Coincidence Concert

In the evening, Brian McNeill enchanted us with his singing and playing of various instruments. I learned that Brian, in addition to being in the Battlefield Band,  was the director of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Over the years, I have met teachers from RSCMD like Corrina Hewat and Wendy Stewart who have taught at the Ohio Scottish Arts School. And I’ve also met students from RSCMD who have graduated and come to teach at the Ohio Scottish Arts School as new and emerging artists. When Brian played a song that was inspired from his visits to the Goderick Festival in Canada, I had to text message my harp buddy Mark who is going there this summer to tell him that he has to listen to Brian while there.

The evening had been populated with coincidences and interesting connections. But then I got one more surprise. After the concert when I asked Brian about a particular tune, he said, “Oh, that was The March of the Spanish Volunteers. I wrote that.” And when he directed me to a recording of it, I noticed that Dominique Dodge plays harp with him on that particular track!


Memorable quote: The only real Scottish art form is the acceptance of rejection.