Last year, pipers in NWJPB, their parents, and pipers around the world were teased by the idea of a video game featuring bagpipes. It certainly got people in our community talking…and a bit disappointed to discover it was a joke.
Here’s a video:
Well, this one isn’t a joke. Nintendo is coming out with “Wii music” where you can choose from up to 60 instruments. Among those are the bagpipes. Check out the GameSpot article. You play the pipes by holding the remote upward and pressing the “1 and 2 buttons”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any pictures of the game with a bagpiper, but it sounds like it could be fun.
5/3 Update: Sold Out!
Northwest Junior Pipe Band members are building a new future and history of competitive youth pipe bands in Washington State. They have worked feverishly over the last year to raise over $24,000.00 to travel to Scotland while honing their skills to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships this August. With less than $10,000 to reach their goal and fly to Scotland in August, the band can almost hear the crowds at Glasgow Green urging them toward the finish line.
The community is helping these prize winning young musicians join 200 bands from all over the world in Scotland this August. Help them meet their goals by attending a benefit dinner with entertainment, dancing, drink and auctions.
Entertainment will include Northwest Junior Pipe Band, Pipers’ Creek Celtic Ensemble, Scottish Dancing, the Bucketmen and more to be announced. The Northwest Junior Pipe Band has grown to nearly 50 members and started new educational and scholarship programs, reaching out to youth who want to have unique and incredible experiences, while learning to play their traditional instruments to the highest standards.
Act quickly for reserved seating by purchasing a table of 8 for $280.00 until April 30th.
NEW! Download the flier here: Northwest Junior Pipe Band Ceilidh Flier Help get the word out! Download and print a flier, cut it in half and distrubute to your friends and family: Do it yourself NWJPB Ceilidh FlierNorthwest Junior Pipe Band “Mothers’ Day Eve” Ceilidh/Party Benefit Dinner
Saturday, May 10th, 2008
Lake City Elks Club, 14540 Lake City Way NE, Seattle
Doors open for auction 5:30, dinner and entertainment starts 6:30
Silent Auction, Dessert Auction
38.00 adult, 33.00 17 and under
Tables of 8: $280.00 until April 30th, $304 after.
Italian Chicken or Lasagna dinner, with salad, bread, and non-alcoholic beverages.
No-host bar.
Entertainment includes dancing, Northwest Junior Pipe Band and Pipers’ Creek Celtic Ensemble.
Table and half table purchases will receive reserved seating.
email concert@nwjpb.org for more info, or call 206-508-1261
This is compiled from a ton of responses to questions pipers and drummers receive, many of which are funny to those that are immersed in and committed to piping and drumming, and surround themselves with the unique community that devotes itself to the Scottish arts. However, in most cases, they speak to the ignorance and lack of understanding about bagpipes and drums. Sometimes they just speak to a human desire to be “in” or “have the inside track”…most of these cases are just funny. 
We recognize though, that as bagpipes gain popularity, more and more people are curious about the instrument, history, expectations, commitment and challenges. While many of the stories are funny…often it just illustrates how much work organizations like ours need to do to educate the public about our art. The original discussion thread is from the “Beer Tent” section of Bob Dunsire Forums, a growing discussion board and community of more than 10,000 pipers, drummers, and celtic music and arts fans around the world. See the discussion likely continuing to grow here>>
“Do you have to be Scottish to play Bagpipes?”
Washington State is sending two pipe bands to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships this year; the Keith Highlanders and Northwest Junior Pipe Band. Northwest Junior Pipe Band is the first youth pipe band from our State ever to attend the World Pipe Band Championships and the first youth band to even travel to Scotland since 1969. There are a lot of indications that piping and drumming is rapidly gaining popularity.
See the great article posted in February about piping and drumming in the Northwest here>>
Shorecrest High School’s Band Program performed “A Long Way to the Top” by AC-DC, and won 1st place, and $10,000.00 for their band program. NWJPB Band Director Kevin Auld leads the Shorecrest Pipers in the band, and members of NWJPB were invited to perform on stage with the band and “Spike and the Impalers” at a December “Twisted Christmas” event.
Congratulations to a great music program! Thanks to The Rock Wood Fired Pizza for sponsoring the contest.
Hear a Podcast of the winners being announced.
See and hear all of the entries at the School of the Rock Contest homepage.
Yep, you read that right. And you don’t want to miss it!
Seattle’s second annual, unforgettable mash-up of Scottish Robbie Burns and Chinese New Year celebration returns February 24th at Ocean City Restaurant, 609 S. Weller in Seattle’s International District. A fundraiser for Northwest Junior Pipe Band and the Washington Chinese Youth Orchestra hosted by the St. Andrews/Caledonian Society of Seattle, this event was one of the highlights of our year in 2007. Gung Haggis Fat Choy has a wildly successful history in Vancouver, BC starting 10 years ago in a living room with 16 attendees and growing into a week-long festival of events with hundreds of attendees.
Visit www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com for more history of the Vancouver events.
The Seattle Event includes performances by the Chinese Youth Orchestra, Northwest Junior Pipe Band, Don Scobie-Bagpiper, Toddish McWong’s Gung Haggis Rap Choy, Robbie Burns Poetry readings, Melody Dance Group youth Chinese dancers, door prizes and raffles. Singalongs of traditional and culturally-tweaked familiar songs, such as “When Asian Eyes Are Smiling”, and “My Haggis Lies Over the Ocean, My Chow Mein Lies Over the Sea.” Traditional Chinese and Scottish Dress, sometimes on the same people.
Northwest Junior Pipe Band will be selling a limited number of tickets. Contact us soon! $35.00 for dinner and show. info@nwjpb.org or 206-508-1261.
More tickets available from the Caledonian Society.
Search using Microsoft’s Live Search and their new site for non-profits, and 10 times per day, NWJPB can earn money for your search.
Play word puzzle games and donate your tickets to NWJPB too!
This requires a “Live ID” or hotmail account, and joining the “Live Search Club”. If you already have one, visit www.searchandgive.com and sign in. Select Northwest Junior Pipe Band by typing in “northwest junior pipe band” under search for a charity. Select us as your charity and check and accept the terms and conditions.
Congratulations to Skye Richendrfer, Director of the Skagit Valley Celtic Arts Foundation in receiving the Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award. The Arts and Heritage Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their significant contributions to the creativity and culture of Washington.
Skye K. Richendrfer, a former piper with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band is the founder of the Celtic Arts Foundation and the Skagit Valley Highland Games, which draws 10,000 attendees annually. His impact in the community is also demonstrated through is work to support the restoration of the historic Lincoln Theatre in downtown Mount Vernon, worked on fundraising to support the McIntyre Hall on the Skagit Valley College campus, and creating the “Celtic Stage” in Mount Vernon’s Edgewater Park.
Skye and the Celtic Arts Foundation have both been long time supporters of Northwest Junior Pipe Band, most recently helping us purchase new drums when the band began experiencing significant growth.
Ok, so it’s not a parable exactly, but it is just about perfect. Forgive the alliteration, I’m working on improving the catchiness of my headlines.
This is one of the best articles about the art, competition, and history of bagpiping in the US that many of us have ever seen. Written by a “former” piper Aaron Jentzen for the Pittshburgh City Paper, it goes into great detail about the Balmoral Classic and the concert where two NWJPB instructors travelled to catch the St. Lawrence O’Toole Pipe Band perform last November.
We highly recommend the article, and encourage you to share it as well. The US is seeing a notable increase in the popularity and talent of bagpiping and Scottish drumming. Kudos to the Pitssburgh City Paper for publishing such a high quality article, with very few of the usual factual errors, jokes about bagpipes or other mistakes we often see in stories about the art of bagpiping.
One quote I really like, which sort of summarizes my experience with piping…I didn’t know anything about it 4 years ago, and didn’t “hate” pipes, but I know I hadn’t been exposed to much “great” piping…so I didn’t have any real appreciation for the talent that surrounds us:
“I’m willing to admit that everybody in the entire world can be divided up — not evenly — into those who love the bagpipes and those who hate the bagpipes,” [George] Balderose [one of the Balmoral Classic organizers] says.
Still, he adds, “I’d like to think that those who hate the bagpipes hate them because they were played badly.”
Zee Grega posted a second blog about NWJPB after the Grade 4 band’s Whidbey Island Highland Games victory, and mentioned a very important part of what NWJPB does; almost unconsciously, as part of our mission to teach youth to play Scottish Bagpipes and drums. NWJPB and other similar youth music organizations give kids a place to belong, something that is more valuable than watching TV or playing a video game, and generally help combat the problems kid face when they’re “bored”. To be a very good piper or drummer takes significant practice, focus, and dedication. NWJPB members spend as much as two or three practices a week together (more during some weeks), most take private lessons besides that, and many practice daily. Since January, there has been 3.5 performances or competitions per month; almost every week. They meet other kids interested in similar things, and many of them visit piping and drumming camps such as the Highland Musical Arts school, Piping Hot Summer Drummer, the Couer d’Alene Summer School of Piping & Drumming, or the Mastery of Scottish Arts School coming up in February 2008. Many NWJPB members attended these schools in 2007. At these schools, you not only get to work with some of the best instructors in the world, who truly love teaching Scottish piping and drumming, but you learn that there are many more youth who love what you love, too.
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