November Concert

For almost thirty years, the Boston Branch has sponsored a gala concert featuring Scottish music and dance. Our goal is to share the rich cultural heritage of Scotland and our enjoyment of it and to offer interested audience members the chance to try a Scottish dance or two after the show. 

In the early years, the concert was held at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge near Robert Burns’ birthday (January 25). It was a Burns’ Night celebration (complete with the address to the haggis), honoring the work and life of Scotland’s national poet, who was also collector and preserver of Scottish music. (Many of his finest lyrics are set to traditional tunes.) Singer Jean Redpath graced our early shows with her unique voice, her deep knowledge of Burns, and her irreverent wit. Alasdair Fraser, the best known and most influential Scottish fiddler and fiddle teacher of the last three decades, joined her for several shows in the late ‘eighties, to the delight of Boston audiences.

In the mid 1990s, we moved the concert to early November and settled into a new home at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, MA. The benefits included less worry about snowy weather, superb acoustics and sightlines, and ample free parking. Our headliners vary year to year.  Alasdair Fraser is a perennial favorite, with accompanists such as guitarist Tony McManus and cellist Natalie Haas, and we regularly feature Boston’s own premier Scottish musicians, such as fiddlers Anne Hooper, Barbara McOwen, Hanneke Cassel, and Laura Cortese; keyboard player Susie Petrov; and Boston-trained stars such as fiddlers Laura Risk and Lissa Schneckenberger.  Pipers such as Alastair Gillies, Gordon Webster, Mike MacNintch, and Lezlie Webster have contributed their mastery of the pipes, great and small. We’ve also hosted the Canadian Celtic band, Scantily Plaid, singer Ed Miller, story-teller Susan Cardwell, Gaelic singer James Graham, and many others.

Naturally, the concert features Scottish dancing as well as Scottish music.  Choreographed country dance medleys weave in and out of the musical segments, performed by the Boston Branch Demonstration Team, often in full highland dress. We also feature champion Highland dancers, such as Karen Campbell Mahoney, and Highland Dance Boston, the innovative ensemble she co-directs with our own Robert McOwen. Every year we marvel at the way the music inspires the dancers and the dancers inspire the musicians. Our audiences tell us that they, too, are inspired and energized by the unique blend of music and dance that is the hallmark of our show. Hope to see you there!

 Information about the 2007 concert

The Boston Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society presents its 15th Annual Concert of Scottish Music and Dance featuring
The McKassons in Concert
with Highland Dance Boston and the RSCDS Demonstration Team
Saturday, November 8, 2008, at 3 and 7:30 PM
National Heritage Museum
33 Marrett Rd., Lexington MA

Artistic Directors: Jennifer Schoonover and Margaret Lepley
Producers: Linda McJannet and Lea Sewell
Info: 617 492 8180

Our theme this year is still in development, but our featured performers will be a young trio from Seattle, The McKassons. Check this space for more information in the near future.
In the meantime, visit www.themckassons.com for an idea of the wonderful things you can expect to hear from them!