NEWS
Photo: John Slavin@Designfolk Ltd
Royal engagement is a gem for NYPBOS
THE National youth Pipe Band of Scot- land will bring a sparkle to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Scotland when they take part in a massive parade in Perth.
The talented youngsters — fresh from the success of their highly-acclaimed Illumination concert — will join 1000 pipers and drum- mers from around the world in a march-past on Saturday, June 2 to mark the Queen’s 60th anniversary.
A host of other events will also be held on the day in Perth including a Kilted Run, Big Jubilee Lunch and live music performances. Before then, the band members will be getting on their marks and limbering up for a charity event in Glasgow.
They have signed up for the Sainsbury Sports
Relief Mile in Glasgow on March 25. Around 30 pipers and drummers will take part in the one- mile race through the streets of the city centre.
Training under way for Noting the Tradition project
ENCOURAGING progress is being made in The National Piping Centre’s Heritage Lottery Funded project Noting the Tradition, which aims to preserve piping’s heritage for future generations.
A very successful training day was held in December with 11 volunteers taking part. Project Manager James Beaton, and Dr Margaret Bennett, an internationally recognised oral historian and folklorist, focused on themes to be investigated by the project, as well as fieldwork and recording techniques.
The project is also beginning to identify a number of suitable interviewees, who will be recorded talking about their life in the piping
NPC Schools round-up
THE National Piping Centre Bag- pipe and Drumming Schools offer a fantastic chance for players of all ages and abilities to get top-class instruction and improve all aspects of their craft.
The first Piping School of the year took place in February in Bruggen, Germany and proved highly successful. The next overseas School is in Swit- zerland from April 30 to May 5. It’s in a new venue this year, Kiwi Lodge in Parpan, and is sponsored by Wallace Bagpipes (Scotland) Ltd.
Piping Schools are held at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow at various points during the year. The
PIPING TODAY • 8
Spring School runs from April 2 to 6. Three Summer Schools have also been organised — July 2 to 6, July 9 to 13 and July 23 to 27. The Autumn Piping School runs from October 15 to 19. The daily programme will cover all aspects of perforance including practice routines, technique, musi- cal expression, tuning and ensemble playing. Students are taught in small groups of similar ability for three to four hours a day with practice time built in. A range of workshops are also held. To find out more, for prices and
to book, visit
www.thepipingcentre.
co.uk/bagpipe-drumming-schools.
scene. Some 15 pipers who play and have played at various levels — from Glenfiddich winners to members of local pipe bands — have already committed to being in- terviewed, providing a good grounding on which to base the future devel- opment and growth of the project. An important element of Noting the Tradition is for the skills learned by volunteers to be passed on to the wider community, particularly to school
James Beaton
pupils in various parts of Scotland. Senior staff at Drumchapel High School and Glasgow Gaelic School have been extremely supportive of the pro- ject and are involved with James Beaton in looking at ways in which the techniques of oral history can be used in supporting the Curriculum for Excel- lence in schools. These techniques can be used to research a wide range of topics, and also teach communication and social skills, as well as helping with self esteem. There are still opportunities for piping enthu-
siasts and the wider public to become involved in Noting the Tradition, and to do so please contact the Project Manager, James Beaton on jbeaton@
thepipingcentre.co.uk.
Thistle do as Glenn takes to stage
NATIONAL Piping Centre tutor Glenn Brown is taking centre stage at a recital hosted by the Rose and Thistle Pipe Band.
Canadian Glenn, a Gold Medallist and
member of the Grade 1 ScottishPower Pipe Band, will perform at the Royal British Legion, Fratton, Portsmouth on Saturday, March 24.
The concert is at 7pm for 7.30pm and will also feature performances from the Rose and Thistle band. To book tickets or for further
information about the concert, call Daniel on 07734 653171 (email
livinginengland@gmail.com) or Nathan 07852 201631 (email
nathan.colbern@
ntlworld.com).
Lotto luck for Lonach player
A MEMBER of Lonach Pipe Band hit the high notes when he scooped £4.5million on the lottery. Duncan Davidson, from Alford in
Aberdeenshire, pledged to celebrate with his bandmates after picking up the
bumper cheque for £4,520,123 with wife Sheila in Aberdeen on February 15. The 60-year-old played the pipes at the presentation ceremony. The couple struck it lucky after buy- ing a lucky dip ticket
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