The
INSIDE Letters
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Guest Column
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Hanson resigns
Anne Willis photo
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VOLUME 37, NUMBER 13 • APRIL 1, 2014
Battlefield Band bridges the old to the new By Cali Bagby Weekly editor
Battlefield Band, founded by a group of friends in 1969 and named after the “Battlefield” area of Glasgow, has toured and performed throughout the world for more than 40 years. The band is currently made up of Ewen Henderson, Sean O’Donnell, Alasdair White and Mike Katz. They will perform at Lopez Center on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.Tickets in
advance are $20 for adults, $10 for youths and can be purchased online. Tickets at the door: are $20 for adults and $10 for youths. The Demonstration Workshop with Battlefield Band members will happen from 2 – 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 at Lopez Center. This opportunity is brought, in part, from a grant funded by WESTAF and NEA. The band will speak about some of the unique instruments used in the traditional Scottish music scene, demonstrating
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Members of the Battlefield Band. their skills and experience on these instruments. The Weekly caught up with Katz last week to find out more about his music and experiences as a Battlefield Band member. He plays the Highland bagpipes, small pipes, whistles, bouzouki, guitar and bass. Originally from L.A., Katz moved to Scotland at age 18 to study at Edinburgh University and put down roots, remaining there ever since. He played in the Scottish Gas Pipe Band and Ceolbeg before joining Battlefield Band. He joined Battlefield Band in late 1997. WEEKLY: Why is it important to bridge the old music to the new?
MK: I think this is an attempt to impress upon people that there is a continuous link culturally between music played in Scotland – or any culture for that matter – in the distant past and what is written and played in the modern day. This richness of what we have in a culture currently takes its depth from the variety and width of endeavor which proceeds it. Picasso for example, understood “con-
Weekly editor
Whether in a school on Kodiak Island or conducting Island Sinfonia, Ned Griffin has a simple philosophy – love what you are doing. “I would not enjoy rehearsal if I didn’t feel the orchestra was enjoying it and enjoying the music we play,” he said. Because of that joy, it was difficult to make the decision to retire after this season for personal reasons. He and his wife are avid travelers who love hiking and cycling.
“We want to travel while we still can,” said Griffin, who is nearing 70. “But it will be hard to leave Sinfonia.” You can see Griffin and the 24-person ensemble, from islands in the San Juan archipelago, that makes up Island Sinfonia on Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. at Grace Church. Admission is by donation. Griffin and his wife retired to Shaw Island in 2007. They had been educators in a two-teacher school on Kodiak Island. He joined Island Sinfonia as a trombonist almost immediately after moving to Shaw.
Spring Tide
Live in Concert
Sunday, April 6th, 7:30pm
• 2014-15• Concert is made possible, in part, from:
Tickets: $20/adult, $10 youth at lopezcenter.org, PSR, Lopez Book Shop, Blossom & LCCA. 468-2203
Free Demonstration Workshop 2-3pm more info at lopezcenter.org
was introduced to lots of Scottish and Irish traditional music out with the piping tradition. My mother also does have some old Irish piping records, which I have listened to since I was a kid. WEEKLY: What’s the longest period you have been separated from your bagpipes? MK: Three weeks on a holiday once or twice. SEE BAND, PAGE 5
Island Sinfonia conductor says farewell By Cali Bagby
Lopez Center
ventional” art techniques and could draw realistic pictures and it is through that knowledge that he arrived at what he eventually produced. Without the past you have no future. WEEKLY: What drew you to Scottish folk music? MK: I have played the pipes since I was 10 years old but it was only really when I was playing in Edinburgh in a pipe band in the early 1990s that I
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For four seasons, Griffin happily played with his fellow musicians. When conductor Jack Lynch was ready to move on, Griffin was asked to take on the task. He agreed to take on the job. One of the favorite parts of his new position was choosing the music and exploring “lesser known works by mainstream composers and mainstream works by lesser known composers.” Griffin describes himself as enjoying classical music so much it’s really the only music that comes through SEE SINFONIA, PAGE 6
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