| I am a graduate of Western
Washington University with a B.A. in Communication
and a minor in Web Content Development.
My last quarter of university I founded the Seattle
Celtic Heritage Society. The SCHS was a nonprofit
community organization dedicated to the fostering of traditional
Celtic arts and culture in the Pacific Northwest. Our big
event was the Great Kilted Run, a 5k fun
run/walk in which all participants wore kilts!
For the first three years of its existence I was involved
with Mastery
of Scottish Arts, an organization which promotes
Scottish piping, drumming, and dancing in our area. Each year
MSA holds the Winter School, a week-long workshop for pipers,
drummers, and dancers featuring the world's most powerful
teaching faculty ever assembled. This stellar faculty is featured
each year in the Masters of Scottish Arts Concert, held in
Seattle's own Beneroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony.
The first year in Benaroya, the hall filled with over 2000
Piping enthusiasts; the most ever in attendance for a solo
piping and drumming event.
I volunteer as webmaster for the Washington
Pipers Association. The WPA is our local piping
organization, hosting mini-gatherings (indoor piping contests)
and workshops throughout the fall and winter months. These
activities keep pipers and drummers going during the off-season
and help bring our small piping community together in a more
family-friendly atmosphere.
Another musical project of mine has been Pipers
Creek, an acoustic ensemble which plays a decidedly
eclectic variety of tunes mainly from Scotland and Ireland.
Instrumentation includes harp, fiddles, small pipes, whistles,
guitar, bouzouki, concertina, vocals and more. You can find
out more about the group at www.piperscreekmusic.com.
One project I am particularly proud to be invovled with is
directing the Northwest
Junior Pipe Band. This group began in
1995 and has come a long, long way since its humble beginnings.
The NWJPB is open to anyone under 18 in the Puget Sound region
interested in pipes or drums. Directing this quickly-growing
group of energetic young musicians demands a large part of
my time these days. I can't say that I've done more gratifying
work.
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