NORTHEAST BRANCH NOTES
Winter 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Events at the Celtic Hall, Albany, NY:
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January 3rd - The Scotia-Glenville Indoor Solo Contest for piping, snare, bass, and tenor.
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February 28th - The Scotia-Glenville Indoor Contest for solos and piping quartets.
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April 11th :
There will be a ‘Spring Workshop’ with special guests from the Inveraray & District Pipe Band.
Pipe Major, and 2014 Glenfiddich Champion Stuart Liddell,
Plus
Lead Drummer, and 2014 World Solo Drumming Champion, Steven McWhirter
will lead the day’s activities.
Come on down and learn from some of the best in the world!
Just in case you didn’t know, Inveraray won 2nd place at this year’s Worlds Grade 1 contest.
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May 9th - The Scotia-Glenville outdoor contest for solos and bands.
For more information about the contests, visit http://www.sgpipeband.com/
For more information about the workshop, visit http://celtichall.org/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Frank Kane, bass player for the Rhode Island Highlanders Pipe Band for 50 years, before retiring in 2005,
passed away on November 2nd. He was awarded the title of "Bass Drum Emeritus" for his decades of
dedication to the band. In addition, he served his country in World War II, as a member of the United States
Navy, and was a recipient of the Purple Heart. His wife, Debbie, is also a long time member of the RIHPB
(since 1977), and she is starting her 10th season as Pipe Major this year. In addition, their daughter, Meghan,
was also a snare drummer in the band for 12 years. In fact, the only band practice he ever missed was when his
daughter, Meghan, was born. Frank's loyal dedication to the band, as a playing member for five decades, his
continued support of wife as Pipe Major, and his overall passion for the Band will not be forgotten.
On Saturday, November 8th, the entire band played an amazing send off for him at the cemetery.
R.I.P.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The inaugural Casco Bay Piping Solos, an indoor event, will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2015 in Portland,
Maine. There will be a full slate of events for all grades from Grade V to Open. This is a sanctioned event.
Visit cascobaypiping.weebly.com for more information.
If you have any questions, contact John Daggett at johndaggettjr@gmail.com or Tom Ryan at
tryan4@maine.rr.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manchester pipe band celebrated its 100th Anniversary Dinner on November 1st. It was a huge success and many
long time players were honored, like Chuck Murdoch and Roger Ritchie.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Campbell Webster, winner of the USPF for the last two years, has taken over Gibson Bagpipes. In addition, he
is now on the board of the St Andrew’s Society. For more information, visit http://www.gibsonpipes.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We are compiling a list of piping and drumming instructors in the Northeast Branch to post on our website.
If you’d like to be on the list, forward the following information to Tom Ryan at tryan4@maine.rr.com :
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



Instructor's resume
Level of proficiency the instructor would consider teaching
o individual / band / both
o beginner / intermediate / advanced
Method of instruction – skype, in-person, off line - video / wav files
Tune / Score writing
Willingness to travel
Instructors to date:
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
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Andy Adams, Drumming, andrew.adams.drums@gmail.com
Norman McLeod, Drumming, nmcleod12@gmail.com
Eric Ouellette, Piping, esouelle@syr.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Northeast Branch will be hosting a ‘Summit” with contest organizers and bands to discuss a variety of
topics.
Where: Celtic Hall, 430 New Karner Rd, Albany, NY 12205
When: Saturday, February 28th, 2015
Time: 3:00 PM - 6:00PM (after the Scotia Indoor games has concluded)
Who: Request participation from each Northeast Branch Band = 1-2 decision level representatives and
each games should send 1-2 decision level organizers.
Northeast Branch Summit Agenda
1. Understanding Games expense vs Band expense to attend
a. Contest Entry Fees, Games Tickets, Prize Money
b. Judge Expense/Rotation
c. Games Sponsorship approach
2. Increasing Band Participation and Games Attendance
a. Audience Friendly Alternate Contest Formats
b. Bands Considering New Games/Contests
c. Designating a Rotating Branch Championship/Premier Contest?
3. Technology
a. Updating Official Games date for following season.
b. Streamlining Entry, Order of Play, Results
c. NE Branch Spreadsheet Planner
4. NE Branch Support
a. Monitors/Stewards
b. Volunteers/Trainers
c. How can we help?
5. Open Forum
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Competition Dates
January 3, 2015
February 28, 2015
April 11, 2015
May 9, 2015
June 13, 2015
June 13, 2015
July 18, 2015
July 25, 2015
August 8, 2015
August 15, 2015
August 22, 2015
9/5 & 9/6/2015
9/19 & 9/20/2015
October 11, 2015
Contest
Scotia-Glenville PB Indoor 1 (solo’s only),
Scotia-Glenville Indoor 2 (solo’s and quartets)
Indoor Scottish Festival
Scotia-Glenville PB Outdoor (solo’s and pipe bands)
Rhode Island Scottish Highland Festival
Ithaca Scottish Games
Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival
Great American Irish Festival
Central New York Scottish Games
Maine Highland Games
Quechee Scottish Festival
Capital District Scottish Games
New Hampshire Highland Games
Scotland Connecticut Highland Games
Location
Colonie, NY
Colonie, NY
Nashua, NH
Colonie, NY
Richmond, RI
Ithaca, NY
Northampton, MA
Frankfort, NY
Syracuse, NY
Topsham, ME
Quechee, VT
Altamont, NY
Lincoln, NH
Scotland, CT
URL
http://www.sgpipeband.com/
http://www.sgpipeband.com/
http://www.scottisharts.org/
http://www.sgpipeband.com/
http://www.riscot.org/
http://www.ithacacelticfestival.com/
www.glasgowlands.org
http://www.gaif.us/
http://www.cnyscottishgames.org
http://www.mainehighlandgames.org/
http://www.quecheescottishfestival.com
scotgames.com
www.nhscot.org
www.scotlandgames.org
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If you have any updates for our next issue or suggestions, please let me know.
Brendan O’Reilly
NE Secretary
bpo15@earthlink.net