Rare Combination

Listen to their music

Diversity and talent…spirited and enjoyable program for all ages!” has described the steadily emerging Irish-Celtic folk band “Rare Combination”.

The four musicians from SW Michigan regularly perform with over a dozen instruments. Their repertoire includes lively traditional dance tunes, pub tunes, love songs, and aires mainly from the British Isles. The band’s skills are demonstrated in the blended four-part vocal harmonies and the well integrated instrumental arrangements. Margery Dusek, a music therapist who performs on a number of instruments with Rare Combination said, “We perform a diverse collection of Irish-Celtic traditional music in an enthusiastic way…everything from pub fare to classical harp pieces and in-between”. Margery and Thor McMillen (who plays standing bass) do most of the arranging for the group.

The group debuted at O’Duffy’s Irish Pub in Kalamazoo in the spring of 2004. Since then they have performed at several festivals, theatre venues, brewery-pubs, and restaurants. Eighteen-year-old Sofia Peters, the group’s fiddle and mandolin player said, “My formal training has been largely classical violin. Performing with Rare Combination has offered me a new outlet. We’ve performed before such energetic audiences and there’s just nothing that compares to the feeling of knowing you’ve brightened someone’s day with your music”.

 "People will occasionally ask me, "What's a priest doing playing Irish music?” said Fr. Patrick Murphy.”Apparently it was once a tradition in Ireland that the priest was expected to use whatever music talent he had at the reception of the newly married so, in a sense, I'm just picking up the tradition." He said, "I've been playing Irish folk music, both solo and with groups, since my seminary days over 20 years ago. I've seen the effect on people, almost magically lifting spirits."

Rare Combination is: