Burning Bridget Cleary: Bios
Burning Bridget Cleary
Burning Bridget Cleary took form on St. Patty's day of '06 when Genevieve Gillespie, (now 17), joined forces with the father-daughter duo, Lou and Rose Baldino, (now 18). The combination sparks a blaze of Celtic sound that is perceived way beyond the sum of its parts!
The girls front the band with their fiery fiddles, bringing a lively flair of youthful intensity and exuberance to traditional tunes. Lou‘s guitar bestows the dynamic rhythm and bass end, tastefully embellished with distinctive chording. Weaving in some choice vocal numbers and building the energy with some spirited stepdancing, Burning Bridget Cleary has wowed audiences at the Scottish-Irish Fest in Green Lane (2006 and 2007), the Celtic Classic (2006 and 2007), the 2007 Celtic Winter Classic, and many more popular venues.
Rose and Genna met five years ago at Granny McCarthy’s Irish music sessions in Bethlehem PA- both have been first-place trophy winners in the Celtic Classic fiddle competitions. Their debut CD, Catharsis, was released in September, 2006. A new CD is in the works for Summer, 2008.
Rose Baldino - Fiddle, bodhran, vocals, dance
Rose fell in love with the Irish culture at an early age. She began studying classical violin at age eight, and spent two years participating in the Young Musician's Community Orchestra. For four years she studied Celtic fiddle music, mainly with teacher/fiddler extrodinaire Deirdre Lochman of the Lochman Family Musicians and Dancers. Concurrently, she began attending traditional Irish music sessions and has studied with internationally known artists at Celtic summer music camps in Asheville, NC and Milwaukee, WI. Rose presently studies with Brendan Callahan in Philadelphia. She has been studying Irish dance for the past three years.
Now a senior in high school, Rose participates in orchestra, concert, advanced, and show choirs. For four years, she played with the Itinerant Fiddlers at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in upper Montgomery County, PA. As part of a father-daughter duo, she and dad, Lou, have provided musical entertainment for Civil War balls, living history events, local clubs, and community, private and business venues in PA and DE.
Genna Gillespie - Fiddle, vocals, dance
Genevieve has been playing the fiddle since she was ten years old. She has competed and won Irish fiddle competitions at the both the local and regional level. She also enjoys playing Scottish fiddle and classical violin and is a member of the Young People's Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley, PA and District 10 Orchestra.
Genna also performs with her parents and sisters in their family Celtic musical group, Gilly's Hedge, and is a frequent Irish music "session player" in the area. As a fiddler and a championship level Irish Step Dancer, Genna recently traveled to Mexico with the O'Grady-Quinlan Irish Dance Academy and Gilly's Hedge to perform Irish music and dance throughout the Yucatan Peninsula as part of a goodwill cultural exchange tour.
Genna also loves ballroom dancing and can frequently be found dancing at ballroom competitions!
Lou Baldino - Guitar, vocals
Lou, a veteran in the music business, had a guitar in his hands at age 5 and began playing professionally at age 12. Throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's, he traveled and recorded with a variety of bands - including 3 years of travel with the famous Platters, as part of their backup band.
Lou spent a good part of the 80's playing with the Michael Carney Orchestras out of NYC. With this orchestra, he had the honor of performing in Washington D.C., for the inauguration of President George H. W. Bush in 1988.
Lou began backing up Rose's fiddle playing in 2002 and soon became immersed in a love for Celtic music. The rest is history.