Press Release on the forthcoming Celtic Connections concert featuring former members of the World Championship winning 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band:
‘The seminal 1987 ‘Live in Ireland’ concert recording is to be celebrated at 2016 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. A group from the 1987 vintage 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band and household names of the pipe band world come together to form a special once-in-a-lifetime band of big talent and towering experience
‘Almost 30 years after the now-legendary ‘Live in Ireland’ concert was performed and recorded by the then soon-to-be world champion, Toronto-based, 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, a group of pipers and drummers are coming together to celebrate the music of that special mid-August evening in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
‘The ‘Live in Ireland 87’ show will be staged Saturday afternoon, January 30, 2016 at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall and stand as a featured part of next year’s Celtic Connections Festival, running from January 15 to 31, 2016. Music from that evening will be performed – and celebrated – including composer Don Thompson’s evergreen piece, ‘Journey to Skye’.
‘Said ‘Live in Ireland 87′ lead percussionist, Reid Maxwell (and current lead drummer of the champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band), “The Ballymena concert has always held a special place among my many musical experiences. I’ve had it in my mind for a good while that it could be staged again. A while ago Michael Grey (current member of the Greater Glasgow Police Pipe Band) and I were judging pipe bands together in Alberta, Canada and we talked the concept through. We both thought a show absolutely do-able and, well, here we are.’
‘The cast of the ‘Live in Ireland 87’ performance includes about 12 musicians who participated in the Ballymena show with additional pipers and drummers rounding out the performance roster. Said Bill Livingstone [currently a member of the Toronto Police Pipe Band and then-leader of the group who performed the Northern Ireland concert and pictured above leading the band at the Worlds], ‘I’m excited beyond words to once again take the stage to lay out this music. And not just that, to know that this material influenced a generation, at least, of pipers and drummers and in so doing helped shape what we have today – well, it goes beyond words.’
‘Among those who were touched in some way by the music of ‘live in Ireland’ and joining the cast of the show are Chris Armstrong (Pipe Major, Scottish Power), Ryan Canning (P/M, Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia), Ian Duncan (P/M emeritus, Vale of Atholl), Stuart Liddell (P/M, Inveraray & District), Steven McWhirter (Leading Drummer, Inveraray & District), Duncan Nicholson (P/M, Greater Glasgow Police), Richard Parkes, MBE (P/M, Field Marshal Montgomery), Terry Tully (P/M emeritus, St Laurence O’Toole) and Ross Walker (P/M, Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia).
Said, Richard Parkes, ‘I was among the lucky ones who attended the great Ballymena concert; this music in many ways stayed with me and certainly had an influence on my own pipe band thinking. I’m genuinely excited to be a part of this project.’
In addition to Bill Livingstone, Reid Maxwell and Michael Grey the roster of Ballymena veterans includes Bruce Gandy, Iain Donaldson, Jake Watson, Allan Savage, Stu Liddell [snare drummer] and on bass drum, Sean Allan, son of the late-great ‘Live in Ireland’ bassist, Luke Allan. Co-hosting the performance are champion pipers, John Wilson and Bob Worrall. The project is self-funded by the ‘Live in Ireland 87’ group. Support from the public to help bring the show to life via the crowd funding site www.liveinireland87.myevent.com is greatly appreciated.’
Tickets will go on sale mid-August 2015. More information will be made available in the coming weeks at www.liveinireland87.com Contact: liveinireland87@dunaber.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liveinireland87
Elsewhere, we begin the week with the second part of our Famous Pipers column on Angus MacKay. In this excerpt we look at Angus’s time at Balmoral and take a closer look at his famous book. Read more here.
A note to our advertisers: We don’t think we have made it known sufficiently that all our advertisers are free to place their products and their company news on the Piping Press Facebook pages. With over 4,250 members this is a lucrative marketing tool, free and exclusive only to to PP advertisers.
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The RSPBA’s Northern Ireland Branch has announced the winner of its composing competition as Sean Maloney. Judges were Bobby Brannigan and Harry Stevenson. The tune, a 6/8 march, commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the All Ireland Championships and was played at the Massed Bands last Saturday at Omagh.
Don’t forget the Worlds draw this Wednesday. Follow the RSPBA’s website and Piping Press for first news.
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John Milne Fine Arts Grampian Games Association
Piping League 2015
Placings after Drumtochty; no piobaireachd so no change:
1 Edward Gaul 8
2= Colin Campbell 3
2= Ben Duncan 3
3= Gordon McCready 2
3= Gordon Barclay 2
4= John MacDonald 1
4= Allan Russell 1
Drumtochty – Light Music only
March
1 John MacLeod 4
2 Richard Anderson 3
3 Liza Gaze 2
Strathspey and Reel
1 John MacLeod 4
2 Richard Anderson 3
3 Liza Gaze 2
New Placings
1 John MacDonald 15
2 Gordon McCready 12
3= Ben Duncan 8
3= Colin Campbell 8
4= James MacPhee 6
4= Richard Anderson 6
5 Allan Russell 5
6 Liza Gaze 4
7= Andrew Bova 2
7= Jonathan Simpson 2
JUNIOR
Light Music Drumtochty
March
1 Struan McLennan 4
2 Kerr McEwan 3
Strathspey and Reel
1 Struan McLennan 4
2 Kerr McEwan 3
Placings
1 Calum Brown 12
2 Danny Hutchison 9
3= Angus MacPhee 8
3= Struan McLennan 8
4= Blair Duncan 6
4= Kerr McEwan 6
5 Grant Sanderson 5
6 Finn Semmier 4
7 Liam Brown 3
8= Finlay Rollo 1
8= Jamie Tough 1
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