Campsie Festivals Association
Michael Boyle
Convener of Campsie Festivals Association
Michael has lived in Milton of Campsie for 30 years and has been involved with Campsie Fest for about 5 years. Over the years, he has attended many Mayfest and Octoberfest events in the village hall and over time, gradually became involved with assisting them. This was initially through things like helping to set up the hall and being on door duty, but his involvement with Mayfest in particular grew when his daughter, Rhona, started to perform in the Young Performers concert and he started to help out with organizing the event. Michael has now organized the Young Performers concert for the past 3 years in addition to several other concerts and the St Andrew’s Ceilidh in November 2019.
Neill Simpson
Treasurer of Campsie Festivals Association
and Folk Music performer
Neill plays contemporary and traditional folk music on acoustic guitar. He was introduced to music at primary school by an enthusiastic teacher who enabled every pupil to learn recorder and to read music. He has retired from medical practice and completed an Open University degree. He is dismayed by the inadequacy of the response of governments (large and small) to the climate emergency. He is developing proposals to help residents of Milton of Campsie reduce their reliance on natural gas for heating, aiming to create a local heat network. Meanwhile, he continues to perform with the Campsie Scottish Folk Players and to assist with Campsie Fest events.
George Smith
Membership Secretary of Campsie Festivals Association
George has been in Milton of Campsie for many years. He is an accomplished Folk musician and composer in the traditional Celtic style having published his music in several books. His skills extend to using computers for music printing and recording in making CDs. He is a key member of Campsie Scottish Folk Players and also Campsie Ceilidh Band. Many times he has helped organise and played in the CampsieFests which he strongly supports – both exhibitions and concerts. George is a very keen and accomplished artist, exhibiting work in the CampsieFest shows which he helps to set up. He is a great help as a member of our festivals organising group.
Alastair Brown
Trustee, Milton of Campsie Village Hall Trust & Hall Festivals Promoter
Alastair moved to Milton of Campsie in 1982 for a year when he married a local girl and obviously liked the village as he never left. He joined the campaign to regain the Village Hall for the local community when the local Council decided to give it up in 2004. The only option was to set up a charitable Trust to look after the Hall which has since gone from strength to strength. A highly-valued local facility, the Hall is run by local volunteers. The Trust is hugely grateful for the efforts of Campsie Fest, not only for supporting the Village Hall, but for bringing quality arts by local performers and opportunities for local people to develop. This very much meets the values of the Hall Trust and we will continue to encourage the excellent work of Campsie Fest.
John Wallace Hinton
Campsie Fest Coordinator
Born in 1937 in a wee English village, John was taught music and art in a two-class 5-14 school, then learnt violin at grammar school. There followed 2-years Military Service, College of Education, Art and Science teaching, research chemist work and University – graduating with a PhD in Psychophysiology. He led a forensic psychology research team and entered Glasgow University in 1977 as Senior Research Fellow. Arriving Scotland at 40 was like coming home for him! He enjoyed organizing national and international conferences and chairing committees. He took up fiddle again, set up St Vincent Baroque Players and helped organize Scottish folk music locally. When Milton of Campsie Village Hall was unjustly blocked-up by the Council he joined in leading the fight which saved it. Then he started the annual Music and Art Festivals with Village Hall Trust support. He despairs at lack of free school teaching of the Arts and aspires to helping others appreciate and enjoy music and art – hence he coordinates the Campsie Fests with a great organizing team.
Elke Hinton
Secretary and Campsie Fest Arts Advisor
Elke was born in Berlin in 1942. The family was bombed out and moved around until settling near Dresden. She then grew up in the GDR (former East Germany) and studied Psychology at Dresden University. She met John Hinton in 1980 at an international conference – eventually getting ‘married out’ of East Germany to Scotland in 1983. Here she became a senior lecturer in Work Psychology and did cross-cultural research in occupational psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, even after her retirement.
Influence of art on Elke’s life
Art has always been part of her life and she studied drawing and painting with some distinguished German and Scottish artists. Having lived in Milton of Campsie since coming to Scotland, she started the Milton of Campsie Art Club in 2006, and as Secretary has organized regular exhibitions and other art events as part of the Milton of Art and Music in the Village Hall. Due to the Covid-19 lock-down, Club meetings had to stop but she was involved in contributing to the virtual Campsie Mayfest. She loves working together with like-minded people and sharing ideas about how to interpret our outer and inner world in visual art. Involvement with the community is important for her, as it helps to make relationships richer and more meaningful.
Sieglinde Bucher-Roelcke
Arts Exhibition organizer
Involvement with Milton of Campsie Art & Music Festivals:
- Violin teacher – encouraging students to participate at the “Young Folks on Stage” concerts
- Violinist – performing in the chamber music concerts and organizing them
- Artist – taking part in the art exhibitions and organizing them
My ideas:
- Everyone has musical and artistic potential.
- The main aim of learning an instrument is to share the joy of music with others.
- Classical music and visual arts are beneficial for brain development and wellbeing.
- I want to make classical music accessible to everyone. Therefore, our concept in programming the chamber music concerts, is to break down the program in short, easily digestible pieces featuring music variety, both in style and instrumentation, rather than playing two or three complete long pieces.
- Everything is connected. All my actions have influence on someone/something else. Which is why I love interdisciplinary performances, the presence of visual art while playing/listening to live music.
Götz Bucher
Chamber Music organizer
Involvement with Milton of Campsie Art & Music Festivals:
- Cellist, performing in the chamber music concerts & helping to organize them –
- Helping with the art exhibitions
My background: I’m an academic in chemistry, working at the University of Glasgow. In my spare time, I love playing the cello – leading the cello section of the Helensburgh Orchestral Society, and (at least in non-Covid times…) I regularly play in Amicus Orchestra (Glasgow) and Scottish Sinfonia (Edinburgh). I love sharing music with others, and I hope to make them happy while listening.
Mary Bannatyne
Refreshments Manager
Mary Bannatyne lives in Milton of Campsie and is a retired teacher who still does some individual teaching. She is a stalwart supporter of the Milton of Campsie Community Festivals of music and art and an important member of the organizing committee. Her helpful organization ensured that audiences and performers received delightful refreshments. She got together a wonderful team of helpers for the catering during all intervals in performances and at the art exhibitions. Her efforts (with assistance from her husband, Gordon) have raised hundreds of pounds in donations towards the maintenance and improvement of Milton of Campsie’s Village Hall. Once the covid restrictions are removed, we can look forward to her continued help in the Village Hall’s live cultural events and especially the Campsie Fests.