PIPES OF CHRISTMAS
Concert to Feature World Premieres by Scottish Composers
WHEN: Saturday, December 14, 2 and 7 PM
WHERE: Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, 921 Madison Avenue (at 73rd Street), New York City
WHEN: Sunday, December 15, 2 PM
WHERE: Central Presbyterian Church, 70 Maple Street in Summit, NJ
TICKETS: $50 and are available via mail order. A downloadable ticket order form can be found on the concert’s website at www.pipesofchristmas.com. Tickets for the NY concert may also be purchased online at www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212.868.4444. Reserved patron seats are available at both venues.
The Pipes of Christmas will celebrate its fifteenth season with performances in New York and New Jersey this December. An experience that has become a tradition for many can be a special event for anyone. As cool weather arrives, tune into the holiday spirit and prepare to be inspired by the Pipes of Christmas. Named one of New York City’s “Top Ten” holiday events, the concert is made possible by a generous gift from Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland and the Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, NJ. (Above: The Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band of Redlands, CA returns to the NY area for three performances of the Pipes of Christmas this December. Photo by Warren Westura.)
For those weary of the ceaseless stream of secular holiday music from department stores to TV, the Pipes of Christmas offers a spiritual and traditional take on the season that connects concertgoers to the holiday in a fresh, meaningful way. The show features tunes such as O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Joy to the World, and Amazing Grace, all performed live on pipes and drums, harp and fiddle, and organ and brass. Not only does the performance define Christmas cheer, but also it inspires those of Celtic descent to retrace and reconnect to their ancestry.
The concert presents the music of Christmas accompanied by readings taken from the Celtic literature of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Featured performers include James Robinson from the film “Braveheart,” New England fiddle champion Paul Woodiel, “Riverdance” uilleann piper and flutist Christopher Layer, Gaelic Mod champion harpist Jennifer Port of Golspie, Scotland, and the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band from Redlands, CA.
The concert will also feature the world premiere of "Lullaby for a Prince," specially commissioned to mark the birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge (left, with his parents). The piece is written by Scottish composer Steve Gibb of Inverness, Scotland. Concert-goers will recall Gibb’s beautiful tune, “Balmoral Snow,” which had its World Premiere at the 2012 concerts to mark HM Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
Honorary Chairman for the 2013 concerts is acclaimed Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith (right), author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Through his generosity, McCall Smith is also sponsoring a composition contest for music students at Edinburgh Napier University. The winning tune, composed for the clarsach (Scottish harp) will also have its world premiere at the 2013 concerts.
Proceeds from the concert support an extensive music scholarship program which includes annual gifts to the National Piping Centre and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (both located in Glasgow,) the Gaelic College of Nova Scotia and Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. The Clan Currie Society also sponsors the US National Scottish Harp Championship, the children’s literature award at the Royal National Mod and an annual academic research prize at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland’s Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye.
Commenting on the Society’s music scholarship program, stage and screen star Alan Cumming said, “I am delighted that proceeds from the Pipes of Christmas will result in these important gifts which ensure that the future of Scottish culture is safer with these generous scholarships.”
The 2013 concerts will be dedicated to the memory of Priscilla Campbell of New York City. Campbell, who died last February after a long bout with cancer, was a leading force behind the NY Caledonian Club and the NY Scottish Pipes and Drums.
