World’s Week: St Laurence O’Toole to Star at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band from Dublin under the leadership of P/M Alen Tully

Promoters Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band have officially confirmed that St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band from Dublin  will headline the 2018 ‘pre-Worlds’ concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday, 15th August 2017.
‘We are once again thrilled to host yet another of the world’s greatest pipe bands for the pre-Worlds concert,’ said Kurt Mackintosh (left) of the Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band. ‘In addition to being one of the most entertaining and successful competing bands in recent times, St Laurence O’Toole are renowned for their concerts. It has been eight years since the band last took to the stage at our pre-Worlds concert and we have no doubt they will put on another fantastic show.’
The official concert poster

SLoT Pipe Major Alen Tully commented: ‘In 2010 we marked our 100 year anniversary by performing our much anticipated ‘Evolution’ concert to a sell-out crowd. We are delighted to have been asked back by the Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band for the 2018 showcase.
‘The show is entitled ‘Turas Ceoil – Resume’ and it will take our audience on a journey through the ages, paying homage to where we have come from from a musical perspective right through to where we are today. We have a rich musical gene which runs both within the band’s own history and through our Irish roots and we believe our show will really bring that to life. We can’t wait to take to the GRCH stage once again.’
SLoT in concert

For updates on the show and all the latest band news, check out http://www.slotpb.com or on Facebook.
The Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band has been proudly producing the ‘pre-Worlds’ concert since 1994. It aims to showcase the best pipe bands in the world and bring them to a local and international audience. The event is made even more special this year as it marks the Skye’s 50th anniversary.
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale go on sale later today, Saturday 17th February, and are available from the Royal Concert Hall box office online at www.glasgowconcerthalls.com or on (+44) 0141 353 8000 (Monday – Saturday 10am – 6pm). Tickets are £20.
From our earlier interview with Kurt Mackintosh….Without question the most important event in the week leading up to the World Pipe Band Championships is the major pipe band contest staged each year on the Wednesday by Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band. The concert, now held in Glasgow’s prestigious Royal Concert Hall, has showcased the biggest names in bands and invariably attracts a sell out crowd of 2,000+. The hall provides a spectacular backdrop for the bands as shown in the picture above of Field Marshal Montgomery last year.
How many years has the band been running the Worlds Week concert? The band has been organising it since 1994, 23 years. The very first band to take part were the 78th Fraser Highlanders who presented their ‘Live in Scotland’ concert. This was at the Motherwell Civic Centre, our venue for the first five years. The aim at the time was to bring the prominent concert bands of the day to a wider audience and this first concert was a result of a friendship between our band’s previous Pipe Major, Kenny McLeod, and the then Pipe Sergeant of the 78th Frasers, Iain Donaldson. These early concerts were really successful and it became clear that there was a huge demand from the pipe band community to hear the best bands in the world showcasing their material. Later the band took the decision to change venue to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall which doubled the capacity and we have been there for the past 17 years. Read More here.


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