Introducing the topic of Irish music and spirituality, Jesuit Rev. Ryan Duns felt a neglected type of interface was “we play the way we pray and we pray the way we play.” In Ireland it is a tradition to stand at the tip of the western part of the island when someone is leaving for the United States because that is the last time and place they would see that person. When Irish people came the this country their view changed, but they felt the could always “dance later.” The tin whistle is a traditional Irish instrument. Riverdance, the Irish dancing competition, surged on the scene in l995.
Rev. Duns entered the Society of Jesus in 2004. His love of music was soon recognized and in 2006 he was sent to New York City. At Fordham University he was challenged to creatively teach Irish Music in 16 one hour sessions. The tin whistle is similar to a recorder and costs about $10. He told members of the New Rochelle Irish Benevolent Society he knew how to play it because he had owned two of them since he was 12 years old.
His first technique for the course was to record an l0 minute video lesson, starting with the basics of what a tin whistle is and showing how to pay it by covering holes. Covering all holes would give the same pattern in a lower octave. As the weeks progressed the instruction involved students first getting both hands able to play the tin whistle and then progressing to playing in different octaves. Rev. Duns philosophized that the student’s love of music would be enhanced by finding his or her own “voice,” Consequently, each student was encouraged to play individually and demonstrate his or her own interpretation of the music. Music can be a therapeutic activity, engaging and opening up talent. By the end of the semester all students were able to play.
Rev. Duns became a Jesuit because instead of asking himself “What does God want from me?” he asked, “What does God want for me?” Music in his view helps people become more fully alive. His course gives students ways of exploring themselves. He quoted a cellist who couldn’t imagine what would happen if her finger was cut off and she couldn’t play, because playing music she said, “is part of me.”