The Celtic Rathskallions in schools

 "You brought to life musical concepts that are difficult to teach to our students without the expertise displayed onstage. As well, you tied in other subject areas and showed how music truly is across our curriculum… Thank you for a superb performance. A job well done!" Bruce Nienkirchen, Principal, Eganville & District Public School

When The Celtic Rathskallions take their show to an elementary school, it always consists of Wendy Moore and ONE other member of the troupe (see individual bios on the performers page). Their lively and entertaining hour long performance features music (they play 15 instruments between any two of them) and also includes stepdancing and storytelling. They incorporate many instructional elements from the Ontario Music Curriculum. Audience members also volunteer to assist on stage and there is a question period included at the end of their show.

Students are encouraged to participate in: action songs, clapping tunes, instrument demonstrations and rudimentary stepdance.

Music Curriculum Resource Guide 

Wendy Moore is the author of a 75-page Music Curriculum Resource Guide for grades 1-8 which accompanies school performances. Master copies of student activity sheets are also included for each grade level. These resources provide useful, curriculum-based follow-up materials for the classroom. Also included in the resource package is the The Celtic Rathskallions CD, All Around the Circle and a Maddie's Moon illustrated storybook. This story is presented live at each show as a narrated, dramatized tale, set to music.

The Celtic Rathskallions show appeals to a wide age range of students from kindergarten through grade 8. Their performances and workshops are highly acclaimed throughout 65 Ontario school boards, at conferences, festivals and special events. For a list of schools and venues where the Celtic Rathskallions have performed, visit the school list or performance history page. 

School pricing and bookings

One show $650.00 (+ GST). Two shows at the same school $1,200 (+ GST). All shows include a resource package containing the 75-page Music Curriculum Resource Guide for the teacher; The Celtic Rathskallions CD, All Around the Circle; master copies of student activity sheets; a copy of Maddie's Moon illustrated storybook for the school library.

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The Celtic Rathskallions in concert

The Celtic Rathskallions perform in soft-seat theatres and at festivals for families and children. Engaging and delightful, their shows are entertaining as well as informative.Two or more Rathskallions will entertain you with familiar favourites such as I's the B'y, The Unicorn Song, The Rattlin' Bog and many more. Before you know it you will be clapping, singing and even stepdancing along with them.

Between any two of them, the Rathskallions play 15 different instruments. Their shows include Celtic (and folk and classical) music, drama, stepdancing and storytelling set to music. Performances range in length from 45-90 minutes depending on the venue and type and age range of the audience.

Sample family concert repertoire

    * The Jolly Beggarman
    * All Around The Circle (I's the B'y)
    * Mary Mac
    * The Unicorn Song
    * Early One Morning / Ode To Joy
    * Donkey Riding
    * Maddie's Reel Medley
    * Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
    * The Ghost Song
    * Say A Little Prayer
    * The Rattlin' Bog
    * Song For The Mira
    * Lukey's Boat
    * Einini
    * Maddie's Moon (a musical story)

Sample family/children's show

   1. The Jolly Beggarman
   2. Glass bottles/pitch demo
   3. I's the B'y
   4. The Rattlin' Bog ("North Ontario" version)
   5. The Ghost Song
   6. Harp demo - Early One Morning / Ode to Joy
   7. The Unicorn Song
   8. Double reeds and bagpipe demo
   9. Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
  10. Stepdance demo - Maddie's Reel Medley
  11. Donkey Riding
  12. Musical storytelling of Maddie's Moon
  13. Lukey's Boat
  14. Encore - Song For The Mira

Festival performance experience

Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa, ON
Children's Festival, Calgary, AB
Celtic Festival, Fort Erie, ON
Ottawa Children's Festival, Ottawa, ON
Stuart Park Festival, Perth, ON
Eaglewood Folk Festival, Peferlaw, ON
Along the Banks Festival, Merrickville, ON
Teddy Bear's Picnic, Ottawa, ON
Summer Parks Children's Festival, Ottawa, ON
Tall Ships Festival, Kingston, ON
Niagara Folk Arts Festival, St. Catherines, ON
Smith Falls Chocolate Festival, Smiths Falls, ON
Ottawa Jazz Festival, Ottawa, ON
Upper Canada Village, Morrisburg, ON
Canada Day Festival, Hamilton, ON

Theatre series performances

Kinderconcerts series, Kitchener, ON
The Children's Hour series, Milton, ON
On Stage for Kids, Almonte, ON
Kids' Playhouse, Belleville, ON
Razzamataz Theatre Series, Haliburton, ON
Joshual Bates Theatre, Athens, ON
Baby Grand Family series, Kingston, ON
Mayfair Theatre, Ottawa, ON
Youth Music Centre series, Guelph, ON
Kids' Kaleidoscope Series, Sioux Lookout, ON
Children's Delight Series, Dryden, ON
SunDay Smiles Family Series, Kenora, ON
Kids & Company, Fort Frances, ON
Atikokan Children's Series, Atikokan, ON
Entertainment 4 Kidz@The Rock, Red Rock, ON

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The Celtic Rathskallions with orchestra

Orchestra shows are available as both education and family show programming. These engaging and delightful performances are designed to feature the different sections of the orchestra as well as to exemplify a unique blending of the classical and folk (Celtic) worlds of music. Shows are entertaining as well as informative. As well as featuring classical and folk music, programming for both education and family shows also includes stepdancing, drama and storytelling set to music. Programming for the shows includes a variety of original orchestrations arrangements for Celtic Rathskallions and "home orchestra", as well as traditional orchestral works for orchestra alone.

Original arrangements for these shows have been created by three of Canada's prominent orchestral arrangers – Scott Macmillan, Claude Lapalme and Tom Leighton (see bios below). Arrangements are suitable for orchestras ranging in size from small (26-piece) to full-size. Performances range vary in length from 45-90 minutes depending on venue, repertoire and performance time mandates, as well as the type and age-range of the audience. Full resource packages and workshop handouts are provided for schools attending the education performances.

The Celtic Rathskallions and Orchestra programme premiered with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony in November 2007. A morning stepdance workshop was included for teachers, students, and the community.

Celtic Rathskallions and orchestra programme arrangers

Tom Leighton | A native of New Brunswick, Tom works in Toronto as a performer, arranger/orchestrator and music educator. His arrangements and orchestrations have been performed by a number of choirs, the Kingston Symphony, the Royal Marine Band on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Kingston Symphony, , Rita MacNeil, the Elmer Isler Singers, the musical Anne & Gilbert, Richard Adler's Kwamina and the Savoys Swing Band. Tom is also a recording artist who has performed on many CD's. He is half of the duo "Mark Haines & Tom Leighton". They have three CDs with Borealis records including their latest titled "Hand To Hand", which won 2 PEI Music Awards and was nominated for an East Coast Music Award. • haines-leighton.com | tom@haines-leighton.com

Scott Macmillan | Recognized as one of Canada's leading musicians, Scott plays an integral role in widening the audience for the music of Atlantic Canada both nationally and internationally. Scott has played a pivotal role aswas the inaugural Host Conductor and Arranger for Symphony Nova Scotia's (SNS) successful Maritime Pops Series. Ssince the mid 1980's, Macmillan Scott has built bridges between the classical community and the diverse musical and cultural communities of Nova Scotia. A master guitar player, Scott delights audiences by joining his guest artists on guitar from the podium. Scott has been nominated eight times for ECMA's, receiving ‘Instrumental Artist of the Year Award' in 1998, ‘Best Classical Recording' for MacKinnon's Brook Suite in 2002 and Bach Meets Cape Breton with Puirt a Baroque in 1995. Macmillan's Scott's highly acclaimed Celtic Mass for the Sea, co-written with librettist Jennyfer Brickenden, has been performed numerous times throughout Canada, the US and Europe. • scottmacmillan.ca | scottmacmillan@mac.com

Claude Lapalme | Claude was appointed Music Director of the Red Deer Symphony in 1990 where he quickly established a reputation as an exceptional Music Director. The orchestra has been featured on two CBC broadcasts and has collaborated, among others, with Alberta Ballet and Edmonton's Pro Coro. A prize winner at the Masterplayers International Competition and the Besançon International Competition, he has also received recognition awards from both the City of Red Deer and the Government of Alberta for his achievements. Mr. Lapalme has performed with many Canadian orchestras such as the Edmonton Symphony, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Sherbrooke and the Hamilton Philharmonic, and has appeared with European Orchestras such as the Moscow Radio/Television Orchestra and the Szombathely Symphony Orchestra. He was also Music Director of the Lethbridge Symphony from 1994, to 2002. In addition, Mr. Lapalme is a noted orchestrator and arranger, having composed charts for the likes of Michael Hope and Ian Tyson among others. • rdso.ca | claudelapalme@shaw.ca

Original scores available for programming

    * The Jolly Beggarman
    * All Around The Circle (I's the B'y) Download321K sample
    * Violin vs. Fiddle (excerpts; Vivaldi's Spring and Mason's Apron) Download122K sample
    * The Unicorn Song
    * Early One Morning / Ode to Joy
    * Donkey Riding
    * Maddie's Reel Medley
    * Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
    * The Ghost Song Download191K sample
    * The Rattlin' Bog
    * Song For The Mira
    * Lukey's Boat
    * Maddie's Moon (a musical story)

Sample educational show for elementary students
Elementary school students join the orchestra for a participatory concert hall experience.

   1. The Jolly Beggarman - Celtic Rathskallions and full orchestra (orchestra sections featured during instrumental breaks)
   2. Glass bottles pitch demo
   3. I's the B'y and Canadian jig medley - all 4 orchestra sections introduced
   4. Strings demo - Violin vs Fiddle (Vivaldi's Four Seasons ‘Spring' excerpt and Mason's Apron)
   5. The Rattlin' Bog ("North Ontario" version)
   6. Shepherd's Hey (orchestra alone)
   7. Harp demo - Early One Morning/Ode to Joy
   8. Beethoven's Ninth (excerpt, orchestra only)
   9. The Unicorn Song
  10. Double reeds demo (oboes; excerpts - 4 bars of Mozart Oboe Quartet in F major into Queen of Sheba
  11. Bagpipe demo (orchestra also makes bagpipes)
  12. Stepdance demo - Reel Medley (featuring full orchestra and Celtic Rathskallions)
  13. Lord Of The Rings (orchestra alone)
  14. Musical storytelling - Celtic Rathskallions reading and dramatization of Maddie's Moon with orchestral accompaniment
  15. Questions and closing thanks
  16. Lukey's Boat - arranged for Celtic Rathskallions and orchestra

Sample family performance
A family-oriented orchestral concert experience.

   1. The Jolly Beggarman
   2. Glass bottles/pitch demo
   3. I's the B'y
   4. The Rattlin' Bog ("North Ontario" version)
   5. The Ghost Song
   6. Harp demo - Early One Morning / Ode to Joy
   7. The Unicorn Song
   8. Double reeds and bagpipe demo
   9. Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
  10. Stepdance demo - Maddie's Reel Medley
  11. Donkey Riding
  12. Musical storytelling of Maddie's Moon
  13. Lukey's Boat
  14. Encore - Song For The Mira

For a reference, please contact KWS conductor Dan Warren (519) 822-1109, dpwarren@sentex.net.

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Booking info

See their performance schedule for shows nearest you. Contact Wendy Moore for details by phone at (613) 258-6200 or via email at wendy@celticrathskallions.ca.