Lee, Troy, Brown, Elliott, Foley storm KC with big prizes
Kansas City, Missouri – January 15, 2010 – The ninth annual Midwest Highland Arts Fund Winter Storm competitions at the Marriott-County Club Plaza saw increased competition assessed by an all-star panel of judges. In the end James Troy, Victoria, British Columbia; Andrew Lee, Surrey, British Columbia; Graham Brown, Milton, Ontario; and Andrew Elliott, Toronto; and Steve Foley, Costa Mesa, California, took the biggest prizes. (All monetary prizes are listed in US dollars.)
Solo Piping
Piobaireachd
Gold Medal
1st Andrew Lee, “The Big Spree” ($750, blackwood Peter Henderson pipe chanter)
2nd Alex Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, “Lament for MacSwan of Roaig” ($500)
3rd Andrew Carlisle, Ballygowan, Northern Ireland, “Park Piobaireachd No. 2” ($250)
Judges Michael Cusack, Angus MacColl, Andrew Wright
Silver Medal
1st Brian McKenzie, Seattle, Washington, “Lament for Mary MacLeod” ($500, set of McCallum pipes)
2nd Will Nichols, Blaine, Washington, “MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart’s Lament No. 1” ($400)
3rd Elizabeth Sheridan, Oakville, Ontario, “MacNeil of Barra’s March” ($300)
4th David Wilton, Forfar, Scotland, “Park Piobaireachd No. 2” ($200)
5th Derek Midgley, Tinton Falls, New Jersey, “MacDougall’s Gathering” ($100)
Judges John Cairns, Alasdair Gillies, Colin MacLellan
Light Music
Gold Medal
1st Jamie Troy ($750, Fred Morrison Sound software and electronic chanter)
2nd Andrew Hayes, Nepean, Ontario ($500 and Fred Morrison Sound software)
3rd Alastair Lee, Coquitlam, British Columbia ($250 and Fred Morrison Sound software)
Judges John Cairns, Alasdair Gillies, Colin MacLellan
Solo Drumming
Snare
Gold Medal
1st Graham Brown ($750 , choice of snare drum, $1500 travel allowance)
2nd 500 Derek Cooper, Warminster, Pennsylvania ($500)
3rd Tano Martone, Houston ($250)
4th David Bowman, Burnaby, British Columbia
5th Andre Tessier, Maple Ridge, British Columbia
6th Eric MacNeill, Rensselaer, New York
Judges: Hugh Cameron, Drew Duthart
Grade 1
1st Kevin Yang, Houston
2nd Kyle Wallis, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
3rd Nader Girgawy, Bellaire, Texas
Judges: John Fisher, Blair Brown
Grade 2
1st Graham Haddon, Langley, British Columbia
2nd Daniel Parsons, Kingston, Massachusetts
3rd Molly Steuber, Herald, California
Judges: John Fisher, Blair Brown
Grade 3
1st Steven Wheeler, Auburn, Washington
2nd Graham Ricketts-Moncur, Ancaster, Ontario
3rd Sean Ball, Cotuit, Massachusetts
Judges: John Fisher, Blair Brown
Bass
Gold Medal
1st Steve Foley, Costa Mesa, California ($750, choice of bass drum)
3rd Andrew Elliott, Toronto ($250)
2nd $500 Mike Daine, Ottawa
Judges: Kahlil Cappuccino, John Rowe
Intermediate
1st Iain Ricketts-Moncur, Ancaster Ontario
2nd Ben Peterson, Afton, Minnesota
3rd Beverly Huber, Hebron, Kentucky
Judges: Kahlil Cappuccino, John Rowe
Novice
1st Sally Gordon, Minneapolis
2nd Kylie Mervyn, Milwaukee
Judges: Kahlil Cappuccino, John Rowe
Tenor
Gold Medal
1st Andrew Elliott (($750 , choice of tenor drum)
2nd Kyle Heaney, Kitchener, Ontario ($500)
3rd Owen Russell, St. Paul, Minnesota ($250)
Judges: Norman MacLeod, Emily McLeod, Michael O’Neil
Intermediate
1st Molly Steuber, Herald, California
2nd Tara Davidson, Scotia, New York
3rd Ryan Robertson, Stoney Creek, Ontario
Judges: Norman MacLeod, Emily McLeod, Michael O’Neil
Novice
1st Don Caldwell, Cedar Park, Texas
Judges: Norman MacLeod, Emily McLeod, Michael O’Neil
My first time to Winter Storm and really enjoyed it. Saw lots of familiar faces and made some new friends. Loved the Kansas City BBQ at Jack Stacks and at Gates as well as the jazz at Jardine’s. Kitchen piping at Winter Steam” was lots of fun
Lee, Troy, Brown, Elliott, Foley… and McKenzie! Way to go everyone! And thank you to the organizers for putting on such a fabulous event.
A great weekend for sure! I heard all the Silver Medal tunes and a few of the Gold Medal tunes and perhaps the highlight for me was Brian McKenzie’s Lament for Mary MacLeod. The Silver Medal contest also produced other superb performances from Will Nichols and Elizabeth Sheridan. Combine the Friday events with the workshops, Saturday night concert and Winter Steam, and you have the best weekend of the year! The directors and legion of volunteers are to congratulated… Ken Eller