NEWS – Nov. 1, 2011
Scottish Harp Society of America Has a New National Champion
Kelly Stewart Brzozwski of Atlanta, GA Receives Top Honor as well as
Clan Currie Harper of the Day Trophy
The Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) and the Clan Currie Society (producers of the Pipes of Christmas) are pleased to announce that Kelly Stewart Brzozwski of Atlanta, GA is the 2011 National Scottish Harp Champion of America. The championship was held on Saturday, October 28 at the Meadow Highland Games and Celtic Festival in Doswell, VA – just north of Richmond. Brzozwski was also named the 2011 Clan Currie Harper of the Day. Judging the Nationals were the renowned harpers Sharon Knowles and Ann Heymann.
It was a successful event, with a full flight of competitors. The championship hosted competitors in four Special Categories as well as solo artists at every level of ability.
Celebrating Success – Robert Currie, (second from left) president of the Clan Currie Society presents the Harpist of the Day award to Kelly Stewart Brzozwski (far right) of Atlanta, GA. Joining them are championship judges Sharon Knowles (left) and Ann Heymann (second from right)
Celebrating Success – Robert Currie, (second from left) president of the Clan Currie Society presents the Harpist of the Day award to Kell y Stewart Brzozwski (far right) of Atlanta, GA. Joining them are championship judges Sharon Knowles (left) and Ann Heymann (second from right
Many traveled halfway across the country to take part. Judges Knowles and Heymann had a challenging event to judge as the quality of the competitors’ performances were extremely high. In addition to judging, they provided competitors with thoughtful feedback on their performance.
For Kelly Stewart Brzozwski, the win was unforgettable. “I’m thrilled to be the national champion and honored to be in such good company. I try to set an active example for my students and I hope that in doing so I can encourage many more to play Scottish music and compete in the SHSA competitions.”
Commenting on Kelly’s award-winning performance, judge Sharon Knowles said, “The cold and rainy Scottish day at the Meadow Highland Games did nothing to diminish the glorious personality and beautiful playing by Kelly. She began her set with an air arranged with delicacy and flair then rounded it off with a grand old reel played at a fiddler’s pace. Congratulations to a wonderful harper and the Clan Currie Harper of the Day!”
The championship was – and will continue to be – sponsored by the Clan Currie Society, who has entered into a five-year commitment to act as Title Sponsor for the Championships through 2014.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have the Clan Currie Society make such a generous and long-term gift,” said SHSA past-president Jen McGovern Narkevicius. “Part of the success of our National Championship depends upon generous donors like the Clan Currie to ensure we have sufficient funding in place to produce a first class competition. It is especially rewarding when that support comes from a clan with such an ancient and distinguished history of Gaelic poets and musicians.”
The Clan Currie Society is the Title Sponsor of the 2011 National Scottish Harp Championship of America
The Society’s commitment to the Scottish harp had already been well established at the Meadow Games as Clan Currie has been the annual Sponsor of the Harper of the Day trophy since 2004.
According to Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society, the partnership with SHSA is a perfect fit. “The founders of our Clan were the celebrated MacMhuirich bards of Medieval Scotland and the instrument of the Bard was the clarsach.
Over the past several years Clan Currie has sharpened its focus on the arts with our concerts, special events and scholarship program. In addition to sponsoring this championship, we have also established an annual harp scholarship at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. We look forward to becoming involved in more of these types of programs in the future.”
About the Scottish Harp Society of America
SHSA is the sanctioning body for the U.S. National Scottish Harp Competition and qualifying regional Scottish harp competitions. The annual U.S. National Scottish Harp Competition includes the National Championship with its prestigious Herbert P. MacNeal Award, along with competition for all ages and category of competitor, from beginning to professional harpers. Through the year, the Society sponsors performances, presentations, workshops and classes, competitions, and gatherings all over the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1981, SHSA is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the Scottish harp, the clarsach, and its music both ancient and modern. Members of the Society include musicians, harp makers, and people who simply enjoy listening to the Scottish harp. SHSA is dedicated to the performing of Scottish Music, both new and old, on the small harps of Scotland. We support the playing of nylon, gut, wire strung, levered and unlevered harps.
About the Clan Currie Society
The Clan Currie Society, an American-based, international, non-profit cultural and educational organization, is the preeminent Scottish-American cultural society in preserving and promoting Highland heritage through a growing scholarship program and at Scottish Games and festivals, as well as community groups and classrooms. The Society has over 3,000 members worldwide that gather via the Society’s website and at special events and clan gatherings.
The Society was originally formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959 to further the knowledge and appreciation of the MacMhuirich (pronounced MacVurich) bardic dynasty. The MacMhuirichs served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald among other prominent Highland clans and families. The Red Book of Clanranald, one of Gaelic Scotland’s literary treasures, was penned by successive generations of the MacMhuirich family.
Today, the organization is a respected producer of outstanding programs and events to honor Scotland’s rich culture and ancestry. The Society’s signature events include The Pipes of Christmas (www.pipesofchristmas.com) – a musical celebration of Christmas performed on bagpipes and brass, harp and fiddle, and organ – and the annual observance of Tartan Day on Ellis Island www.tartandayonellisisland.com.
In 2010, the Society hosted their first annual Clan MacMhuirich Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The symposium brought together many of the luminaries in the Scots Gaelic community to interpret and celebrate the vast accomplishments of the MacMhuirich bardic dynasty which spanned nearly 700 years.