Sunday, February 06, 2011

The Light at the End of the Tunnel [Not a train]

This weekend was the annual Mid-Winter Celtic Festival organized by the band, and it was also the first time out for the entire band. We have been working "in committee" for a number of months, choosing tunes, learning them, writing scores for snare and mid-section, learning those, and not writing harmonies and working out consistent approaches to tempos and breaks.

When you don't hear it all together, it starts to feel like it might not exist, but last night we finally got to the light, and it wasn't a train after all. Friday night we sat around a table with pads and chanters and worked on some details with a small group, and then passed that on to a larger group Saturday, played at the Ceilidh, and then had a long practice Sunday morning.

There are some really exciting signs of a much improved musical product. The experience gained in Scotland last summer seems to be settling in. With limited facilities and time for tuning, the pipers were able to put together and deliver a very good sound at times, especially for February. The huge experience gained in the back end with the addition of Buz Brown and Roland Reid is having a positive effect on all sections of the band, and their ideas and leadership are helping to make a substantive difference in the way the band sounds.

Of course, it's February still, and there is a lot still to do, but it was exciting to take this first step out into the light.
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Mid-Winter Celtic Festival
Another festival is safely behind, and many thanks to all those who came out to support the band and the events. It was great to once again have the support of Alexander Keith's as the primary sponsor, and this year we were very proud to add Beam Global, Canada as a Festival sponsor. We couldn't do it without all the community groups and single performers who sign up to perform over the weekend, and as usual, O'Hanlon's Pub played a huge role in making it all go.