The Battle of Waterloo:
After dancing to Wild Asparagus playing this tune at a dance in Portland in 2007, I ran to George Marshall to ask him the name. He didn’t know. Somehow though, in the midst of teaching the next dance, he had time to ask the band the tune title and come find me and relay it to me. I discovered that I had a copy of this tune at home in the book Fiddle Music of the Scottish Highlands by Christine Martin. I don’t know if this is the way Wild Asparagus played it, but we used Christine Martin’s setting here.
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Live Oak by Michael Mendelson:
Live Oak is a wonderful tune for a big band, as can be attested to by both the Portland Megaband and the Pittsfield Open Band in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I was recently a guest conductor. It is also a great session tune and a no-fail contra dance tune for small bands. The rhythm is built in, the melody is accessible to all ears. You can find this tune in Michael and Anita Anderson’s tune book, Tunes from the Western Edge, or on his web site at www.slidingscalemusic.com. The website has many other downloadable tunes by Michael as well.
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Swords into Ploughshares by David Donaldson:
Carl Thor brought this beautiful march to Portland. Composer David Donaldson of Vancouver B.C. plays whistle and other instruments; he has written many other tunes (info available at his web site). He tells us, “I wrote Swords while I was listening to a lecture about environmental footprints. It was a lucky morning for me.”
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