Winter: a season of celebration and reflection, a season of travel and of savoring the joys of home, of solitude and community, of peace -- and of music. There is music for all those contrasting emotions and stories of winter. Traveler or at home, there is music to connect with, enjoy and share. Herewith, several new discoveries and an old friend or two for this winter season.

Lizzy Hoyt comes from Alberta, in western Canada. Several generations back, her family came from Ireland to Canada, and Hoyt entwines traditions and stories of both countries in her music. An award winning singer with a voice of clarity and precision, Hoyt is also known as one of the top Celtic instrumentalists -- she plays fiddle, guitar, harp, and mandolin and step dances as well -- in Canada, and has won many awards for her music, which is often inspired by history. On her holiday album A Christmas Song, she strikes a good balance between traditional and newer music, with songs in English and French, familiar hymns and carols, and original songs and tunes which stand up well alongside the traditional pieces.

Claire Lynch grew up in the American deep south, where she fell in love with bluegrass music. She has gone on to win many awards and recognitions from within the bluegrass community and beyond -- which could be an apt description of Lynch's music, too. The sounds and stories and ideas told through bluegrass are foundations for Lynch, rather than fences or limits. She's been known to sing country, swing, folk, and gospel, and  country's top talents have asked her along for harmony work. All these things come into play on Lynch's recording Holiday! as she and her equally gifted band members take on familiar Christmas standards and new material. A sense of faith, a sense of humor, and a sense of history have long formed parts of Lynch's recorded work, and all of them are part of the story too on this gathering of seasonal music -- and then there's the warmth and spirit which come through in Lynch's voice. This is a new release this winter season, and it's very likely to become a holiday classic.

An album also heading for holiday classic status  is Fine Winter's Night, from Matt and Shannon Heaton. The Boston-based husband and wife, who make their music at where Celtic music and Americana meet, offer a gathering of songs that span a range from the twelfth century Wexford Carol from Ireland to consideration of a question that may not have occurred to you: why don't we ever see a cat in paintings or hear about one in songs and stories of the Nativity? There are fast paced instrumentals and quiet carols, as well as songs written especially for the album, including Shannon's title track. This is a thoughtful take on the contrasts of winter, from the cold starry night to warm welcome and music waiting indoors. Through it all, Matt and Shannon trade lead and harmony voices to fine effect, and add in graceful instrumental skills -- Matt on guitar and bouzouki, Shannon on whistles and flute -- along the journey.

Music is about community, and as you'll have the idea from the three albums described above, about the joining and intertwining of traditions and communities. A Southern Celtic Christmas is a dvd which as you watch and listen brings you right in as part of the community: to a concert which took place a few years back at Emory University in Atlanta. Interwoven with the onstage footage are occasional segments from other places. These include scenes in Ireland, excerpts from a conversation with the late poets Seamus Heaney on a visit to Glendalough, a part of Ireland important to Celtic scholar and event producer James Flannery, a bit of backstage conversation with Alison Brown on the connections she's seen between Celtic music and bluegrass, and  the singers of Rising Appalachia walking down a country road talking about landscape and music. That material alone would be enough to make an interesting program. However, it is the concert footage, and the well done addition of these extra scenes, that make for a program which is at once inviting, educational, and celebratory.

Also as part of A Southern Celtic Christmas, singer Moya Brennan with Cormac De Barra, Aisling Jarvis, and Sinead Madden come from Ireland to offer songs in English and Irish, Ireland native and top notch guitarist and songwriter John Doyle joins in on bluegrass with Alison Brown on banjo, Garry West on bass, and Joe Craven on fiddle, while sisters Chloe and Leah Smith bring in blues, folk, and Appalachian tradition with their harmony singing as Rising Appalachia. Professor Flannery performs, as do the Emory Celtic Chorus, the Buddy O'Reilly Band, and a number of other singers and dancers. For all that, and that it sounds like a big show, the program maintains an air of connection, invitation, and community as the artists make their way through music including Light of the Stable, Don Oiche Ud i mBeithil/ One Night in Bethlehem, Across the Blue Ridge Mountains, Quis Es Deus, Stand in That River, and Merry Christmas to All and Goodnight. There is bonus material, both lighthearted and serious, which is all well worth your time, as well.

Kerry Dexter is  Music Editor for Wandering Educators. You may reach Kerry at music at wanderingeducators dot com

You may find more of Kerry's work at  Music Road, and at Journey to Scotland, Perceptive Travel, Ireland and the Americas, National Geographic Traveler, and other places on line and in print.