programme single

With orchestra

Download programme info (16K text file)

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

Download Rathskallions score samples (598k zip archive)

  • The Jolly Beggarman
  • All Around The Circle (I’s the B’y)
  • Violin vs. Fiddle (excerpts; Vivaldi’s Spring and Mason’s Apron)
  • The Unicorn Song
  • Early One Morning / Ode to Joy
  • Donkey Riding
  • Maddie’s Reel Medley
  • Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
  • The Ghost Song
  • 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.

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

Sample family performance

A family-oriented orchestral concert experience.

  • The Jolly Beggarman
  • Glass bottles/pitch demo
  • I’s the B’y
  • The Rattlin’ Bog (“North Ontario” version)
  • The Ghost Song
  • Harp demo – Early One Morning/Ode to Joy
  • The Unicorn Song
  • Double reeds and bagpipe demo
  • Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor
  • Stepdance demo – Maddie’s Reel Medley
  • Donkey Riding
  • Musical storytelling of Maddie’s Moon
  • Lukey’s Boat
  • Encore – Song For The Mira

See the fees page for pricing and booking info or contact Wendy Moore for details by phone at (613) 258-6200 or via email at wendy@celticrathskallions.ca. For a reference, please contact KWS conductor Dan Warren (519) 822-1109, dpwarren@sentex.net.