The Traditional Irish Music Education Society (TIMES) was formed in January of 2005 by Ken Fleming, a veteran traditional Irish musician who has promoted the learning and playing of Irish music for nearly five decades. TIMES provides instructional resources, hosts performances, and offers other opportunities, such as workshops and sessions, to people who are interested in learning Irish music, song, and dance. The creation of TIMES was inspired by the success of the first O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat, which was held in October of 2004 and has been held annually since.
TIMES has, in addition to the O’Flaherty Retreat, organized a number of other ongoing events. In 2008, the organization kicked off a two-day summer event for young people called the O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp, where students ages 6-17 are taught Irish music and culture. In 2012, TIMES helped initiate the North Texas School of Irish Music, which provides year-round instruction in Irish music and singing for children. In 2013, it held the first “TradCamp,” a week-long immersion in Irish music focusing on a particular instrument.
One of the most important achievement of TIMES has been the production of instructional recordings and tune books, which are sold at TIMES events and online with many items downloadable for free. TIMES also hosts house concerts featuring performances by leading Irish musicians. Often these musicians will conduct workshops and participate in after-concert sessions with attendees.
TIMES extends its reach to those who have the desire but not the means to play Irish music, loaning instruments to new students seeking to learn to play and, as the need arises, donating instruments to people who can’t afford them. The organization not only provides scholarships to attend TIMES camps to financially challenged students but also offers them educational opportunities outside of TIMES.
Additionally, TIMES organizes weekly sessions that gather musicians together to play Irish music at local pubs and at area festivals. Sessions are also hosted for young players at the homes of teachers and students. During the pandemic, TIMES held weekly virtual sessions and promoted real-time online lessons with teachers from throughout the U.S. and Ireland under the name “TeachIR,” which is still active today on the TIMES website.
In January 2020 TIMES initiated a forum to maximize the impact of Irish traditional music education on a national scale. The annual Irish Music Camp Summit, which attracts music camp directors and their staff from throughout the country, seeks to enable these camp organizers to connect and share resources and best practices to improve their events.
Finally, TIMES serves as an information service for all things related to Irish music locally from its base of operations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Monthly emails social media posts announce area concerts, festivals, sessions, workshops, music lessons and other activities that align with TIMES’s mission.