2026 Instructors
Clare Adkins Cason – Fiddle
Clare Adkins Cason began violin studies at the age of 4, having been born into a family of musicians. She attended the University of North Texas, where she was chosen as Outstanding Undergraduate in Music. Presently she holds leadership positions in the Sherman Symphony, East Texas Symphony, and the Dallas Bach Society. Teaching, however, has been her chief enthusiasm, and in addition to maintaining an active private studio for seventeen years, she is the author of the thirteen-volume Mountain Road series for violin and viola students. She became interested in Celtic music as a teenager through the recordings of Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, and since then has had the opportunity to study with several well-known fiddle players including Matt Cranitch and John McEvoy. Clare has taught Irish fiddle at both the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat and the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp, and performed with the Dallas-area TIMES Session Players. She also serves as Music Director of the North Texas School of Irish Music, and as director of the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp.
Paul Dryer – Whistle
Guitarist Paul Dryer is no stranger to diverse music styles. Over the past 40 years, Paul has played in jazz, bluegrass, rock and gospel bands, and numerous vocal groups. Originally from Kentucky, Paul has lived in the Dallas area since the early 1960’s. He also plays mandolin, whistle and Irish flute, and is part of the TIMES Session Players. Paul is a member of the eclectic/Celtic acoustic band 5 Second Rule, and also served as president of the Traditional Irish Music Education Society, the organization that oversees the Youth Camp and the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat.
Rick Holt– Bodhrán
Texas based percussionist, Rick Holt, immersed himself in the Irish music culture after he discovered the engaging sound of the bodhran in the early 2000’s. Rick has been playing drums since the age of 6 and earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Troy University. He has performed a variety of musical styles, from classical to rock and musical theater. Recently, as a performer, published composer and arranger, Rick has been exploring the boundaries of Celtic and Irish music and endeavors to apply these insights to the bodhran. He has traveled to Ireland to study bodhran with some of the top players in the world and enjoyed participating in local sessions as he traveled around the country.
Rick has been involved in the Irish music community in North Texas since 2003, performing with area artists in bands and sessions, and recording with local musicians. He has served as a board member of the Traditional Irish Music Educator’s Society and for over a decade was on the staff of the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat. He has been teaching bodhran privately, as well as with the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, The North Texas School of Irish Music and the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp.
Gordon McLeod – Fiddle
Gordon has been performing professionally on fiddle and guitar for over 30 years. Gordon tours and performs regularly with McLeod Nine, a folk-roots duo with his wife Christy, and with the well-known Celtic-roots band Beyond The Pale. He is a longtime member of the Irish music community in Texas, and regular participant in Irish music sessions in the DFW area with the TIMES Session Players. He has traveled to Ireland regularly for over 20 years to play traditional Irish music and has studied with many notable Irish fiddle experts. Gordon has released a solo Irish fiddle CD, Just Fiddlin’. He has also produced seven CDs with Beyond The Pale and two with McLeod Nine as well as solo recordings, Dog Year and Daddy G and His Amazing Swingtet, as well as numerous other recordings as a studio musician. In addition to his love of traditional Irish music, Gordon enjoys playing many other styles including Gypsy Jazz, Americana, and folk. He is an award-winning songwriter and has been selected as finalist along with Christy McLeod for the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriting Competition for 2019. He was the original director of the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp, and is a past president of the Traditional Irish Music Education Society.
In addition to performing music, Gordon owns and operates a recording studio and produces recordings of all types of acoustic music. He has produced over 50 full-length recording projects for independent artists, including the instructional CDs for The O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat and Youth Camp.
Mackenzie Nelson – Fun with Irish Music
Mackenzie is a recreational musician and educator with a deep passion for both music and teaching. She graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a degree in Christian Studies and a concentration in music ministry. She plays piano, violin, cello, and guitar, and in 2008 was one of the original group of students in the Metroplex area whose interest in Celtic music inspired the creation of the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp! She also loves to sing, and enjoys bringing versatility and creativity into everything she does. She began teaching private music lessons at the age of 16, which sparked a lifelong commitment to helping others grow. Since 2018 she has taught various grades and subjects in public schools both in Oklahoma and Texas. She strives to inspire students and foster a love for music in every classroom.
Rebekah Passmore – Irish Harp
Rebekah Passmore, award winner in classical harp and national Celtic harp competitions, is sought out as an ardent performer and instructor noted for her ethereal arrangements, compositions, and captivating musicality. She began piano at an early age and later the Irish/Celtic harp. She studied under Lucile Lawrence at Boston University Tanglewood Institute; received her BMus in Harp Performance, minor in music theory, cum laude, under Ellen Ritscher and her MMus in Harp Performance with related field in musicology, magma cum laude, under Dr. Jaymee Haefner from University North Texas. Her Irish/Celtic harp instructors include Grainne Hambly, Michael Rooney, Michelle Mulcahy, Allison Kinnard, and Kim Robertson. She performed classical harp with symphonies in America, Europe and Asia; and has given concerts and workshops at leading Irish festivals and music retreats. With a focused passion for teaching, she delights in nurturing each student’s unique potential upon the harp.
Misty Posey – Gaelic Singing
Misty Posey is a Celtic and Classical Crossover recording artist, writer, and actor. She devoted three collegiate years to Classical vocal training, music, and writing, and toured the UK as part of a collegiate chorus. She continued vocal training with private instructors to learn different techniques while also studying at Maile Professional Image, Modeling & Acting School. She jumped into film, singing as Disney princess look-a-likes, performing at theme parks and in musicals.
Drawn to Celtic music, Misty set out to write and record her own Celtic-inspired songs, beginning with “When the Wind Blows.” Renaissance and Celtic festivals began to fill her performance schedule in 2018 as she continued adding Sean-Nós and trad songs to her sets, and she began to be known as Texas’ Celtic Woman. Her debut album released in December 2018, and she went on a U.S. tour in 2019, ending early in 2020 with the closing of performance venues nationwide.
With venues open, Misty is back on stage. She has performed as a soloist for the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, singing James Horner’s Titanic Theme and The Star-Spangled Banner, as adapted by Sandi Patty. Other performances include The North Texas Irish Festival, Sherman Celtic Festival, Sherwood Forest Celtic Gathering, Melbourne Advent Lutheran Concert Series, The Selkie Girls’ Christmas Series, Classical Crossover Magazine, and of course, a good Irish pub.
In 2021, Misty was named the Gaelic Youth Chorus Director at The North Texas School of Irish Music where she kicked off the year with a brand new group of singers, teaching traditional Irish songs and her own choral arrangement of “Red is the Rose.”
(She also bakes Irish soda bread – that’s important, ya?)