October 2005
PIPERS’ and PIPE BAND SOCIETY
of ONTARIO, OTTAWA BRANCH
**** www.ppbso-ottawa.org ****
President: Graeme Ogilvie (613) 830-9160
(email: )
Vice-President: Charlie King (613) 830-7418
(email: )
Vice-President: Jenny Putinski (613) 836-7372
(email: )
Treasurer: Jack Yourt (613) 774-3622
(email: )
Secretary: Douglas Heyland (613) 821-2505
(email: )
November Knock-Out Contest….. Saturday 05 November 2005 (see next page for details)
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08 October 2005 October Knock-Out Contest continues tradition…..
As is the tradition of the Ottawa Branch, the first knock-out contest of the 2005/2006 season started out with the standard 4/4 contest for the pipers and 6/8 contest for the drummers. Even though the contests were held on the Thanksgiving weekend, 21 competitors turned out to try their hands out at the new season. It was great to see another good a start to an indoor season. Many thanks go out again to our piping judge, Amy Garson, and drumming judge, Jim Corrigan, for their kind assistance to help kick off the new year. A special thanks, as well, to Charlie King and Jenny Putinski who helped shepherd and announce all the competitors. The piping and drumming results were as follows:
Drumming Piping “A” Piping “B”
1. Brendan Vallee 1. Will Ridley 1. Amanda Morgan Pulling
2. Doug Crowe 2. Amos Van Die 2. Andrew Munro
3. Kimberley MacDonald 3. Andrew Killick 3. William MacNeill
4. James Clark 4. Matt Goral
5. Christian McCartney 5. Laura McKay
NOVEMBER KNOCK-OUT CONTEST….. Saturday 05 November 2005
Knock-Out Contest Date… Saturday 05 November 2005. Time… 7:30 pm. To keep the evening from running too late, all competitors are asked to be registered by 7:15 pm. If you can’t make it by 7:15, please contact any of the Ottawa Branch executive in advance to reserve a spot in the draw. Place… the Walkey Road Armouries, 2100 Walkley Road, between St. Laurent Blvd and Conroy Ave (the Armouries are on the south side of Walkley Ave, right beside the Walkley Bowling Centre parking lot). *** NOTE: do not park in the reserved parking spots, the Armouries are a 24/7 facility ***.
Piping “B” Division…. four parts of a 2/4 March (one or two tunes)
Drumming “A”/”B” Division…. four parts of a 2/4 March (one or two tunes)
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Future Ottawa Branch Dates
26 November 2005 PPBSO AGM and Ceilidh, Milton ON
AGM: 1:00 pm, Milton Arena
Ceilidh: 6:30 pm, Milton Arena, cost $15.00 (cold buffet at 9:00 pm)
03 December 2005 Allan Quinn Memorial Contest, Drumming Knock-Out, Walkley Mess
“A” Division piping…. March/Strathspey/Reel
“A” Division drumming…. Strathspey/Reel (minimum four parts each)
“B” Division drumming…. four parts 4/4 March (one or two tunes)
07 January 2006 Maj(Ret’d) Archie Cairns Cup, Drumming Knock-Out, Walkley Mess
Judge/Recitalist…. Bob Worrall
“B” Division piping…. slow air, four parts of a 6/8 March (one/two tunes)
“A” Division drumming…. March/Strathspey/Reel
“B” Division drumming…. Strathspey/Reel (minimum two parts each)
04 February 2006 Ottawa Branch Knock-Out Contest, Walkley Mess
“A” Division piping…. Slow Air, Hornpipe (4 pts), Jig (4 pts)
“A” Division drumming…. Hornpipe/Jig (minimum four parts each)
“B” Division drumming…. four parts 2/4 March (one or two tunes)
04 March 2006 Ottawa Branch Knock-Out Finals, Walkley Mess
Piping/Drumming finalists…. medley of competitors choice, min 3 minutes
01 April 2006 Ottawa Branch Piping Workshop, Open Solo Piping Contest
Workshop Instructor, Open Contest Judge: Maj (Ret’d) Archie Cairns
13 May 2006 Winchester In-Door Highland Games
GLENGARRY HIGHLAND GAMES 2005
Massed Tenor Drum Line PHOTO COURTESY JAMIE MacCULLOCH
Events
SCOTLAND TONIGHT
Presented by the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band
Saturday 12 November 2005 at 7:30 pm
This year Scotland Tonight features performances by Drew Duthart, Rob Crabtree, and Duncan Gillis. Dancing will be provided by Katharine Robinson School of Dance, the MacCulloch Dancers, Caithream Celtic Dance Fusion, and the Champagne Dance School. Also scheduled to perform is the St. Matthias Anglican Choir, and a special tribute to Canadian veterans.
Tickets are on sale now at Centrepointe Theatre, 101 Centrepointe Drive, telephone number is 580-2700 or on-line at www.centrepointetheatre.com. Tickets are $25.00 or $15.00 for veterans, plus applicable charges.
Hope to see you at Scotland Tonight! The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band. www.sospb.com
Winter Storm 2006
The Pipes & Drums Concert
Kansas City, Missouri
January 14, 2006
“This concert is the must-see event of the year”
Winter Storm 2006 - The Pipes & Drums Concert features an international, all Gold-Medal line-up of fifteen of the World’s Best Highland Bagpipers and Scottish Drummers, from Scotland, Canada, and the United States. The world-class concert showcases renowned bagpipers John Cairns, Mike Cusack, Alasdair Gillies, Jack Lee, Stuart Liddell, Willie McCallum, and Andrew Wright. Champion Scottish snare drummers John Fisher, Jim Kilpatrick, J. Reid Maxwell, and Barry Wilson will be highlighted, along with champion bass drummer Duncan Gibson. Featured are “The Three Scottish Tenors”, champion flourishing tenor drummers Scott Currie, Tyler Fry, and “Haggis” MacLeod.
Special Guest performers will be The Kansas City Highland Dancers, and the winners of the 2006 U.S. Gold and Silver Medal Piping and the Gold Medal Snare and Tenor Drumming competitions. The concert’s Master of Ceremonies, “The Captain” Ken Eller, an acclaimed piper in his own right, is Piping’s Ambassador to the World. Former Pipe Major of Clan MacFarlane Pipe Band, and piper with Ontario’s 78th Fraser Highlanders, Ken’s wit, charm, and piping knowledge perfectly fit the Winter Storm Concert. The concert is Saturday, January 14, 2006, 7:30 p.m. at the beautiful, and acoustically ideal, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Community Christian Church, 4601 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Admission is $25.00 for adults, $10.00 for children under twelve, and free for children under five; tickets available at the door, or online at http://winterstorm.net/ .
Winter Storm 2006 - The Pipes & Drums Concert, is presented by Midwest Highland Arts Fund. For more information, please visit the MHAF website at http://winterstorm.net/, or contact the Winter Storm toll-free ‘pipeline’ at 866-524-PIPE.
Ottawa Police Service Pipes and Drums Visit Bermuda
The year 2005 is very significant for the Islands of Bermuda. They are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Bermuda, the 75th anniversary of the Somerset Brigade Band, the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, and the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Bermuda Regiment. 2005 is also the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, with the actions of the Bermuda-built HMS Pickle being remembered.
To honour these celebrations, bands from around the world were invited to participate in the 2005 Bermuda Tattoo. The bands included the Band and Bugles of the Light Division from Great Britain, the Jamaica Defence Force Band, the 14 Wing Greenwood Military and Pipe Bands, the Fraser Holmes Memorial Ladies Pipe Band (New Glasgow, Nova Scotia), the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band, the Toronto Police Pipe Band, the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, and the Somerset Brigade Band. Also joining the bands were the Schiehallion Dancers of Hamilton, Ontario.
The Tattoo ran 22-23 October at the Royal Naval Dockyard, the western tip of the island of Bermuda. Sell-out audiences of 5,000 were witness to the two shows held within the Dockyard's Keep Yard, a level square area carved out of the hillside and surrounded by long stone Georgian magazines and workshops. Concluding to the 1812 Overture, complete with artillery guns, and a massive fireworks display, those in attendance were awed with the variety of the acts, the professionalism of the participants, and the shear magnitude of the Tattoo.
The OPS Pipes and Drums were proud to participate in this major, and historic, event. The last military Tattoo held in Bermuda was 48 years ago in 1957.
Arriving on Sunday 16 October to hot and humid conditions, the week was spent rehearsing the many acts, but still with a generous amount of time reserved for exploring some of the world's most exotic beaches, the Royal Naval Dockyard, and the historic cities of St Georges and Hamilton.
The trip was not without its special memories. Accommodations were very simple, with a single barrack room for each band (complete with bunk beds). But with the magnificent weather and the "world top-10" Horseshoe Bay Beach directly across the road, any disappointments were fleeting. The Bermuda Regiment was a tremendous host and its men were directly responsible for the introduction to the very tasty and dangerous "dark and stormy".
The shows themselves resulted in their own small trove of memories. The Friday night Tattoo was delayed as a chemical spill closed the only island road to the Dockyard (photo to left taken waiting for the road to open). The final massed band act Saturday night (including the 1812 Overture) was completed in monsoon-like rains. But nothing could deter nor dampen the enthusiasm of two of the most lively audiences ever assembled for a Tattoo.
The eight-day visit was an incredible experience for all those involved. It was an opportunity to bond with other bands from around the world, to participate in an extraordinary Tattoo, and to sample all the highlights of Bermuda. Nothing quite like it!!!
Sunday 25 September 2005
National Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Service
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Pipes and Drums
On Sunday 25 September 2005, the Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day Service was held on Parliament Hill, Ottawa to honour police and peace officers killed in line of duty during the previous twelve month period. Due to the tragic events in Mayerthorpe, Alberta earlier in the year, a large contingent of RCMP officers were on parade, led by a massed RCMP pipe band, consisting of pipers and drummers from Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver. This was the first time that an RCMP massed band had consisted of members from every band across Canada. The band is pictured above on the steps of the Supreme Court Building. As can be seen below, the weather unfortunately turned quite damp for the parade itself. The solemn occasion is an annual event and this year paid tribute to nine police and peace officers who died in the line of duty during the past year (six of whom were RCMP, Cst Gordon, Cst Johnston, Cst Myrol, Cst Schiemann, Cst Minguy, Cst Agostinho). The names of the fallen will be added to the Memorial Honour Roll which includes the names of 715 fallen officers. In 1998, the federal government officially proclaimed the last Sunday of each September as Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day, and this Service, a lasting tribute to the sacrifice of those brave men and women, gives Canadians an opportunity to express their appreciation for the ultimate sacrifice made by these police and peace officers.
photos courtesy Ann MacDonald
*** For Sale ***
* 1965 Grainger and Campbells… full imitation ivory mount
* circa 1930 Lawries… wood mounted with nickel furrels
Contact Jack Yourt at (613) 774-3622.
*** Looking For ***
A beginning piper is looking for a set of pipes. Would preferably like a set of McCallum AB 1 to 3 but willing to look at everything. Please respond to .