The Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band at the 3rd Annual Celtic Music Night

The 3rd Annual Celebration of Music and Dance

Looking for something new and interesting to do on Friday night?  Why not check out the 3rd Annual Celtic Music Night this Friday at 7pm in Yarmouth.  If you've been to a Cape Cod parade, chances are you've seen the Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band in action.  The loud beat of the drum, the majestic sound of bagpipes.  The night promises to be a true celebration of dance and music with performances by the Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band members, students, Scottish dancers, Irish Step dancers, harpists, fiddlers and a trio of guitars & Pennywhistles.   

The performance will surely delight music lovers of all ages. Of particular note are some of the younger members of the group who will be piping Friday evening including 13 year old Ryan Gilliland, 18 year old Brenden Begley and 16 year old Jason Ruffino. 

• Ryan Gilliland, 13, one of the youngest members, wanted to learn to play the bagpipes to play for his Irish Step Dancing sisters, expressing an interest as early as age 5 or 6. He came to the band at 11, and played a simple tune on his practice chanter the first Celtic Music Night. At last year's Celtic Music Night he got his wish, and played the bagpipes for his sisters as they danced in the show, still as a student. This year he'll be playing as a member of the band in full uniform. Claire Gilliland, 10, one of Ryan's sisters, will also be playing the harp in the show as well as Irish Step Dancing again this year. 
• Brendan Begley, 18, saw the band march at a Lakeville Parade three years ago, told his folks that he wanted to learn to play, and is now one of our best pipers. He'll be performing as a piper, and also playing the pennywhistle with his guitarist brother in the show.
• Jason Ruffino, 16, started with the band when he was 8. Now 16, he's a Grade 3 piper who regularly wins on the competition circuit, and is also on of our best pipers. He's also now a teacher with the band. Among other things, he'll be doing some Razzle Dazzle piping with Brendan in the show.

For more than 25 years the Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band (HLSPB) has been thrilling audiences at parades, concerts, and Highland Games with the traditional music and spectacle of the Great Highland Bagpipes and Drums.

The band has more than 25 pipers and drummers from Cape Cod and the Old Colony region, and presents the best of traditional pipe band repertoire. Leading the Band are Pipe Major Joe Gaska, and Drum Sergeant Al Hoyt.

HLSPB also fields a Competition Group, participating at Highland Games throughout the year.

The band’s beginnings can be traced to the early 1970s, when Bill Brittain, considered the band’s founder, taught an evening class in Bagpiping at Dennis-Yarmouth High School. The graduates of that class formed the nucleus of the Band, which had its first public appearance at a parade in Falmouth in 1978. Two of the original members are still active with the band.

Literally spanning decades, the Band’s eldest member is a retired minister, while the youngest is a middle school student.

The Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band welcomes prospective members and offers instruction in the pipes & drums. Classes are held Thursdays at the Yarmouth Senior Center.  Most of the members of the current band learned to play within the organization, with no previous experience.  Age is no limit, many members started in their 50s or later, and there are students as young as eight.

For more information, contact the band's manager, Patricia Kellis, at 508-432-8267 or visit the website here.

If you go:

A CELTIC MUSIC NIGHT
a Celebration of Music and Dance

Sponsored by the Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band, with Members,
Students and Friends

February 9th at 7pm at the Mattacheese Middle School, Higgins Crowell Rd in Yarmouth

Adults $5.00, Children Under 15 Free