quality young musicians making a big impact on the concert platform. So when a new young band like Rura comes along, people take notice. When that new band have Highland pipes in the line-up, it grabs my attention and after listening to their excellent debut CD a few times I wanted to know more. So I met with Steven Blake, the piper with
Rura, and went back to his roots. Steven’s interest in the pipes was first piqued when a piper from Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band visited his primary school. He eventually went along to the band when
he was eight. Band tuition at that time proved to be rather inconsistent, so he went for lessons at the College of Piping with Dugald MacNeill and started again. “It is somewhat ironic that I went to
Dugald given what I do now but he basi- cally made me start from scratch — which was a big deal for an eight-year-old,” said Steven. “He was very harsh, which was great
for me, and I got a really good grounding from him and the ideal of pursuing quality has never really left me.” Steven’s mum was keen to enrol him in a school in Edinburgh, so she applied for scholarships and managed to get funding from the army. This process included an interview which meant Steven had to play in front of Pipe Major Gavin Stoddart. Once Steven had played and left the room, Gavin wrote such a glowing letter of recommendation that it opened the door for the talented youngster to attend whichever school he wished.
PIPING TODAY • 35
Photo: John Slavin@Designfolk Ltd NEW DIRECTIONS
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