 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
Blog-Log March, April, May, 2006 Friday, May 26, 2006 Well, we are out of the bush and back in Juneau after a fabulous steelhead trip up the Situk River in Yakutat. George Campbell's Piper Super Cub got us in and out just fine...what a view of the mountains and glaciers from the air. The weather was better than anywhere in the world and the fishing was greater than that...all of us caught and missed fished, with a few trophies landed along the way... the minimum keeper size is 36 inches so you can well imagine catching one of these leviathons on a 8/9 wt flyrod is quite a task. Our results ranged from landed, to spit hook, to broken line, to broken rod, to broken hook. Can you image fighting a fish for 30 minutes to have the hook break at the final moment? Easier to learn a big MSR ! On the Situk River, Yakutat, Alaska George Campbell, piper, aviator and great guy - 38 inch Steelhead Saturday, May 20, 2006 I am up here in Juneau, Alaska and this morning we had a pipe section session with the Stroller White Pipes and Drums. They are preparing for the Highland Games in Anchorage, Alaska in June and making good progress with their QMM and their Medley. In the morning, we are off to Yakutat and the Situk River. Word has it that the fish are late this year, so we just might be right on time. Fly fishing and piping....the noble combination. This reminds me of a favorite read of mine - A Highlander Looks Back , by Angus MacPherson, Invershin. Angus' passion after piping was definitely fishing the River Shin for salmon. And my favorite quote of all time comes from Captain John MacLellan - " you know that you have made it as a piper when you are invited by Angus MacPherson to fish the River Shin"... a dream of mine - to fish the Shin....ahhhhhhh - in my dreams! On another note, congratulations to both FMM and Shotts and Dykehead, House of Edgar on their tie for the Scottish Championships today - the win going to FMM on an ensemble preference. Wasn't it refreshing to see the Vale right there a close third in the prize list. Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Getting packed ...yep, I am leaving the country. Heading North to Alaska. Time flies by so quickly. It was just back in January that I flew into Juneau for the annual Burns Supper of the Stroller White Pipes and Drums. Here it is now May and I am again flying into Juneau and on to Yakutat for fly fishing on the Situk River - arguably one of the best steelhead rivers in the world. While enroute and also upon my return to Juneau I will have the opportunity to hold lessons and workshops for the band and its members. Thanks to Laurie Gardner, Pipe Major, in advance for putting me up at her house during my stay. Along with husband Doug, the two also play pipes in the popular folk group Fire on McGinnis. I am in for the usual wonderful time. So, what can I say that will not make you jealous ? The Captain on the Situk River, Alaska - 5 am - May 27, 2005 Sunday, May 14, 2006 The William Livingstone Sr. Memorial - Got in too late last night to post to the Corner, but I made sure that Andrew Berthoff at the P&D Online had the full results and a photo for this morning's post. It was a super day of piping. The Ceol Mor event started promptly at 3 pm, finishing just the back of 6 pm. The larger audience in the evening were feted to 8 solid performances of March, Strathspey, Reel, Hornpipe and Jig. Julie Stewart, President and her committee from the Hamilton-Niagara Branch of the PPBSO are to be commended once again on a fine effort. The evening concluded with the prize presentations, thankyous, and a presentation to yours truly for Mc'ing... my favorite - the nectar from the Men of Tain. Thanks, Julie. The Prize winners were identical in both events. Andrew Hayes had a strong performance to take top spot, followed closely by James MacHattie and Glenn Brown. The contest had to be close, as the judges deliberated a long time at the conclusion.
Andrew Hayes - Overall Champion 2006 James MacHattie - second Glenn Brown - third
The Adjudicators - Jim McGillivray, Ed Neigh, Bob Worrall (do you know how hard it is to get three judges to smile?) Thursday, May 11, 2006 Some sad news this evening...my good friend Marty Beaton from Albany just emailed to inform me that Tam McGurk passed away this morning. For those of my vintage, Tam was the bass drummer from the "old" Worcester Kiltie Pipe Band. He was a stalwart in the corps that included Alex Colville and Davey Armit back in the '60's....and what a band it was....and Marty had this to say "This is crushing news. I've known Tam since I was a teenager. He was a great guy, always made the new guys (kids) like myself feel welcome. He was a one man show and a real hoot." I can only echo Marty's sentiments and offer my condolences to all friends and family of Tom McGurk...he was one of the best!
This was arguably the best band in North America in the 1960's Thursday, May 11, 2006 Another weekend is almost upon us and this Saturday promises to be excellent for piping up here in Ontario. The annual William Livingstone Sr. Memorial contest is being held in the Officers' Mess at the James Street Armouries starting with the piobaireachd at 3 pm and the light music to follow starting at 8 pm. The esteemed judges, Jim McGillivray, Ed Neigh and Bob Worrall will have 8 of the finest professional players on stage for the contest. If all goes well, the recordings of these performances will be available here starting on Sunday. Monday, May 8, 2006 Another weekend over! This past Friday I picked up my good friend Sandy Keith at the Buffalo airport and we attended the annual Judges' professional development seminar for the PPBSO on Saturday. As always, we talked till the middle of the night, solving all the problems of the world and enjoyed each other's company immensely. I always learn a great deal from Sandy as his full time profession is bagpipe teacher for the City of Dunedin, Florida. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge about bands, teaching and piping in general. After dropping him back at the airport on Sunday, I proceeded onto Brantford where I conducted a pipe band seminar for the Grade 5 Brantford Pipes and Drums. It is remarkable how this group in only its third year of existence is progressing. They are preparing for the upcoming contest season, so we spent most of the day learning how to produce a good sound. I trust that this band under Gord Fyfe will make a favorable impression at their various outings this summer. Back to the Judges' meeting for a minute ---- some 29 piping and drumming judges were lead through a series of seminars ranging from rule changes, to trial judging, the consultative process and the RSPBA Musical Appreciation and Presentation (MAP). All left with a renewed sense of understanding and importance of the judging function. I look forward to meeting many of my peers on the contest field this summer. For a complete coverage, visit the Piper and drummer Online. Thanks to Andrew Berthoff for coordinaing the event.
Ronnie Rollo, President, PPBSO Bob Worrall, Peter Aumonier and Geoff Neigh
Some of the attendees at the PPBSO Judges' PD Session Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Andy Roberston was over for his weekly lesson today at noon and brought with him some family piping treasures. Andy's grandfather and great uncle hailed from Maryhill, Glasgow and later emigrated to Montreal prior to the First World War. His great uncle, Alex Robertson enlisted in the 13th Battalion that saw overseas action 1914-1918. Of note, Alex Roberston purchased a set of ivory Henderson pipes in 1908 from the Henderson shop at 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow. The price was a meagre 9 pounds, 10 shillings. The receipt below is initialled with thanks by the store clerk per the great John MacDougall Gillies, himself, at that time manager of Henderson's, I believe. The company seal is overlaid with a one penny King Edward VII (1901-1910) postage stamp.
Monday, May 1, 2006 Ahhhhh, its Monday morning and as usual, I wake up to a good coffee and a long read of my emails. Today in my inbox is a letter from Michael Grey referencing an article in the Chicago Tribune - a class action law suit by the Allman Brothers and Cheap Trick against SONY BMG, alleging that the company has underpaid artists for musical downloads. They claim that the band is due half of the licensing share (30 cents) of the 99 cent download rather than the current 4.5 cent! This follows on the heels of a private conversation that I had with Michael just last week. Here are snippets from his email: "This is interesting, though ... not a lot of people know that while they own the copyright to the performance - their sound and playing and talent and all that - they do not own the right to release recorded compositions unless they are in public domain ...which is the case for most of our MSR stuff ... so for instance, if someone plays Donald MacLeod's "Duncan Johnstone" and my "Dunrovin Farm" in an H/J, the producer putting the recording "out there" (CD, downloadable track, etc) would pay a license fee to the publisher (that is IF the publisher gives permission - MacLeod's is self-publshed and his estate owns the copyright for 70 years from the time of his death - ... ISA Music owns a lot of my publishing so would take a cut off the top of anything collected) ... in bagpipe music it is usually the smallest amount payable due to the length of the piece in question and is paid at time of pressing ... one bagpipe tune license works out usually to about $77 per 1000 pressed units. Bottom Line - this argument about copyright and royalties will never end. It will be interesting to see if a win in this law suit will affect the pay cheques of our pipers and bands that have their music up for internet download. Of particular interest, it might very well affect the licencing/marketing strategies for Jim McGillivray who, along with Stuart Lowe will be launching a sheet music download site in the near future. More to come on this event... in the meantime, keep purchasing those books and CD's and enjoying the music. Email the Captain with comments. Friday, April 28, 2006 Reading the Bob Dunsire's forums this past week, brought back my days as a partner in the bagpipe making company of Dunbar Eller, Ltd. How easily we slip to the other side of the fence. Back in the 80's, being the sole pipemaker in Canada, we pushed for tariffs to protect our fledgling business from off shore competition. Bagpipes became subject to an import duty, which now, I believe is 6%. Add to that a PST and GST of 15%, and a set of pipes that wholesales for $1000 has a landed cost of roughly $1210 plus shipping...let's say $40 for air travel from Scotland. With a 50% trade markup, that set now sells for $1815 before reeds and cover, etc. A Canadian pipe maker might be able to slip under that retail price and perhaps enjoy a marketing advantage over the Scottish import. But, now let's assume I am a consumer that wants to buy Scottish made. This duty is not in my best interest ... so what do I do? It just so happens that our neighbour to the South has no duty on the import of bagpipes and in some case no local or state taxes. That same pipe can now be imported to the United States for roughly $1040 and sell for $1560 ... quite a savings. Given that you and your family would like a small winter vacation down South, you can pick these pipes up and bring them back as part of your duty free allotment! Now isn't it amazing how the shoe is now on the other foot! Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Been a week since I was into the site....a spring break! What did you do with your break? Go south? relax... have a good time?...well this spring the Admiral and I had separate vacations together. She went to Myrtle Beach for 10 days and I remained on the farm, looking after the dogs and cats. This brought on a lot of work! I didn't want to look like a loaf while she was gone, so Wayne Reeves and I rebuilt the bearings and hubs on my wood trailer....I sodded areas of barren earth around the house and I did some general landscaping. So all was well upon the Admiral's return! But also, I did my lessons...I learned a new piobaireachd and did some audio recording of old vinyls....trying to recover and preserve music from years gone by.... some of this will be posted in the near future in the review section. During the week I went into the RSPBA site to see the draw for the first major and I noticed that SLOT wasn't listed...had to be some error! So I emailed Andrew Berthoff with the news. His ground crew went to work on the story and you can find it on the P&D Online site. Poor SLOT.....no entry in, for one reason or another...out of the Scottish Championships and out of the running for the Champion of Champions.... what can be said....?
St. Lawrence O'Toole Pipe Band on stage at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, August, 2005 Perhaps the most musical concert of all time ! Certainly, my favorite. Sunday, April 16, 2006 The results are in from the BC Indoor Meet and Alasdair Gillies had his way with the field, winning the Professional MSR and Jig events. Close behind was Andrew Bonar, who took the major Piobaireachd award. And ... in his first ever professional contest, Alex Gandy hit the prize lists with a 4th in the Jig, behind his dad, Bruce who was second. Congratulations to Alex .... Full results have been posted by Rob MacNeil, President of the BC Pipers Association and may be found on Bob Dunsire's Forums. Alex Gandy Alasdair Gillies Saturday, April 15, 2006 Just in from the Toronto Indoor Games...a super day and all credit goes to Gary Moore and the Toronto Branch of the PPBSO for reviving this great event. Some 125 individual solo performances with 20 quartettes marked the return of our pipe band "rights of spring". I had forgotten how important the "indoors" were to all us players from another generation. Nostalgic almost as I counted 11 ex Clan MacFarlane pipers in attendance...get this Jim Thompson, Gary Moore, Roddy Moore, Terry Pinkney, Davey Goodall, Ronnie Rollo, Brian Pollack, #1 (Angus MacLeod), 58 (Peter Sinclair), Jack Gillies and the Captain...ex Caber Feidh were Rudy Schall, George Shand, Jerry Quigg, with a repeat on Ronnie Rollo and Brian Pollack. We could have had an old timers quartette contest like back in the Fort York Armoury days....with the Clan putting in 2 and maybe 3 squads...the only band with a higher attendance today was the current Metro Toronto Police with 13 pipers!.... a shame that the 78th Frasers entered but didn't play, so the Grade 1 challenge didn't materialize. But I thought that Metro Toronto Police took up the challenge admirably with three entries, all playing well. The full results are listed on the Piper and Drummer Online , so pop in and have a look....
Jack Gillies and Andrew Berthoff Angus MacLeod, Malcolm Cox and John MacKenzie
Michael MacDonald (of the jig fame) and Ed Neigh Thursday, April 13, 2006 The day before Good Friday .... and that means many pipers and drummers are getting ready for the Easter indoor events. The BC Pipers meet is mainstaging the Vancouver area. This annual indoor meet has been the main event on our calendars for many years. Well I remember taking the Clan there back in the 80's ... great fun and super competition. This will be the professional contest debut for Alex Gandy and will also feature him as the opening act for the Roddy MacLeod recital in Victoria. I hope to have recordings of both players in the concert section within a week or so. This weekend also marks the return or should I say revival of the Toronto Indoor Games. Gary Moore, President of the Toronto Branch of the PPBSO, has worked tirelessly to bring this event back to the fore. Thanks Gary beforehand for your efforts. I know it will be a success. See ya there.
Roddy MacLeod Alex Gandy Tuesday, April 11, 2006A couple of unusual items have come across my path recently. When on a visit to Rome , NY a couple of weeks ago, I had a good chat with Barb Tewksbury who plays in the Mohawk Valley Frasers Grade 4 band. She had travelled not too long ago to Tunisia where she purchased a mesoued, a pipe made from a goat skin embodying a double chanter belled with horn. Indeed, this is quite a primitive instrument. Then just this morning Hugh MacPherson emails me with "Good morning Ken: Take a look at this old German bagpipe which Sergeant
The Mesoued
An old German pipe Sunday, April 9, 2006 Congratulations are in order to two great friends - Willie and Alasdair - after their triumphs at the Donald MacLeod Memorial Invitational Solo Piping Competition at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis yesterday. Willie won the big MSR event ( 2 marches, 2 strathspeys and 2 reels), while Alasdair won the Hornpipe and Jig.... hats off to two of the best players in the world today. The overall prize alluded them though as Roddy MacLeod took the piobaireachd contest. For those on the west coast, make sure to take in the Roddy MacLeod recital next week. Opening for Roddy will be Alex Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I anxiously await the recording of this event.
Willie McCallum and Alasdair Gillies For full results coverage of the Donald MacLeod Memorial, visit the Piper and Drummer Online. Sunday, April 2, 2006 Whew! another weekend just flew by. I had the great pleasure of travelling to Rome, New York, the home of the Mohawk Valley Fraser Highlanders Pipe Bands...bands, is correct...3 in all.... Grade 5, under Carl Sturtevant, Grade 4 with PM Ed Nickerson and the Grade 3 with the overseer of all, Jim Clough. Jim, Ed and Carl have been friends of mine for so many years I have lost count. The success of this organization is due to the endless hours these three have given over the years. All bands are progressing well. I was especially impressed with the improvement in the Grade 3 ensemble, due in no small part to the progress of the drum section under Tony Rashid. As in the past, my trip was made so pleasant by the company of drumming instructor Tom Foote, just one super guy with bags of talent and a wonderful low key approash to instruction. The hospitality of Carl and Linda Sturtevant, our hosts for the weekend, can't be topped...thanks to all.
Pipe Major Jim Clough with Lead Drummer Tony Rashid The Mohawk Valley Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Grovel with the best ? Yep, I certainly can. But this time no charm, wit, common sense or plain begging will get the BBC to budge on their refusal to permit a broadcast of "music only" portions of their programs like Pipeline. They are standing fast on their copyright privileges policy. In most cases the performers sign their rights over to the recording agent (often the BBC) when they perform or compete on many of these centre stages. They are compensated at that time, but I know for a fact that the competing bands in the Grade 1 at the World's Championships receive not a penny from the recording company for their performances. This has been going on for years and people like Duncan Millar, a Vancouver immigration lawyer, have gone as far as to prepare a challenge in the UK courts for this. I welcome a positive result for the players..... but back to my point... I will not be able to bring you some of the best on-stage performances because of this impass but I will continue to seek proper authority from players both prior to and after such events. However there is something lost yet something gained in this experience. The right of the player to his own composition or performance is paramount. He may sign the rights off for a set fee in which case he is merely setting up a market place for intellectual and performance property. On the side, I would love to get in on the "futures market" for these great performances. We cannot deny that the message is clear; if a person uses material other than his own, against the copyright laws, then it is theft and the rights of the performer must be respected. After all, wasn't one site already closed this year for exactly that reason ? Do you have anything to say about this ? Email me please. Sunday, March 26, 2006 It's getting late at night here and I am just wrapping up a most successful weekend at home. Amazing what you can do when you don't travel ! Tonite , I launched my Students and Teachers area in the School Classroom. On Friday, I got an email from Katie McKlemurry. Katie was a beginning student at the Red River Pipe Band Mardi Gras School. Her concern was simple and easy to attend to. The entry level of my Schoolroom Classes was just simply too high. It didn't take Einstein to figure out that another room was necessary in the School. The result...a modification on the design...a new menu...lessons specific to a teacher and a student. If you teach...then lets share ideas...have a look and lets discuss..... enjoy the new room.
Friday, March 24, 2006 Copyright protection? Is it important?...You betcha ... having asked that, I do believe in it and practice it to a fault (I hope). But there comes a time when it is oppressive. I just received an answer to a request of the BBC about editing the sound portions of the Pipeline program to display "music" only, in cases where I have the prior approval of the performer. After all, who owns the copyright of a performance...the performer or the publisher. The BBC refused permission and furthermore indicated that program files were overwritten every 7 days. Does this mean that events like Piping Live, the Glenfiddich,etc are forever archived or destroyed? Does this mean that we cannot listen to these performances for educational or enjoyment purposes? I was hoping to post Bruce Gandy's Glenfiddich tune, MacCrimmon's Sweetheart, but that won't be. This is an opportunity lost for us piping enthusiasts. I think that we are being short changed a little here. I would interested in your points of view. Write me and let me know your thoughts. Thanks, the Captain Sunday, March 19, 2006 Congratulations to Andrew Bonar, a 25 year member of SFU, on his recent win in the Annual BC Pipers' Knockout contest, held March 11, 2006 in Vancouver. Hear his 10 minute selection in two parts - Part A and Part B . The original file being so large, I edited it into two separate halves for easier downloading. (recordings by Rob MacNeil, Bagpipe Music Writer) (posted by permission of Andrew Bonar) The 4 Finalists, BC Pipers' Knockout, March 11, 2006 James P. Troy, Andrew Bonar, Jori Chisholm, Danielle Millar with Rob MacNeil, President of the BC Pipers'
The Judges for the 2006 BC Pipers' Knockout : Peter Aumonier, Terry Lee, and Jack Lee An intimidating panel: P/M Hamilton Police, P/M SFU, P/S SFU Of note, Andrew and friends have compiled their own book of music, Boney Music, Book 1, available from him. Order a copy today...a good book....fresh look at his tunes and many that SFU played....
Sunday, March 19, 2006 Confirmed ? or is this a change of tune title....? MacCrimmon Will Return ! Here it is from his own pen: I would like to confirm that "MacCrimmon WILL Return", on or about end of June. Good stuff, Captain, sounds a bit "ahead of the beat" at times.. Amazing who a small sound clip will bring out of the Outback ! The Duke is still in Australia where he recently had the opportunity to judge at the Australian Pipe Band Championships (March 4, 2006). I am sure he enjoyed the experience. I have checked his results on the master sheet, and from all accounts he did a fine job! Well done there, Duke. I constantly have to give myself a pinch when I think of the far off places the pipes have taken everyone. As my teacher Dick MacPherson often said, "The pipes will never make you rich, but they will open more doors than you can ever imagine".
The Duke, Bob MacCrimmon Saturday, March 18, 2006 St. Patrick's Day over ? ... not quite ... many events still being held ... shall we call it St. Patrick's Weekend? I have had a chance today to think of many things ... my mother, an O'Neill ... my heritage ... part Irish, part Scots... the fabulous times I spend every year in Co. Clare. I visited again this past year and made some permanent friends ... John and Noreen Hickey in Ennis ... will be going back this coming August ... hopefully joined by Jake Watson and Bruce Gandy ... spend some time in Co. Donegal and then to Clare ... the music, the people, the cliffs...the Guinness, the Jameson's ... what else can I say ... my favorite photo of all time !
The Burren - Co. Clare and if you click on the photo ??????? Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Are you getting ready for St. Patrick's Day?...I have just finished a read on St. Patrick. My son Cam gave me a book entitled "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill. a heavy read, but a good one! ...and are you lurking on Bob Dunsire's Forums at all? There is a thread on the Clan MacFarlane Pipe Band where Chris Hamilton from Toneczar has posted an audio file from the Cambridge Games in 1985.The Clan is playing a medley that can best be considered an anomaly for the times....a march, strathspey, reel, air and hornpipe - all big tunes... no bridges - no creativity at all....just plain straight-up playing of The Royal Scottish Pipers Society, Jennifer Finlayson, Ca' the Ewes, O'Luadh and John Patterson's Mare. If you would like to hear the performance ,
The Clan MacFarlane Pipe Band winning Chicago Monday, March 13, 2006 Atlantic Canada - just in from Halifax where I had a great weekend....On Saturday, 12 members of the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association met at the Citadel for an adjudication professional development seminar. We covered topics ranging from the profile of a competent judge to the techniques of judging both solos and bands. Lively discussions took place throughout the day, highlighted by the practical session on apprentice judging audio clips of band contests. The ACPBA is actively promoting its qualified members to assume the judging clipboard and if what i saw was the initial response, it bodes well for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI. The participants here ranged from promising younger soloists coming through the ranks to the seasoned judging veterans of many years....... A round of applause for Bruce Gandy and Audrey Buchanan for their efforts and initiatives. Audrey, Roderick and Bruce Andy, Robyn, Liz and Scott Heather and Alex Kevin and Scott
Barry and Andy On Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure of conducting a workshop for the Grade 2 Dartmouth and District Pipe Band. This band has been in existence since 1965 and has a model teaching program for pipers and drummers of all levels. The Grade 2 band is their flagship. But there are two other bands in Grade 4 and 5 that permit the Dartmouth and District Pipe Band to fill the parade square! The day's activities included a chanter session in the morning followed by the full band in the afternoon. The competition season is still a few months away, but the quality of the music and the band's performance yesterday indicates that they are close to being contest ready now. Pipe Major Trevor Kellock and Lead Drummer Sean Morton certainly have brought the band up to a good standard in their short time together. Atlantic Canada needs more bands at this level and I would encourage any Grade 2 band from the eastern US and Canada that wants a good level of competition, to consider a trip to the Maritimes to challenge the Dartmouth and District and their perennial rival, the Fredericton Society of St. Andrew Pipe Band. I look forward to hearing both later this summer at the New Brunswick Highland Games in July.
Dartmouth and District Pipe Band (photo courtesy of Wayne Moug) Thursday, March 9, 2006 The end of the week already and I am off to Halifax. Audrey Buchanan and Bruce Gandy are putting on the professional development workshops for their panel of adjudicators (ACPBA). There will be a good turnout and I am anticipating super enthusiasm. Then on Sunday, over to Dartmouth to visit my old friend Wayne Moug and the Dartmouth Pipe Band....all grades.... a thriving program here for years due to the strengths of so many people, Wayne being the constant throughout. See you in a couple of days, guys. And today, I have posted a couple more Mardi Gras audios...great stuff...enjoy them...talk to you on Monday...and have a great weekend...mild here in Ontraio...sorry to leave it.... And, by the way, I am super impressed with both the Piping Centre and the College of Piping in Glasgow...both organizations are most professional and have the interests of piping as their sole purpose. I have asked and received, in all cases, copyright permission to publish certain of their articles in the Reading Room. It is great to see that these two giants in the piping world view promotion of their establishments as promotion of piping in general....thanks Tuesday, March 7, 2006 Some interesting news out of Maxville today.....some changes in the scheduling of events. The Saturday piobaireachd contest may be dropped leaving just the Friday Gold Medal event. Reasons seem to include judging and player conflicts with band events. But it has survived this long and the players have gotten through their scheduling concerns...so what is the problem?...in addition, the lower grade band contests may start as early as 9 am on Saturday morning. NOW, this is truly a welcomed decision to alleviate the contest congestion later in the day.... with all amateur solo events on Friday, this should present no problem.....so...... tune into the Piper and Drummer OnLine for the update and followup. Sunday, March 5, 2006
The MWPBA Panel of Adjudicators - Chicago, Illinois (courtesy of Drew Hoinaki, President MWPBA) Just in this morning from attending the annual Professional Development Workshop for the Midwest Pipe Band Association. The sessions yesterday were expertly arranged by Jim Sim, chairman of the music board. We covered topics from judging roles to the mechanics of judging both small and large contests. This was a unique session where both pipers and drummers attended. I certainly believe that this will contribute to a better understanding of the role that each plays and in the future encourage better understanding of ensemble. Congrats to Jim and all that attended. On Friday night I had opportunity to attend the practice of the Midlothian Pipe Band under PM Ian Swinton. I was most impressed with the size of the band. They have attracted some new players and are well advanced on their music for the upcoming season. Significant was the fact that Adrian Melvin has been producing their chanter reeds as of late. The overall sound was excellent. Once again, Grade 2 promises to be an oustanding contest this year. All the best to Midlothian.
The Midlothian Pipe Band, PM Ian Swinton and LD Jim Sim, in 1996
Copyright © 2005,2006 The Captain's Corner |
| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||
