Your monthly news from the New Hampshire Scottish Music Club

Volume 34, No. 7, March, 2023

“Having fun with Scottish Music”

March Gathering

Join us March 12 as we play member tunes and resume rehearsing for our spring concerts

March Tunes

Click here to read about the tunes in our Tune Tales blog. Click  here for the sheet music.

Scholarship Money Available 

Spring is right around the corner and the perfect time to think about attending a summer music camp. New Hampshire Scottish Music Club has generous gifts from various philanthropic organizations to help qualified applicants with tuition costs for workshops and music camps or even private lessons.

Here’s a short list of choices to consider:

• Ashokan Music & Dance Camp

• New England Folk Festival Association

• Acadia Trad Festival & School

• Boston States Fiddle Camp

• Maine Fiddle Camp

• Fiddle Hell

We’re ready to receive your application.  You must be a member to apply.

Deb DellOrfano & Julie Wyrick, Scholarship Committee

Spring Concerts & More!

• We return to Bass Hall in Peterborough on Sunday, April 2 to celebrate NH Tartan Day.

• We’ll play our annual concert at the Portsmouth Public Library on Saturday, May 13.

• And on June 4 we’ll be trying out a new satellite meeting place in Dublin, NH, for an informal gathering, followed by a concert featuring Mari Black and her Celtic Trio.

• Finally, Anne Baier has opened up her beautiful barn in Bow for a concert with Jeremiah McLane and his Celtic band, Kalos, on April 28.

Please note that we will not be playing at NEFFA this year. For more information about that decision, please see below.

Rehearsal Schedule & Concert Notes

If you are planning to play in our spring concerts, this is where you need to pay attention! We have extra rehearsals scheduled to ensure that we put on two amazing performances. Click here for the schedule and update your personal calendar.

And, in case you missed February’s rehearsal, or you neglected to take copious notes, click here for the rehearsal notes.

Finally, Gordon Peery shares his thoughts on how we can put on our best performance ever.

Welcoming New Members

Please welcome our newest members, Ed Staub, Dorsey McConnell, and Michael Pavan. Ed has been using his piano background to develop his skills on the accordion. He lives in Manchester. Dorsey joins our happily growing fiddle section. He lives in Sugar Hill when he’s not in Scotland, where he spends the months of March through September. And Michael will be Zooming in from Teaticket (on Cape Cod), Massachusetts. He plays fiddle and mandolin.

Kim Speidel joined SMC earlier this year and has agreed to share her story with us.

February Workshop Recap

In case you missed it…

Board Elections Coming Up

In May we will be holding elections for the two-year board positions of Treasurer, Secretary, and Member-at-Large. While it’s possible that the current members holding those positions could be persuaded to run again, any organization stays vibrant when new folks get involved. As a board member you would have a significant voice in determining the future of NHSMC.

If you are interested in throwing your hat into the ring for one of these three positions, contact our president, Anne Baier, and she’ll fill you in on what kind of commitment is required. Interested, but not sure you want to make a two-year commitment? Following the election, the board meets to appoint a member to serve for one year as a member-at-large. That could be you. Talk to anyone on the board and let them know of your interest.

NEFFA & The NH Highland Games

We will not be participating in either of these events this year.

The Board voted at its January meeting to skip NEFFA this year. We only had nine people sign up to play and felt that was too small a group to ensure an excellent performance. Also, NEFFA’s Covid policies were very stringent and we had some musicians who did not meet the criteria.

After an unpleasant experience at the Highland Games in 2021, as well as with the executive director prior to the games, and, then again, at a chance meeting at the Alastair Fraser/Natalie McMaster concert in Concord, we decided to forgo attendance again this fall. Perhaps as our organization gets stronger under its new banner, we will reconsider for September 2024.

Website Problem?

Finally, know that our new website is maintained by a committee of five volunteers. We don’t always get it right. If you see something that needs attention, please shoot us an email at nhscottishmusic@gmail.com and we’ll got on it as soon as possible.