The Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston are proud to Present
2025 Scottish Performing Arts Classic
The ancient MacDonald Lords of the Isles saw it as their responsibility to support, encourage, and develop the Gaelic culture in all its forms. The Lords of the Isles built churches, supported monasteries, were patrons of dancing, clarsach playing, poetry and, of course, piping. For more than thirty years, the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts (CDT), in the name of great Clan Donald, has been honored to carry on this important responsibility.
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston is pleased to partner with CDT to bring to Charleston three of these important Scottish Performing Arts competitions:
The Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach (Harp) - 1 pm, June 7, 2025
The clarsach was the primary instrument of the Gaelic courts until the introduction of the bagpipe in the 15th century and remained central to Gaelic courtly music until the mid-18th century. It also played a key role in the music of the early Celtic church. Harpers were a highly trained class of professionals who spent years perfecting their art and were held in esteem second only to that of the filidh (or clan poet). There is a difference between playing on a harp with pedals and a harp that does not have pedals. The instruments use different fundamental hand techniques. One is not better than the other, just like piano is not better than organ. The main difference: Repertoire. Four outstanding harpists from as far away as Ireland, Canada, and the USA will perform.
The Dan R MacDonald Memorial Prize for Senior Fiddle - 4 pm, June 7, 2025
Scottish fiddling may be distinguished from other folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery, for example, the rendering of the dotted quaver/semi-quaver rhythmic patterns, commonly used in the Strathspey. Christine Martin, in her Traditional Scottish Fiddling Players Guide, discusses the techniques of "hack bowing", "the Scotch snap", and "snap bowing". These techniques contrast quite sharply with the most common bowing patterns of Irish fiddling. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures. Four outstanding fiddlers from southern Scotland, the Shetland Islands of Scotland, Maine, and California will compete for the Dan R MacDonald Prize.
and The Joseph MacDonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd (Scottish bagpipe) - 5 pm, June 6, 2025
Piobaireachd or ceòl mòr is an artistic music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning 'piping' in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been the classical music of the great Highland bagpipe. A more general term is Scottish Gaelic: ceòl mòr meaning the 'great music' (to distinguish this complex extended art-music from the more popular Scottish music such as dances, reels, marches, and strathspeys, which are called ceòl beag or 'little music').
Four of the finest pipers in the world have been invited to compete at the Classic. Three of the competitors have already won the Clasp to the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting in Scotland, thought to be the premium prize in the world for piping.
This year we will also feature Maeve Gilchrist performing solo Scottish Harp Concert at 1 pm, June 6, 2025
Maeve Gilchrist is described by one critic as “a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity,” Maeve Gilchrist has taken the Celtic (lever) harp to new levels of performance and visibility.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Maeve‘s innovative approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. She is as at home as a soloist with an internationally renowned orchestra as she is playing with a traditional Irish folk group or using electronic augmentation in a more contemporary, improvisatory setting.
Maeve has released five albums to date, including her most recent 2020 recording, The Harpweaver which was hailed by the Irish times in its five-star review as “Buoyant, sprightly, and utterly beguiling…. a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game." Maeve was the first lever harpist to be employed as an instructor by her alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she taught for five years before switching to being a visiting artist in 2018.
These three competitions and the Maeve Solo Harp Concert will be conducted
at South Carolina Society Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.