Coordinates: 55°36′01″N 4°22′47″W / 55.60037°N 4.3798°W / 55.60037; -4.3798

Loudoun
250px A view of the town from the air
Loudoun  Loudoun shown within East Ayrshire
Population	5,000
Language	English
OS grid reference	NS569200
Council area	East Ayrshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Galston
Postcode district	KA4
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Loudoun (Scottish Gaelic: Lughdan) is an area of East Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Kilmarnock. The word Loudoun is a derivative of the Celtic Pagan God name Lugus.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Loudoun is a parish and is named after the former village which stood north of Galston.^{[citation needed]} The area is commonly referred to as the "Irvine Valley", for the River Irvine which flows through it. The parish covers the burghs of Newmilns and Greenholm and Darvel.

Loudoun Kirk, the burial place of the Campbells of Loudoun is nearby. The village has vanished, however plans to rebuild the lost village are under consideration by the council. Loudoun's most prominent geographical feature is Loudoun Hill, site of several minor battles during Scotland's history. The ruins of the 19th-century Loudoun Castle stand to the north of Galston. Between 1995 and 2010, a theme park was operated in the castle grounds.

Galston[link]

Galston is located in the Loudoun area. To the north of the town is the ruin of Loudoun Castle, the site of Loudoun Castle theme park from 1995 to 2010. In 1874 the population was 4,727.^[1]

References[link]

See also[link]

• Ley tunnel

External links[link]

• Its page in the 'Gazeteer for Scotland'

References[link]

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James Swearingen is an American composer and arranger. He holds a Masters Degree from Ohio State University and a Bachelors Degree from Bowling Green State University and is currently Professor of Music, Department Chair of Music Education at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio.

The music he writes is part of a small genre known throughout American high school band classes as Concert Literature, generally two to six-minute long pieces played for high school band concerts. He is a recipient of numerous ASCAP awards. He is also known for disliking alto saxophones. However, James Swearingen likes the French horn.

Biography[link]

He is currently one of several resident composers at Capital University and also serves as a staff arranger for The Ohio State University Marching Band. Prior to his appointment at Capital in 1987, he spent eighteen years teaching instrumental music in the public schools of central Ohio. His first teaching assignment took him to the community of Sunbury, Ohio. He then spent fourteen years as Director of Instrumental Music at Grove City High School, where his marching, concert and jazz bands all received acclaim for their high standards of performing excellence.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Swearingen manages to be very active as a guest conductor, adjudicator and educational clinician. Appearances have included trips throughout the United States, as well as Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada and The Republic of China.

Swearingen's numerous contributions for band have been well received by school directors, student performers and audiences worldwide.^{[citation needed]} With over 450 published works, he has written band compositions and arrangements that reflect a variety of musical forms and styles. Many of his pieces, including 81 commissioned works, have been chosen for contest and festival lists. He is a recipient of several ASCAP awards for published compositions and in 1992 was selected as an Accomplished Graduate of the Fine and Performing Arts from Bowling Green State University. Most recently, he received the 2002 Community Music Educator Award given annually by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations including Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA),^[1] MENC: The National Association for Music Education, American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA),^[2] Phi Beta Mu,^[3] Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. In March 2000, he was invited to join the American Bandmasters Association.

Recordings[link]

Many of Swearingen's most popular band compositions have been recorded by The Washington Winds and are available on compact discs from Walking Frog Records.^[4] His recordings include In All Its Glory, Exaltation, Panther in the Sky, Celebration For Winds And Percussion, The Light Of Dawn, and the newest release, Flight of Valor.

Compositions[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Grading Scale[link]

According to Swearingen's web site, he grades the difficulty of performing his compositions using the following scale:^[5]

• 1 - Easy (for first year beginning bands)
• 2 - Medium Easy (for second and third year bands)
• 3 - Medium (for intermediate or early high school bands)
• 4 - Medium Difficult (for most high school bands)

References[link]

External links[link]

• James Swearingen Official Website
• FJH Music
• Swearingen bio and list of works at C. L. Barnhouse Co. official website
• Seagate Overture on Youtube.com