December 2018

ALASTAIR LEE on December 15!

Join your friends on December 15 for the amazing Alastair Lee as our featured performer and judge!

Alastair started with the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band. Joining SFU in 2008, he was privileged to win the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship in his first two tries (2008 & 2009). In concert, Alastair can be seen playing both pipes and keyboards.

As well, solo pipe competition has been a focus for Alastair. In Scotland he is now in the Former Winners MSR at Oban as well as the Gold Medal for Piobaireachd at Oban and Inverness. Alastair also plays for highland dancing on a regular basis.

In his private life Alastair graduated with honours in 2013 from the Art Institute of Vancouver in professional sound engineering. He currently works full-time at the well-known Scottish importing firm Tartantown Ltd. as a bagpipe technician, shipper and sales associate.


Celtic Christmas will be our band!

Jeanine R. Orme is a classically trained violinist who has specialized in old-time fiddling, Texas-style fiddling, bluegrass fiddle, and Western swing. She is the 2014 Oregon State Adult Division Fiddle Champion and regularly competes in regional and national fiddle contests. Jeanine is the author of three music collections for Mel Bay Publications, Inc.: The Fiddlin’ Workshop, Herman Johnson-Master Fiddler and Texas-Style Fiddlin’ Workshop. Jeanine was born in Ogden, Utah. She began playing the violin at age five and started fiddling at age 8, performing with the Utah Old-Time Fiddlers. 


Dan Velasquez is a multi-talented musician who plays guitar, bass, and piano and composes and arranges music as well.  He grew up in Mexico and California, and graduated with degrees in Computer Science and Music Education from Gonzaga University.  He can recite all of the Monty Python skits and movies word for word.  He currently teaches electronics and computer programming at Southridge High School.  His love of Celtic music comes honestly, as his grandmother was born in Ireland.

Jayne Ferlitsch grew up loving the bagpipe music her father played, but didn't start learning the pipes until she turned 50.  She began studying piano at age 8, then added the flute at age 10.  She loves picking up instruments and also plays various flutes, keyboards, banjo and percussive instruments.  She competes often at OPS and plays with the Clan Macleay Pipes and Drums. She is a librarian at Southridge High School.

Celtic Christmas is a trio of Beaverton School District friends who play together during the Christmas season for charitable events.


Eric Albert will entertain us with at least one of his lovely piobaireachds as the Local Hero!
As a youth, Eric received an LP from his mother--Scottish Bagpipe Tunes including, "Lament for the Children," recorded by James McColl in 1958. The LP galvanized his interest in Piobaireachd and despite a late start at 27 years old, he quickly took to the pipes receiving excellent tuition from Don Lindsay, Iain Donaldson, Jake Watson, James MacGillivray and Willie McCallum. Attending the graduate business program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh afforded a close piping relationship with Jimmy McIntosh and Alasdair Gillies.

Although his passion is rooted in Piobaireachd, Eric has played in numerous bands including 6 years with the Oran Mor Pipe Band under PM Donald Lindsay, P/M of his local New York Grade 3 pipe band Feadan Or, and currently PM of the Eugene Highlanders.

Competing at the grade 1 level, Eric plays a vintage set of 1921 Lawries, with a Shepard M2 Blackwood chanter and custom Mark Lee rocket reeds that deliver a consistant warm and balanced tone .

Eric travels frequently, specifying flight deck equipment for commercial and GA aircraft manufacturers. Married to Krysta with three grown daughters and Liam--a seven-year-old who loves pipes but prefers the caber toss!

Good food, good music, good friends! 

Nathan Walgren who is proud to play a pipe even while wearing an ugly sweater