Balmoral
School of Piping & Drumming News
For more information, contact George Balderose, Executive Director
November 2010:
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship overall and pìobaireachd winner Joe Stewart of Seattle, Washington with his Ambassador Dan Rooney Trophy, Clan Donald Trophy, and hand-crafted Inveran bagpipes. Photo: Ann Stewart
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2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship overall, MSR, and H&J winner Quinn McCormack of Pembroke, Massachusetts with his David L. Peet Memorial Trophy and Premier HTS 800 snare drum. Photo: Weatherly Schiele
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2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship MSR winner Daniel Pisowloski of Canterbury, Connecticut with his EW Littlefield Trophy and McCallum bagpipes. Photo: Weatherly Schiele
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Joseph Stewart Wins the 2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship
Quinn McCormack Wins the 2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship
Sixteen-year-old Joseph Stewart of Seattle, Washington wins the 2010 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship and fourteen-year old Quinn McCormack of Pembroke, Massachusetts wins the 2010 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Drumming Championship.
The national competitions, which were open for public attendance, took place Saturday, November 13, 2010 at Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
They are the only solo bagpiping and bagpipe band drumming competitions in the US exclusively for those under 18 years of age. Entrants were required to apply and 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 held annually in Pittsburgh. The fifth Balmoral Classic is scheduled for November 11 and 12, 2011.
Bagpiping entrants competed in two styles: Pìobaireachd, the classical music of Highland bagpiping, and MSR (march, strathspey, and reel), the traditional bagpipe competition medley. 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 Willie McCallum of Scotland, Donald McBride of the Republic of Ireland, and Andrew Carlisle of Northern Ireland. The snare drumming judge was Jim Sim of Peotone, Illinois.
Winners were announced at Balmoral Classic’s evening concert featuring the performance ensemble Battlefield Band of Scotland in a farewell concert by the band's remaining founder Alan Reid.
Trophies, medals, prizes and scholarships were presented to the first- through fifth-place winners. As Overall winners, McCormack performed his Hornpipe & Jig set and Stewart performed his MSR set in front of the concert audience. Battlefield Band also invited McCormack on stage to accompany them to a set of brisk reels. Stewart received the Ambassador Dan Rooney Trophy and a two-week full scholarship to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming. McCormack was awarded the David L. Peet Memorial Trophy, a Premier HTS 800 snare drum donated by Henderson Imports of Traverse City, Michigan, and a two-week full scholarship to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming.
Stewart was also the first-place winner for Pìobaireachd and received the Clan Donald Trophy and a set of hand-crafted Inveran bagpipes from Scotland. Seventeen year-old Daniel Pisowloski of Canterbury, Connecticut, was the first-place winner for MSR in piping for which he received the E.W. Littlefield, Jr. Trophy and a set of McCallum bagpipes from Scotland.
Support for the Balmoral Classic of 2010 was made possible, in part, by grants from Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, The Heinz Endowments, RK Mellon Family Foundation, and the Sage Foundation. Additional support was provided by 84 Lumber, Archive Movie Network, Birdsfoot Golf Club, Bruegger’s, Caliban Book Shop, Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Classic Equestrian Riding School, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Henderson’s Pipe & Drum Supplies, Inveran Bagpipe Makers, Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh, Irish Design Center, Ligonier Highland Games, MacLellan Bagpipes, McCallum Bagpipes, Max’s Allegheny Tavern, Meade Custom Drumming Supplies, Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle Irish Pub, Peppi’s, Piper’s Pub, Pipers Choice, Pipers Cove, Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band, Pittsburgh Flight Training Center, Pittsburgh Police Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, Pittsburgh Snax & Nut Company, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Trophy Company, St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh, St. Brendan’s Crossing, Sandy St. James, Scott’s Highland Services, Soergel Orchards, The Claddagh Irish Pub, The Parador, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Priory, Radelet McCarthy Polletta Architects, The Saturday Light Brigade, and Thistle & Pine.
Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization founded and maintained in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 1978. 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.”
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship Winners
Overall
1. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
2. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
3. Marshall German, Corona, California
4. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
5. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pìobaireachd
1. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
2. Marshall German, Corona, California
3. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
4. Aaron Stone, Auburn, Washington
5. Joseph Biggs, Princeton, Illinois
MSR
1. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
2. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
3. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
5. Marshall German, Corona, California
2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship Winners
Overall
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
5. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
Hornpipe & Jig
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
5. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
MSR
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
5. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship Entrants
1. Joseph Biggs, Princeton, Ilinois
2. Kirk Brunson, Derry, New Hampshire
3. Matthew Davis, Barto, Pennsylvania
4. Marshall German, Corona, California
5. John-Patrick Hanna, Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
6. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
7. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
9. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
10. Aaron Stone, Auburn, Washington
11. Tyler Tagliaferro, Medina, Ohio
12. Nicholas Theriault, Danville, California
13. Billy Woods, Lyons, Colorado
2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship Entrants
1. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
2. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
3. Andrew Koupal, San Ramon, California
4. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
5. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
6. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington:
November 2009:
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 Snare 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 Snare 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 Snare 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
See text files of competition rules, prize listing, judge bios, and this news release.
October 2009:
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.
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
Images for print
300ppi cmyk
Balmoral School logo
Balmoral Classic logo
Other piping and drumming news
Carnegie Mellon is home to nation’s only graduating bagpipe major
Thursday, May 7, 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For more information, contact George Balderose, Executive Director
November 2010:
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship overall and pìobaireachd winner Joe Stewart of Seattle, Washington with his Ambassador Dan Rooney Trophy, Clan Donald Trophy, and hand-crafted Inveran bagpipes. Photo: Ann Stewart
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2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship overall, MSR, and H&J winner Quinn McCormack of Pembroke, Massachusetts with his David L. Peet Memorial Trophy and Premier HTS 800 snare drum. Photo: Weatherly Schiele
Download image for print (300 ppi, 2520 x 1817 pixels, cmyk, 7.7 Mb, jpg)
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship MSR winner Daniel Pisowloski of Canterbury, Connecticut with his EW Littlefield Trophy and McCallum bagpipes. Photo: Weatherly Schiele
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Joseph Stewart Wins the 2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship
Quinn McCormack Wins the 2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship
Sixteen-year-old Joseph Stewart of Seattle, Washington wins the 2010 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship and fourteen-year old Quinn McCormack of Pembroke, Massachusetts wins the 2010 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Drumming Championship.
The national competitions, which were open for public attendance, took place Saturday, November 13, 2010 at Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
They are the only solo bagpiping and bagpipe band drumming competitions in the US exclusively for those under 18 years of age. Entrants were required to apply and 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 held annually in Pittsburgh. The fifth Balmoral Classic is scheduled for November 11 and 12, 2011.
Bagpiping entrants competed in two styles: Pìobaireachd, the classical music of Highland bagpiping, and MSR (march, strathspey, and reel), the traditional bagpipe competition medley. 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 Willie McCallum of Scotland, Donald McBride of the Republic of Ireland, and Andrew Carlisle of Northern Ireland. The snare drumming judge was Jim Sim of Peotone, Illinois.
Winners were announced at Balmoral Classic’s evening concert featuring the performance ensemble Battlefield Band of Scotland in a farewell concert by the band's remaining founder Alan Reid.
Trophies, medals, prizes and scholarships were presented to the first- through fifth-place winners. As Overall winners, McCormack performed his Hornpipe & Jig set and Stewart performed his MSR set in front of the concert audience. Battlefield Band also invited McCormack on stage to accompany them to a set of brisk reels. Stewart received the Ambassador Dan Rooney Trophy and a two-week full scholarship to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming. McCormack was awarded the David L. Peet Memorial Trophy, a Premier HTS 800 snare drum donated by Henderson Imports of Traverse City, Michigan, and a two-week full scholarship to Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming.
Stewart was also the first-place winner for Pìobaireachd and received the Clan Donald Trophy and a set of hand-crafted Inveran bagpipes from Scotland. Seventeen year-old Daniel Pisowloski of Canterbury, Connecticut, was the first-place winner for MSR in piping for which he received the E.W. Littlefield, Jr. Trophy and a set of McCallum bagpipes from Scotland.
Support for the Balmoral Classic of 2010 was made possible, in part, by grants from Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, The Heinz Endowments, RK Mellon Family Foundation, and the Sage Foundation. Additional support was provided by 84 Lumber, Archive Movie Network, Birdsfoot Golf Club, Bruegger’s, Caliban Book Shop, Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Classic Equestrian Riding School, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Henderson’s Pipe & Drum Supplies, Inveran Bagpipe Makers, Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh, Irish Design Center, Ligonier Highland Games, MacLellan Bagpipes, McCallum Bagpipes, Max’s Allegheny Tavern, Meade Custom Drumming Supplies, Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle Irish Pub, Peppi’s, Piper’s Pub, Pipers Choice, Pipers Cove, Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band, Pittsburgh Flight Training Center, Pittsburgh Police Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, Pittsburgh Snax & Nut Company, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Trophy Company, St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh, St. Brendan’s Crossing, Sandy St. James, Scott’s Highland Services, Soergel Orchards, The Claddagh Irish Pub, The Parador, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Priory, Radelet McCarthy Polletta Architects, The Saturday Light Brigade, and Thistle & Pine.
Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization founded and maintained in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 1978. 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.”
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship Winners
Overall
1. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
2. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
3. Marshall German, Corona, California
4. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
5. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pìobaireachd
1. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
2. Marshall German, Corona, California
3. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
4. Aaron Stone, Auburn, Washington
5. Joseph Biggs, Princeton, Illinois
MSR
1. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
2. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
3. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
5. Marshall German, Corona, California
2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship Winners
Overall
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
5. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
Hornpipe & Jig
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
5. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
MSR
1. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
2. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington
3. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
4. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
5. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
2010 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship Entrants
1. Joseph Biggs, Princeton, Ilinois
2. Kirk Brunson, Derry, New Hampshire
3. Matthew Davis, Barto, Pennsylvania
4. Marshall German, Corona, California
5. John-Patrick Hanna, Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
6. Daniel Pisowloski, Canterbury, Connecticut
7. Ryan Praskovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8. Alexander Schiele, Snohomish, Washington
9. Joseph Stewart, Seattle, Washington
10. Aaron Stone, Auburn, Washington
11. Tyler Tagliaferro, Medina, Ohio
12. Nicholas Theriault, Danville, California
13. Billy Woods, Lyons, Colorado
2010 US Junior Solo Drumming Championship Entrants
1. Wesley Blevins, Louisville, Kentucky
2. Drew Donnelly, Strongsville, Ohio
3. Andrew Koupal, San Ramon, California
4. Petey Lowrie, Brunswick, Ohio
5. Quinn McCormack, Pembroke, Massachusetts
6. Amber Stone, Auburn, Washington:
November 2009:
Anthony Masterson receives his EW Littlefield Trophy for Overal piping
from Balmoral School executive director George Balderose. Photo: Evan Kenepp
Download image for print (300 ppi, 2336 x 3504, cmyk, 9.1 Mb, jpg)
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
Download image for print (300 ppi, 1736 x 2500, cmyk, 5.4 Mb, jpg)
Marshall German with his Clan Donald Trophy and Inveran bagpipes prize
for first place in pìobaireachd piping. Photo: Evan Kenepp
Download image for print (300 ppi, 2913 x 2271, cmyk, 6.2 Mb, jpg)
Anthony Masterson Wins the 2009 US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship
Petey Lowrie Wins the 2009 US Junior Solo Snare 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 Snare 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 Snare 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
See text files of competition rules, prize listing, judge bios, and this news release.
October 2009:
St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas.
Photo: Tony Fisher
Download image for print (300 ppi, 3300 x 2200, cmyk, 8.4 Mb, jpg)
St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band of Houston, Texas.
Photo: Tony Fisher
Download image for print (300 ppi, 3444 x 2567, cmyk, 15.3 Mb, jpg)
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.
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
Images for print
300ppi cmyk
Balmoral School logo
Balmoral Classic logo
Other piping and drumming news
Carnegie Mellon is home to nation’s only graduating bagpipe major
Thursday, May 7, 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette