Pipe band ready for Edinburgh Military Tattoo – Local News – News | Mosman Daily:

“BAGPIPES are cool, insists Mosman’s Claire Niccol, who took up the instrument at a girls’ high school in Perth.

‘There were about 50 girls learning the pipes; it was fun and a cool thing to do,’ she said.

‘There’s a guy in my band (Manly Warringah Pipe Band) at the moment who plays the bagpipes in his rock band.’

As a member of the Manly Warringah Pipe Band, Niccol will perform at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo tonight.”

(Via mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au – Read Full Article.)

Banned Scottish Dish Haggis Allowed Back in US:

“After being banned for 21 years, haggis will soon be allowed back into the United States.

According to Wikipedia haggis is a Scottish specialty dish that contains sheep’s offal (heart, liver and lungs,) minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal’s stomach for approximately three hours.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to lift restrictions on the import of the dish, according to Reuters .

The news comes as Scots and fans of Robert Burns gather to toast the famous poet’s life. Burns night , which is celebrated on Jan. 25, usually includes a toast of whiskey and a festive dinner with haggis as the main dish, presented with bagpipe fanfare and saluted with Burns poem ‘The Address To A Haggis.’

U.S. authorities prohibited haggis over food safety fears that its main ingredient, sheep’s lungs, could potentially be lethal.

The Guardian reported that during the ban some Scots would smuggle into the U.S. a haggis for their relatives. And butchers in the U.S. have tried to make their own versions of the pudding without using the vital ingredient: sheep.”

(Via www.myfoxillinois.com – Read Full Article.)

Bagpipes: You either love them or hate them | Standard-Examiner – Ogden, Layton, Brigham, Weber, Davis, Top of Utah News:

“Ron Rowe says that people either love or hate the sound of bagpipes.

Rowe, who manages and plays for the Galloway Highlanders Pipes and Drums, a group founded in the Top of Utah by his father, is one of the lovers.

So is Clinton Tibbitts, a 17-year-old senior at Ben Lomond High School, home of the proud Scots. A bagpipe player for the school, he first became interested in the instrument when it was used as an alarm clock at summer camp when he was a preteen in Virginia.

‘For some reason, something that was really annoying, and related to waking up no less, caught my attention,’ said Tibbitts. ‘And then we moved to Utah, where it so happens that the high school I was attending offered it.’

For Rowe, of Clearfield, the pipes are a family affair. His father, Albert Rowe, started Galloway in 1992 as a way for family and friends to play together. Albert’s father also played.

‘It’s in the blood, I think,’ said Rowe. ‘Three of my four grandparents were from Scotland. My dad quit after his dad died — too many emotional ties for him. But after my mom died in 1992, we talked him into taking it up again and teaching, to give him something to do. The next thing we knew, we had enough people for a band.’

“

(Via www.standard.net – Read Full Article.)

Vernon Morning Star – Piping bursary available:

“Piping bursary available”

The McIntosh Girls Pipe Band Society awards an annual bursary to a deserving piper or drummer who wants to attend Piping Hot Summer Drummer, a school that is held at every summer at Silver Star Mountain.

Preference is given to anyone who was ever a member of the McIntosh Girls Pipe Band, and their relatives and friends.

When there is no applicant from that priority group, the funds are awarded to other individuals so all interested pipers and drummers are encouraged to apply. The funds are usually awarded to children and the names of promising young pipers and drummers have sometimes been put forward by pipe majors.

The McIntosh Girls Pipe Band flourished from 1946 to 1966 under pipe major Hilma Martens (nee Foote), who started the band with her parents. Her dad had been in a military pipe band and took charge of marching and drills.

The uniforms were made by Mrs. Foote. Hilma was pipe major and took lessons from an eminent piper, Mr. Barry, who was stationed at the army camp in the post-war period. The young women travelled all over North America.

When membership dwindled in the mid-1960s, the band folded.

Members formed a society which awards the annual bursary of about $400, depending on available funding sources. Donations will be accepted toward the bursary.

“Pipers and drummers coming up now have to compete with much stiffer competition that we ever did,” said Jan Mattock, who was a drum major in the band.

“Piping Hot is taught by the Simon Fraser Pipe Band, world champions and great teachers. They have classes for piping, base drums and tenor drums, leading a band and more.”

The McIntosh Girls Pipe Band Society currently has about 40 members including active alumni Birdie Cooney, Joanne Georgeson, Gloria Trierweiler and Jean Wetherill. Hilma Martens is now in her 80s and lives in Kelowna.

She is active on the bursary committee with Maureen Soichuk, also a former pipe major, and Mattock.

The deadline for application is April 30 each year.

Interested pipers and drummers should phone Soichuk at 250-542-3088 for information on the application process.

The process includes a letter from the student detailing their piping or drumming background and why they want the bursary, and a reference check with the applicant’s pipe major.

(Via www.bclocalnews.com – Read Full Article.)

P/M George M Bell 1926-2010 – Bob Dunsire Bagpipe Forums:

“P/M George M Bell 1926-2010

January 16, 2010 – We are sorry to report today that Pipe Major George M. Bell passed awayat age 83, on January 16, 2010, after several years of intermittent illness. P/M Bell was one of the most important piping figures in the North America.
Bell emigrated from Glasgow to New Jersey where he founded the Kenmure Pipe Band in 1953. Under his leadership, the band won the Grade 1 Eastern United States Championships nine times. He was also an active and successful solo competitor.
PM Bell was instrumental in the beginnings of EUSPBA in 1964, and served our association in many capacities, including Chairman of the Judges Committee, where he worked to develop our judging accreditation program.
George Bell may be best known as a teacher, whose students included his sons Jimmy and Duncan, as well as Derek Midgley and Bobby Durning. His sons Gordon and Donald are prominent pipe band drummers.
Our condolences go to the Bell family and many friends at this sad time.
Funeral Arrangements:

Rezem Funeral Home, 457 Cranbury Road East Brunswick, NJ 08816
732-257-1191 or 800-257-1191
Viewing – Thursday 1/21/2010 – 2:00pm-4:00pm, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Funeral – 10:30am Friday 1/22/2010 in South Amboy, NJ”

(Via – Read Full Article.)

Robbie Burns night celebrates Scottish traditions – Vermilion Standard – Alberta, CA:

“Mannville’s Recreation Centre will turn a little Scottish in celebration of Robbie Burns’ night this year.

An annual Scottish tradition, Robbie Burn’s night is typically held on January 25, but in Mannville it will happen on January 23, a Saturday. The evening gets underway at 5 p.m. with cocktails, a meal at 6 p.m. with a dance to follow. One of the highlights of the event is the performance by the Mannville/Vermilion Dance Club. Dot Cleland, the president of the dance club, said the night is a lot of fun and full of Scottish tradition.

‘It’s the Scottish tradition to celebrate Robbie Burns and we do it with a meal and some highland dance and song,’ said Cleland.

‘We’ll have haggis and turnips as well as roast beef. But the traditional part of it is the turnips and the haggis.’

Traditionally Dr. Stewart Hunter performs the address to a haggis, which is a poem Robbie Burns wrote. Cleland says it is part of the evening’s tradition, however this year Dr. Hunter won’t be in attendance.

‘There’s a weird tradition where Scotsmen talk to their food before they eat it,’ said Cleland.

‘They address the haggis. It’s about sheep and the parts of the sheep you eat. So they talk to the sheep they are about to eat and the tradition is for someone to do a performance with the dagger (Skian Dubh) in their sock.’

The highlight though, Cleland said, is the show put on by the dance club.

‘The Mannville/Vermilion Highland Dance club puts on a show of traditional highland dancing,’ said Cleland.”

(Via www.vermilionstandard.com – Read Full Article.)

Item from Morpeth museum in North East historic list – Northumberland communities – Morpeth:

“An artifact from the Chantry Bagpipe Museum in Morpeth has been picked as one of the top man-made objects which sum up the North East, its past and its impact on the world.

The regional objects are part of the History of the World project between the BBC, the British Museum and a further 350 museums and institutions across the country.

Musette de cour from the Chantry Bagpipe Museum is a rare example of a bagpipe played at the French court, which some believe to be the forerunner of the Northumbrian pipes.

The regional lists complement a series A History Of The World In 100 Objects, which began yesterday on BBC Radio 4.

The series dips into the British Museum’s world collection. Ten objects have been chosen from each of Wearside and County Durham, Tyneside and Northumberland, the Tees and Cumbria.”

(Via morpeth.journallive.co.uk – Read Full Article.)

Bagpipes take the streets of Chile | Video | Reuters.com:

“Apr. 28 – In front of thousands of spectators, over 100 bagpipers paraded in the Chilean capital of Santiago.”

(Via www.reuters.com – View Video.)

A Spot of Tea vs. a Plea for More Stimulus – Wheels Blog – NYTimes.com:

“The Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party, represented by about 20 local residents who marched to a bagpipe’s bleating from General Motors’ headquarters to Cobo Center, carried abstractions of the American flag. Several members donned revolutionary era costumes and carried signs critical of President Obama, including the now-familiar image with a Hitler mustache.”

(Via wheels.blogs.nytimes.com .)

Tags: Bagpipe

Readers’ Enquiries – Edinburgh Evening News:

“Readers’ Enquiries

Published Date: 09 January 2010
Q I am writing a biography of John Grant, Edinburgh resident throughout the 1900s-1950s; a tax-collector and composer of bagpipe music, most notably The Pipes of War and The Royal Collection of Piobaireachd. I am hoping a descendant will read this and contact me at mocmus@juno.com. Dr. Alan Armstrong, professor of music, Mount Olive College Mount Olive, North Carolina, USA.”

(Via edinburghnews.scotsman.com – Read Full Article.)

Irish minstrels and musicians: with numerous dissertations on related subjects By Francis O’Neill

Francis O’Neill (1848–1936) was an Irish musician and music collector from Co. Cork who emigrated to the U.S. and eventually became the chief of police of Chicago. He is best known for his seminal tune collection “O’Neill’s Music of Ireland.”

But O’Neill was also a highly prolific and very entertaining prose writer. His “Irish Minstrels and Musicians,” published in 1913, is one of the best sources we have for anecdotal information about Irish piping in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

I just learned that this important work has become available in its entirety on Google books. You can now download it for free here.

“Irish Minstrels and Musicians” is a wonderful read for anyone who is interested in the history of the pipes or in the history of Irish music in general.

O’Neill’s other major prose work, “Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby,” also recently came back into print and is now available for purchase from Amazon.

This second O’Neill book contains many interesting anecdotes about O’Neill’s collecting experiences and has more information about old pipers he knew or had heard of. Appendix A contains O’Farrell’s Treatise and Instructions on the Irish Pipes, published circa 1797-1800. Appendix B contains Hints to Amateur Pipers by Patsy Touhey.

Dear Student,

It is now only a few weeks until our annual New York Piping and Drumming school to be held in St Josephs school, Babylon, Long Island. This year we have 5 excellent teachers giving instruction and we have given things a little shake up in terms of the piping options – a change which we hope will provide greater flexibility and choice.

This year we are offering 3 options:

Five day school with group classes rotating around instructors Mon – Fri

Half week workshop sessions. Mon – Wed for Novice/ Intermediate Levels and Wed-Fri for Intermediate/Advanced Levels.

The workshop programme and descriptors can be found in the PDFs at the bottom of this website page – http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/schools/new-york/workshops-individual-tuition/

Individual workshops can be signed up for as required at $40 per session

Those taking the group classes for the week will also be able to select workshops as they please through the week.

Each day will conclude with an Instructor recital. Also to round the week off the Invitational Metro Cup Solo Piping Competition is held in Newark which is a short train ride away from Babylon.

For more information and booking visit http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/schools/new-york/

Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to enjoy a great week of piping and drumming with instruction from world class teachers.

Best wishes

Roddy

30-34 McPhater Street

Glasgow

G4 0HW

Tel: 0141 353 0220

Fax: 0141 353 1570

http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk

http://www.pipingfestival.co.uk

vPipes – Hyper-realistic Electronic Bagpipes:

“vPipes-Uilleann is a unique electronic uilleann bagpipes emulator that uses revolutionary technology resulting in a hyper-realistic experience in terms of sound quality, fingering and ornamentations. It thus affords the possibility of practising accurately in a variety of situations that would prove impractical or impossible with a real set of pipes.”

ORDERING CLOSES JAN 15 for FIRST RUN

We are pleased to announce that the vPipes-Uilleann is now available to order.

Many thanks to all for having demonstrated a ‘saintly’ patience.

You are finally able to enter the realm of hyper-realism with the vPipes-Uilleann.

The market price for the vPipes-Uilleann is 1,290 Euros (net of local taxes and delivery).

The special launch price has been maintained at 980 Euros (net of local taxes and delivery).

In order to be included in this launch, orders must placed before the 15th January 2010. Limited to 1 unit per person.

The period during which the vPipes can be reserved opens on 21/12/2009 and closes on 15/01/2010.

The vPipes Project Team

(Via www.vpipes.com – Read Full Article.)

Highland bands run out of puff – Local News – News – General – The Advertiser:

“A CRITICAL shortage of highland band pipers is affecting several visiting bands and may stop them taking part in the Maryborough Highland Gathering street march on Friday.

Officials are very concerned that a reduction in the number of younger people learning the bagpipes is having a detrimental effect on pipe band numbers.

With the retirement of older members, it has reached a critical stage in the viability of some pipe bands.

It is reliably reported that the Australian Defence Department has disbanded the Australian Army Highland Pipe Band, which is a disappointment for highland pipe band supporters.

An urgent appeal has been put out for volunteer pipers to support the City of Horsham Pipe Band and the St Arnaud (Norman Simpson Memorial) Pipe Band so that the two bands can take part in Friday’s street march.

Band officials are keen to take part in the street parade and in the on-oval presentation, but are short of several pipers.

While highland pipe bands in the local region are strong in Maryborough, Castlemaine and Daylesford, there is continuing pressure on the number of available pipers in St Arnaud and Horsham.”

(Via www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au – Read Full Article.)

From the January 2010 « Emerald Society of the Boston Police:

Battle of the Bagpipe Bands

“February 27th will be the date of the first annual ‘Battle of the Bagpipe Bands’ from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the St Nectarius Church hall across the street from 10 Birch Street. The bands will be dressing and lining up at our hall and marching across the street to compete. After the competition we will be hosting an after party from about 7:00 pm to midnight. Mark this date in your calendar. We are looking to have between ten to fifteen bands competing. This will be an early start to St. Patrick’s Day. It will be a great way for the entire family to celebrate their Celtic roots. More details will be in the next newsletter and in some of the local publications as well.”

(Via www.bpdemeraldsociety.com – Read Full Article.)

Rare live performance of Mull of Kintyre with a full set of highland pipers, a 18-piece Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band. Part of the third encore at the London O2 Arena performance on 22 December 2009.