Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums Presents: The 9th Annual Snowflake Concert

Contributed by Richard Christiansen, Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums

Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums present the 9th Annual Snowflake Concert at 7:00pm on Saturday, March 12th, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 18444 Old Glenn Highway, in Chugiak, Alaska, (On the Old Glenn Highway, between North and South Birchwood Loops.)

The Snowflake Concert promises to deliver yet again a brilliant evening of entertainment, with piping and drumming from the entire ensemble, as well as solos, and smaller groups of pipers and drummers within the Band. Based in Eagle River, Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums are very active in the greater Anchorage area, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and throughout South-Central Alaska, and have great fun teaching, performing, and competing.

The Snowflake Concert is one of several community concerts presented throughout the state by Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums, and is regarded by the Band as a particularly special time to say thanks to the people of their own home district.

We are extremely pleased again this year to have our Very Special Guest Performer, Piping Virtuoso and Instructor Jori Chisholm. Jori has played with the six-time Grade One World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band since 1998, and has been a featured solo performer for the band on multiple occasions.

Jori is a successful solo competitor, winning the United States Gold Medal four times, and has placed in the top three in Scotland’s Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal competition, and is a regular winner of top competitions in North America and Scotland. He has performed in front of sold-out audiences with The Chieftains, with ex-Grateful Dead rocker Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, and has been featured as a soloist or band member on over 20 recordings. His debut solo album Bagpipe Revolution was nominated for Album of the Year by Pipes|Drums magazine.

Jori writes the “Sound Technique” column for the National Piping Centre’s bi-monthly Piping Today magazine.

Prepare to be amazed! Midway through the concert, there will be a short intermission, during which refreshments, including Scottish shortbread, will be served.

Admission is free, but donations are always sincerely appreciated, with proceeds to benefit Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums’ Education Fund, and the church youth group.

Contact the Band via email at jungstensgericht@yahoo.com, or phone 907-315-9838.