By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

Mozart, Beethoven and Bach symphonies have gone by the wayside.

In their places -- jigs by Joyce and Griffin.

Western Kansas String Academy students are leaving classical music behind while they explore the possibilities of Irish jigs and Celtic ballads as part of a new summer program.

"This kind of music is a great thing to move away from classical. Classical is all to deal with rules, and people get very strict about it," said instructor and Fort Hays State University senior Shawn Demuth. "If they get to do this, it's just fun. It brings back the fun in music."

Students from ages 8 to 14 are participating in the summer program, but former Hays USD 489 orchestra teacher Fritz Kramer adds a sharp contrast to the group's makeup.

"I haven't been playing it much. This is the first time I'm really getting acquainted with it," Kramer said. "I grew up in the old country in Germany, and we didn't do Celtic music. We did more polka music and classical music."

Kramer said he thought the program was a great idea and complements schools' classical orchestra teachings.

"We're not playing in the usual major or minor keys," he said. "It's dance music. It's fun, entertainment music."

The Celtic Tour incorporates more than the usual violin, viola and cello. Reece McMillin, 13, plays the mandolin.

"It's a mixture of violin and guitar chords. ... It's not totally new (to me)," he said. "I just like the style of the music."

Demuth's style and the students' style differed during a rehearsal June 17.

"Faster," many of the students chanted in unison. However, Demuth said quality couldn't be lost in the fun of the music.

"They have to listen to each other in order to get the sounds that they want," he said.

Students in the Celtic Tour will participate in a workshop in late July with musician Marianne Payette Carter, a member of the Celtic-Irish band Rowan.

Rowan comes back to Hays on Aug. 22 as part of the Hays Arts Council's Gallery Walk. Students will perform with the band at 7 p.m. at Fox Pavilion.

In the meantime, students rehearse every Tuesday morning and are providing two summer jam sessions, at 11 a.m. July 15 and Aug. 12 at Coffee Rules, 1011 Elm. The group has tossed around name ideas such as the Shamrockers or Lucky Charms, but there is no definitive name just yet.

"You're playing classical music all year. You get stressed out about it, and you forget to have fun," Demuth said. "There's nothing stressful about this at all.

"As long as it sounds good, it's great."