Bagpipe News

On Sunday, February 15th, 2009 the Saffron United Pipe Band

will hold their annual “You Be the Judge” Competition”.

The event is judged by the audience via ballot with

Prizes awarded of $600., $400., $200., $100., and $50.

The contest will be held at the A.O.H. Hall at 27 Locust Ave. Babylon, NY, 11780

The doors open at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10. for those under 21 years of age. Beer, wine, and soda are included.

Competitors can consist of any combination of pipers, and drummers and perhaps a few surprises’. Members of bands from all over the world will be participating including:

Australian Highlanders

Ballycoan

Cullen

Field Marshal Montgomery

St. Laurence O’Toole

Simon Fraser University

Saffron United

Thomas O’Shaughnessy Memorial

And many, many more…

To order tickets or to compete please contact Eric M. Stein 631 241 5757 or email at

stein_eric@emc.com

This Sunday all over the world many churches will observe the Kirkin’ o’ th’ Tartans , a celebration of Scottish heritage and culture.

What is The Kirking of the Tartans?

Etymologically it simply means:

Kirking, from the Scottish Gaelic word kirk which means church, in this usage means “blessing.”

Tartans are the traditional plaid emblems of Scottish clans represented in unevenly spaced colored lines and rectangles on woven wool cloth.

Historically, the story is a bit more varied. The popular legend goes as follows:

On July 25, 1745, the young Prince Charles Edward Stewart, “Bonnie Prince Charlie” returned from exile in France and landed at Lochnanaugh in Scotland where he began to enlist the Highland Clans for an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone George II of England and to restore the Scottish throne to the Royal House of Stewart.

History of Kirking of the Tartans | Bill Petro.

Jack Maguire, co-founder and trainer of the St.Marys Pipe band Mountain Road Derrylin still keeps a active interest in the band pictured listening to band members Eamon Lynam, Gerry McManus, Pipe Major, John Gilleece, Elaine Cassidy and Jim Maguire

© The Fermanagh Herald - In Focus

After a relatively successful season in 2008, Hawick Pipe Band is looking forward to a winter of hard work ahead of a busy 2009.

With the ranks swelled by new additions to the pipe and drum corps – the band is planning to contest all five major championships next year – and is currently raising funds to enable this.

New Pipe Major Kenny Short told the Hawick News: "We are very happy with the response to a recent recruitment campaign – and now have a band which could be a real force to be reckoned with next year.

Pipe Bands plea for equipment - Hawick Today
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After 21 years of being a couple, George Takei and Brad Altman tied the knot at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo at their public wedding yesterday. They first made their appearance by stepping out together singing “One Singular Sensation” from “A Chorus Line” before entering a circle of yellow roses and lilies and sharing a traditional Japanese tea ceremony before being wed by a Buddhist priest. They exchanged their own vows and used Native American wedding bands proceeded by a bagpipe procession.

LAist: Congratulations, George Takei & Brad Altman

Brother from Australia and Albannach from Scotland return to the festival this year. New to the festival is the Colorado Celtic rock and roll band, Angus Mohr — four rockers from Estes Park to Front Range locations.

Angus Mohr

Angus Mohr creates an emotionally charged performance, blending Celtic music with rock, playing original and traditional songs. But there’s nothing traditional about Angus Mohr. Made up of a band with a background in rock and blues, bass guitarist Paul McDaniel took his Scottish heritage, his local exposure to the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Festival and added his son Matthew’s bagpipe playing to the existing rock band four years ago. Their presence at the festival this year is a testament to a commitment to the genre and a lot of hard work.

Look who’s rockin’ Scot Fest :
community-news : Estes Park Trail-Gazette.

The Argyllshire Gathering was founded in 1871, and its piping competitions seem to have started in 1873. The Highland Society of London first presented its Gold Medal for piobaireachd in that year, and the list of past winners includes some very famous names. These include Calum Piobaire, John Maccoll, G. S. MacLennan and D. R. MacLennan, both the Bobs of Balmoral, Wille Ross, Donald MacPherson, to name but a few. A small handfull, ten in number, have achieved the rare distinction of winning the Gold Medal at both Oban and Inverness in the same year.

The Argyllshire Gathering 2008 - Times Online .

As many of the earlier visitors were walking in, a group called the Stonehenge Druids formed a procession and was playing bagpipes. Although I entered the site about the same time as the Druids, the physical exertion of producing music from the bagpipes meant they were walking much slower. The bagpipe players had some of the best cloaks at the celebration.

Surfing the Luminiferous Ether » Blog Archive » The 2008 Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

HEADS TURNED as the sound of bagpipes danced over a rat-a-tat-tat of drums and the tramping of leather-soled shoes on pavement slowly emerged from behind Halifax city hall.

The age-old sounds drowned out the everyday hustle and bustle, drawing the 100 or so gathered Friday at the Grand Parade to the iron fence along Barrington Street for a glimpse of living history.

Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca.

Last weekend’s Scottish Games are barely over, and the Celts among us have another reason to rejoice – the eighteenth Bagpipe Festival starts in Strakonice, southern Bohemia this Thursday. Twenty foreign groups from 16 countries, 19 Czech groups, 11 children’s ensembles and 50 individual bagpipers – that’s a lot of noise. The four-day festival comprises marches through the town, meetings with music in local pubs, a historical fair and an arts symposium. (21-24 August)

Don’t Miss: Bagpipers, hip-hoppers, psychos - Prague Daily Monitor - 20.08.2008

. I even spoke to one of the members of a bagpipe band, and he said his “skirt” was so wet, the water filled his leggings, filling his shoes, and he had blisters on every toe.

Rain on parade didn’t stop the marchers - NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA.

Muscians from all over the world descended on Glasgow today to kick off the annual Piping Live festival. Two hundred bands are taking part - many hoping to be crowned winners of the World Pipe Band Championships.

It is a scene more familiar to the capital in August but this week over 8,000 pipers are in Glasgow. They have come from all over the world to celebrate one of Scotland’s most noteworthy traditions.

Many of the bands are hoping to bag a prize on Saturday when Glasgow Green plays host to the World Pipe Band Championships. But for many young hopefuls it is the taking part that counts.

Pipers from around the world in GlasgowLatest Scottish news and headlines from Scotland | stv.tv | News

Just enjoyed a fine ‘Piping on the Clyde’ night at the Renfrew Ferry courtesy of Wallace Bagpipes. A large crowd heard performances from the firm’s Craig Munro and an excellent young drummer Craig Lawrie, Stamperland PB, Stuart Shedden’s Lanark, and Milngavie (right) Clydebank and Fife Constablulary PBs. The sponsor laid on plenty of refreshments ensuring a very pleasant atmosphere on board.

PT Editor: Piping on the Clyde and Gordon Ferguson.

The Silver Chanter MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition was founded in 1967 by Dame Flora MacLeod, 28th Chief of MacLeod, with John MacFadyen and Seumas MacNeill for the purpose of encouraging top class pipers to compete at the Skye Gathering. This was much needed, as the piping competitions had been waning for some years at that time. The stratagem was a success, and the piping competitions at the Games are now well attended at all levels.

The Silver Chanter MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition - Times Online

International recording star Anthony Kearns, one of the founding members of the PBS Super Group, the Irish Tenors, has contracted the Delta Police Pipe Band to host a solo concert in Delta this fall.

Irish Tenor teams up with pipe band.

February 2-3, 2008 - Delco Midatlantic Workshop

LOCATION: The Holiday Inn, BWI Airport, Baltimore, MD

For more information or to register, download the Delco Midatlantic Workshop Flier in pdf format.

This year, we are offering EUSPBA Piping Certification Exams as well. The syllabus for the exams can be downloaded here - Syllabus - in pdf format. We hope to see you there!

EUSPBA-MAB Events.

Tain prepares to welcome huge crowds for Highland gathering - Press & Journal
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