Autumn Smallpipes & Fiddles Workshop

The Celtic Arts Foundation is pleased to present the 7th Annual Autumn Smallpipes Workshop from Friday, September 29th – Sunday, October 1st, with a workshop option for fiddlers! For the third year in a row, the piping workshop will be held at the beautiful Littlefield Celtic Center (LCC), enhancing the intimate and personal nature of this workshop. The fun begins at 9:00AM on Friday and concludes at 1:30PM on Sunday.  Across the street from the LCC we’re happy to offer a Scottish fiddle workshop on Saturday, September 30th as well. For pipers, join us for an exciting workshop to learn more about smallpipes, reelpipes and whistle with none other than Fred Morrison!  This year we’re also pleased to welcome back our friend Iain MacHarg from Vermont who will be joining us as a second Smallpipe/reelpipe instructor. For fiddlers, we’re pleased to present a one-day workshop on Saturday, September 30th with Scottish fiddler Brandon Vance.  Take in a four-hour workshop with Brandon from 10:00-3:00, and then finish up the workshop with some tunes with the Smallpipe/Reelpipe players at the LCC. Both the smallpipes and fiddles workshops will include a lunch break from 12:00PM-1:00PM; participants have the option of pre-purchasing a lunch provided by the Celtic Arts Foundation. Lunches include a generously sized deli sandwich, chips, pickle, cookie, and water bottle. For students who would like to take advantage of this option but have dietary restrictions, we ask that you please contact the Celtic Arts Foundation at 360-416-4934 or events@celticarts.org with your requests at least two weeks prior to the event. The Littlefield Celtic Center is conveniently located in downtown Mount Vernon and within walking distance to a number of restaurants for those who choose not to purchase a boxed lunch. Both the fiddle and weekend piping workshops feature instruction, sessions, and a special discounted ticket offer to attend Fred Morrison’s concert on Saturday evening, September 30th, at the LCC. Piping registrants receive one ticket for the Fred Morrison concert as part of the workshop price, and also have the option of purchasing additional tickets at a discounted rate. Fiddlers do not receive a concert ticket included in the price of the fiddle workshop, but do have the option of purchasing tickets while supplies last (this concert is typically sold out early, so we encourage you to purchase your ticket right away). We’re very mindful of the benefits of having access to accomplished and experienced instructors, and have designed the classes to allow participants to get the most out of this time with each other and the instructors.  We also know the value of learning to “play nicely, together,” and to that end present some quality “tune-time” sessions with both fiddlers and pipers participating.  Small seminar sizes are a hallmark of the program, which further cultivates relationships between participants and the instructors. The Fred Morrison Scholarship: We are pleased to share that some scholarship funding will be available for a piping student this year!  The scholarship criteria have been finalized as follows: The Fred Morrison Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship, recognizing players with outstanding performing ability and/or potential. We will evaluate your application based on your musicianship, participation in sessions and as a performer (either solo or as part of a group), mentoring and any teaching you do, participation in other CAF events, your history with piping, and, finally, how attending this workshop would affect your involvement in and further your piping ability for performances. Please visit www.celticarts.org/autumn-workshop-2017 to view the form and submission instructions. Students are encouraged to register now in order to hold their place in the workshop; any applicable reimbursement will be settled upon notice of the awarded scholarship. Fred Morrison: A great musician AND story teller!  A living legend in the Celtic music world, Morrison’s music is firmly rooted in the tradition of the Hebridean islands of Scotland while also boldly exploring the technical and creative boundaries of Celtic music. He has developed a distinct and renowned signature sound in the piping community, and has won nearly all of the international prizes in the piping world. His exceptional talents and expressive style are immediately evident in his adventurous music.  His performances feature mostly his own original compositions, and whether a haunting slow air or an incredibly difficult reel or jig played with breakneck speed and skilled precision, Fred’s mastery of his instruments is completely apparent! Iain MacHarg: Iain MacHarg has been a familiar face at the highland games since very early in his life. As his father is one on the premier bagpipe builders in the world, it is no surprise that Iain developed into a well respected and accomplished player. He was promoted to the professional grade after earning the title of EUSPBA 2001 Grade One Season Champion. Throughout his life, he has received his instruction from a variety of teachers; the majority of his early instruction was provided by P.M. George F. Ritchie. More recently, Iain has studied with Bruce Gandy, Scott MacAulay, Jack Lee, Jack Taylor and Andrew Wright, but is currently studying with Donald Lindsay. In addition to competing as a solo piper, Iain has also been involved in many other aspects of Celtic music. After completing his Masters of Education at the University of Vermont in 1997, Iain began to develop the Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts. Iain’s goal is to develop this school into one similar to the College of Piping in Prince Edward Island. Iain holds the senior certificate and the teaching certificate from the College of Piping, PEI. He won 4 out of 9 categories in the 2008 EUSPBA composing contest. He currently works as Vermont’s only full-time piping instructor, and is also a music professor at Norwich University. In addition to his approximately 90 solo students, Iain also teaches group and band workshops. Brandon Vance: Brandon Vance is one of the foremost exponents of Scottish fiddling in North America. In 1999, he became the youngest to win the National Open Scottish Fiddling Championship. This achievement, which he repeated in 2001, launched Vance into a decades-long performing, teaching, and composing career that has brought collaboration with some of the finest creative minds in 21st-century music making.  Vance has performed and taught internationally, serving as a guest lecturer at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy, as well as guest artist for the 50th Anniversary of the Armagh Piper’s Club at the William Kennedy Piping Festival. With a M.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music, one of the continent’s most distinguished conservatories, Vance performs with Pacific Music Works, Early Music Vancouver, Northwest Sinfonietta, mandolinist John Reischman, vocalist Nadia Tarnawsky, Alex Fedoriouk, uilleann piper Eliot Grasso, and composer Stephen Rice. Brandon is also a composer with a distinctive melodic and harmonic vocabulary, having given the World Premiere of his original composition “Gael Storm” for fiddle and orchestra with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall. Special Note on Accommodations… We are pleased to be able to offer our workshop participants special rates at the Best Western Skagit Valley Inn in order to allow for quick and convenient travel to and from the Littlefield Celtic Center and a comfortable place to relax after the workshop fun. Guests of the Best Western can enjoy a complimentary breakfast before departing in the morning for a quick drive to the Littlefield Celtic Center. For those workshop participants who will be traveling to Mount Vernon who would like to take advantage of this special promotional rate, please call the hotel directly at 360-428-5678 and inform them you are booking under the Celtic Arts Foundation Autumn Smallpipes & Fiddles Workshop group rate. Information about cancellations, refunds, and exchanges can be found on our Ticket Policy page.