OUR STORY
Càirdeas was founded in 1988 by Hamish Moore and Matt Buckley and for the last 30 years has been a haven for Celtic musicians to learn, improve and share. Over the decades, Càirdeas has evolved from a small gathering of music lovers to a well-established annual event that allows students to take a break from their lives and immerse themselves holistically in a musical environment. The school is centered around Scottish smallpipes, and throughout the week students will learn numerous new tunes as well as be educated on their context and significance. Once the day's lessons have concluded, students gather for collaborative jam sessions which often feature a variety of instruments as well as the addition of vocals.
The Scots-Gaelic word "Càirdeas" translates to fellowship, kindred and friendship, and this has been the base of the school for the entirety of its existence. This gathering provides a safe space for fast-paced learning, creative collaboration and the development of life-long friendships. Càirdeas provides an experience beyond a typical musical gathering; it offers camaraderie and companionship among others that share a passion for Celtic music and tradition.
The Scots-Gaelic word "Càirdeas" translates to fellowship, kindred and friendship, and this has been the base of the school for the entirety of its existence. This gathering provides a safe space for fast-paced learning, creative collaboration and the development of life-long friendships. Càirdeas provides an experience beyond a typical musical gathering; it offers camaraderie and companionship among others that share a passion for Celtic music and tradition.
OUR INSTRUCTORS for 2020
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Fin Moore is a piper, born & bred. He plays the Highland pipes, Border pipes and Scottish Small Pipes. For five years, he played in the Vale of Atholl Juvenile Band and is now working with his father, Hamish, as very successful pipe makers. They have made over 1,000 sets of pipes. Their pipes are played all over the world and appear on dozens of recordings.
Fin has gained a great reputation as a teacher. He has taught at various schools in Scotland as well as a weekly SMG class in Edinburgh. As well as this, he has been involved in teaching worldwide, most regularly in North America and Europe. Fin performs with and is a member of Dannsa, a dance company based in the Highlands, who have worked all over Scotland for the last 12 years. He is also a founding member of the Pipe Quartet Seudan. Seudan have recorded one CD and have also played throughout Scotland and Europe and Canada. As well as this, Fin plays with Sarah Hoy in a Border Pipe and Fiddle duo. Fin has also been practicing his step dancing, which means he can sometimes be seen giving a step or two! Although he hasn’t recorded a solo album yet, he appears on several compilation albums and played on two of Andrea Beaton albums. “this boy was born to play a reel and when he did so on the Scottish Small Pipes, stamping both feet to produce a step dance rhythm section…….. living precariously with his own exciting variations, he was magic” Alastair Clark The Scotsman. |
FIN MOORE
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TIM CUMMINGS
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Timothy Cummings is a Vermont-based composer and multi-instrumentalist (chiefly a piper) who enjoys an uncommonly diverse repertoire. His music spans from contemporary and sacred music to the traditional melodies of the British Isles, Appalachia, Cape Breton, Brittany, and beyond.
Tim earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education (The College of Wooster, Ohio), both a B.A. Honours degree in Ethnomusicology and an M.A. in Musicology (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand), and spent a semester at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and National Piping Centre (Glasgow). Tim was the 2002-03 Artist in Residence at The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada (Summerside, PEI). While living in New Zealand, Tim was a member of the highly competitive Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band. In recent years he has been leading workshops and performing at a variety of festivals and gatherings throughout eastern North America. He is currently on faculty at Middlebury College and the Middlebury Community Music Center, offering private tuition on the Scottish pipes and tin whistle. In addition to teaching and performing, Tim operates Birchen Music & Publishing, a cottage industry devoted to publishing a diverse array of new music for Scottish-style pipes. He also writes for the National Piping Centre’s Piping Today magazine. Recent projects have included his first solo album, The Piper in the Holler: Tunes from Appalachia (2012, with backing from Pete Sutherland and Caleb Elder), composing the original score for the indie Scottish film ‘To Kill a Kelpie’ (recorded in 2013), publishing How Can I Keep from Singing?, a collection of songs arranged for voice & smallpipes (2014), The Wind Among the Reeds, a duo album with Jeremiah McLane (2016), and On This Day Earth Shall Ring, a collection of traditional carols arranged for pipes (2017). |
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Ben Miller & Anita MacDonald have become renowned across Canada and further afield, for their synergistic approach to traditional Scottish music. Blending Scottish Lowland pipes with Cape Breton fiddle, Gaelic song and step-dance, Ben and Anita join together the threads of Old and New World traditions, while constantly exploring new ways to bring their instruments closer together. Their music has been hailed as "Playful, poignant, and passionate all at once” — "Fresh, yet totally traditional." |
Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald
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Iain MacInnes
Greg Morrow Davey Taylor Ellen MacPhee Anna Murray Graham Mullholland |
Hamish Moore
Gary West Chris Layer Annie Grace Angus MacKenzie Ryan MacDonald |
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