The Peace Abbey Coffeehouse

Come enjoy the eagerly-awaited annual spring Peace Abbey concert by Northwest’s internationally acclaimed harp and hammered dulcimer duo, MAGICAL STRINGS. Intertwining Celtic roots and world music influences, Philip and Pam Boulding weave stories and verse about their music and travels with vibrant humor and warmth, augmenting their self-crafted instruments with whistles, concertina, and valiha (Malagasy bamboo harp). Their music is described by the Washington Post as “…warm, graceful, and sonically gorgeous.”

The Bouldings will feature music from their many recordings, including "Where Dragons Dance," on Alula Visions, which is “… lush and rich and alive…fully lives up to their legendary status as giants of the genre and one of the classiest acts in the business…a first class production” according to Victory Review.

Since 1979 Magical Strings has been performing throughout the U. S., Canada and over-seas, including two sold out tours of Japan, touring and recording with Dan Fogelberg, appearances on "A Prairie Home Companion" and Ireland, where they have won several awards. They have recorded 13 albums on Flying Fish/Rounder and EarthBeat Records; their own label Magic Hill Music; and their newest on Allegro’s Alula Visions. Much of their work has been inspired by adventures in Ireland, where they were granted a residency to write music in an old stone cottage on a bluff overlooking the western sea.

When not on the road Philip and Pam teach music, build harps, run their School of Magical Strings, give school programs, compose, and perform their annual Celtic Yuletide concerts every December with their five musical children along with world-class Irish dancers, jugglers and guest musicians. They seem to have boundless energy for their creative life on a beautiful farm by the Puget Sound.