Battle of the Bagpipe Bands – Boston Police Emeralds
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.)
The Pipes of Christmas Concerts Dec 19-20 NY/NJ
The Pipes of Christmas
Dec. 19-20, 2009
Tickets are now on sale for the 2009 edition of “The Pipes of Christmas.” The Celtic Christmas classic will celebrate its eleventh season with performances in New York and New Jersey this December.
NEW JERSEY CONCERT – SAT. DEC 19
Two concerts are scheduled for 2PM and 8PM on Saturday, December 19 at Central Presbyterian Church located at 70 Maple Street in Summit, NJ.
NYC CONCERT – SUN. DEC 20
The “Pipes” will also return to New York City on Sunday, December 20 at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, located at 921 Madison Avenue (at 73rd Street). The Manhattan concert begins at 2:30 PM.
The concert presents the music of Christmas accompanied by a selection of readings taken from Scripture and the Celtic literature of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Featured performers include Andrew Weir from the film “Braveheart,” uilleann piper Christopher Layer, three-time New Englad fiddle champion Paul Woodiel, the Solid Brass ensemble, Scottish harpist Jennifer Port, and the Grade III Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band of Redlands, CA.
Order Tickets Now
General admission tickets for the NJ concert are $50. Tickets for the NYC concert are $60.
Tickets for all performances are available via mail order. A downloadable ticket order form can be found on the concert’s website at www.pipesofchristmas.com.
Tickets for the NY concert may also be purchased online at www.smarttix.com or by phone at (212) 868-4444 or by mail order.
Premium VIP seats are available at both venues through membership in the “Friends of the Pipes of Christmas.”
About “The Pipes of Christmas”
Since making its debut in 1999, “The Pipes of Christmas” has played to standing room only audiences. Given the popularity of the program, a second concert was added in 2001 to accommodate the high-demand for tickets.
That same year, the concert began an award-winning partnership with HomeTowne Television by broadcasting concert highlights on Christmas Eve to an estimated 40,000 cable subscribers. Four productions have received the prestigious Telly Award for television production excellence.
Now a cherished holiday institution, the concert has provided audiences with a stirring and reverent celebration of the Christmas season and the Celtic spirit. Audience-goers return year after year to experience the program, many reporting that the Pipes of Christmas has become part of their family’s annual holiday traditions.
Piping Scholarships
Proceeds from the concert help fund three annual music scholarships. The Alex Currie Memorial Scholarship for Bagpipe was created in honor of the famed Canadian piper and is administered by the Gaelic College in Nova Scotia. An additional piping scholarship – The Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Scholarship – is awarded annually by the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.
A Celtic Christmas – Dec 12 – Redlands, CA
“The Redlands Community Music Association will present ‘A Celtic Christmas’ featuring Highland Way and the
This third Celtic Christmas event will focus on the music of Scotland and will also pay tribute to Scotland’s beloved poet Robert Burns.
Celtic music and dance will ring in the joy of the season for an evening performance at Redlands High School Clock Auditorium on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and for a matinee performance on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.
Scotland native Brian Caldwell of Glasgow leads a musical journey through traditional and modern Celtic melodies.
Rounding out the evening will be the Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Pipe Band rousing the audience with soul stirring sounds of the Scottish bagpipes.
Preferred seating is $40 and general seating is $20. Children 12 and under will be admitted free with adults in general seating.
To purchase tickets please visit the RCMA website at www.redlandsbowl.org or call the Bowl Office at 793-7316.”
Christ Church Casino Highland Pipe Band Contest – New Zealand
Saturday 5th December 2009
South Island Major Events | New Zealand Travel Blog:
“A Scottish tradition in Christchurch, this pipe band contest is one on the circuit of regional contests, attracting bands from all over New Zealand. A full day of New Zealand’s finest pipe band performances starts at 8.30am with the solo piping and drumming competition with highland dancing exhibitions. From 12.30pm, the bands compete culminating with the splendid massed bands street march.”
Champlain District Bagpipe Band at SUNY Plattsburgh – Dec. 12
SUNY Plattsburgh Hosts Winter Commencement Ceremony Dec. 12:
“An estimated 400 students will walk the dais as SUNY Plattsburgh celebrates Winter Commencement, Saturday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m. in the Field House on Rugar Street.
Free and open to the public, the event will feature Kristy Curry as the student speaker. Curry, who is graduating magna cum laude with a degree in marketing, will discuss agents of change in terms of the nation, the college and the individual. She will implore members of the Class of 2009 to become the agent of change that resides within everyone.
SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling will preside over the ceremony, with Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Higgins presenting the candidates for degrees. College Council Chair Arnold Amell and Vice Chair M. Catherine Hollinshead will present the diplomas.
The event will also feature music performed by the Adirondack Bass, Champlain District Bagpipe Band and Cardinal Singers.
Support from the Student Association helped to make this event possible.”
Ryan Canning Solo Bagpipe Third Set
Johnny “Bagpipes” Johnston performs in Timmins – Timmins Daily Press – Ontario, CA
Johnny “Bagpipes” Johnston performs in Timmins – from Timmins Daily Press – Ontario, CA:
“Johnny ‘Bagpipes” Johnston shared a laugh with a packed auditorium at École secondaire catholique Thériault on Saturday.
He entertained the crowd with his humour and by playing everything from the Star Wars theme to AC/DC. Proceeds from his show benefited the Timmins Police Pipes & Drums and the host committee of the 2010 Canadian Police Curling Championships which are being played in Timmins next April.”
Dragon’s Lair – Concert – Nov. 28
Capital First For National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland Bringing together some of Scotland’s most talented young musicians, the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland will perform a brand new show on 28th November at Edinburgh’s recently refurbished Usher Hall.
Entitled the ‘Dragon’s Lair‘, the performance will feature the band’s signature sound, giving fans a chance to see one of the most dynamic and exciting pipe bands in Scotland and introducing them to world class musicians at the beginning of their careers.
Dragon’s Lair will mark the first time the band has performed in Edinburgh since its inception in 2002 and will round off a spectacular year for the NYPBoS, which has seen them play for HRH Prince Charles at the National Piping Centre as well as concerts across the globe from Skye to Germany.
The band also teamed up with world famous piper, Carlos Nunez at the Chihuahua Festival in Mexico in 2007 and will again feature with him at Celtic Connections 2010.
Made up of the best young pipers and drummers from across Scotland, including 13 year-old Connor Sinclair, personal piper to both Sir Sean Connery and First Minister Alex Salmond, NYPBoS provides unique development opportunities for its young members who are aged from 10 to 25 and an exceptional musical experience for its audiences.
With many of its members already competing at the highest level with some of the world’s most successful pipe bands, this will be an unmissable performance. Alisdair McLaren, Director of the NYPB’S commented, “This concert will showcase the phenomenal talent of some of Scotland’s most exciting young performers. The Dragon’s Lair is a brand new concert for the band incorporating a fantastic blend of traditional and contemporary music.
The fusion of pipes and drums with electric guitar, keyboard synthesizer, stand up bass, fiddle and drum kit pushes the boundaries of the stereotypical pipe band concert making the band possibly one of the most entertaining concert bands to see”.
Tickets, priced from £10 are on sale now and are available from www.usherhall.co.uk on 0131 228 1153, or in person from the Usher Hall box office on Lothian Road.
: Music & Concerts – Tampa Bay Newspapers
: Music & Concerts – Tampa Bay Newspapers: “The Dunedin Celtic Festival is Saturday, Nov. 21, noon to 9:30 p.m., at Highlander Park, Dunedin Community Center, 1920 Pinehurst Road.
Hear plenty of Celtic music with both an afternoon and evening show scheduled. The event also will feature food, drink and Celtic craft vendors along with a family-friendly atmosphere.
This year’s featured Celtic rock bands will include Seven Nations, Poor Angus and Lucid Druid.
A band once featured on a CNN Worldbeat special, Seven Nations will take time from their busy touring schedule to revisit Dunedin for this year’s Celtic Festival. Touring since 1994, Seven Nations has been known to spend up to 301 days a year on the road.
Along with festivals and regular concerts, the band has landed some high-profile gigs including playing for the Torch Lighting Ceremony at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002; performing for the opening ceremony of the New York Marathon in 2001; and taking part in several symphony shows, including a performance with the Grammy-award winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
The name Seven Nations refers to the seven nations of the Celtic world, now known as Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Gallaecia.
“
(Via TB Weekly.)
Going on a Scottish tour – Entertainment
Going on a Scottish tour – Entertainment: “Just before one o’clock the afternoon of November 11 people started to trickle into the Campus Union Ballroom for a lesson in Irish and Scottish heritage. Standing at the front of the room was a man in, drum roll please, a skirt. Actually his ’skirt’ is really what is called a kilt or a tartan. It represents either the clan the person is from or the country; in this case he told the crowd it was the national tartan of Scotland.
Scott Beach was dressed in a Scottish kilt, differing from a skirt because of the knife he had tucked into his sock called a Sgian Dubh, meaning black knife in Gaelic, and tall socks made for him by his grandmother with the national symbol of Scotland, the Thistle, on them, and Ghillie Brogue shoes.”
(Via enmuthechase.)
Irishing Evening- The Augusta Chronicle
Around the block 111209 – The Augusta Chronicle: “An Irish evening
An Evening of Irish Music and Storytelling with Silent Auction Featuring Solstice will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 1501 Monte Sano Ave.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Augusta State University 2010 Ireland Study Abroad Program. Lillie Morris will be performing on the fiddle and vocals and Mike Hay will perform on the uilleann pipes, tin whistle and guitar.’
There will also be a variety of auction items available, some from Ireland.
Tickets are $10 at the door.
For more information, contact Debbie Van Tuyll at dvantuyl@aug.edu or Mariam Tafazoli at mtafazol@aug.edu.”
(Via The Augusta Chronicle.)
Celtic Christmas – Press Release Distribution – PR Agency
Media-Newswire.com – Press Release Distribution – PR Agency: “The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute kicks off the annual Williamstown Holiday Walk with an Irish flair by welcoming the story-telling, music, and dance of Tomáseen Foley’s ‘A Celtic Christmas’ on Friday, December 4, at 8 pm. Tickets are $28 ( $25 for members and children ) and can be purchased by calling 413-458-0524 or online at clarkart.edu. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended as this event will sell out.
Now in its eleventh year of touring nationwide, ‘A Celtic Christmas’ is an exciting exploration of Ireland’s rich cultural history that highlights the innocence and joy of the night before Christmas through story-telling, music, and dance. The performers recreate the warmth of Foley’s childhood Christmases in western Ireland with carols, reels, jigs, and stories.
‘Foley…is doing what his ancestors have done for years long before The Nutcracker or It’s a Wonderful Life. He is carrying on an ancient tradition…for the audiences that pack theaters across the United States every winter to see it,’ wrote the Mail Tribune.
Foley was born on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the West of Ireland. He is considered a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture. ‘A Celtic Christmas’ also features Grammy Award-winning guitarist William Coulter, traditional sean-nós singer and harpist Sile Denvir, and world-champion level Irish dancer Brian Bigley on Irish fiddle, uilleann pipes, whistles, and flute.
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm ( open daily in July and August ). Admission is free November through May. Admission June 1 through October 31 is $12.50 for adults, free for children 18 and younger, members, and students with valid ID. For more information, call 413-458-2303 or visit clarkart.edu.”
(Via News Wire.)
Inveraray’s Stuart Liddell wins The Glenfiddich Piping Championship
We have it on good authority that there are 2 minibus loads of ‘highly elated’ supporters of World Champion Inveraray & District Pipe Band’s Pipe Major, Stuart Liddell, on their way home from Blair Castle in Perthshire as we write.
Stuart Liddell has just won The 2009 Glenfiddich Piping Championships, for the first time and from a field of ten top pipers in the contest recognised as the World Championships for solo pipers.
Mayor’s bagpipe tribute in remembrance of the fallen
THE mayor of Cambridge will play the bagpipes as part of a series of acts of remembrance. Cllr Russ McPherson and his wife Carole, as well as deputy mayor
Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland – October 29 – NYC
The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI) will return to the US on Thursday, October 29 at 8 p.m. with a performance at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City. The CBOI is an acclaimed youth orchestra comprised of 130 children ages 12-24 with Catholic and Protestant backgrounds from all over Ireland.
The CBOI’s performance, “The Crossing: Celebrating Cultures and Connections,” will be led by renowned conductor Maestro Gearoid Grant and will include performances from tenor Emmanuel Lawler and uilleann piper Patrick Martin. In addition, the acclaimed Drum and Piping Corps will perform as well as over 500 children from New York City area schools, including St. Sebastian’s (Woodside, NY), St. Margaret’s (Pearl River), Fairfield County Children’s Choir (Fairfield, CT), St. Williams the Abbott School (Seaford, NY.)
