LAFAYETTE TARTAN BALL

For the second year, the band hosted a Tartan Ball - a night of feasting, dancing, and great music! In previous years it was held in Lafayette's historic Thomas Duncan Hall, with food catered by the Beef House. This year, due to popular demand, the Tartan Ball will be held in the spacious Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms. No experience in Scottish Country Dancing is ever necessary, as our dance caller Tine MacKay walks everyone through each dance. There are also dance performances by the Whole Nine Yards, a Scottish Country dance troupe based in Lafayette. Musical guests include fiddler Deb Shebish, harpist Amy Clough, and of course the Fountain Trust Pipe Band!

BAND WORKSHOP

Twice a year in the Fall and Spring, the band holds a workshop to improve its quality. Maureen Connor, Eric MacNeill, and Jamie Stewart are the instructors. The format of each workshop changes to cater to the current needs of the band. Maureen, Eric, and Jamie provide professional and consistent guidance to help the band move to the next level.

Our Fall 2008 workshop will take place SATURDAY OCTOBER 18th.

Maureen Connor is a professional piper from New York. She teaches pipes full-time and provides piping services through the Bagpipe Connection. She is also an instructor for the Balmoral and Invermark Schools of Piping and Drumming. Maureen is a member of Oran Mor, a Grade 1 pipe band based in Albany, New York.

Eric MacNeill, also from New York, is a professional side, bass, and tenor drummer as well as the four-time EUSPBA Professional Champion Drum Major. He is an instructor at the Invermark School of Piping and Drumming and Piping Hot Summer Drummer. Eric is the Lead Drummer of the Oran Mor pipe band.

Jamie Stewart is a carpenter by trade in Chicago and plays with the Midlothian Pipe Band as a member of the bass section. In 2006 they won the United Sates Championship and North American Bass Section Championship. Though Jamie has played in pipe bands since the age of 12, he didn't become a tenor drummer until 1998. He now teaches throughout the Midwest, organizes the Oct-Tenor-Fest bass and tenor workshop, and produces his own line of drum mallets through his website Mayor Drum Mallets Supply.