Participating in the event will be some 11 pipe and drum bands from New England, including one that recently earned fifth place in an international competition in Scotland.
Members of the Caledonian Pipe Band play the bagpipes during this year's Memorial Day ceremony in Holyoke. The band is among 11 that will participate in the Shriners' Melha Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band concert to benefit Massachusetts tornado relief.WEST SPRINGFIELD - They’ll be piping and drumming and raising money for cities and towns still reeling from the devastation of the June 1 tornadoes.
The Shriners’ Melha Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band will host a tornado relief concert at the Eastern States Exposition Coliseum on Oct. 16.
“We’re trying to present a concert that will bring a lot of happiness and joy to the people there and ultimately to the people who are benefiting from what we’re doing,” said Allen G. Zippin, a concert committee member who is an active member of the Shriners.
All proceeds from the concert will be deposited in an account at Chicopee Savings Bank and distributed equitably to communities in need.
Zippin said concert organizers will work with officials from municipalities in the path of the tornadoes to plan the distribution of the funds. “We really want the money to be dedicated and designated to be used for something specific that is needed,” Zippin said, like trees or helping rebuild homes.
Participating in the event will be some 11 pipe and drum bands from New England, including one that recently earned fifth place in an international competition in Scotland. The event also will include choral music.
“We want this to be a fun event but also one that is very dignified and respectful of the Celtic culture,” Zippin said.
Scheduled to perform are: the Melha Highlanders and Melha Drum Corp, the Holyoke Caledonians, the Springfield Kiltie Band, the Quaboag Highlanders, Celtic Thunder, Manchester Regional Police and Fire Pipe Band, the Stuart Highlanders, the Worcester Kiltie Pipes and Drums, the Pyramid Pipe Band, the Cabeys and the Around Town Singers.
Richard J. MacGregor, drum major for the Melha Highlanders, said members of the pipe and drum bands are “a unique group who always are ready to support anybody who needs it.”
The bands and singing groups are donating their time, and the Big E is donating materials and time to support the effort.
MacGregor said at some point during the show, there will be 200 to 300 pipers and drummers on stage at once.
During the opening ceremony, 11-year-old Bella Hastings, of East Longmeadow, will sing the National Anthem.
“When she was nine, she sang it at the Shriners Circus in West Springfield, and oh, what a voice!” MacGregor said. “She has a fantastic voice.”