Celtic Colours International Festival recognized by business community

[Judith Rosen]

Good ideas, all, Marlene! To those pipers you mentioned I have a few to 
add:

1.) I love uilleann (Irish) piper, Paddy Keenan's music. I had a chance 
to sit and talk with him in some depth after a June gig in Buffalo (NY) 
which was a blast. He said he's been to the Festival before and that 
he'd love to go back.

2.) Then, there was this one Piper's Ceilidh concert I missed, at the 
last Celtic Colours Festival I attended several years ago, now-- I had 
tickets but no ride and was too chicken-s#%t to try driving to it on my 
own late at night in a borrowed car. It was in some out of the way 
place on a dirt road or something like that... But I'm still grieving 
over the whole thing because Jamie MacInnis and Paul MacNeil were 
playing at it! It's about time they put out another CD, I'm thinking, 
and the chance to see/hear those two pipers sitting and playing sets of 
reels together is... Ooh-- not describable in mixed company.

3.) There's a band I heard about on a trip to Lewis, in Scotland, and 
bought their CD's during a stop-off at the Gaelic College on Skye. It's 
a band called "Daimh" and they're great. Very similar to (and almost as 
good as) the original Slainte Mhath. Daimh's piper (Angus MacKenzie) is 
reportedly a Cape Bretoner who learned his craft at the Gaelic College 
of Arts and Crafts in Cape Breton. I was told he was in the Gaelic 
College Pipe Band that won first place (in Level 3?) at the World's 
Piping Competition in Scotland while Bruce MacPhee was Pipe Major (and 
the CD "Taisbeanaidh (Revelations)" was recorded with that band).

4.) Which brings me to Bruce MacPhee... Bruce is still, to this day, 
the most talented piper I've ever heard. He's fallen off the face of 
the Earth, music-wise, or so it seems. Prob'ly busy having babies or 
something like that, which is all well and good (pass those genes on 
for posterity), but developed musical talent like he has is incredibly 
rare. SO. C'mon, Bruce! Put out a CD of your own, will you please?! 
Next year's festival would be a great time to launch it.

Judith



On Nov 6, 2009, at 7:52 PM, Marlene Cheng wrote:

> Well done, Judith!
>
> I whole heartedly endorse your wish for "a really big piper's concert 
> for next year's festival, please"!!!
>
> What about a focus on piping traditions?  This would be an excellent 
> opportunity to foster dialogue on current piping practices versus 
> traditional piping practices.  It would be great if young pipers could 
> interact and play with experienced pipers from around the world.
>
> In addition to our own skillful Cape Breton pipers, excellent 
> practioners of the art could be invited from across the world. Some 
> examples might be:  the MacDonald brothers of Glenuig, Scotland 
> (Angus, Allan and Iain) who always provide wonderful entertainment.  
> In addition, Allan MacDonald is a fantastic traditional (Sean-Nos) 
> Gaidhlig singer.  This could reinforce the amazingly wonderful impetus 
> in Cape Breton to advance the learning of Gaidhlig language - 
> combining the piping traditions with Gaidhlig song traditions.
>
> Bruce Gandy, with his Piobairachd expertise honed in the military 
> background of the 78th Highlanders, would be an interesting contrast 
> with Allan MacDonald, who has honed his Piobaireachd skills in a 
> traditional Gaidhlig speaking environment.
>
> A favourite piper of mine is Fred Morrison from South Uist, who always 
> provides a fantastic show.
>
> Then on the Uilleann Pipes, what about Mick O'Brien or Mickey Dunne or 
> both.
>
> Wouldn't it be great if Celtic Colours could get the 91 year old 
> Asturian piper commonly known as Norino to come.  He plays in a very 
> traditional way, and is truly a legend in piping circles.  Or perhaps 
> Vincente Prado Suarez, who plays with his heart as well as his 
> fingers.
>
> Kathryn Tickell is fabulous on the Northumbrian pipes; she would make 
> an excellent addition to any group of pipers, and she takes pains to 
> explain the tunes and the traditions of her particular type of bag 
> pipe.
>
> Just some thoughts ...
>
> Marlene MacDonald Cheng
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6-Nov-09, at 6:36 AM, Judith Rosen wrote:
>
>>> “Getting an award like this from the Chamber of Commerce is nice 
>>> because it
>>> reinforces the role Celtic Colours plays in the economy of Cape 
>>> Breton
>>> Island,” says Mombourquette. “It proves that tourism, based on the 
>>> island’s
>>> unique culture, is still a driving force despite the economic 
>>> down-turn. It
>>> attracts visitors to Cape Breton and makes a positive economic 
>>> impact on the
>>> island’s communities. And it shows that the investment of sponsors 
>>> and
>>> government partners pays off in a big way.”
>>>
>>> Although the final numbers are still being crunched, the Festival 
>>> typically
>>> generates an annual impact of around $5 million on the economy of 
>>> Cape
>>> Breton Island
>>
>> That's awesome! I can remember, when the festival was still just a 
>> baby-- maybe two or three years along-- we had a big "discussion" on 
>> this list about whether the festival was just a colossal drain on 
>> taxpayers in Nova Scotia or whether it had the potential to not only 
>> pay the bills but fix up the house too (and maybe cover a wee 
>> vacation with the leftover change...). I have always been of the 
>> opinion that the music had the power to draw people in, consistently. 
>> Over a decade has gone by and it looks like this has come to pass. 
>> What the article doesn't talk about is whether there is still 
>> government funding for the festival on any level or has it become 
>> completely self-supporting. Does anyone know the answer to that 
>> question?
>>
>> The other thing that might be worth pointing out is that this article 
>> doesn't look at the impact across the province; only in CB. I suspect 
>> that there is a ripple effect, with the biggest ripple in Halifax. 
>> Anyone know statistics on this (or can you give me a link to research 
>> it myself)?
>>
>> Judith
>> PS: Hey, Joella-- if you're listening: Can you arrange a really big 
>> piper's concert for next year's festival, please??? I'm a-comin' up 
>> for that one, come hell or high water. (Actually, the trip is going 
>> to be in honor of my 50th birthday, so hell and high water are 
>> probably in the forecast at least for me, eh?!)
>>
>> On Nov 6, 2009, at 7:58 AM, Celtic Colours International Festival 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – NOVEMBER 6, 2009*
>>>
>>> *Celtic Colours International Festival recognized by business 
>>> community*
>>>
>>> (Sydney, NS) Celtic Colours International Festival wrapped up its 
>>> thirteenth
>>> year with recognition from the local business community. A week 
>>> after the
>>> Cape Breton Island-wide festival’s closing show on October 17, 
>>> Business
>>> Manager Mary Pat Mombourquette and Jacke Scott, Chair of the Celtic 
>>> Colours
>>> Festival Society, accepted the Sydney and area Chamber of Commerce 
>>> Business
>>> Excellence Award in the Tourism category during an awards ceremony 
>>> at the
>>> Membertou Trade and Convention Centre.
>>>
>>> “Getting an award like this from the Chamber of Commerce is nice 
>>> because it
>>> reinforces the role Celtic Colours plays in the economy of Cape 
>>> Breton
>>> Island,” says Mombourquette. “It proves that tourism, based on the 
>>> island’s
>>> unique culture, is still a driving force despite the economic 
>>> down-turn. It
>>> attracts visitors to Cape Breton and makes a positive economic 
>>> impact on the
>>> island’s communities. And it shows that the investment of sponsors 
>>> and
>>> government partners pays off in a big way.”
>>>
>>> Although the final numbers are still being crunched, the Festival 
>>> typically
>>> generates an annual impact of around $5 million on the economy of 
>>> Cape
>>> Breton Island with about half of the audience coming from 
>>> off-island. With
>>> the numbers that have been calculated so far, it looks like the 
>>> festival is
>>> on track to maintain that level.
>>>
>>> Despite having three fewer shows in 2009 than 2008, the total number 
>>> of
>>> tickets sold for the nine-day event is up from last year. 
>>> Twenty-five of the
>>> 44 shows sold out and 85.6% of all tickets available were sold (up 
>>> from 82%
>>> in 2008).
>>>
>>> The Irish theme of the Festival this year marked a departure from 
>>> other
>>> years when artists came from a more diverse variety of backgrounds. 
>>> This
>>> allowed for a chance to fully engage in one specific aspect of 
>>> influence on
>>> Cape Breton’s traditional culture and music, and also to re-connect 
>>> with
>>> ties between local and visiting artists established over 15 years 
>>> ago.
>>> Two-dozen Irish artists were featured at Celtic Colours, and 
>>> although few of
>>> their names were recognizable to many, they represented the top 
>>> players in
>>> the tradition. This attention to detail, according to Artistic 
>>> Director
>>> Joella Foulds, is what continues to draw crowds to the Celtic Colours
>>> International Festival.
>>>
>>> “Excellence has always been the most important criteria in 
>>> programming
>>> Celtic Colours,” says Foulds. “This year we worked closely with Irish
>>> fiddler Liz Doherty and local Artist in Residence Paul Cranford to 
>>> explore
>>> the ties between the Irish influence and local tradition. And 
>>> audiences
>>> responded. The priority we have put on excellence over the years has 
>>> helped
>>> establish the Festival’s reputation for presenting top-notch 
>>> entertainment,
>>> and Festival patrons have come to trust the Festival’s choices, 
>>> whether they
>>> recognize the names of the performers or not.”
>>>
>>> Now Festival organizers turn their attention to next year’s event, 
>>> scheduled
>>> for October 8-16, 2010. For those who missed Celtic Colours this 
>>> year, a
>>> number of video clip highlights and media coverage is available at
>>> www.celtic-colours.com.
>>>
>>> - 30 -
>>>
>>> FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
>>> Joella Foulds or Mary Pat Mombourquette
>>> 902-562-6700
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> -------------------------------------------------------
>>> Dave Mahalik - Information Officer
>>> Celtic Colours International Festival
>>> 850 Grand Lake Road, Suite 8
>>> Sydney, NS
>>> B1P 5T9
>>> 902 562 6700
>>> www.celtic-colours.com
>>> -------------------------------------------------------
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