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| A Wee Bit of Scotland |
| Thursday, September 11, 2003 8:25:18 AM - Middletown Ohio |
Middfest International
One Donham Plaza
Middletown, OH 45042
Phone: 513-425-7707
Fax: 513-425-7921
Email: middfest@siscom.net
Website: www.middfestinternational.org
Middfest Countries and the years they were featured are:
1981 Luxembourg, 1982 Mexico, 1983 Egypt, 1984 Brazil, 1985 Japan, 1986 Switzerland, 1987 Canada,
1988 Italy, 1989 India, 1990 Ireland, 1991 Ten Country Retrospective, 1992 Caribbean, 1993 Eastern Europe, 1994 New Zealand, 1995 The Gambia & Senegal, 1996 Argentina, 1997 Norway, 1998 Korea,
1999 South Africa, 2000 Turkey, 2001 Greece, 2002 – 20 Year/25 Country Retrospective, 2003 SCOTLAND
PHOTOS – VISIT WWW.MIDDFESTINTERNATIONAL.ORG
September 11, 2003
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
For more information call: Ann Mort, Publicity, at 513-424-2038, email Rmort@cinci.rr.com or
Virginia Ritan, Executive Director, 513-425-7707
MIDDFEST ENTERTAINERS TO PRESENT A WEE BIT OF SCOTLAND
Bagpipers, dancers, drummers and entertainers from many art forms will gather in Donham Plaza in downtown Middletown October 3-5 as Middfest International features Scotland.
Entertainment on two outdoor stages and in several indoor locations around the plaza will keep guests to the three-day event entertained.
Among the entertainers are :
The Scottish Pirate, Thomas MacGregor and his cohort, the English Pirate, Mary Read, will sing and play numerous traditional instruments while spinning historically accurate yarns of the pirate experience.
Knocknagael is a four piece group that takes Celtic Rock to a new level. Combining talent, musicality and innovation, the band is made up of Chase Blowers, John Volck, Jack Via and Casey Mullen. John Volck plays bass, guitar, hand drums and the Scottish tenor drum. A UC art graduate, he also studied jazz guitar at CCM and played in a heavy metal band. Jack Via plays the Highland Bag Pipes, the Shuttle pipes and whistles. At age 13, he has already played the pipes for six years. Casey Mullen, a student at Miami U, a former high school band and heavy metal band drummer, is currently studying classical piano and is a Grade I piper playing several different kinds of pipes. Knocknagael has played for many Celtic festivals and pubs in the area. They have two CDs, “Three Toed Lemur” and “Ten Fingers Each.”
The Mad Anthony Wayne Pipe Band is based in Cincinnati, and was formed in 2001 from members of an award winning band in the area. The band is named for one of the best American Colonial Army Generals, Mad Anthony Wayne.
The Cincinnati Caledonian Pipes and Drums (the Kilties) was founded in 1910 by William Lorne Nimmo, a Scot who emigrated to Cincinnati and became a Cincinnati Police Lieutenant. The Caledonians adopted the Mackenzie tartan and military hat badge when several WWI vets who had fought with the Seaforth Mackenzie Highland Regiment joined their group. There are 30 performing members and more than 30 aspiring pipers and drummers in the group. On warm summer days, they practice in the parking lot at Cincinnati City Hall. During Middfest, they will be on hand for several performances on Sunday, October 5.
Nego Gato performs an African-Brazilian form of Capoeira, an athletic dance style blending pure dance with the raw athleticism of martial arts. Imported from Brazil, the dance is tied to the Brazilian slave period. The band combines percussion with song and dance to demonstrate different traditions and art. Nego Gato performs throughout the U.S. and will arrive early on Friday, October 3 for a motion workshop involving MRDD clients.
Clann an Drumma is a six piece band from Scotland playing music passed down by their ancestors. The style is dominated by rhythm, enhanced by the sound of pipes blended with vocals. The Clann traces the growth of Scotland through its music. One of their songs was featured in the film “We Were soldiers” starring Mel Gibson.
Toucan Jam is a kid-friendly multi-cultural whirlwind tour around the globe. Geared to children K-6, the show is all about cultural diversity. Kelly Mulhollan and Donna Henschell take their audience on a tour of five continents where they hear exotic instruments, learn an ancient dance, hear exciting legends, meet a singing snake and other wonderful characters in puppet form. Based in Arkansas, Tourcan Jam has been performing for schools and library groups for five years.
Still on the Hill, also performed by Mulhollan and Henschell, grafts bluegrass, folk, jazz, classical, jug band and blues onto the hardiest of Ozark Mountain rootstock into a musical style they call “Folkgrass.” They play a compelling hybrid music. Still on the Hill has produced five cds popular on the airwaves in the US and Canada. Their latest cd is “Chaos and Calm.” An entirely acoustic production, Mulhollan plays guitar, mandolin, banjo, autoharp, harmonica, pump organ and various homemade percussion instruments. Henschell plays fiddle with great versatility – even bird calls.
As is the Middfest custom, a strictly American performing group will welcome the Scots to Middletown on opening night, Friday, October 3. This year, Prairie Wind Dancers will perform for the Middfest guests. The contemporary dance group use larger-than-life puppets to tell a story of the settling of the plains states. The story is most appropriate, since Scots were a large part of the U.S. plains settlement. The production is based on a Carl Sandburg poem.
Performers are presented through grants from the Ohio Arts Council, Heartland Arts Fund, Pennsylvania Performing Arts Program (PenPal) and other sponsorships.
For more information about Middfest call 513-425-7707, email to middfest@siscom.net or visit www.middfestinternational.org. Middfest International has been building international friendship through the annual event for over 20 years and has featured more than 25 countries.
Ann Mort |
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