2005: A global celebration of the diversity of piping music will take place in Glasgow from 8th until 14th August, 2005 as more than 5000 of the world’s best and emerging pipers descend upon the city for the second year of Piping Live, The Glasgow International Piping Festival.
For one week across nine different venues and outdoor spaces, Piping Live will showcase the best that international piping has to offer with over two dozen different nationalities and piping traditions being represented. From the traditional highland bagpipes to techno piping from Australia, the Uilleann pipes from Ireland, ceilidhs, a film festival and the culmination of the event in the World Pipe Band Championships at Glasgow Green, there is something for everyone.
Organised by The Glasgow International Piping festival Ltd, the event is being sponsored by Glenfiddich with core funding coming from Glasgow City Council, EventScotland, The Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Enterprise, and The European Regional Development Fund with support from The National Piping Centre.
This year’s exciting programme was unveiled at a launch event today at The National Piping Centre in Glasgow by Lorne Cousin, who toured the world as the piper on Madonna’s Reinvention tour, Councillor Alex Mosson, Spokesperson for City Marketing and Events and Piping Live director Roddy MacLeod.
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall will again play host to three of the biggest concerts of the festival. The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, which is made up of fifty of the best young pipers and drummers from across the country, will perform a special one off show with their Spanish peers, The Real Banda De Gaita on Tuesday 9th August, while The Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band’s Annual Concert will take place on Wednesday 10th August featuring the Grade One St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band from Eire.
The Celtic Piping Night will return this year on Thursday 11th August boasting another incredible line-up which features three of the world’s foremost artists performing alongside one of piping’s rising stars. The four times world champions, The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band (Canada), will play alongside double gold medallist, Fred Morrison (Scotland), who was also voted instrumentalist of the year at the 2004 Scottish Traditional Music Awards and Galicia’s multi award winning Xose Manuel Budino. Joining them on the night will be one of the brightest new stars of piping, Jarlath Henderson (Ireland), who at eighteen years old has already performed the uillellean pipes around the world and was named BBC Radio 2’s Young Traditional Musician of the year in 2003.
The Arches will be used as a Piping Live venue for the first time this year and will present an edgy, contemporary night with The Mark Saul Band (Australia) and Last year’s festival poster boy, The Finlay McDonald Band (Scotland) on Friday 12th August. Dubbed ‘the techno piper’, Mark Saul’s virtuoso bagpipes are joined by high-energy fiddle, dynamic acoustic guitar, live drums and untamed Celtic electro beats that will move the Arches crowd to dance all night!
Finlay McDonald returns this year with his full band and signature jazz, funk sound showcasing the blistering traditional and contemporary tunes on pipes and fiddle that made his performance such a hit in 2004.
Visitors can also take advantage of the free entertainment which will take place against the stunning backdrop of the city’s George Square as well as at The National Piping Centre’s street cafe. There will be performances from the likes of Na Tri Seadan (Scotland) and Sumava (Czech Republic) as well as a presentation from the Edinburgh Tattoo and a Trade exhibition.
Another new addition to this year’s festival is the film strand provided by the Glasgow Film Festival which will take place at the Glasgow Film Theatre, The Grosvenor Cinema in Ashton Lane and the UCG. A whole host of Scottish films, including The Wickerman, Brigadoon, Braveheart, Mrs Brown and Whisky Galore will be shown as part of the festival.
Tickets for all events are available from today by calling The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Box Office on 0141 353 8000 (all ticket prices s.t.b.f). For more information about Piping Live please visit http://www.pipingfestival.co.uk
Guest artists in 2005:
Mark Saul Band. A Celtic dance band with the dynamism of live musicians, the groove of a great DJ and the “bring-on-the-party” sound of the bagpipes leading the way. After years playing “non traditional” music in rock, pop and dance bands, internationally renowned bagpipe player and composer Mark Saul has returned to his folk roots. The band will perform music from the highly acclaimed electronic-folk album “Mixolydian” (Greentrax 2004). Mark Saul’s virtuoso bagpipes are joined by high-energy fiddle, dynamic acoustic guitar, live drums and untamed Celtic electro beats that will move you to dance!
Jarlath Henderson, only 19 years old from Tyrone, Northern Ireland, is a three times 'All-Ireland Champion' Uilleann Piper (the Irish bagpipe). Jarlath teaches music with the renowned Armagh Pipers Club. He has both taught and performed at a number of international piping festivals on television and radio. In December 2003 he won the BBC 'Young Folk Musician Of The Year', a major UK award. In addition to playing uilleann pipes, Jarlath also plays flute, whistle and guitar and has a keen interest in traditional song.
Xosé Manuel Budiño started his musical career at the beginning of the 1980’s in the Pipe School of Moaña. In 1991 he formed the band Fol de Niu and throughout his career has collaborated with the likes of Altan and Capercaillie. An incredibly skilled piper, Xosé has received many accolades throughout his piping career and in 1991; he received the McCallan Trophy for first prize in Galician Music. He has also represented Galicia at the awards countless times.
The Real Banda De Gaita: The Royal Bagpipe Band of the County Council of Ourense, Galicia is made up of over 15,000 pupils who study the secrets of the bagpipe. As well as giving the students a place to channel their expressions, The Real Banda De Gaita aims to give prestige to the bagpipe as an instrument and as a national symbol of Galicia.
The band’s acknowledgement has been universal, having taken its music to different places worldwide. The Real Banda De Gaita has won countless awards and is very highly regarded in the piping world.
St.Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band: The St.Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band was formed in a small hall in Dublin City Centre back in 1910. They were one of the earliest Pipe bands to ever broadcast in Scotland in 1925 and since then have remained pioneers in their field being the first Irish band to visit England and America. They have also won every major award for piping and drumming in Ireland and in 2004, the band won prizes in all five major piping championships for the first time in its history.
The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band is recognized as one of the great pipe bands of the 20th century. From the mid to late 1980's, SFU's consistent success at the World Pipe Band Championships was next to that of the famous Strathclyde Police Pipe Band of the 60s. SFU's three World Pipe Band Championships in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and the World Drum Corps Championship in 1999 were the crowning achievements of an almost 20 year drive to the top.
Fred Morrison was, from the very beginning, immersed in the atmosphere of Uist piping. He was taught by his father, an excellent piper from the Clann Seonaidh Aonghais Ruaidh, of South Uist, whose tutoring was based wholly on the cainntearachd, a unique singing style used to teach piping, where specific notes and rhythms are given particular sounds. During his Piping career, Fred has won most of the major piping competitions in Scotland, including Gold medals at Oban and Inverness. He also obtained the MacAllan trophy at Lorient on 5 occasions. Fred has performed and recorded as a member of Clan Alba with Dick Gaughan and spent 3 years touring and recording with Capercaillie. He is also the founder member of Gaelic music group Ceolas.
Na Tri Seadan: Early Highland pipe tunes are being reunited with old Highland dance rhythms by a 15-strong band of pipers under the direction of musician and pipe maker Hamish Moore.
Na Tri Seadan (The Three Treasures) mount an exciting, high energy stage show that helps win more ordinary Scots over to their own musical culture, and to take it beyond Scotland, to international audiences.
Breabach are a young, up and coming traditional 5 piece band based in Glasgow. Breabach consist of pipes, whistles, fiddle, guitar and percussion. All members are either graduates or students on the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama's BA Scottish Music course or Strathclyde University's Applied Music course. Their music is fresh, unique and entertaining.
The Finlay MacDonald Band brings together the tightest of jazz and funk grooves with blistering traditional and contemporary tunes on pipes and fiddle. The band has had its current line up for three years and features Finlay MacDonald (Pipes), Chris Stout (Fiddle), Kevin MacKenzie (Guitar), Quee MacArthur (Bass) and Fergus MacKenzie (Drums).The Finlay MacDonald Band has been forging a reputation as one of the hottest live acts to come out of Scotland and are in demand all over Europe for Festivals, one-off gigs and full tours.
The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland was formed in 2002 by The National Piping Centre in Glasgow, with assistance from the Scottish Arts Council's National Lottery Fund. The band, under the direction of Paul Warren, are a non-competing, performance-orientated band intended to nurture and develop the talents of Scotland's best young pipers and drummers. They aim to bring the sometimes disparate strands of the highland piping world closer together and also to bring the art form to a wider non-piping audience. The band is made up of fifty of the best young pipers and drummers from across Scotland, with ages ranging from 12 to 18. The pipers in the band come from both solo piping and pipe band backgrounds with the band giving them the opportunity to explore other musical styles.
The Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band was formed in 1968 and takes its name from one of the last remaining Highland Associations in Glasgow. Winners of the Grade II "Champion of Champions" in 1986, the band’s annual concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is always an anticipated event. | 
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