The first feature piper of the month was Tori Killoran playing “The King’s Taxes”. This was her first appearance at the Piobaireachd Club. When Gaelic culture ruled in the highlands, clansmen paid for the use of land with service to the Chieftain. This all changed when the King began to forcefully collect tax.

Will Nichols was also a feature piper for the evening playing “Lament For Captain MacDougall”. This piece is thought to have been composed by Ranald Mor MacDougall – the grandson of Ranald Ban MacDougall who composed “The King’s Taxes”. This Piobaireachd honours Alexander (Sandy) MacDougall who was killed in Spa in during the Peninsula War. The MacDougalls maintained a school of piping known as “The Piper’s Croft” up until at least 1864.

Greg MacDonald followed with “The Massacre of Glencoe” and Thomas Budd with Lament For MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart #1. Although there is uncertainty about the composer and origin, it is certainly connected with the Jacobite uprising in 1745/46. Andrew Lee played “Nameless”.

Kyle Banta played “Massacre of Glencoe” and he maintained his concentration when there was a loud bang at the door. A police officer had come to enjoy the music. Somebody else had suggested that he was there to respond to a noise complaint, but this is too absurd to believe.

Jack Lee closed the evening with “Prince’s Salute”. The terms “Prince” and “King” seem to be only loosely applied in piobaireachd composition making it more difficult to decipher who the piece was intended for. John MacIntyre was the composer, but there are differing opinions on which Prince it was for. The popular opinion is that it was James, Chevalier de Saint George, who would have been King James VIIIth of Scotland and IIIrd of Britain if he had succeeded in one of the rebellions of 1715 and 1719. James was referred to by supportive Gaels as Righ Seumais which translates to King James. He was also referred to as Prince James, and, The Old Pretender. A different school of thought is that it was for his son, Prince Ch arles Edward Stuart; or The Young Pretender, or Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The next meeting will likely be near the end of September or early October.

• May 18  Comox Valley Highland Games
• May 19  Victoria Highland Games
• June 1 Bellingham Highland Games
• June 22 BC Highland Games
• July 13 Kamloops Highland Games
• July 13-14  Skagit Valley Highland Games
• July 19-20 Portland Highland Games
• July 27-28 Pacific Northwest Highland Games
• Aug 3 Spokane Highland Games

• Sponsorship/Sales
• Public & Media Relations manager
• Program
• Volunteer coordinator
• Beer Garden
• Children’s Events
• Parking and traffic coordination
• VIP coordinator
• Tickets/Gate manager
• 50 to 75 volunteers on the day of the games

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York (photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Victoria Highland Games Association announced that the 150th Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival will take place May 18 and 19 at Topaz Park, with His Royal Highness The Duke of York attending as “Chief of the Games”.

“The Scottish and Celtic arts and culture associated with 150 years of highland games in Victoria will be showcased in 2013 with a tremendous schedule of events, championships, entertainment and demonstrations all highlighted by the participation of The Duke of York as the Chief of the Games,” said Jim Maxwell, the President of the Victoria Highland Games Association. “The 150th anniversary of the Victoria Highland Games will be the largest ever held in the city, with events scheduled over a 9 day period from May 11 to May 19.”

News of his attendance also appeared in the Vancouver Sun.

The Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival is the largest Games in Western Canada and one of the oldest Games in North America, with the first recorded Games held in 1864.  The Games is the longest running cultural event on the west coast of North America, stretching back 150 years to the founding of the city of  Victoria when Scottish influence was very strong in local business and culture.  It is a family-focused weekend of Scottish and Celtic art and culture including pipe band and highland dancing competitions and performances, sheepdog herding trials, heavy events and kilted mile athletics, haggis hurling, tug of war, country dancing and fiddling performances, military demonstrations, Scottish/Celtic and folk music bands, Scottish clan family and genealogy booths and displays, Scottish & Celtic food and merchandise vendors, and single malt whisky school for adults.

“Over the last few years, the Victoria Games have become a premier destination for people looking for the best festivals of Scottish and Celtic music, dance, sport and heritage”, said Maxwell.  “In 2013, we will be hosting the Canadian Invitational Drum Major Championship and the Victoria International Heavy Events Championships, with a full lineup of current and past world and national champions.  The Duke of York is coming to British Columbia at the invitation of the Victoria Highland Games Association, and his only public appearances on the trip will be at the Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival on both May 18 and 19.  In addition, our association will host a full schedule of events prior to the Games weekend, including the Tartan Parade, Kilted golf tournament, Spirit of the West concert, and Clan Torchlight Ceremony.  If you have ever wanted to go to a world class Highland Games, the 150th Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival will surpass your expectations!”

Advance Ticket Sales are available at the Strathcona Hotel Liquor Store, Vision 2000 Travel Group and Loghouse Pub Liquor Stores.  All children under 12 are free admission.  In true Scottish fashion, the Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival takes place rain or shine.

For more information visit:  http://victoriahighlandgames.com/

Professional Piping Aggregate winner James P. Troy – Photo by Weatherly Schiele

Visit the Results page for the full results of the 81st Annual Gathering. See the news on Pipes|Drums.

Original videos from the streaming are on Livestream

Some higher quality videos are being uploaded to the BC Pipers’ YouTube channel.

Congratulations to all of the competitors.

AGGREGATES:

Piping
Beginner: Alistair Bevan
Grade 5: Fraser Jones
Grade 4: John Gray and Cameron Ickert
Grade 3: Tori Killoran
Grade 2: Jack Toohey
Grade 1: Aaron Stone

Professional: James P. Troy
Adult: David Asher

Side Drumming
Beginner: Escher Cuttriss-Nordenmark
Grade 4: Lauren Gaul
Grade 3: William (Liam) Diamond
Grade 2: Eric Clarke
Grade 1: Steven Wheeler
Professional: Ian Lawson and Grant Maxwell
Tenor Drumming
Grade 2: Nicole Potter
Grade 1: Alexis Hagen
Professional: MacKenzie Webster
Bass Drumming
Grade 1 No competitors

Bands
Grade 5: Fraser Valley
Grade 4: White Spot IV
Grade 3: Greighlan Crossing
Grade 2: Robert Malcolm Memorial II
Grade 1: Simon Fraser University
BEST DRUM CORPS
Grade 5: Fraser Valley
Grade 4: Keith Highlanders
Grade 3: Greighlan Crossing
Grade 2: Robert Malcolm Memorial II
Grade 1: Simon Fraser University

SPECIAL AWARDS
Most Promising Piper: Lily Devlin
Most Promising Drummer: Julia Snow
Most Points Overall: Jack Toohey
Combined Piping Grade 1 Mini-Gathering/Annual-Gathering Aggregate: Liam Hilder
Combined Side Drumming Grade 1 Mini-Gathering/Annual-Gathering Aggregate: Steven Wheeler

We’re testing our Live Streaming during Grade 1 Piobaireachd Friday morning and may change configurations occasionally but will try not to interrupt performances if possible. We have recordings of most of the events here

http://new.livestream.com/bcpipers/BCPA2013AG

The result announcements for solos are here

Band results part 1

Band results part 2

9:20 am
Grade 1 Piobaireachd:

Competitor list: Tyrone Heade (Scratched), Kevin McLean, Liam Bacon, Marcus De Vight, Kevin Dougan, Jordan Perillo, Nicholas Theriault, Kyle Banta, Daryl Techy, Aaron Stone, Liam Hilder, Brian Haddon, Aaron Malcomb

Professional Side Drumming
2:30 pm:
Pro Side Drumming March Strathspey & Reel:
Colin Hearty, Derek Cooper, Sarah McLatchy, Grant Maxwell, Gavin MacRae, Graham Haddon, Tano Martone, Ian Lawson

4:00 pm: Pro Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig
Colin Hearty, Derek Cooper, Sarah McLatchy, Grant Maxwell, Gavin MacRae, Graham Haddon, Tano Martone, Ian Lawson

Professional Tenor Drumming
5:15 pm: Pro Tenor Hornpipe & Jig
MacKenzie Webster

Alasdair Gillies (1963-2011) performing at the 2009 Annual Gathering Judges Recital

The order of play for the 81st Annual “British Columbia Pipers’ Association Annual Gathering” has been posted for Friday. Grade 3, 2, 1 and Professional Piobaireachd, Professional Side and Tenor drumming events are all held on Friday. Live Streaming is planned for the weekend’s events as scheduling and network allows. Saturday events are also posted, including all other Pro Piping events, the CPA B & C Grade Piobaireachd event (at the end of the order of play sheets due to the high event number), and all other amateur grades. Streaming of Pro events is planned for Saturday starting in the morning as well, followed by the band contest, which begins at 3:30 pm Saturday.

The Annual Gathering page has been updated with several new details, and more will be added through the week.

The room for the Allan MacDonald piobaireachd seminars has been updated: Room 2290 of the Maggie Bentson Centre building at the Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus, which is directly across from the main library.

BCPA especially wishes to thank the multiple individuals, organizations and businesses who are helping ensure we can continue to provide excellent events and opportunities for us all!

Andrew Bonar is sponsoring the Competing Pipers Association Combined B & C grade Piobaireachd event

Stay tuned this week as more details are announced, and more supporters added! There are 76 competitors Friday, and 320 competitors signed up for Saturday (bands and individual competition events). There are between 20 and 22 professional competitors in the various pro piping events and fourteen bands competing.

New Westminster Police Pipe Band playing at the 2009 Ceilidh

The Annual Gathering Committee has secured an arrangement with SFU’s Meetings, Events and Conference Services Department to hold the Annual Gathering Ceilidh at the Halpern Centre, which is the building directly west of Images Theatre (where the band contest will be held) on Saturday, March 30th.

The Ceilidh will be for all ages, with non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and some fast food available for purchase.

In addition to its social partying opportunity, the Ceilidh will feature short performances by the Annual Gathering aggregate winners as well as a challenge for the “Clansey Cup”.

The Clansey Cup is an impromptu piping competition where the winner becomes the judge for the competition the next year at the location of his/her choice.

The Clansey Cup has been held in several locations around North America throughout its many years.

Last year’s Clansey Cup winner Alan Bevan has chosen the Annual Gathering Ceilidh as this year’s venue so that its originator, Annual Gathering Invited Adjudicator Colin Clansey, could witness the event.

So come out and support the Ceilidh and enjoy a great social, piping and drumming windup to the weekend’s competitions.

It was the largest response to any BCPA survey and we are grateful for your input, as it provided some clear direction on the difficult problem we face.

We have opened up the summary results for your viewing at http://tinyurl.com/2013AGCEILIDH

The results indicated that of prospective attendees to the original format Ceilidh, there would be a 21% loss of attendance if an adults only Ceilidh serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages was held and a 38% loss of attendance if an all ages Ceilidh serving only non-alcoholic beverages was held. These are concerning figures.

Reviewing the summaries and the comments, it was clear prospective attendees felt the Annual Gathering Ceilidh provides an important social function for all ages that should be continued in its original format.

With this information, the Annual Gathering Committee engaged a different department at SFU and a possible solution is being investigated and costed to determine its financial viability. We are hoping that we can make a positive announcement in a few days.

However, if successful, it will mean a smaller venue, increased prices for beverages and light food at the Ceilidh, and the Ceilidh will lose money, instead of making some money as originally planned.

The Annual Gathering Committee has determined that providing an appropriate end-of-competition social environment for all ages, with appropriate beverages and piping and drumming entertainment by and for all ages, outweighs a reasonable loss.

Holding cost-conscious events has become increasingly difficult over the past several years, and the Annual Gathering Committee and the BCPA Board of Directors have put in additional effort to try to provide these.while ensuring that the association’s finances are in balance.

Thus we ask you to support the Ceilidh, Band Contest, and Recital with your attendance to assist BCPA in holding a successful Annual Gathering, an event that membership continues to rate as highly important.

Thank you.

Rob MacNeil

President

It was a lovely sunny day in Vancouver and the Hilder family again hosted a spectacular evening of piobaireachd tunes.

Alexander Schiele was the feature piper for the evening. He recently had success at the Nicol-Brown invitational competition winning the piobaireachd and overall award. His tune for the evening was “The Piper’s Warning to His Master”. The castle Dunyveg on the south end of the island of Islay was a stronghold of the MacDonalds. One version of story is that the castle was going to be attacked from an approaching ship and a prisoner aboard plays a piobaireachd using false notes so that the Chieftain will understand the message. A second version of the story is that the Chieftain is returning to his castle unaware that it has been taken. A captive piper plays the piece with false notes to warn of the impending danger. In both versions of the story, the prisoner is dealt with as the captors also understand the warning.

The next piper to play was Aaron Stone with “Lament for MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart #1″. There is some suggestion that either this piece was played as a lament for Munro of Foulis or that the lament played served as a theme for this composition. An alternate view is that it was a much older composition whose name had been lost. Munro was killed at the Battle of Falkirk in 1746. MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart was a respected poet and soldier who fought on the Jacobite side. He was captured and hanged after Culloden.

Making his debut at the club was ten year old Kendrick Rutherford. Kendrick was the Grade 4 Aggregate winner of the Mini-Gathering season this year. Kendrick played the ground and first variation of “Stuan Robertson’s Salute”.  During the battle of Bannockburn, King Robert the Bruce was so overjoyed at the arrival of Clan Duncan (led by Donnachadh Reamhar) that he asked Donnachadh to name his first son Robert. Robert Riach, great grandson of Donnachadh Reamhar captured the murderers of King James I in 1437. It was after this event that Chlain Donnachaidh (children of Duncan) took the name Robertson.

Kendrick’s first Piobaireachd Club performance

Liam Hilder followed with “Lament for the Son of King Aro”. There is not much known about this piece, nor has it been played that often at the Club.

Thomas Budd played next with “Lament for Donald of Laggan”, and Ed McIlwaine closed the evening with “Lament for the Departure of King James”.

The BC Pipers’ Association Annual Indoor Gathering will be held March 29th and March 30th at Simon Fraser University. The Open, Grade 1, 2, and 3 Piobaireachd events will start at 10AM on the Friday. There will be and adjudicators recital featuring Allan MacDonald, Colin Clansey and John Scullion starting at 7PM. Allan MacDonald is a true scholar of Piobaireachd having won awards of the highest level and studied the origins of the big music. On the Saturday, there is another Piobaireachd competition for competitors in the B and C grade.

The next club meeting will be at the home of Bob and Mary McIlwaine in April. The date and piper of the month will be announced shortly.

In January, the Annual Gathering organizing committee planned for a Ceilidh area in the Atrium of the SFU Maggie Benston Centre that would

• enable all ages of people to attend
• encourage playing pipes and drums by youth and adults
• include performances by the aggregate winners
• include the Clansey Cup event, an impromptu Hornpipe & Jig competition for all pipers
• include a roped off area for adults wanting to consume alcoholic beverages

Despite assurances at the time from the venue that this was permitted, the venue has now indicated that the complete Ceilidh area must be for adults only if alcoholic beverages are being served. Thus the following choice must be promptly made:

Should the Annual Gathering Ceilidh be:

1. All ages event still in the Atrium, at which only non-alcoholic beverages would be served; or
2. Adults only event at the SFU Highland Pub (next to the Maggie Benston Centre), at which alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages would be served.

By 6:00 pm, Wednesday March 13, please complete the survey at the link below
to assist the Annual Gathering organizing committee in making this important
decision.

www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013AGCEILIDH

Thank you

Annual Gathering organizing committee

The start time will be 7:30pm and the piper of the month will be Alexander Schiele who will name his tune.

The meeting will be at the home of David and Shaunna Hilder.

1601 Stella Place, Port Coquitlam

There have been many highway #1 changes, so the following directions from Google or Bing might not be accurate.

Basically, there are two ways (the #7 – Lougheed highway and right onto Pitt River), or (the 7B – Mary Hill bypass and left onto Pitt River)

Click image for larger map

Piper of the Month Alexander Schiele – winner of the 2012 Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational

Photo from the CBC article linked in this post (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

One of the more frustrating aspects of traveling from / to the US and Canada for piping and drumming events is the border crossing. Getting a Nexus pass significantly reduces those border waits as a thorough check including fingerprint scans are done and as long as you follow the rules carefully you get a “special” lane and often can sail through the border in five minutes or less while people in the standard crossings are waiting in long lines.

The possibility of upcoming budget cuts in the US could mean a reduction in border crossing agents on staff, and significantly increased wait times, according to this article.

If you’re interested in applying for Nexus card, visit this site for more information.

Thanks to Cathy Innes for inspiring this post.

2012 BCPA Drumming Knockout Winner Kyle Wallis with J. Reid Maxwell at the Annual Dinner & Pro Knockout

Annual Dinner and Knockout Finals tickets are on sale now as an event through the BCPA registration site here or through Sarah McLatchy at sarah.mclatchy@hotmail.com.

The top three Mini Gathering Competitors (see standings here) in each grade receive a complimentary ticket to the dinner, where they will be presented with their awards. Mini Gathering winners are required to RSVP to Sarah McLatchy.

Special award recipients at this year’s dinner are: Ron MacLeod and Ron Sutherland, receiving Life Memberships, and Robbi Brewer, receiving the Mary MacKinnon Memorial Service Award.

In addition, a framed print will be presented to the Robert Malcolm Memorial III Pipe Band (now Grade II) commemorating their capture of the Grade 3A World Pipe Band Championship title. A framed print will hang in the Scottish Cultural Centre on the Wall of World Champions.

Adult tickets for the event are $45; Seniors are $40; and children under 15 are $25. Admission to the Knockout contest only is $10, payable at the door.

Knockout Finalists are (in no particular order):

Piping: Keith Paton, Will Nichols, Brittney Otto. Drummers: Gavin MacRae & Graham Haddon

We look forward to seeing you!

Congratulations to the mini-gathering aggregate winners:

• Beginning piping: Alistair Bevan
• Grade 5 piping: Collin Dazey
  
• Grade 4 piping: Kendrick Rutherford
• Grade 3 piping: Thomas Budd
• Grade 2 piping: Tie: Gregory MacDonald & Robyn Lakes
• Grade 1 piping: Liam Hilder
• Adult Piping: Larry Dent
• Beginning Side Drumming: Tie:  Cameron Johnston & Blake Prescott
• Grade 4 Side Drumming: Daniel Menzies
• Grade 3 Side Drumming: William (Liam) Diamond
• Grade 2 Side Drumming: Kelsey Dougan
• Grade 1 Side Drumming: Steven Wheeler
• Grade 2 Tenor Drumming: Nicole Potter
• Grade 1 Tenor Drumming: Alexis Hagen

Reminder to competitors who have begun within the past couple years, there’s a valuable seminar for parents and competitors at 10:30 am.

The schedule is here>> and most other information is on the Mini-Gatherings page.

The improved streaming quality was a hit with most. It was nice to be able to identify the players as the camera was able to zoom and follow them unlike past events. There are still some issues to work out and some with lower bandwidth connections had trouble viewing; we may be able to adjust the video quality down a little more for the next event without losing too much overall quality. We’re also interested in sponsorship for the next events as the commercials UStream puts up never seemed to pop up between competitors, but good progress was made and the sound quality by all reports was excellent. The Final Knockout is at the Annual Dinner March 9th. Tickets are going on sale very shortly!

Brittney Otto (1st round winner, 3rd place Semi-Final) arriving before the competition

5670 Goldenrod Crescent, Delta, BC.

Please RSVP 604-943-1987 or comments@bcpipers.org

A Webinar/online option will be offered as well

In addition, each year, we attempt to make sure that the rules used by the Association are current, valid and reasonable.  Any suggestions from the membership are valued, considered by the Board and then, if appropriate, posted for the entire membership to respond to.  While, in recent years, this has been done on an annual basis, after this year, we would like to make this a bi-annual review only.

Please consider your submissions carefully and submit them to comments@bcpipers.org or secretary@bcpipers.org.  The deadline is; February 22, 2013