N E W S L E T T E R DEC. 2005

Dear Friends of Balmoral:

As we come to the end of the year I would like to share some thoughts about Balmoral School developments during the year and some implications for the future.

For the last couple of years the Balmoral School’s Board of Directors has been focused on developing the organization in ways that correspond more closely to a corporate model of decision-making and overall functioning. The purpose behind this has been to build upon our record of producing quality summer schools and to explore additional ways of serving the piping and drumming community. Toward this end we have been fortunate in attracting some very good people to the Board,  all of whom share an enthusiasm for piping and drumming and a willingness to engage their skills in a collective effort to define and achieve the goals of the Balmoral organization. 

A big part of this process involved creating a Mission statement for the organization. With the help of Mike Cusack and Jimmy and Joyce McIntosh, we have settled on the following:

Our Mission:
The Balmoral School of Piping’s mission is to raise the standard
and promote the appreciation of bagpipe music in the USA.
We do this by providing world class instruction, cultivating excellence in youth,
presenting innovative musical events, and fostering tradition.


We believe that these lofty goals accurately reflect the Balmoral School’s 28 year history while giving us current language to guide our future progress. 

Perhaps the most major implication of these developments is that the Balmoral Board of Directors has decided to produce a National Junior Solo Scottish Piping and Drumming competition in Pittsburgh during 2007, probably in November. We hope to attract the top young American competitors from all over the country to compete in Pittsburgh for the National title. Toward this end we are embarking on a fund-raising campaign to make this event financially possible, stimulated by a $100,000 Challenge Grant by Ed and Julia Littlefield and the Sage Foundation of Arlington, WA. This means that the grant will match on a one-to-one basis every dollar contributed to the Balmoral School. We are an Internal Revenue Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, so all contributions are exempt from state and federal taxes. If you have advanced your playing ability through instruction received from the Balmoral School, or if you support our efforts to elevate the standard of piping and drumming in the USA, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the school that will be doubled by the Challenge Grant.  Sponsorship opportunities and volunteers to help with the production of the competition are also welcome. Contact us any time to get more information and join us in this event!

Beyond these concerns, in this year-end newsletter I would like to convey additional information which reflects other happenings during 2005. I would also like to extend an invitation to friends of Balmoral to use the newsletter to share articles and stories and to stay connected during the year.

Here’s to a great new year! Happy Piping and Drumming in 2006!

Yours Aye,

George Balderose
Executive Director
 

Newsletter items include: Piping and Drumming in 2006, Scottish Junior Champion attends Balmoral, 2005 Competition results, Lifetime Achievement, Salute to Border Patrol, Balmoral store, Balmoral music book, Mike Cusack -Headmaster, Jim McIntosh's new school, Heinz Endowments & Projects, Travels to Scotland, Photo album.
 

* Piping and Drumming at the 2006 Sessions
We are excited again to offer a staff of world class piping and drumming instructors to teach at the 2006 Balmoral Sessions. Bernadette Bell will be teaching tenor drumming during week 1 of East Stroudsburg, and Gordon Bell will be teaching snare and bass drumming for two weeks at East Stroudsburg. New additions to the Balmoral drumming staff also include Jon Quigg (Kentucky) and Jim Sim (Illinois). As we go to press/go live, Liza McAdam is tentatively scheduled for the California session, pending availability. The schedule of sessions and instructors are listed below:

 
June 11-16, 2006  THOMAS MORE COLLEGE, Crestview Hills, KY (near Cincinnati, OH)
Piping: Alasdair Gillies, John Wilson, Maureen Connor 
Drumming: Jon Quigg (snare & bass)

June 18-23, 2006  SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, Rohnert Park, CA
Piping: Jack Lee (SFU), James MacColl, John Wilson, Rob Boyd 
Drumming: tentative Liza McAdam (snare, tenor, & bass)

June 25-30, 2006   LEWIS UNIVERSITY, Romeoville, IL  (near Chicago, IL)
Piping: Alasdair Gillies, John Wilson, Adrian Melvin, Maureen Connor
Drumming: Jim Sim (snare, tenor, & bass)

July 16-21, 2006 - Week 1  EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY, East Stroudsburg, PA
Piping: Alasdair Gillies, Scot Walker, George Balderose
Drumming: Gordon Bell  (snare & bass), Bernadette Bell (tenor)

July 23-28, 2006 - Week 2  EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY, East Stroudsburg, PA
Piping: Alasdair Gillies, Scot Walker, Maureen Connor
Drumming: Gordon Bell (snare & bass)


* Scottish Junior Solo Champion attends Balmoral 
Callum Beaumont, the 2004 Scottish Junior Solo Champion, attended the Balmoral session in Greensburg on a full scholarship and returned to Scotland to win even more competitions. The scholarship to Callum continues an annual Balmoral School tradition which has included previous Scottish Junior solo champions Darach Urquhart, Andrew Carlisle and Finlay Johnston. We look forward to welcoming 2005 Champion James Mackenzie from Isle of Lewis, to the 2006 Sessions. 

* Balmoral student winners in 2005 competitions 
Speaking of competitions, we are happy to report that many of the Balmoral students and instructors did very well in piping and drumming competitions during the past season. Please check the list of awards won by Balmoral pipers in 2005. Please let us know if you have won a competition and your name does not appear so we can add it to the list. 2005 Results

* James Haddow McIntosh, M.B.E.
Lifetime Achievement Award
At the 2005 Bamoral Greensburg session Balmoral co-founder and Executive Director George Balderose presented a Balmoral School Lifetime Achievement Award to Jim McIntosh, MBE. The award was made to honor Jimmy because  for the last 27 years we have had the privilege of his attention, his care for our organization, and his dedication to piping. For a full text of the Award Ceremony speech, click here *****

* Salute to US Border Patrol
For the past six years the US Border Patrol has been sending agents to the East Stroudsberg session to study piping and drumming so as to become members of the US Border Patrol Pipe and Drum band. This band performs in communities that lie in the Southwest US border regions and is supported by the US Government as a public relations unit in those areas. Most of these agents come from Texas and Arizona, and are of Hispanic ethnicity. 

In appreciation for their service to our country and their loyalty to the Balmoral School, the 2005 Border Patrol students at the ESU session were presented with a framed document in their honor which contains the pipe music notation and drum score, developed by George Balderose and Gordon Bell,  for the old song “The Streets of Laredo”.  This melody is said to be among the oldest from Scotland and Ireland, appearing under titles as “The Bard of Armagh”, “The Unfortunate Rake”, and “The Dying Girl’s Lament”. We thank the US Border Patrol for their patronage of the pipes and drums, and look forward to their participation at future Balmoral sessions.
 

* Balmoral Store
The Balmoral store has an inventory of reeds, books, many CD’s, t-shirts, and other piping supplies that we would like to sell by the end of the year. If you would like to purchase any of the items on the 2005 Store Sale List , we are offering Balmoral students a 10% discount on anything ordered before February 1, 2006, and we’ll pay postage ( Order Form ) 

* Balmoral music book
With assistance from Mike Cusack, Jim McIntosh, and Alasdair Gillies, we have developed a Balmoral Music book containing exercises,music theory, and tunes from beginner to advanced
levels. It was distributed to Balmoral piping students in 2005 and received a very positive response by students and teachers alike. Copies are still available for $20 each. 157 pages.

* Mike Cusack - Headmaster of the St. Thomas Episcopal School
One of the biggest changes of 2005 for Balmoral is that Mike Cusack has been selected to be the Headmaster of the St. Thomas Episcopal School. Lyric Todkill has been hired to take his place teaching the St. Thomas Pipe Band. Mike has effectively retired from piping competitions and piping schools. We wish Mike the best of luck in his new endeavor. Mike will continue to serve on Balmoral’s Advisory Board of Directors.
 

* Jim McIntosh School of Piping in the Balmoral Tradition
Another big change is that Jim McIntosh, as he approaches his 81st year, has decided to run his own piping school for a week (June 18-23) at the St. Joseph Center in Greensburg. It is to be called “The Jimmy McIntosh School of Piping in the Balmoral Tradition.” His decision is based on his devotion to the piobaireachd teachings of his mentors, Bob Brown and Bob Nicol, and his mission to train pipers in their style as they received it from John MacDonald, Inverness. Jim intends to teach with his wife Joyce and various instructors who have been taught by him. So the Greensburg session of the Balmoral School for the foreseeable future will be a project of Jim McIntosh exclusively devoted to the Brown and Nichol teachings. Jim will continue to be a member of the Balmoral School’s Advisory Board, and collaborate on Balmoral projects. 
   Students interested in attending Jimmy's one week session in Greensburg (June 18-23), should contact him directly at (412) 241-1002, or JMc@andrew.cmu.edu , or write c/o Jim McIntosh, 933 Braddock Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

* Heinz Endowment Grants and other projects
Many thanks to Pittsburgh's Howard Heinz Endowment for its support which enabled the creation and performance of musical scores for organ and choir to accompany traditional bagpipe music.  The scores were composed by piper and organist Dr. Chip Reardon, a piobaireachd student of Jim McIntosh for many years. The concerts were held on November 10th of 2003 and November 26th of 2004 at the historic First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh with George Balderose, piper, Ed Norman, organist, and the Woodland Hills Choir. The performances included: The Lament for the Children, The Lament for Mary MacLeod, The Old Woman’s Lullaby, & The Lament for Alasdair Dearg MacDonnel of Glengarry, and several medleys of light music. At the November 26 concert, classical dancer Lynn Coghill performed interpretive dance to The Lament for the Children and The Lament for Mary MacLeod.  The classical music of the pipes accompanied by organ, choir, and expressed visually through Lynn's dancing made for a truly stunning and memorable event.
Plans are underway to develop a commercial CD of this music for bagpipe, organ, and choir with Alasdair Gillies as piper. Stay tuned! 

 
* Looking for new articles - Your travels to Scotland
To anyone who has traveled to Scotland this summer—any information you can give on your travels and experiences in the “Auld” country will be shared with everyone via the newsletter.

* Balmoral Photo Album
We are seeking to develop the Balmoral photo album for our 2005 photos. Any student who has good quality photos of students and/or instructors at the Balmoral summer session this year, is invited to send us either a positive print or a digitized version to be included in the photo album. Photos will be posted on the Balmoral website soon.


Happy Piping and Drumming in 2006!



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

(412) 323-2707         info@bagpiping.org            FAX (412) 323-1817