The purpose of the Quaboag Scottish Festival Association is to foster and encourage learning and enjoyment of Scottish history and culture. To that end, scholarships are awarded to those who are pursuing training or education in some aspect of the cultural arts, such as language, piping, or dancing. The Western Massachusetts Highland Games and Celtic Festival is our most widely attended and is the major fundraiser of the Association.
Beginning with 2002-2003, we named our piping scholarship in memory of William J. Campbell, long-time friend of our Games, who passed away in October of 2002. Bill was a committee member and our piping steward for many years. Bill, along with his wife Beckie, was very active in The Clan Campbell Society, including being the Western Massachusetts Deputies for Region 1. He always had a willing hand, a ready smile, and an outrageously corny joke to share. Bill took up the pipes late in life, and had made great strides in just a few short years. We think he would be honored to have the piping scholarship named after him.
2006-2007 Scholarship Recipients
| Raquel MacFarlane, of Marion, Massachusetts, has been awarded the William J. Campbell Memorial Piping Scholarship. Raquel became inspired to learn the Great Highland bagpipes when she was seven years old, after seeing a performance at the New Hampshire Highland Games. She is determined to master the art of piobaireachd and intends to become a professional piper some day. Raquel is known to be a hard worker, so we don't doubt that she will succeed in all that she sets her mind to. | Morgan Pell, of East Sandwich, Massachusetts, has been awarded a scholarship for Highland dance. Morgan has studied for nine years, and in 2006 she was the US Eastern Region Champion Highland Dancer in her age group. Morgan fell in love with the bagpipes when she was ten months old, and each time she heard them she was inspired to dance. Seeing Highland Dancers dancing with swords one year, Morgan concluded that she would like to take formal lessons so that one day, she too could own a sword. |
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(photo coming soon) |
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2004-2005 scholarship recipients: Leland Moore, Hal Grout, and Jameson Grout Seventeen-year-old Leland Moore, of Shutesbury, took up the bagpipes when he was 9 years old, after a trip to Scotland. While there, he had the privilege of hearing the Black Watch Queen’s pipers in Edinburgh during Scottish Independence celebrations. Leland, inspired by the music, told his parents that he wanted to study the bagpipes. Upon his return home, he began taking lessons with Eric Goodchild, of Shelburne Falls, and has studied under him for the past 7 years. Eric taught Leland to read music as well as the subtleties of playing the instrument. Under Eric’s tutelage, what had once been a mere interest became a passionate hobby. Leland intends to use his scholarship to attend an intensive instructional program and become truly proficient with the pipes. He aspires to become a creative professional at the bagpipes who is able to inspire others and share the Scottish tradition. |
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Hal Grout,
won the William J. Campbell Memorial Piping
Scholarship. Hal,
a resident of Enfield, Connecticut, started piping 12 years ago when his
fire department formed a pipe band. He is the only remaining original
member and serves as the duty piper for them. Some of you may recognize
him from his days as an agent for the Celtic rock sensation, Seven
Nations.
After playing with a couple of other local pipe bands, three years ago he settled in with the Catamount Pipe Band of Montpellier, VT. He is currently taking instruction from Catamount's Pipe Major, Iain MacHarg. Hal will be attending the Invermark School of Piping and Drumming this summer, as he has for the past 5 years. Last summer, Hal embarked on his first solo season. |
Photo taken at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, MD |
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Jameson Grout
began Highland dancing at the age of 6 years. After many years of
dancing, his love for the drums (which he was studying in school)
overcame him.
He started taking lessons with a local pipe band and played with the Manchester Regional Pipe Band for two years. He is currently taking lessons from Scott Appel. Jameson, along with his dad Hal, presently plays with the Catamount Pipe Band of Vermont. Jameson will be attending Invermark School of Piping and Drumming for his second year this summer. Jameson hopes to continue playing through his college years. He hopes to attend the US Naval Academy.
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2002 - 2003 Recipients
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We're very pleased to announce that our first winner of the William J. Campbell
Memorial Piping Scholarship is James S. Costello, of East Sandwich,
Massachusetts. James is 14 years old and has been studying the Great Highland
Bagpipes for just over 5 years. In just that short time, he has been awarded
"piper of the day" at four Highland Games, including our own, and has won the
Piobaireachd Cup Challenge at the Scotland, Connecticut Games. He was first
inspired to learn the pipes when he was 6 years old and saw a pipe band pass by
during a parade. James is a member of the Tulach Ard Pipe Band of Boston and the
Highland Light Scottish Society of Cape Cod. He hopes to reach the advanced
level of professional piper and to eventually teach piping.
James was our 2004 Grade I Piper of
the Day |
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Charles (Chas) Florio,
of Waterford, Vermont, is the recipient of our other Celtic Cultural Arts
Scholarship for his continued training and education in Pipe Band Snare
Drumming. He is a member of the Catamount Pipe Band of Montpelier,
Vermont. He comes highly commended by his Pipe Major, Iain M. MacHarg, and
his teacher, Andrew Adams. Chas is a dedicated student of the Highland
snare, so much so that Mr. Adams tells us Chas has become his most gifted
student. He became an assistant tutor for the students in the Catamount
Pipe Band, after playing for only about a year. Chas hopes to attend Simon Fraser University this September. We wish both our scholarship recipients the best of luck, and are sure they will help assure a vibrant future for the Celtic Cultural Arts! |
2000 - 2001 Recipients
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| Leslie Dodge, Festival Chairperson, introducing Ben Brown and Darren Kenyon, and presents them with their scholarship awards. |
Ben Brown is a 13-year old snare drummer with the Taconic Pipe Band, as well as a tenor drummer with the Oran Mor Pipe Band. He began practicing in 1998, and performed for the first time at the Western Massachusetts Highland Games in 1999. He placed first in an individual competition at the New Hampshire Games later that year.
He has worked very hard towards the goal of making the "snare line" in the Oran Mor Pipe Band, in addition to competing with them as a tenor drummer.
In the few years since he has taken up the sticks, he has taken lessons and attended workshops whenever he could find them.
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Darren Kenyon is only 18 years old and yet has piped for seven years. Already, he has won piper of the day at the Manchester Indoor Games, and while attending Gaelic College, was pipe major of the band and won a first prize trophy. Darren comes from a long line of pipers, and expects to continue the tradition, even as he enters the National Guard. |
Kerry Danna was
inspired to become a dancer at a very young age by watching her older
sister. Kerry started out by taking ballet lessons, but at the early age
of five she became interested in Scottish dancing. She may have started
to dance in imitation of her sister, but she now dances for its own
sake.
Kerry has competed at Nationals in five states as Eastern Region Representative, and in Pennsylvania was awarded the title of fourth runner-up in the country. In addition to her own dancing, she has opened her own school of Highland dance. |
1997-1998 Our Scholarship Program began with our first two recipients:
Sarah Wilkinson, who was competing for her very first time and won Grade 5 practice chanter.
Alison Chase, an 8 year old who has been Highland dancing since she was 4.
The Quaboag Scottish Festival Association is proud to play a part in furthering the education and training of these fine young people.
Contact us at info@wmhg.org for
information on how to apply for our Scottish/Celtic cultural arts scholarship
or download the application (in .pdf
format--you must have Acrobat Reader).