News

The latest in the life of the piper. News archive: entries before 1/1/08

7/1/08: Piping School again!

Summer is here, and that means my third trip to the National Piping Centre's summer school at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. It was a great week, with Roddy MacLeod, Colin MacLellan and Lorne Cousin as piping instructors. A few videos of the instructors' recitals are on YouTube, and more will follow as I get around to it. I already can't wait for next year!

6/11/08: New Videos Added to YouTube

I recorded a few videos of myself this past weekend playing a few fun tunes on the practice chanter and pipes. They're posted on my YouTube Channel, and here's one in the meantime.

5/18/08: Videos page added

I've added a page of piping videos featuring or created by me. I have some solo competition videos, some band contests, and hopefully some other random videos of me playing or performing about and around. Let me know what you think!

4/19/08: Piper of the Day!

My second contest of the year took me all the way to Charlotte, NC to compete at the Loch Norman Highland Games. I came out 1st in the piobaireachd and 2nd in the MSR, which was good enough to win the overall Piper of the Day award in Grade 2. Well worth the trip! Check out my YouTube channel for videos of the Grade 3 and Grade 5 band contests, as well as a video of my MSR performance.

4/5/08: First solo contest of 2008

This weekend was the first band and solo contest of the year, the New Hampshire Indoor Scottish Festival in Concord, NH. My solo results were mixed: I broke down in the strathspey and reel and had to scratch from the 2/4 march due to band obligations. However I placed first and second in the 6/8 march and piobaireachd, respectively, with an above grade level mark in both categories. These were my first AGL in Grade 2, so it's very encouraging! A more thorough rundown of the day's events can be found in this blog post, and a full recap of my results here.

3/2/08: I'm still alive!

It's been a while since I've updated anything on my site, and if anyone is curious I'm still around. I'm still piping, taking lessons once in a while and playing with a band, and I'm getting ready for the competition season. I'm planning a new page with some information on the community of pipers in the world, so an update should be forthcoming. If you have any suggestions for topics, kindly let me know!

1/11/08: Keydetpiper Blog

This week I've entered into the 21st century for sure with my first blogging adventure. In this blog I will be recording piping-related thoughts and events, as well as any other topics that come to mind. These include, but are certainly not limited to, science, teaching, politics, geography, and stupidity (my own and that of others). Check it out here, and use the RSS feeds to check it often.

Past news items can be found here