UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 35, Page 11
June 23, 1994
UD grad, employee finds niche promoting Celtic music

     Although Michael Dinsmore didn't realize it when he came to
Wilmington from Scotland at the age of 9, the music of his homeland
would play a large role in his life.
     When the Beatles and other British musical groups took America by
storm in the '60s, Dinsmore became a loyal fan. As his appreciation of
the music of the British Isles broadened, Dinsmore, who graduated from
the University in 1974, became interested in Celtic music while a
student here. As he recalled, both his roommate and his future wife
had collections of Celtic music, and he became "hooked," an
involvement that has grown over the years.
     Today, Dinsmore has a network of friends who are performers of
Celtic, British and Irish folk music, which started when he and his
wife attended the Edinburgh Folk Festival in 1981 and met several
musicians.
     The couple returned to Wilmington and founded the Green Willow
Folk Club in 1983. Its purpose is to bring musicians from Britain and
Ireland to the Wilmington area. The local club has presented over 200
concerts since its inception.
     In addition to running the Green Willow Folk Club, Dinsmore also
acts as a booking agent for folk musicians from Britain and Ireland.
     Dinsmore sends out promotional material, contacts likely sponsors
and arranges concerts. This year, he arranged a coast-to-coast tour in
January for guitarist Martyn Wyndham-Read, an authority on Australian
folk music. He also arranged an Eastern Seaboard tour for Iain
MacKintosh, a folk musician from Scotland, in October. In the past, he
has booked several concerts by folk musicians at the University.
     Over the years, Dinsmore has produced and hosted radio shows
featuring Celtic and British folk music. His first show was at the
University of Idaho, and he later hosted the Green Willow Folk Hour at
the University of Delaware radio station for several years.
     The experience was invaluable. When an opportunity to host
Unicorn, a three-hour show of folk music on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia,
opened up, Dinsmore was selected. The show has a loyal following of
listeners who are in frequent contact with him.
     The concert promoter's music library is extensive. Dinsmore said
he has recordings stored throughout several rooms of his home.
     His collection includes about 700 CDs and 2,000 records, more
than half of these feature folk music of the British Isles and
Ireland. In addition, he has more than 1,000 cassette tapes of live
concert performances.
     Dinsmore wears another hat when not promoting Celtic, British and
Irish folk music. He is a University of Delaware shuttle bus driver.
He said he enjoys the work and frequently drives groups on charter
trips, such as a group of African students who attended classes at the
University's English Language Institute. He also regularly drives a
bus for Hagley Museum.
     This summer, Dinsmore and his family headed to Scotland and
England once more to visit the many musicians he has befriended and
represented on the other side of the Atlantic.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure