Bagpipes concert in Lyons

On Sunday, April 9, you may enjoy music of the bagpipes, featuring Chuck Boda and Steve Howarth.

The concert is planned at Lyons Presbyterian Church. It is free, but donations are welcome to offset expenses. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and will last approximately one hour.

Chuck Boda has been playing Celtic, Folk and Bluegrass music for almost 30 years. He has played guitar, 5-string banjo, mandolin, Irish bazouki (a 10-string instrument similar to a large mandolin) and an upright bass for over 35 years. He says, "A few years ago, a great piper from Ithaca stole my soul with his incredible bagpiping and I haven't been the same since." Bagpipes are now his main musical instrument. Not only has he fallen in love with the skirl of the Great Highland Bagpipes, but also with the quieter, sweeter sounding and lesser known smallpipes and Border pipes of the Scottish lowlands and border regions.

As a recent member of The "Feadan Or Pipe Band" from Penfield, Boda enjoys performing both styles of bagpipes in many venues around the region.

Steve Howarth, pastor of the Western Presbyterian Church in Palmyra, speaks of having been "called" to play the bagpipes. He has played piano, classical guitar, five-string banjo and brass and yet, Steve says "the skirl of the pipes stirred something so deep within me that I knew that I would have to learn to play them." He credits Chuck with re-introducing him to the gentle melodies of the Scottish and English border, from which his grandparents emigrated.

He is a member of the Feadan Or Pipe Band and also pipes for weddings, funerals and other occasions throughout the area.

This concert is part of the church's Lenten Concert Series 2000. The series is made possible in part through the NY State Decentralization Grant, administered locally by the Wayne County Council of the Arts.

There will be a reception following the concert, which will give audience members a chance to meet and greet the artists. The First Presbyterian Church of Lyons is located at 11 Queen Street at the corner of Broad and is handicapped accessible. 946.4723.

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