We have another appearance coming up on King 5 News at Noon Wednesday 3/17, but the last week has been very busy for Northwest Junior Pipe Band. Here are some of the media glimpses we’ve found of the band this week as Seattle celebrates Irish Week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.

NWJPB on Q13 with Kaci Aitchison on 3/16

NWJPB on Komo News 4 at the St Patrick’s Dash 3/14

NWJPB on King 5 TV from 3/14

NWJPB in the Seattle PI at the St Patrick’s Dash 3/14

NWJPB Twitpic from @KaciAitchison

NWJPB piper leads the parade in the Seattle Times at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade 3/13 (yes, the piper is also the bass drummer from the Seattle PI picture)

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We found this video after our return from Scotland.  We’ll continue searching for video, pictures and stories, because one thing about our trip to Scotland that has many of our members eager to go back again, was the welcoming attitude and the warm, open arms the people of Glasgow, Perth, North Berwick, and Crieff, the Piping Live! Festival organizers, and the RSPBA and the organizers of the World Championship events showed us on our first visit to Scotland.  Passers-by were talking about the band’s talent and using phrases like “I thought they were Scots,” reporters, photographers, and the BBC seemed to be watching us at every event, and we were often asked to pose for photos. 

The Evening Times / The Herald published this video on YouTube, which featured NWJPB performing in George Square as the opener to the story about the week long Piping Live! festival.

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August 16^th, the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow Scotland. The day NWJPB had been planning,  fundraising, and practicing for for years for had finally arrived. There is no pipe band competition like the World Championships anywhere. The field was enormous; there were 224 pipe bands competing and 23 bands in NWJPB’s grade, Novice Juvenile. There was a light rain falling occasionally, but for the most part the sky stayed free of it. The band’s qualifier started at 9:00 AM so the band arrived, unloaded instruments and got to work tuning up and working through the music. Seeking out competition arena 4, the band approached the final tuning area to play their three tunes that comprise the “MAP” tune set, or a required set of marches all Novice and Grade 4 bands play in order to qualify for the championship round, when they then play a longer set of tunes.

Performing in the Qualfier

Northwest Junior Pipe Band placed third in the qualifying round, and only one point behind the two bands who tied for first place in “Qualifier 2″ which included 11 bands. NWJPB advanced on to the finals feeling jubilant at the recognition of their hard work and clean sound.

NWJPB goes on to the championships

White Spot Pipe Band was there at the qualifier to cheer on NWJPB, as were many of the Keith Highlanders Pipe Band. Some NWJPB members went to watch the Keith Highlanders compete in their qualifier round, in which they were placed first by both MAP judges in Grade 4B. The next stop for NWJPB members was the Juvenile competition to hear White Spot  compete in their field of 10 Juvenile bands.  White Spot put on a solid performance in Arena 5 at 10:30.  Many members also went and watched the Keith compete. 

NWJPB performed again at 12:12 PM.  It was a strong performance and the band was hopeful. The rest of the day was spent watching many of the bands around Glasgow Green, especially the Grade 1 bands, including the exciting new “Spirit of Scotland” pipe band with some of the best known names in piping and drumming that weren’t in bands, including Jacquie and Jamie Troy, Craig Calhoun (Hoss, creator of Hosbilt tenor and bass drums) on bass, Roddy MacLeod, John Fisher, Alasdair Gillies and more. The band was one of 5 Grade 1 bands to go on to the final round of the championships out of 14 to attempt it, but they did it with only a week of practice together as a band. Congratulations to Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for being the obvious winner in the Medley, according to many who heard them play. Some members also stayed around to hear the other Novice bands compete, and the ultimate Novice World Champion Bucksburn and District was an amazingly good Novice band who played without any noticeable mistakes, as well as an impressive performance musically.

Thanks also to the people of Scotland for opening their hearts and arms to the youth of NWJPB. There were literally hundreds of comments overheard and given directly to us at each of our performances and competitions about how talented the band was, and photographers and newspaper reporters almost everywhere we performed and competed.  Many told the band’s leadership that the kids had a great chance at it. We’ve got many more stories to share, keep an eye on our blog to get them over the next couple weeks or so, or join our mailing list by visiting our contacts page.

NWJPB lead instructors and musicians at the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships

Northwest Junior Pipe Band wins fifth

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Northwest Junior Pipe Band struggled through a grueling but fun weekend at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games Friday July 25th, through Sunday July 27^th for the close to our North American season. NWJPB Grade IV had it’s most successful season ever at this level, with 4 first place, two second place, and 1 third place finishes. Grade V placed 1^st in 4 events and 3^rd at one. The growth in talent and success in competitions with the best bands in the Northwest has been exciting to watch.

First up was the Friday evening performance where NWJPB almost filled the enormous “stage” on the grass in front of the grandstands, the largest pipe band to perform Friday night. The picture below is them preparing to march in.

Immediately after the performance two pub piping competitors ran over to play a jig and hornpipe in front of the Pub at the amateur Jig and Hornpipe competition for pipers up to Grade 3. They ended up in 1^st and 2^nd place.

Saturday morning at 8:00 am the solo competitions started. Grade 4 side drumming: Morgan won 1^st place, Amber 3^rd place, Steven 5^th place. Grade 3 piping, 2/4 March; Alexander 6^th place. In Grade 4 piping, Matt A placed 2^nd in group “B” and Sam placed 6^th in group “A”. Congratulations to our Grade 5 drummers Josie, Robbie, Thomas and DJ for competing in a tough class of Grade 4 drummers. It takes a lot of courage to compete every time, but even more so when you’re competing at a higher grade level.

Alexander also placed 3^rd in Grade 2 tenor drumming. NWJPB entered two Grade 4 Quartets, Matt A, Matt M, Alexander and Aaron’s quartet won first place, and Kevin Auld’s quartet with Katie, Devon and Elliot took 4^th out of 10 quartets who signed up, and 7 who actually competed. NWJPB has won 1^st place in Grade IV quartets for the past three years at these games. Grade V performed well on Saturday, winning 1^st place and getting good comments.  Grade 5 is preparing to compete in the below picture:

Grade 4 competed against 9 bands in Quick March Medley (similar to what we will play in Scotland). We ended up in third place against two other bands who are going to the World Championships this year. Keith Highlander pipers were also very strong in the Quick March Medley at the Skagit Valley Games, when we won on ensemble preference. They were just as strong if not stronger Saturday. White Spot Pipe Band has been pushing us while we pushed them all season and took second.

The youngest 5 band members of 22 bands at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games are pictured below:

At Massed Bands for closing ceremonies, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro asked if there were any kids 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 and younger. When he got to “9 or 10″ FIVE northwest Junior Pipe Band members came forward. “I’m Robbie, I’m 9, and I play with Northwest Junior Pipe Band.” “I’m Lochlynn, I’m 9 and I play with Northwest Junior Pipe Band.” “I’m Amber, I’m 9 and I play with Northwest Junior Pipe Band.” “I’m Josie, I’m 10, and I play with Northwest Junior Pipe Band” “I’m Evelyn, I’m 9, and I play with Northwest Junior Pipe Band”. These 5 were the youngest performers out of the 22 bands signed up for the games Saturday. It was a very proud moment for us at NWJPB, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy it. Each child received 5.00 and were told not to share it with their parents.

After the evening massed bands (including the release of white “doves of peace” during amazing grace to highlight support for the troops…YouTube video), the Bucketmen changed clothes and blew the crowd away at the main stage outside the pub at the South entrance. The bleachers were filled and the path behind the bleachers was almost blocked with people watching and cheering them on. It was a very energetic performance, and the Bucketmen were immediately invited back to perform again next year.

Sunday morning brought more solo competitions beginning at 8:00 am. Congratulations to Brendan, new to NWJPB just last May, for his 6^th place finish in the Grade 5 2/4 March. Aaron won 4^th in Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel. Amber won 1^st in Grade 4 side drumming, winning the games aggregate trophy for grade 4 drumming. Morgan placed 6^th in Grade 4 drumming, and Alexander won 1^st in Grade 3 Strathespey and Reel, and 2^nd in the Jig competition, gaining the games aggregate trophy for Grade 3 piping. He also won 5^th place in Grade 2 tenor drumming. Alumni Grade 1 piper Jonathan Farrell placed 5^th in the Hornpipe and Jig. Alumni Stephen Farrell won the Grade 1 Hornpipe & Jig in side drumming, and gained the games aggregate for Grade 1 side drumming.

The weather threatened and clouds looked menacing, but the rain held off for the most part, maybe due to the positive attitudes that flowed freely at the event.

The Grade 5 drum corps followed the White Spot Grade 4 drum corps in the drum fanfare. It was a good competition, and Grade 5 played well in the entertaining salute, but placed 2^nd.

Grade 5 competed with the required minimum pipers, and played the best we’ve heard them all season long. Ben said “I don’t have anything negative to say about your performance today, great job.” It’s been so great to watch the progress of the Grade 5 band this year, both with new members joining and rapidly learning the music, and overall as the team learned to play together and got better at each practice, finally culminating in the best performance of the season at the biggest games in the region. NWJPB Grade 4 took the field with professionalism and intensity for the Selection Medley and played very well, placing 2^nd of 9 pipe bands and winning best drum corps.

The top three bands both days are all going to the World Pipe Band Championships this year, so the intensity and talent of the competition was very high. Keith Highlanders Grade 4 will compete in 4B in Scotland, White Spot will compete Juvenile, and NWJPB is competing Novice Juvenile. NWJPB meets at SeaTac airport at 4:30 AM Tuesday morning, arrives Wednesday morning and competes at North Berwick Highland Games at 10:00 in the morning on Saturday August 9^th.

After the games, as our family was preparing to go home, we had someone come over to tell two stories about the community’s response to our band. First, they have a friend that was planning a trip to watch the World Championships, but when we posted our competition plans in Scotland, they changed their itinerary so they could come and watch us perform at most of the competitions. Next, he was working out at a fitness club before the highland games, just chatting with a person he met there about plans for the day. When he told him he was going to the Highland Games, the person asked “Have you heard about Northwest Junior Pipe Band, the only youth band from America going to the World Championships?” “Yes, that band is bringing a lot of pride to our community” was his reply.

NWJPB can’t wait to hop on the plane Tuesday.  We’re off to the final 4 competitions of our season.  The band will perform at George Square as well as participate in the international parade of bands on Friday before the World Championships.

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NWJPB closes a busy week filled with multiple performances, today: appearing LIVE on King 5 this morning, appearing on Northwest Cable News, and getting a special “web” version of a performance posted on King5.com.  The video features our newest instructor and recent graduate leading the band; Ben Little, two of our newest pipers and three of our most experienced pipers, and several members from our Grade 4 drum corps.   The story played live, then again at 12:40 on the King 5 noon news.

Photographer Ellen M. Banner from the Seattle Times took the below photo of one of our 11 year old pipers and posted it online in a photo album of shots from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

We have pipers scheduled to perform on the air on “The Ron & Don Show” on Kiro 710 AM, available streaming live on their website  by clicking the  710 Kiro icon under “On the Air”.

Part of our appearance at the parade made it to YouTube as well. We were the biggest bagpipe band at the parade. It’s hard to believe we had just a dozen members 3 or 4 years ago.  It’s even harder to believe that we’re going to be the first youth bagpipe band from Washington in nearly 40 years to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships!

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The Northwest Junior Pipe Band 2007 Grade 4 Competition medley recorded at practice a couple weeks ago has been set to a video promoting NWJPB’s “Shop for Scotland” fundraising campaign.  Northwest Junior Pipe Band is the first juvenile band from Washington State to plan a trip to Scotland since 1969.  Check out the video! Shop for NWJPB with the link from our Merchandise page to Giveline!

www.myspace.com/nwjpb

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I’ve heard people suggest that kids shouldn’t start with a pipe band until they’re 10 or 12.  We’ve removed the 8 year old minimum requirement from our recruiting statement because we’ve seen some very talented kids joining the band, or starting starting lessons younger and younger.  Techniques for teaching kids at younger ages are definitely different with a 5 year old than a 12 year olds, but there’s no question in my mind that the earlier you start on an instrument, the better it can be for the youth in the long run.  Obviously, attention spans vary and some very young kids may not want to continue, but I believe you should give every youth an opportunity to start, whenever they’re ready.

See this amazing video of 2 and 4 year old drummers:

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NWJPB’s first Scotland Fundraiser at “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” at Ocean City was a huge success! There were more than 120 people in attendance at the “inaugural” Seattle Gung Haggis Fat Choy event; a unique merger of Robbie Burns night and Chinese New Year. NWJPB marched in with some favorite marches, doing a great job and wowing the crowd. We were then treated to an amazing performance by two youth musicians from the Chinese Symphony. “Toddish McWong” performed on the accordion (as well as the “Gung Haggis Rap Choy” performed with the Bag’N'Pipe hoppers drummer). We were led in several fun sing-alongs including “When Asian Eyes are Smiling” as well as “My Haggis Lies Over the Ocean.”

Everyone was laughing, clapping along with the music from all the musicians, and several people commented on NWJPB’s impressive sound. I talked a bit about the plans to go to Scotland in 2008 and what we need to raise in order to accomplish that goal. Connor R. and Matt A. “passed the hat” around the audience while the band played. The hat contributions combined with Todd Wong’s posters of the Chinese Zodiac which were “given away” for a donation to the band, we raised $677!! What a great first big boost to the Scotland trip! Next Stop, April 14^th Concert and Silent Auction!!

The money is going directly into the Scotland savings account. This is enough to at least cover almost two weeks worth of lodging for two members if we get similar rates that we’ve been hearing for University dorm lodging!

Everyone played very well, while laughter, pride and enthusiasm were shared by all.

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The Northwest Junior Pipe Band has been invited by The Caledonian & St. Andrews Society of Seattle to participate in the first ever Gung Haggis Fat Choy event in the Seattle area.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy has been a remarkably successful, exciting event in Vancouver BC, featured on CBC Television and has grown to four events over a two week period celebrating cultural diversity and raising money for important charitable causes. The event is a unique blend of Scottish culture and traditional Robbie Burns celebrations with Chinese New Year and culture.

The Seattle Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner information:

• Sunday, February 18^th
  
• 5:00 - 9:00 PM
  
• Ocean City Restaurant, 609 S. Weller St in the International District
  
• Tickets: US $35.00 and include dinner
  
• Contact Bill McFadden (206) 364-6025 to purchase tickets
  
• Toddish McWong
  performs Robert Burns’ “Address tae the Haggis” rap
  
• Northwest Junior Pipe Band
  
• The Bag’n'Pipe Hoppers, “Highland Bagpipes & Beats like you don’t know…”
  
• Other entertainers
  

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