Leigheas, a band of local caregivers

By Craig Shapiro Correspondent

What's in a name? In the case of the Hampton Roads band Leigheas, everything.

It's Gaelic for "medicine" and "healing," and it was chosen for a couple of reasons, said accordionist Anthony "Tip" Ciotti. Six years ago, most of the band's original members were caregivers - physicians, a dentist and a psychologist, a paramedic, researchers, a music therapist.

As for the other reason, Ciotti said, "Music in general is very healing for the soul."

Its revolving cast has changed, but Leigheas - pronounced "lay-huss" - still practices what it preaches. The band carries on today with Ciotti, a dentist; his wife, Carol (percussion), also a dentist; Jay Taylor (tin whistle/guitar/vocals), a clinical psychologist; Jay Cook (fiddle), who teaches high school physics; and Annie Gilstrap (flute/vocals), educational technology manager at WHRO.

The playlist is unchanged. Tonight's gig at the Borjo Coffeehouse in Norfolk will offer a full menu of traditional Irish and Scottish dance music.

Ciotti, 59, said he might never have tackled a jig or reel had it not been for Eric Newcott, a student at Eastern Virginia Medical School who started the band. He also named it. Newcott played the fiddle and loved Irish music, although that may be selling him short.

"He was a Celtic zealot," Ciotti said, laughing. Newcott now lives in New Zealand, where he is pursuing a residency in ophthalmology. "He took a year off to do Celtic studies in County Cork, Ireland. He participated in some archaeological digs over there and learned the Gaelic language. He was really into all aspects of Irish culture."

They met at a St. Patrick's Day party at the old White Horse Pub in Virginia Beach. Ciotti told him he played accordion. "He said, 'Let's get together,' and it just started from there." Newcott also recruited some of his colleagues in Symphonicity, the Virginia Beach symphony orchestra.

"It was a fairly large group," Ciotti said. "Eric's philosophy was the more the merrier. That was very common in Celtic bands - whoever shows up, plays. At first it was a little rough. It took a little while to get the pieces down. But once we started playing, we said, 'Hey, this sounds pretty decent.' "

He still recalls that first spin through the music, too. "It was like, 'Wow!' I loved it. The sounds, the beat - everything about it is so different from what you typically hear.

"We go out there to basically enjoy ourselves and relax. This is a labor of love for us."

Craig Shapiro, shapiro1@cox.net