Musical notes

Bagpipe concert

CLIFTON – Glasgow, Scotland, is the center of the bagpiping world. However, Ellsworth, Maine, will get a sneak preview of what is to be heard at this summer’s World Pipe Band Championships when Ursa Beckford, 14, of Clifton presents a concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, at Shangri-La, Main Street in Ellsworth.

Beckford, who is home-schooled, is a member of the Oran Mor Pipe Band of Albany, N.Y. Oran Mor is one of the three best pipe bands in the United States and Beckford may be the first Mainer to perform on Glasgow Green in Scotland, where bands from around the world gather every August.

As a soloist, he has been taking top prizes at highland games throughout the East for the past four years. He is currently the top amateur piper in the Northeast Branch of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.

Beckford’s concert will feature both traditional and contemporary bagpipe music, including his own compositions. He will be joined by keyboardist Brian Stewart. Their collaborations present bagpiping like it is seldom heard – unless, of course, you’re in Glasgow, Scotland.

Suggested donation for the fundraiser is $10 adults, $5 children.

Ursa is the son of Peter and Julie Beckford of Clifton.

For information, call Ursa or Peter Beckford at 843-6916 or e-mail ursapiper@yahoo.com.

Circus Band Concert

BUCKSPORT – The annual free and fun-filled Downeast Center Ring Circus Band Concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 11, at Bucksport Middle School, Miles Lane.

Those who have attended past performances report that the concert is a musical highlight of the year. Children dance with the clowns and audience members interact with the band or sing along.

The Circus Band Concert is a once-a-year, family-friendly, fun-filled event that serves as a benefit to raise money for music scholarships awarded to students in Hancock, Penobscot and Washington counties.

The program has grown from two $100 scholarships 12 years ago to 23 scholarships awarded in 2007. Organized and produced by Don Blodgett of Orland since 1997, the project has awarded at least 96 scholarships to date.

The concert is free, but donations toward scholarships are gratefully accepted. Suggested donation is $5.

Professor Gene Nichols, conductor extraordinaire and associate professor of music at the University of Maine Machias, will conduct a 40-piece circus band in selections of marches, specialty numbers, an overture, a solo or two and just about anything one could ask for in happy, upbeat music.

Nichols is a former director of music and band director for the Clyde Beatty Circus and Wild West Show. He performs regularly with the Arcady Music series and is an incomparable showman and educator.

The musicians come from Washington, D.C., Florida, Connecticut, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, other New England states and many parts of Maine.

Several professional musicians, music educators and retired military band musicians are among the talented members of the band. With the exception of the conductor, all the musicians volunteer time and effort, which includes two rehearsals and the performance. Frequently, some previous scholarship winners sit in.

Clowns, always a special feature of the event, entertain and dance with younger children during some of the features.

Special program support is provided by the town of Bucksport, the Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, the Bangor Band and the Brewer Hometown Band.

Martha Pedrick, Circus Band secretary and treasurer, will preside over the award announcements. The goal is to meet or exceed the number of scholarships granted last year.

Students interested in applying for 2009 scholarships should e-mail Martha Pedrick at mpedrick@mindspring.com or write Joni Wardell, 480 Castine Road, Orland, ME 04472, for application information. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of a student’s individual letter together with a letter of recommendation from the student’s music mentor.