The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of Boston presented an afternoon of music and dance at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24.
The “St. Andrew’s Day Concert & Ceilidh” at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, has a number of Arlington connections. All members of the featured Celtic quartet, Scottish Fish, are from town.
They are performing with Stephen Thomforde (pipes), Highland Dance Boston and Boston Scottish Country Dancers.
Arlington ties
The Scottish Fish players are Caroline Dressler, Maggie MacPhail, Ava Montesi, Julia Homa, all fiddles; and Giulia Hable, piano and cello. Caroline, Maggie and Ava were students of Barbara McOwen of Arlington — Maggie for about 10 years, Ava about eight years and Caroline for one month, “but quite a telling month when she was a very little girl,” the teacher wrote.
Barbara’s husband, Robert, a retired professor of mathematics at Northeastern, is the artistic director for this event. He writes: “The Scottish Fish represent a future generation of musicians playing and promoting Scottish music.”
Apart from the Nov. 24 event, Barbara McOwen provided some wider context, writing: “And they add to the growing number of Scottish fiddlers in/from Arlington.”
Barbara listed names of other Scottish fiddlers in Arlington, including herself. She wrote that “most are quite advanced, and several are what you could call ‘world class.’” About half of these are her current or past students:
Cheryl Marceau, Brian Wilson, Colleen Cunningham, Stuart Brorson, Margaret Lepley, Ava Montesi, Maggie MacPhail, Caroline Dressler, Dan Wheatley, Catherine Miller, Nora Smith, Marilyn Warren, Roberta Lasnik, Jenna Moynihan and Maura Shawn Scanlin.
In addition, there are her husband (guitar, bass), Giulia Haible (piano, cello), Lucinda Brandt (guitar), Howard Lasnik (drums), Scott Weaver (bass) and Tom Pixton is (accordion, piano)..
Nov. 12, 2022: McOwens: A half-century Highland fling
This news announcement based on information from Robert and Barbara McOwen was published Friday, Nov, 1, 2024.
