SCOTTISH HARP SOCIETY CREATES NEW RULES FOR HARP COMPETITIONS: NEW CATEGORIES ADDED
January 2004 Press Release
In December of 2003, the Executive Committee of the Scottish Harp Society of America, consisting of the officers and three appointed Board Members voted to approve a new set of competition rules effective the beginning of 2004. The first sanctioned competition of the year will take place on February 28, 2004 at the Northeast Florida Highland Games to be held at the Clay County Fairgrounds south of Jacksonville. The judge will be Nancy Bick Clark, who will also be giving a workshop on playing chord accompaniment and improvisation by ear at the Games. Many of the recent rules remain intact. Thus, anyone currently preparing under the old rules will be able to use their same repertoire. However, some additional categories and alternative tunes at the advanced levels will open more possibility for players to pursue new avenues of scholarly discovery and interpretation in Scottish harp music. The highlights of the new rules are summarized below.
1. ADDITION OF THEME AND VARIATIONS:
At the Journeyman and Master levels, the Theme and Variations form has been added as an alternative, although this does not affect old performance requirements. However, it opens the field to ceol mor, ports, and 19th century T/Vs that have an important place in Scottish music.
2. NEW COMPETITION CATEGORIES:
Several special categories have been officially sanctioned. In time, some of these categories may become principal events of the competitions. The categories include singing with harp, Ossian bard story-telling with harp, ensembles with harp, and emerging and re-emerging forms (jazz, New Age, Scottish World Fusion, Classical, Romantic, or early Scottish music).
The Competition Committee Chair Mary Radspinner says, "The historic reasons for including these areas are compelling and we anticipate that interest and participation in competition will increase." A Rank Beginner Category has been added and the age categories have been reduced. The under 12 category, which was under-used, has been absorbed into Youth and Rank Beginner. Qualified Youth may now compete against adults, if they choose.
3. FORMAT:
The rules have been simplified and any explanations are now found in a handbook. We hope this resolves possible areas of confusion.
4. DEFINITIONS, STYLES, & RESOURCES:
Definitions of types and styles of tunes have been updated. Extensive annotated lists of resources have been developed to include: Tutorial and Repertory Books for Wire-Strung Harp; Tutorial and Repertory Books for Gut/Nylon-Strung Harps; Selected Website Sources for Music, Books, Recordings, and General Information on Scottish Harp Music; Sources of Historical and Traditional Tunes to Arrange Yourself, and History and Biography. An annotated Discography will be added soon. Ms. Radspinner says, "We hope that these lists will be dynamic and that SHSA members will submit corrections and additions so that they will be of greatest value to our membership."
5. NATIONAL COMPETITION SCHOLARSHIP:
The Travel Scholarship awarded at the National Scottish Harp Competition is now available to either a Master OR Journeyman. In addition, there is a written application containing a proposal for intended study and a requirement that the recipient give back a scholarly contribution to the SHSA (an article and a harp arrangement in the Society's publication, The Kilt and Harp). The National Scottish Harp Competition is open to all, regardless of wins at a regional Games.
Ms. Radspinner says, "These changes should collectively increase the pool of competitors who would advance Scottish Harp music in the US. Reviewing the list of previous winners we found that about half have established careers with the harp and some have become important forces in the development of Scottish harp music. We would like to continue and enhance this excellent record."
Ms. Radspinner adds that the Competition Committee wishes to thank all who have given input into the process, and invites comments and recommendations. The Competition Committee, chaired by Ms. Radspinner, include Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni, Dreama Powell, and Nancy Bick Clark.