2024 Balmoral Classic Concert

Pittsburgh’s Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming is proud to present Beòlach, a creative force from Cape Breton, best known for their innovative and exciting arrangements of traditional Scottish, Irish, and Cape Breton tunes for fiddle, bagpipes, piano and guitar. Beòlach lights the stage on fire with energy and witty stories, demonstrating their knowledge of and passion for this music.

The band has recorded three albums. The first two, Beòlach (2001) and Variations (2004), each gained critical acclaim and earned nominations for East Coast Music Awards. In 2005 the group was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award as Best Instrumental Artist. Upon reforming after a hiatus, during which members pursued their solo careers, Beòlach’s album, All Hands (2020), won two 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards: Instrumental Group of the Year and Traditional Album of the Year, and received nominations for four East Coast Music Awards and a Juno Award. It has also appeared on Alex Monaghan’s Top 10 Albums (Folkworld) for 2020.

"There are trad-style tunes, beautiful mood pieces, ceilidh-ready dance pieces, all performed with superior assurance, tight band playing and loads of positive vibes."  ---- CeltBritFolkMusic.net

Throughout the band’s history, original members—Wendy MacIsaac (fiddle, piano, stepdance), Mac Morin (piano, stepdance, accordion) and Màiri Rankin (fiddle, stepdance)—have maintained solo careers, collaborating with renowned artists. As solo artists, they've been nominated for various East Coast Music Awards, Nova Scotia Music Awards, and several Canadian Folk Music Awards. They have appeared on Grammy and Juno winning albums and worked with artists of all genres.

With their latest recording, All Hands, Wendy, Mac and Màiri welcome Matt MacIsaac (bagpipes, whistles, guitar) into Beòlach, re-forming the group as a quartet. Matt brings an extensive repertoire of bagpipe music and experience as a professional touring musician. He has won top honors at world piping competitions.

Past Classic Concerts

The Tannahill Weavers in 2023's Classic Concert

Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland, and named for the town's historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, the Tannahill Weavers have made an international name for their special brand of Celtic music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms.  As one of the world's premier traditional Celtic bands, their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, original ballads and lullabies, and humorous tales of life in Scotland.

Seven Nations in 2022's Classic Concert

Equally at home in front of 40,000 cheering fans at an international festival, with widely recognized, Grammy award-winning symphony orchestras, or with 300 fans in a small Midwest club, Seven Nations has created a truly hybrid sound and transient live show. The depth and complexity of their music is astounding, each listen reveals a deeper layer of intricacy that has been embraced by an ever growing audience. "We are lucky," says McLeod, "because we come from two unique cultures. We love American pop and rock and roll, but we also love our Celtic roots. We want to touch everybody with our music," he continues, "and so far, we have been very, very fortunate."

Fraser and Haas in 2021's Classic Concert

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, "the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling", and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

Eabhal in 2019's Classic Concert

Eabhal came together while based on the Isle of South Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. Playing traditional music the band draws inspiration from many different cultures. Eabhal were recently named Hands up for Trad, Battle of the Folk Bands 2018 winners at Edinburgh Tradfest. Having toured throughout Europe, the band has just released their debut album This is How the Ladies Dance.
'Full of energy and bold ideas but firmly grounded in the Scottish & Gaelic tradition, Eabhal are one of Scotland's brightest up and coming bands that continue to evolve our music.'
- Angus Lyon (Blazin’ Fiddles)

Nuallan in 2018's Classic Concert

Comprised of three renowned Cape Breton pipers—Keith MacDonald, Kenneth MacKenzie, and Kevin Dugas—Nuallan explores a style of piping, brought to Cape Breton by Highland Gaels, that has continued to develop on the island over the past 200 years. Nuallan's members are well-known individually for their rhythmic, musical playing. Their music is dance-oriented, the most common tunes being strathspeys, reels and jigs. The band plays both Highland and lowland pipes and were joined onstage by keyboard & fiddle, as well as Irish, Scottish & Cape Breton-style dancers.

Fraser and Haas in 2017's Classic Concert

" … you would think they'd been playing together for centuries. While his fiddle dances, her cello throbs darkly or plucks puckishly. Then [Haas] opens her cello's throat, joining Fraser in soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter." — Boston Globe

"Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner...A positive joy." — The Scotsman

Toronto Police Pipe Band in 2016's Classic Concert

The Toronto Police Pipe Band made last year's 2016 Classic Concert an evening to remember! The TPPB is a grade one pipe band based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band performs at parades, festivals, ceremonies and funerals, and participates internationally in piping competitions.

As ambassadors of both the Toronto Police Service and the City of Toronto, the band is dedicated to playing good music well and to help bring the ancient sounds of the pipes and drums to citizens of Toronto – and the world.

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