Annie Shand
b. 1872 d. 1936
Annie Shand was synonymous with Scottish Country Dancing, famous for her dance band, her solo performances, her published arrangements and as an accompanist. Time Magazine on Monday, Oct. 08, 1934 wrote:
“At comfortable Balmoral Castle in Scotland King George and Queen Mary had with them their youngest child, Prince-George, and his fiancée, the lovely Princess Marina. There, too, were her father and mother, Prince Nicholas and Princess Helen of Greece, for whom the King-Emporer has developed a great affection. It was all very jolly….. At Balmoral was held the Gillies’ Ball, for the 270 footmen, housemaids, gamekeepers, beaters and guides of the estate. With seven pipers skirling “Hielan’ Ladie,” the royal party entered the great hall. Over her jeweled gown Queen Mary wore a taffeta shoulder sash of Royal Stuart tartan. In the musicians’ gallery was King George’s favorite dance orchestra, Mrs. Annie Shand’s Band from Aberdeen, which has played at every servants’ ball at Balmoral since the War. Mrs. Annie Shand and her band gallantly tackled the Greek national anthem for the royal foreigners. While King George and the Archbishop of Canterbury sat looking on, royalty and servants danced the Paul Jones. There were also the Spanish gavotte and the flirtation polka, but the feature of the evening was a Highland reel by Princess Marina after only two days’ coaching in Queen Mary’s private parlor.”
Her Old Scottish Music Collected and Arranged for Scottish Country Dances was published by James S Kerr of Glasgow in 1932 and comprised mainly of tunes from the eighteenth century collections offered as alternatives to those published in the early books of the Scottish Country Dance Society. The introduction noted that “A chord must be played for the bow and curtsey, if these tunes are used at the beginning of the dance.” and “A simple bass part is given to suit the needs of the amateur pianist.”