# Bob McQuillen

Bob "Mr. Mac" McQuillen (June 27, 1923 – February 4, 2014) was a teacher, musician, and prolific composer of contra dance tunes. He was a recipient of a 2002 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

## Early life

McQuillen was born near Boston, but his family moved to southwestern New Hampshire when he was young. Although his father and grandfather were musicians, and Bob took piano lessons as a child, he didn't grow attached to music until after his time as a Marine during World War II. He started going to contra dances in and around Peterborough, New Hampshire, several times a week, and eventually joined the Ralph Page Orchestra. At a contra dance in 1946, he met Priscilla Scribner, whom he married a year later. They had three children, Dan, Rebecca, and William.
After returning from the Korean War, McQuillen settled down and became an industrial arts teacher at Peterborough High School and ConVal High School, where the students referred to him as "Mr. Mac". At some point, he was a police officer and a school bus driver.

## Contra dance years

McQuillen was involved in the contra dance community for over 60 years. Over his lifetime, he wrote more than 1,300 dance tunes, most of which he named after people or events in his life. This tradition began with his first tune, "Scotty O'Neil", named after one of his students who had died.
McQuillen was the subject of a 2001 documentary film titled Paid to Eat Ice Cream: Bob McQuillen and New England Contra Dancing. Perhaps his most famous tune is the waltz "Amelia".

## Death

McQuillen suffered a stroke while at a restaurant on Sunday, January 26, 2014. He was taken to Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he died on Tuesday, February 4, exactly 29 years after his wife.

## Discography

| Year | Group | Title | Label | Format |
| ? | Ralph Page Orchestra | ? | ? | ? |
| 1972 | Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra | Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra | F&W Records | LP record |
| 1972 or 1973 | Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra | The Canterbury Country Orchestra Meets the F & W String Band | F&W Records | LP record |
| 1974 | Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra | Mistwold | F&W Records | LP record |
| 1974 | Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra | Contra Dances: The Canterbury Orchestra | CDSS Records | 45 rpm record |
| 1980 | Applejack with Bob McQuillen | Contra Dance Music New England Style | Green Linnet Records | LP record |
| 1988, 2003 | New England Tradition | Farewell to the Hollow | Great Meadow Music | ?, CD |
| 1996 | Old New England | Old New England | Old New England | CD |
| 1997 | Bob McQuillen, Laurie Andres, Cathie Whitesides | Hand It Down: Contra Dance Tunes by Bob McQuillen | Avocet | CD |
| 1999 | Compilation including Old New England | Choose Your Partners! Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire | Smithsonian Folkways | CD |
| 2000 | Rodney Miller and Bob McQuillen | Pure Quill | Great Meadow Music | CD |
| 2002 | Old New England | ONE: TWO | Old New England | CD |
| 2005 | Old New England | ONE: III | Old New England | CD |
| 2008 | The Rhythm Rollers | Grand Right and Left | Avocet | CD |
| 2010 | Old New England | ONE: IV | Old New England | CD |
| | Guest appearance with Sarah Bauhan | Chasing the New Moon | | |
| | Guest appearance with Sarah Bauhan | The Untamed Grasses | | |
| | Guest appearance with Sarah Bauhan | Lathrop's Waltz | | |