Preparations underway for meeting
Pipe Bands by Mervyn McConnell
THE 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Northern Ireland Branch of the RSPBA will be held in the Bridge Community Centre, Railway Street, Lisburn on Saturday 12 October at 10.30am for 11am start.
Each band may send two representatives who will be entitled to speak at the meeting, but only one vote per band.
Please note that any band having a change or alteration to any rule, Notice of Motion or recommendations, should forward these to Branch secretary Lorraine McVeigh in writing before the Branch meeting to be held on Saturday 28 September at 2 pm.
The All Ireland Solos will take place on Saturday, 21 September in Newry High School. This Is always a very entertaining day of piping and drumming when our young up and coming players compete to be Ireland's best.
If anyone still hasn't entered for this event then please contact contest secretary Mervyn Herron on 43-723635 as soon as possible.
The Mid Ulster drumming school are holding a 'Drum 'til you drop' weekend in Upperlands outside Maghera on Friday 27 September from 6 to 9pm and on Saturday 28 September from l0am to 5 pm.
Three of the top Scottish bands will be the guests at this event, for what promises to be a feast of super drumming.
They are Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia with Jim Kilpatrick and Barry Wilson the 2002 world champion drum corps and Craig Guper the 2002 world champion bass section, Scott Currie of the Strathclyde Police, who is the Scottish Bass section champion and Stephen McQuillan the 2001 world bass section champion from the Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia. Admission is £10 and please bring your drums.
If you would like to take part in this weekend please contact Gary Smyth Bleary & District) by email - garysmyth@btopenworld.com.
Would you like to play the pipes or drums? Would you like to improve your skills?
If the answer is yes then you would perhaps be interested in hearing that the Northern Ireland Piping and Drumming Centre are planning to hold two schools - one at Laurelhill Community College, Lisburn and one at the University of Ulster Magee Campus, Londonderry.
Enrolment will take place on Saturday 28 September at 10.30am in both of the above centres. Courses last from 10.30am to 12.30pm each Saturday until March and includes classes in both practical playing and theory of music. All ages and standards catered for by fully qualified instructors.
The Northern Ireland School was established In 1980 to teach piping and drumming to all and to improve the skills of existing players. Many bands, as well as Individual players, have benefited from what they have learned in the school by achieving top awards even in world competitions.
Northern Ireland pipers and drummers have dominated the pipe band scene in Scotland this year and much credit must go to the piping and drumming school who have played a big part in the tutoring of a lot of our young musicians.
For further information please contact Norman and Victoria Cochrane (Magee Campus) 81-648853 or John Moles and Colin Brown (Lisburn Centre) 90482117.
To mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee, Headquarters Is compiling a special book of tunes. It will contain pipe melodies as well as drum scores and all those wishing to have their works considered for inclusion should send them to Washington Street as soon as possible.
All RSPBA members are invited to submit tunes and each one must clearly state name and age of composer (if under 18), name and type of tune and any background as to why the tune was written.
All suitable tunes will be printed in the book and a prize will be forwarded to the best tune written in each form by an adult and a juvenile, each for pipers and drummers.
Ulster Star
13/09/2002
