Home Biography Calendar Soundclips CD Store Contact Press Kit Photos Venues Reviews

ABOUT BROCELIANDE:

Brocelïande plays Celtic music from the British isles and the Medieval and Renaissance music of the European courts and countrysides, with an emphasis on music inspired by or traditionally performed during each of the four seasons. Featuring stellar vocal and instrumental harmonies, their entrancing sound is built on the interweaving of up to 3-part vocals with the lyrical music of the Celtic harp, octave mandolin, cello, 12-string guitar, recorders, flute, gamba, whistle, percussion, and more!

Their seasonal repertoire includes original arrangements of traditional and Early music and ranges in feel from upbeat Irish dances to beautiful ballads to exciting a capella madrigals. Their evocative lyrics, including some in Medieval French and Portuguese, speak of love and longing, quests and revels, magic and transformation.

Brocelïande has performed throughout the West Coast for the past decade, giving performances in concert series, at club venues, festivals, house concerts, colleges and universities, as well as live radio performances and private functions. Our delight is -- through evocative and sometimes obscure historical -- to uplift our audiences and provide a sonic sanctuary for a time, to ourselves and others. We specialize in seasonal fare, honoring the elements of Nature and celebrating the human experience. Intimate, acoustic, live performances suit us well, though we can plug in and address larger crowds happily, too. Our numerous cds have reached many corners of the planet, and we have garnered fans from near and far!

	Vocals * Celtic Harp * Flute * Recorders Margaret is the leader and founder of Brocelïande. She grew up in Illinois where she was classically trained as a flutist and recorder player and received degrees in Music and French from Knox College. Margaret brings her academic knowledge of the music of the troubadours to Brocelïande, and in the group she sings in French, Medieval French, Latin, Provençal, Gallician Portuguese, Gaelic, Spanish, and English. She studied voice with vocal coach Lillian Loran and performed for 6 years as singer and harper with the Medieval band Gai Saber. A life-long interest in her Scots Celtic ancestry led to work with the Celtic bands Magic Fire, Four Shillings Short and Avalon Rising, with whom she has recorded the albums Magic Fire, Now, Avalon Rising, Storming Heaven, and The Starlit Jewel. Her solo album, Princess of Flowers, features the other members of Brocelïande on backups. Margaret's interest in music as a healing modality has led to work with Oakland's Healing Muses, Stanford Hospital's Music for Healing Program, and with Vision Journey Facilitator Britt Nesheim. Margaret is past Chairman of the Board of the Bay Area Folk Harp Society and she currently co-runs independent record label Flowinglass Music with her husband Kristoph Klover.
	Vocals * Guitars * Octave Mandolin * Oboe Kristoph sings tenor with Brocelïande, plays 12-string and 6-string guitar, octave mandolin, and oboe, and writes original music performed in the band. Prior to his work with Brocelïande, he studied vocal technique with James Schwabacher and Edwin Barlow and appeared with the Marin Opera. Kristoph is a past member of the Celtic bands Magic Fire and Four Shillings Short and currently leads Celtic rock band Avalon Rising, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar. Kristoph's original music can be heard on the CDs Magic Fire, The Starlit Jewel, To Touch the Stars, Avalon Rising, and Storming Heaven, and in the films The Valley of Fear and Far From the Sea, of which he produced the soundtracks. He has worked with singer/songwriter Cynthia McQuillin as co-producer, arranger and performer. He is co-owner and recording engineer of independent record label Flowinglass Music, and in this capacity he has worked with Grammy-winning harpist Janet Harbison, 5 times all-Ireland concertina champion Gearóid ÓhAllmhuráin, and many others.
	Cello * Kamanche * Viola da Gamba * Vocals * Percussion Kris Yenney ~ cellist, conductor, composer, and teacher ~ has a M.M. degree in cello performance from New England Conservatory of Music, and has also studied at Julliard, Tanglewood, and in Banff, India and Scotland. She has performed extensively with several ensembles, from the San Jose Symphony and Opera orchestras to the New England String Trio (NESQ), the Left Coast Ensemble, Trio con Brio to The Gryphon Allstars and the TheatreWorks orchestra and Four Shillings Short. She teaches cello and chamber music privately and directs the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra's SuperStrings and Preparatory groups. She can be heard on numerous recordings ranging from classical to Celtic to jazz. Highlights of her musical life include presenting a private concert with Yo-Yo Ma and NESQ, performing with jazz pianist Fred Hersch, accompanying Terry Riley in a concert of Indian Raga in Delhi, India, playing with Alasdair Fraser's fiddle class in Skye and sitting in with the likes of Lyle Lovett, Smokey Robinson and Rod Stewart. She works with teachers and performers in the growing field of sound healing, including Lisa Rafel, Joshua Leeds, Stephen Kent, Barbary Grant and Fabien Maman. Recent exploration of her Scandinavian roots has opened a whole new landscape of traditional musical forms and timbres. Stay tuned!

PAST MEMBERS:

Karl Franzen: Guitar * Octave Mandolin * Vocals * Whistle * Melodeon * Percussion Karl left Broceliande in 2009, to persue other musical interests. He can be heard on Broceliande's first 6 CD's. Karl became interested in music growing up in rural Massachusetts. He taught himself harmonica at age 8; he learned guitar from singing nuns shortly thereafter, then sang and played guitar in folk-masses and with friends in Massachusetts. He was influenced by recordings of the Newport Folk Festivals at an early age, then studied guitar with East Coast guitarist Phil Cooper. He began playing Irish music in college and taught himself mandolin at that time. Karl played guitar with a progressive band at MIU in Iowa, then continued with folk music in California with Carol Hunner, First of May, Four Shillings Short, and Nancy Cassidy. learning whistle, melodeon, and doumbek along the way. He currently plays with Alan Keith, Maxina Ventura, Gary Breitbard, Harmon's Peak, Luceo, Mr. Barky, Slainte of SF Bay, teaches guitar, & creates web sites and does graphic design. He has appeared on the albums For Earth and Her People, Up From the Bog, Incantation, The Starlit Jewel, Along Celtic Lines, To Touch the Stars and many others.

Contact Margaret: margaret@flowinglass.com (510) 409-6095  

Home | Biography | Calendar | Soundclips | CD Store | Contact | Press Kit | Photos | Venues | Reviews