute and whistle share the same fingering patterns and techniques. Both are diatonic instruments (lifting fingers sequentially produces a major scale) but a skilled player can get the in-between notes by half-covering holes.

Three whistles from Lesl’s collection, all from different makers, all pitched an octave higher than a D flute. The one with the green mouthpiece (by Feadóg) is one of Lesl’s very first whistles, bought for a few dollars in the 1970s. The brass one in the middle is made by John Sindt; the aluminum one at the top is by Michael Burke.

A caretaker of tradition

Lesl teaches the way she learned: by ear, one tune at a time.

She observes, “there are many angles and facets to learning traditional Irish music, including tone, timing and even who you are as a musician.” She promotes a growth mindset. “Learning our music isn’t linear. The approach is tune-based so that we internalize information in these categories by working through one tune at a time.”

Mike Rafferty said: “I show them like my father showed me, and they get used to me after a little while and they pick up the tune rather than read it out of a book. It’s faster this way. You can learn a tune much faster.”
source: MastersOfTraditionalArts.org

With Lesl, a student learns a tune in small segments, bit by bit — the same way she learned them with Mike. Lesl plays a phrase, the student copies it, and they play it together a few times. They continue in this manner through the end of the tune, until they can play the entire tune together. Echoing his words, she says, “This is the easy traditional way to learn.”

Lesl and her students also explore the culture, learning about different players and the heritage of the music. “As I give a tune to a student or an apprentice, that’s when the stories come to the surface” — her own stories as well as those she heard when she was learning the tune.

“Every tune has a story, and there are thousands of tunes. The stories are a key part of learning our music.”

For Lesl, teaching is both a career and a calling, and part of the living tradition of Irish music.

“I’m honored to be able to play and teach what Mike Rafferty passed down to me, and have great love and respect for him and all the other dedicated musicians of the past and present who brought this music to us.”

A dramatically-lit photo of people playing Irish music in a wood-paneled pub. At the right edge of the photo is a man playing uilleann pipes; he is holding the chanter vertically and a bit of the bag is visible. To his right, Lesl is playing her black wooden flute, wearing a summery sleeveless dress. To her right, and almost in the center of the photo, is another woman playing flute, also in a sleeveless top, but she is almost all in shadow. At the left edge of the photo, but darkly shadowed, is the back of another musician’s head. — “The music itself makes you want to play it more and more.”

Communities within communities

Lesl is part of the Irish Traditional Music community here in the Susquehanna Valley, which is part of a larger worldwide community that encompasses all ethnicities. “As one of my students once said,” Lesl quotes, “‘there‘s a whole world in this music.’”

Irish traditional music is literally played around the globe, at small weekly or monthly playing sessions and at larger gatherings with classes, concerts and competitions. Those gatherings are held all year round, all over the world, and some attract hundreds of players. Lesl says:

“Every time I‘ve gone to one of these events, there is only a small group of East Galway devotees within the larger group of Irish musicians playing in other styles. The East Galway music needs to be kept alive.”

Cherishing East Galway’s music

Lesl is indeed helping to keep that music alive. She is a RIAM-certified (Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland) music educator who specializes in the music and culture of Mike Rafferty and the old East Galway music. Playing and teaching are her sole means of support.

She has received grants since 2010 to produce workshops and concerts, host public and private Irish music sessions, and pass the music on to interested apprentices. She has been part of the state apprenticeship programs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2014 and is featured in the online New Jersey State Arts Magazine “Passing It On.”

She was also invited to give a TEDx talk on the history of the Ballinakill Traditional Players. In 2009, she received an award from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for “Distinguished Achievement in the Preservation of Irish Music and Culture,” honoring her published tune books.

“Music is an aesthetic experience which is essential to help people withstand the rest of life.”

Finding your own source point

Many people discover Irish traditional music through commercial recordings or stage performances, but even the very best of those do not capture the experience of playing this music with others. Traditional music lives in the hearts and hands of its community.

It takes a bit of searching and maybe a bit of luck to find a source point — musicians who play together informally, and teachers like Mike Rafferty and Lesl Harker. Perhaps this article will be the beginning (or even the end!) of your own search.

If you want to learn to play Irish traditional music on flute or whistle with Lesl, she would be happy to hear from you. Email her at lmhark at gmail.com or visit her website (https://iflute.weebly.com) for info about private lessons. She teaches both in-person and online.

If you want to find people who play this music together, visit one of these local Irish sessions. Lesl comes to these whenever she is able.

Tellus360
24 East King St, Lancaster, PA 17602
2-5 pm every fourth Sunday of the month
Annie Bailey’s
28-30 East King St, Lancaster, PA
2-5 pm every second Sunday of the month
Union House Taproom and Livery
12 East Main St, Richland, PA 17087
5-8 pm every third Saturday of the month

If you aren’t in Central Pennsylvania, never fear! Irish music is played all over the world. Look for meetups on social media, ask at a violin shop, chat with people at any acoustic music concert, or search session listings on "thesession.org", an online community of Irish traditional music enthusiasts.

A group of eight musicians (two women, six men) play Irish music while sitting around a table in a pub. There are flutes, tin whistles, fiddles and guitar being played, plus uilleann pipes and concertina not being played. All the players appear to be between ages 40 and 60. The walls are paneled in dark wood, and a garland of pine with tiny lights suggests the Christmas season. — Lesl was the music host for sessions at Molly Maguire’s pub in Clark, NJ for many years.