PS News. Oregon Pipers Society. Ian Lawther to Headline November OPS. In this Issue: In Our 21st Year! Volume 21 - November 2008

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1 Oregon Pipers Society PS News In Our 21st Year! Volume 21 - vember 2008 Ian Lawther to Headline vember OPS Ian Lawther began playing the rthumbrian smallpipes in the early 1970s, and is a former winner of the Open competitions at Rothbury and Redcar. He helped found the London Pipers group in the late 1970s, and organized the Kent rthumbrian Pipers group before coming to the States in He has also been part of the revival of the Scottish smallpipes and the border pipes which began in the 1980s and is now flourishing. In 1996, he became a professional musician, playing a variety of bagpipes and other folk instruments for folk clubs, dances, session work and on street corners! Ian is now based in Sammamish near Seattle, Washington, Ian Lawther and plays the Highland pipes, festivals in England, Belgium and rthumbrian smallpipes, Scottish Germany. Over the years he has smallpipes, border pipes, Uilleann played in a variety of bands, including pipes, as well as the whistle, flute and pipe bands and folk bands, performing English concertina. in both dance and concert settings. His past experience includes film and In 1998 he produced his own television work, and performances recording, The Empty Trough, in the orchestral pieces Orkney which gives an excellent sample of Wedding with Sunrise (Maxwell- the differing bagpipes of Britain and Davies) and Celtic Requiem Ireland. In addition he has appeared (Tavener), Burns Nights at the British on a number of other CDs including Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and folk Continued on Page 3 In this Issue: Ian Lawther - vember Featured Performer The Portland Police Highland Guard Ensemble Performers Local Hero - TBA Calendar of OPS events Competition rules and mail-in registration form OPS Membership form vember Event Details: vember 15 Oregon Pipers Society VFW Hall, 837 SE Mill, Portland 5:00 PM - Solo Piping contest 7:30 PM - Program OPS Upcoming Events: December 13 2nd annual Kitchen Piping contest Featured Performer -TBD Ensemble Performers - TBD January 17 Annual piping quartet contest Featured Performer - Jory Chisholm Ensemble Performers - Clan Macleay PB February 14 Annual Workshop. Again this year we will be offering a full day workshop with one of the world s top piping talents. Details to be announced. Featured Performer - TBD Ensemble Performers -TBD March 21 Featured Performer - Jacquie Troy Ensemble Performers - Portland Metro PB April 18 Featured Performer - TBD Ensemble Performers - River City PB - 1 -

2 The Portland Police Highland Guard: Guest Ensemble Performers The Portland Police Highland Guard, a traditional police pipe band was formed in 1998 in recognition of the need for such an organization to serve the Portland Police Bureau and the Portland community. With the tragic lineof-duty deaths of two officers within 6 months of each other, and no band in place to provide a musical tribute at their final roll-calls, the Highland Guard found its roots in the collaborative efforts of Officers Brian Kelly, Erin Anderson, and Sgt. Stephen Bell. The Highland Guard is now a segment of the Portland Police Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) n-profit organization. The band s underlying mission is to honor and commemorate fallen police officers and firefighters, from throughout the Portland area and the Pacific rthwest, in our every performance. is accomplished with musical presentation at funerals and memorial events in times of tragedy. Moreover, we dedicate our every concert, parade, and competition to our fallen brothers and sisters. Recap of April: Final OPS Event of Last Season Local piper Tom Peralta was the announcer for the final event of the season. The program began with Isabella Ramsay, the April Student of the, Isabella, a side drummer, demonstrated her drumming skills to the OPS audience. player. He gave a short lecture on the historical and technical background of the instrument. Eliot then commenced playing a selection of various types of tunes such as slip jigs, reels, hornpipe, and also a slow air. The River City Pipe Band, the guest band, returned for their second appearance at OPS with a larger number of members this time. Wearing the va Scotia tartan, they formed up in the hall, and began their performance with a ¾ march set The Shoals of Herring and I See Mull. The band continued entertaining the crowd with a number of sets that consisted of basic standard pipe tunes that many pipers are familiar with such as Mairi s Wedding, Brown Haired Maiden, Bugle Horn, and Steam Boat. Uilleann piper, Eliot Grasso, was an additional guest For the finale of the program, the brother and sister duo of piper James Jamie and side drummer Jacquie Troy were featured, Jacquie had facilitated a drumming workshop earlier in the day They started with an air, and continued with a number of marches, jigs, and hornpipes. Their was composed of P/M Tom MacAllister, the Caledonian Society of London, and Mrs MacPherson of Inveran. It was really a treat to hear this duo play together, and a testament to their accomplishments

3 The New Season of OPS Has Begun! Here are scenes from October... Gary Warren hosted the October event of OPS. The evening began with a new feature started this season called Local Hero. was initiated by piper Mark Mullaney, a former member of the Sir James MacDonald Pipe Band. Mark has since played with Maple Ridge, and now is currently with Portland Metro. He played a selection of tunes inspired by some of his favorite pipers. As an example of these were Kyleigh s Lullaby, and New Year in osa. Chris Macaulay, who hails from South Africa, was the featured solo piper for the evening. After adjudicating the piping competition earlier in the day, he marched in with the classic 4/4 march Flett from Flotta. His program included a number of marches, jigs, hornpipes, and notably, a slow air called Top Deck in Perth. air commemorates the antics of some band members in the Victoria Police Pipe Mark Mullaney Band. A classic compilation of tunes was heard for his which included Highland Wedding, Above: Chris Macaulay and Richard Gillies Below: Chris on the shuttlepipes Susan MacLeod, and Pretty Marion. Later on, local piper Richard Gillies, originally from South Africa, joined Chris in playing a duet. Finally Chris ended his presentation with some of his own compositions on the shuttlepipes. An outstanding example of one of these tunes was a hornpipe The Dragon s Lair. In addition, Chris also played with a recorded accompaniment of his band, and also tunes that explored a variety of different styles such as utilizing a rth African flair to them. From Page 1 Cover Story: A Zero Ore by the Italian folk rock band Ned Ludd, the movie soundtrack of Monk Dawson, Boomshamarocka by the Maryland based Fabulous Potato Heads Rhythm and Blues Ceili Band, and Wonderful World by Eva Cassidy. Ian has recently launched the specialist online CD/DVD store bagpipediscs.com < which is aimed at providing a wide range of piping recordings of all types from a single source

4 Occasionally, members of the audience at OPS enjoy singing along to the pipes, as shown here by Travis Dutton. Seated to his right, John Osborn seems to be enjoying Travis vocals. Also pictured is Mark Mullaney and Ray Galloway (in foreground). Caught in the Act! October OPS Competition Results Piping Judge: Chris Macaulay There were 24 competitors. Chanter Exhibition: Kyle Prewitt Portland Metro Youth Pipe Band w Forming Come join Portland s exciting, new youth band! All levels of play are welcome. Group and individual lessons are available. For information, please contact: Chief Piping Instructor Mark Tomasetti mdtomasetti@yahoo.com Chief Instructor Joe Hewitt joe@spiritone.com Band Practice every Monday 7:00pm at Calaroga Terrace, 1400 NE 2nd (near Lloyd Center) Next parent meeting: 7:00pm on v. 17th. River City Pipe Band Piping Classes 2008 / 2009 bagpipe classes have started. Classes are held at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church at 515 SW Maplecrest Drive in SW Portland on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. Visit RiverCityPipeBand.com and click on the Free Instruction button or contact Michael Johnston at for additional information. Portland Metro Burns Supper Planned! Don t miss out on the opportunity to participate in the band s Burns Night Supper, set for Saturday, Jan. 24, at Embassy Suites Portland Downtown. Tickets are available for $75 each or $600 for a table for eight. Call Julie Piper Finley at to reserve your tickets now! Adult - 1st: Stuart Vickery 2nd: Mary Bonds 3rd: Cynthia Keen Grade 5 - Slow Air 1st: Aletheia Booknight 2nd: Robbie Johnston 3rd: Nick Mannen Grade 4-1st: Charles Johnston 2nd: Elijah Kolmes 3rd: Ryan Wigg Grade 3 - Jig 1st: Alistair Ramsay 2nd: Megan Rogers 3rd: Craig Maxwell Grade 2-1st: Danny Delmain 2nd: Erika Takeo 3rd: Mark Mullaney Grade 1 - Jig 1st: Richard Gillies 2nd: Patrick Downing 3rd: Patrick Case

5 OPS Competition Mail-in Registration Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Day Phone: Evening Phone: address: v. 15 Class: Fee: Dec. 13 Class: Fee: Jan. 17 Class: Fee: Feb. 14 Competiton this month because of workshop Mar. 21 Class: Fee: Apr. 18 Class: Fee: TOTAL FEE ENCLOSED: All competitors must be prepared to play at check-in and to perform when requested to do so. The check-in times are as follows: Chanter and Grades 4 and 5 check in by 4:30 PM. Adult. Grades 1,2 and 3 check in by 5:00 PM. All Drummers check in by 5:30 PM. The order of play will follow reverse order of entry (first to enter is last to play, including the mail-in registrants). All contestants are required to play in recognizable Highland attire (except for Chanter class). Best of luck. Mail-in Entries: The registration fee is $4 per event for OPS members, $5. for visiting competitors. Mail-in registration may be submitted for the entire season or for selected event dates. Order of play will be determined by entry receipt date, giving advantage to those who pre-register versus day-of entries, so mail in early. Payment must accompany registration. (Sorry, there are no refunds for no shows.) Day-of Entries: The entry fee will be $4 per event for OPS members, $5. for visiting competitors. Entries will also be accepted until the check-in deadline on the day of the event. For more information please call Susan Ramsay at (503 ) susanram@easystreet.net Make check payable to OPS and mail registration & check to: Susan Ramsay 2861 S.E Woodward St. Portland, OR Yes! I want to be a member of OPS and receive this monthly newsletter and notification of special OPS events. Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Day Phone: Evening Phone: address: ( information will be kept confidential ) Memberships: ($20 per membership of an individual or a family.) Scholarship Donation: (Your donation will support scholarships for OPS pipers & drummers.) Total: Please mail your check to: OPS Membership 3117 NE 30th Ave Portland, OR BCPA & OPS Memberships The BC Pipers Association is giving a credit towards its membership dues if you have membership in the Oregon Piper s Association. is part of BCPA s efforts to encourage support of the activities of the local piping societies. year the credit will be $20 for Individual and Family memberships. Everyone is reminded that you need to be a member of Oregon Piper s Society to get this credit. If questions contact Gary Warren at ops-newsletter@comcast.net - 5 -

6 OPS Competition Schedule Please note some important changes to this year s competition schedule and requirements. Schedule: Detailed listing of events is shown in the chart below. There will be no competition in February because of the planned workshop. Times: -Chanter and Grade 5 - Check in 4:30. Competition 5:00. All other piping grades - Check in 5:00. Be prepared to play. All drumming grades - Check in 5:30. Be prepared to play. You must check in at the competition desk at or before check-in time listed and be prepared to play at check-in time if your steward requests you do so (with the exception of Chanter and Grade 5 entries). Because we take field entries, we cannot predict the order of play in advance, so be prepared to play first. Order of play will follow reverse order of entry (first to enter is last to play). It is recommended to use the mail-in entry form for early registration. All contestants are required to play in recognizable Highland attire except Chanter class. Tune Requirements: All tunes for piping and drumming events are required to be 4 parts. Exceptions are all chanter class and grade 5 piping events where 2 parts of a tune played twice is permitted. Also note specific requirements for certain grade 2 and 1 piping events indicated in the chart below. Membership: If you live in Oregon or the Portland metro area, including Vancouver WA, one needs to be a member of OPS in order to compete. Awards will be given at intermission as in previous years. Piping October 18 vember 15 December 13 January 17 February 14 March 21 April 18 Chanter Slow Air Any Tune Slow Air Any Tune Adult Slow Air Grade 5 Slow Air Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel Piobaireachd Ground and 1st variation Grade 3 Jig Piobaireachd Strathspey & Reel Grade 2 ( submit 2 marches ) Jig ( submit 2 ) Hornpipe & Jig Workshop Competition Piobaireachd ( submit 2 ) Grade 1 Jig ( submit 2, selected tunes played twice through ) ( submit 2 of each tunes ) Hornpipe & Jig ( submit 2 of each ) Piobaireachd ( submit 3 ) Tenor Beginner Grade 2 Grade 1 These s Side Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 2 These s Grade 1 Hornpipe & Jig - 6 -