The ninth Duncan Johnstone Memorial Piping competition was held at The National Piping Centre on 22 March 2008. The event which is run in partnership between the National Piping Centre and the Competing Pipers Association attracted a record entry of 57 competitors. Several of the adjudicators commented on the exceptionally high standard of playing. For full results see below.
On Thursday 17th April we are pleased to welcome a quartet of pipers from world champions Field Marshall Montgomery to play at the National Piping Centre Recital Series.
This will be avery exciting evening of piping with them playing together and individually. So come along to hear the reigning world champions perform!
The event starts at 7.30pm and tickets ar £8 adults/ £6 concession. They are available from the shop at the National Piping Centre or by calling 0141 353 0220.
This year the National Piping Centre have added a third Summer School in Atlanta, Georgia to our USA programme.So the dates of the USA summer Schools are:
Atlanta, Georgia - 15th - 20th June 2008
Winchester,Virginia - 22nd - 27th June 2008
Monterey, California - 28th June - 4th July 2008
Early Bird Booking Discounts are Available!!For more information go to: http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/schools/ We also are running the Summer School programme here at the National Piping Centre.The dates for these schools are Spring School: 7th -11th April (you can still sign up for this!)
Peter Henderson pipes form mid 1940’s. Superior, robust Henderson tone. Fully refurbished, no cracks, warping, etc of any kind. Genuine ivory and silver of superior craftsmanship in Celtic pattern. Available as sticks only or with Moose bag, Kinnaird drone reeds (brand new), gold drone cords. No pipe chanter. Will ship in original wooden pipe box. Pics available on request – serious inquiries only please at phpipes@bellsouth.net
Highlights, reflecting this year’s special ‘Crossing Borders’ theme, include Friday evening’s gala concert with music from the Scottish and Welsh borders including Ceri Rhys Matthews, player of the intriguing Welsh bagpipe, and local Border ballads from Mike Tickell; Saturday’s pageant with Ellington Band, miners’ banners created by local schoolchildren, morris and rapper dance teams and the return of the Dodgy Clutch Theatre giant figure of much-travelled roguish Northumbrian piper Jamie Allan; a special film show on Bohemian bagpiping by American producer Jefe Brown who will be calling in en route between Prague and the United States; the afternoon battle based on a English Civil War skirmish from the Welsh border area (staged on both Saturday and Sunday); Saturday’s Barn Dance with the Castle Band and guests; and Sunday’s range of events to launch Morpeth’s year of activities commemorating the 500th birthday of William Turner, Father of English Botany culminating in a grand concert of Tudor music by costumed supergroup of the early music scene, The York Waits.
Housed in Morpeth’s medieval Chantry buildings since 1987, the Bagpipe Museum his home to a unique collection , the foundation of which is the bagpipe collection of William Alfred Cocks (1892 - 1971), a clockmaker from Ryton, near Newcastle.
The pipes collection belongs to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Museum is supported by Castle Morpeth Borough Council.
Dolly Foster recently celebrated her 90th birthday with a family party at the Mary Spitzmiller home on Lorimier Street in Cape Girardeau. Foster has been a resident of Chateau Girardeau for eight years…
Bagpipe player George Gerules provided musical entertainment and honored Foster’s Scots-Irish heritage. Read entire article at SE Missourian Newspaper
Southern Branch Workshop (March 29-30, in Greenville SC) -
“Unfortunately,the Southern Branch Workshop has been cancelled. If you were registered to attend, we will contact you directly concerning a refund. Please contact the hotel directly to cancel your room reservation as soon as possible.
These are made in the key of A, by Kilberry Bagpipes of Edinburgh. The pipes have one bass drone, one baritone drone and one tenor drone, resulting in a lovely harmonic drone sound. They are mouthblown and are fitted with a maintenance free small synthetic bag. The pipes are made completely from black acetal (plastic) and overall produce an excellent tone. They are ideal for playing indoors on their own, or along with other instruments.They come complete with a smallpipe alloy finish carry case and are fully reeded and ready to play.Availability: normally 6 - 8 weeks,
He says he’s the best in the world at what he does, and looking at his work, it’s hard to imagine he isn’t.
Bagpipe maker David Atherton makes a blowpipe in his Naperville workshop. Atherton says he works 12 hours a day, seven days a week making bagpipes.
In today’s market where most things, including bagpipes, are mass produced, Atherton is one of a comparative few artisans who creates every detailed facet of his instruments painstakingly by hand.
Atherton, 37, has been making Great Highland bagpipes for 13 years. He spent 12 years as one of two bagpipe makers with C.E. Kron & Company in New York before moving to Naperville in August and going into business for himself.
The National Piping Centre has just completed its first overseas school of the year in New York. There was a great week of piping and drumming tuition. Thank you to all who attended and special thanks to Margaret Dunn for all her organisational efforts.
Additional Schools
If you missed this school however, there are three more coming up this year. Firstly we have a new school in Atlanta, Georgia 15th -20th June, then Winchester, Virginia 22nd -27th June and Pebble Beach, California 28th June - 3rd July so their are plenty more opportunities to receive great piping instruction in the USA this Summer.
There’s a new noise in Rockaway - and it’s coming from a basement workshop.
Nate Banton - New York City’s only bagpipe maker - opened his business in a Neponsit bungalow four months ago. The 30-year-old craftsman specializes in two types of bagpipes: border pipes and small pipes.
“I’m interested in making hand-crafted pipes with an attention to detail,” said Banton, who grew up in Maine. “It’s a good business to be in. I make a product that people can make art with.”
Banton, who apprenticed for three years under noted pipe maker Seth Gallagher in upstate Cold Spring, N.Y., said he had a hard time breaking into the industry.
Read the entire article on the NY Daily News Website
Please, no cracks about the kilt. Yes, real men — and women — wear skirts. And no, they aren’t wearing shorts under there.
For decades, the John Ford Highland Pipe Band has braved frequently frigid temperatures at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, traditionally held the Saturday before the holiday. This year, the band will join the St. Louis Highland Guard, St. Louis Caledonian Pipe Band and bagpipers from the Quad Cities to create a 60-musician band.
College of Piping - “We are pleased to be working with MusicaliTee as our suppliers of commemorative clothing for the College at Carbisdale, 2008. We will receive a commission from Musicalitee for every top you buy so, as well as having a Collectors Item of the first College at Carbisdale Course, you will be helping towards the cost of the course.”
The popular lecture previously run by the John MacFadyen Memorial Trust is to be promoted by the College of Piping for 2008. The lecture will be given by Robert Wallace. His subject will be the ‘Celebrating 60 years of the Piping Times’.
Music on the night will be supplied by Stuart Liddell and Iain Speirs.
The venue is the Fisher’s Hotel, Pitlochry, Perthshire on Friday the 14th of March at 7:30pm.
Tickets are £10 and this includes refreshments. Click Here for Tickets
The City of Nelson Highland Pipe Band returned from Auckland after winning two categories at the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships on Saturday. Read the entire article at “The Neslon Mail”
These are made in the key of A, by 
He says he’s the best in the world at what he does, and looking at his work, it’s hard to imagine he isn’t.
Buy and Preview Flogging Molly’s New Album “Float” on iTunes 
There’s a new noise in Rockaway - and it’s coming from a basement workshop.
Please, no cracks about the kilt. Yes, real men — and women — wear skirts. And no, they aren’t wearing shorts under there.
Entries (RSS)