Seirm Gaelic Choir
New Seirm season begins September 8th!
The 2025 – 2026 Seirm season kicks of with choir rehearsals Monday, September 8th from 7 pm – 9 pm at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church located at 10005 32nd Ave NE in Seattle. Seirm meets twice a month on the first and third Mondays from September through May (dates listed below) to prepare for performances in the spring and summer.
We also hold quarterly song circle céilidhs in private homes, dates and locations TBD.
Seirm will perform a waulking of the tweed demonstration at the Quilcene Fiber Festival Saturday, October 11th at Worthington Park, 151 E Columbia St in Quilcene on the Olympic Peninsula. The festival organizers provide a fresh, newly woven cloth for us to waulk, so we encourage everyone to join us at the table to experience the wonderful transformation of the cloth during the waulking process.
There will also be waulking demos in 2026 at the Shepherds’ Extravaganza in April and the Skagit Valley Highland Games in July.
Participation in the choir isn’t necessary for any of our waulking or song circle events, but please contact seirm.director@slighe.org if you’d like to come or would like more information.
Seirm at Quilcene Fiber Festival
Jim McKnight moved to Canada and we haven’t found a replacement to lead the band yet, so there won’t be a band accompanying the singers this season. However, if anyone is interested in playing tunes together, please let us know.
Seirm rehearsal dates:
Sept8,22;Oct6,20;Nov3,17;Dec1,15; Jan5,19;Feb2,16;Mar2,16;Apr6,20;May4,18
Maple Leaf Lutheran Church
10005 32nd Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125
Waulking of the Tweed Dates:
October 11, 2025 – 4th Annual Quilcene Fiber Festival Worthington Park, 151 E. Columbia St. Quilcene, WA
April 11 or 18, 2026 - Shepherds’ Extravaganza
Enumclaw Expo Center, 45224 284th Ave SE, Enumclaw, WA
July 11, 2026 – Skagit Spinners & Weavers Guild
Skagit Valley Highland Games
Skagit Valley Fairgrounds, 501 Taylor St., Mount Vernon, WA
About Seirm
Seirm is Slighe nan Gàidheal’s Gaelic choir that performs at various community events to promote interest and awareness of the Scottish Gaelic language, music and song tradition.
Originally formed as a 4-part a cappella choir in 1996 to participate in Mòd Vancouver, Seirm transitioned to the céilidh band format of singers and musicians following the conclusion of Mòd Vancouver in 2007.
Seirm participated in the Royal National Mòd in Scotland in October 2017. The group had plan to return in October 2020, but the Covid pandemic put a halt to that.
Seirm at the 2017 Royal National Mòd (The Oban Times)
Seirm continued to meet online throughout the pandemic, participating in Mary Ann Kennedy’s global online massed choir presentation on BBC Alba, performing online video concerts, competing in the virtual Royal Mòd and US Mòd, some live waulking performances starting in the fall of 2022, culminating in a live concert performance in 2023 after a season of hybrid rehearsals.
After a rebuilding season of song circles and several waulking opportunities, we’re delighted to return to in-person choir rehearsals in the 2024-2025 season!
Seirm’s Summer Solstice Concert
Seirm welcomes people regardless of their musical experience or knowledge of Gaelic. There are no auditions, and no one will be asked to sing by themselves to join the group. No previous experience with Gaelic is necessary since we work on pronunciation as part of learning the songs and have recordings of each song for practicing at home. We learn about a dozen Gaelic songs each season. The only prerequisites to join are a willingness to learn Gaelic songs and have fun!
Please contact Penny McLeod DeGraff if you would like to join or have any questions.
Upcoming Seirm & Music Events
Seirm’s Annual Concert is at 8 pm Saturday, August 23rd at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church located at 10005 32nd Ave NE in Seattle. The concert features a nice variety of Gaelic songs and tunes. The instrumental ensemble Na Cailleachan joins Seirm to accompany a few songs and share some tunes. Tickets are $10 for Slighe nan Gaidheal Members, $12 for Non-Members available at the door [and online at https://www.slighe.org/store].
Seirm Rehearsal Dates:
Sept8,22; Oct6,20; Nov3,17;
Dec1,15; Jan5,19; Feb2,16;
Mar2,16; Apr6,20; May4,18
Upcoming Waulkings:
October 11, 2025 – 4th Annual Quilcene Fiber Festival Worthington Park, 151 E. Columbia St. Quilcene, WA
April 11 or 18, 2026 - Shepherds’ Extravaganza
Enumclaw Expo Center, 45224 284th Ave SE, Enumclaw, WA
July 11, 2026 – Skagit Spinners & Weavers Guild
Skagit Valley Highland Games
Skagit Valley Fairgrounds, 501 Taylor St., Mount Vernon, WA