Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming News
For more information, contact George Balderose, Executive Director

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World champion piper Alasdair Gillies.
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2010 Balmoral instructor recitals

Features the instructors for each session, including world champion pipers Alasdair Gillies and Brian Donaldson. All concerts are Thursday at 8pm and free and open to the public. Parking is convenient and free, too.

June 17, Rohnert Park, California. Chalk Hill building, next to the Environmental Technology Center, northwest corner of the campus, Sonoma State University. See campus map + directions.

June 24, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center concert hall, 1600 Grand Avenue, Macalester College.
See campus map (pdf, building 13).

July 1, Naperville, Illinois. Koten Chapel in Kiekhofer Hall, 329 East School Street, North Central College.
See campus map (building 4).

July 15, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Richard E. Rauh Theater, Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, Shady Side Academy.
See campus slideshow + directions.

July 22, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, week 1. Abeloff Center for the Performing Arts, East Stroudsburg University. See campus map (pdf, building 3).

July 29, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, week 2. Abeloff Center for the Performing Arts, East Stroudsburg University. See campus map (pdf, building 3).

November 2009:

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Anthony Masterson receives his EW Littlefield Trophy for Overal piping
from Balmoral School executive director George Balderose.
Photo: Evan Kenepp
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Petey Lowrie with his David L. Peet Memorial Trophy for Overall drumming,
plus first-place drumming trophies for Hornpipe & Jig and MSR.
Photo: Evan Kenepp
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Marshall German with his Clan Donald Trophy and Inveran bagpipes prize
for first place in pìobaireachd piping.
Photo: Evan Kenepp
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Anthony Masterson Wins the 2009 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship
Petey Lowrie Wins the 2009 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship


Sixteen-year-old Anthony Masterson of Houston, Texas wins the third annual 2009 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship, and fourteen year-old Petey Lowrie of Brunswick, Ohio wins the inaugural 2009 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Drumming Championship in all categories.

The national competition, which was open to the public for viewing, took place Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Hillman Center for Performing Arts in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, a private high school in the borough of Fox Chapel, just north of Pittsburgh. It is the only US bagpiping and drumming competition for competitors solely 18 years of age and under. An invitational tournament, entrants are required to meet strict standards based upon amateur upper grade competitive successes.

The competitions are part of The Balmoral Classic, a US celebration of Highland bagpiping and drumming which is held annually in Pittsburgh. The next Balmoral Classic will be held at Hillman Center on November 12 and 13, 2010.

Bagpiping entrants competed in two styles: Pìobaireachd, the classical music of Highland bagpiping, and MSR (marches, strathspeys, and reels), the traditional music of Scotland. Drumming entrants competed in two styles: Hornpipe & Jig and MSR. The Overall is a combination of scores from Pìobaireachd and MSR for piping and Hornpipe & Jig and MSR for drumming.

The competitors were awarded points for tempo, tone, rhythm, execution and expression by piping and drumming adjudicators, senior champions themselves. The piping judges were Brian Donaldson of Cupar, Fife, Scotland; Alasdair Gillies of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and James MacColl of Florence, Oregon. The drumming judge was Gordon Bell of Neptune, New Jersey.

Winners were announced at the Balmoral Classic’s evening concert featuring the five-time juvenile world champion St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas. Trophies, medals, prizes and scholarships were presented to the first to fifth place winners. As Overall winners, Lowrie performed his Hornpipe & Jig set and Masterson performed his MSR set in front of the concert audience.

Masterson received the EW Littlefield, Jr. Trophy and a set of McCallum bagpipes made in Scotland. Lowrie was awarded the David L. Peet Memorial Trophy and his choice of a professional snare drum made by Premier, Pearl, or Andante donated by Henderson Imports of Michigan. Both also won two-week full scholarships to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming. The late
Dave Peet served as executive director of the Ligonier Highland Games for over 40 years. The Balmoral Classic of 2009 was dedicated in Peet’s honor.

Masterson was also the first-place winner for MSR. Sixteen year-old Marshall German of Corona, California, was the first-place winner for pìobaireachd for which he received the Clan Donald Trophy and a set of Inveran hand-crafted bagpipes from Scotland. As second Overall, German received a one-week tuition scholarship to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming.

Support for The Balmoral Classic of 2009 was made possible, in part, from a grant by The Heinz Endowments. Additional support was provided by Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, Henderson’s Pipe & Drum Supplies, Hillman Center for Performing Arts, House of Bagpipes, Inveran Bagpipe Makers, MacLellan Bagpipes, McCallum Bagpipes, Meade Custom Drumming Supplies, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Piper’s Pub, Pipers Choice, Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band, Pittsburgh Snax & Nuts Company, St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh, Sandy St. James, Saturday Light Brigade, Sodexo, The Priory, and Walkers Shortbread.

Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded and maintained in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Celebrating its 31st anniversary in 2009, the school conducts one and two week-long sessions in bagpipe music at college campuses throughout the US each summer, bringing together world-champion Highland piping and drumming instructors for students beginning through advanced. It is the Balmoral School’s mission “to raise the standard and promote the appreciation of bagpipe music in the USA by providing world class instruction, cultivating excellence in youth, presenting innovative musical events, and fostering tradition.”

2009 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship Winners

Overall
1. Anthony Masterson, Houston, Texas
2. Marshall German, Corona, California
3. Kyle Rothschild-Mancinelli, Woodside, California
4. Matthew Davis, Barto, Pennsylvania
5. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut

Pìobaireachd
1. Marshall German, Corona, California
2. Anthony Masterson, Houston, Texas
3. Matthew Davis, Barto, Pennsylvania
4. Geordie Hall, Duncannon, Pennsylvania
5. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington

MSR
1. Anthony Masterson, Houston, Texas
2. Kyle Rothschild-Mancinelli, Woodside, California
3. Daniel Pisowlski, Canterbury, Connecticut
4. Marshall German, Corona, California
5. Andrew Coulter, Houston, Texas

2009 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship Winners

Overall
1. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
2. Nader Girgawy, Bellaire, Texas
3. Kevin Yang, Houston, Texas
4. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
5. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts

Hornpipe & Jig
1. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
2. Nader Girgawy, Bellaire, Texas
3. Kevin Yang, Houston, Texas
4. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
5. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio

MSR
1. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
2. Nader Girgawy, Bellaire, Texas
3. Kevin Yang, Houston, Texas
4. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
5. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts

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See text files of
competition rules, prize listing, judge bios, and this news release.

October 2009:


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St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas.
Photo: Tony Fisher
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St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas.
Photo: Tony Fisher
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Five-time world champion pipe band debuts Pittsburgh concert Nov. 7

The five-time juvenile world champion St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas will perform for the first time in Pittsburgh on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Their 8pm concert caps the festivities for The Balmoral Classic, the US’s only national bagpiping celebration.

St. Thomas’ features nearly 40 pipers, drummers, dancers, guitarists, keyboardists, and fiddlers performing the traditional and contemporary music and dance of Scotland and Ireland. Two award-winning albums by the band, Impressions (2004) and Dedication (2000), are based upon their concerts. Both CDs were voted by the readers of Piper & Drummer magazine as “Pipe Band Album of the Year.”

Since the founding of its pipe band in the 1960s, St. Thomas’ won the juvenile world champion title in 2006, 2004, 1998, 1995, and 1985. An annual competition since 1930, the World Pipe Band Championships are held in Glasgow, Scotland with over 200 pipe bands and 8,000 pipers and drummers competing each August. The juvenile category is reserved for pipe bands whose members are under 18 years of age.

St. Thomas’ pipe band is directed by Lyric Todkill, a 2003 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s bachelor of arts bagpipe program. Lyric was the first CMU graduate of Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies, head of the university’s piping program and record holder of the most world bagpiping championships in history. Lyric joined St. Thomas’ faculty in 2005 and led its pipe band to its 2006 junior world championship. Initially a student of Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming, today Lyric is a member of its summer faculty and board of directors.

Members of the pipe band will also be interviewed and perform on Saturday Light Brigade, an award-winning family radio show, the morning of the concert from 10:35 to 10:55 AM. Saturday Light Brigade is broadcast live every Saturday from 6 AM to noon from their studio at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Their shows may be heard online at slbradio.org and on six radio stations in western Pennsylvania, including WRCT 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh.

Held annually in Pittsburgh, in addition to a concert featuring award-winning performers on the bagpipe, The Balmoral Classic also features invitational national championships in bagpiping and snare drumming for competitors age 18 years and younger. It is the only national Scottish piping and drumming competition for youth in the US.

All Balmoral Classic events will held at Hillman Center for Performing Arts on the Fox Chapel senior school campus of Shady Side Academy. The Balmoral Classic begins with a welcoming reception on Friday, November 6 from 7 to 9 PM. The piping and drumming competitions are held on Saturday, November 7 from 9 AM to 5 PM and are free for public viewing. St. Thomas’ concert begins at 8 PM. Parking is free.

Concert and reception tickets are available from Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming at 412-323-2707. The reserved seating concert tickets may also be purchased online from ProArtsTickets.org.

The Balmoral Classic of 2009 is made possible, in part, with support from Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming, Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, Inveran Bagpipe Makers, The Heinz Endowments, Hillman Center for the Arts and Shady Side Academy, McCallum Bapgipes, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Walkers Shortbread, and 84 Lumber.

Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming, the organizer of The Balmoral Classic, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Founded in 1978, each summer Balmoral School holds classes on Scottish piping and drumming on college campuses throughout the US.

More information about The Balmoral Classic and St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band is available at BalmoralClassic.org and stespb.org.

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Balmoral School graduate news

Jori Chisholm places first in professional piobaireachd and MSR solo piping competitions at 2009 Las Vegas Celtic Gathering and Highland Games

Kyle Rothschild places first in Grade 1 MSR and hornpipe/jig solo piping competitions at 2009 Sacramento Valley Scottish Games and Gathering

Nicholas Theriault places first in Grade 2 MSR solo piping and hornpipe/jig solo side drumming at 2009 WUSPBA, Northern Branch Solo Competitions and first in Grade 2 MSR and piobaireachd at 2009 Mt. Tamalpais Solo Piping and Drumming Competition

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Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming logo
Balmoral School logo

Balmoral Classic log
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Other piping and drumming news

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Carnegie Mellon is home to nation’s only graduating bagpipe major
Thursday, May 7, 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette