News – Jan. 9, 2009
Canadian Justin Steele Selected as First Recipient of the Pipe Major
Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Piping Scholarship
The Pipes of Christmas is pleased to announce that Justin Steele of Chatham, Ontario has been chosen as the 2009 recipient of the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Piping Scholarship. Steele will study bagpipe performance with the National Piping Centre of Glasgow, Scotland.
Justin Steele
The annual scholarship has been designated for the Centre’s US-based piping workshop program in Babylon, New York. Each year the Centre offers three one week workshops with leading instructors. The workshops take place in New York, California, and Georgia.
The Centre’s daily program covers all aspects of performance including practice routines, technique, musical expression, tuning and ensemble playing. Students will be taught in a small group of similar ability for 3-4 hours per day. The remaining time is used for productive practice.
“Like Kevin Blandford before him, the 14-year old Justin Steele is part of an up and coming generation of pipers that will ensure the perpetuation of our Highland Heritage”, said Robert Currie, producer Justin Steele of the Pipes of Christmas.
Commenting on the scholarship, Mike Steele, Justin’s father said, “Justin is so very pleased to be attending this fine school. Justin is a great promoter of the Bagpipe and his Scottish Heritage. It was a family trip to Scotland to trace his family history that inspired Justin to take up the Pipes. While walking through Glasgow he saw a Piper and we stopped to listen. Justin turned to me and said “Dad, I want to learn how to play the Pipes.”
Steele continued, “Since that first exposure he has traveled to Europe and has competed both in Solo and Band competitions. He enjoys giving back to the community by playing for local fundraising or public events. He has a natural talent when it comes to Bagpiping and as parents it’s our duty to make sure he develops this God given talent. It’s through such great instruction like the National Piping Centres School and Scholarships from Clan Currie that will help Justin become a world class Piper, which he endeavors to be some day.”
About Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford (1963 – 2003)
Kevin Blandford was already in love with music when he became infatuated with the bagpipes at 14. That infatuation grew much deeper, to the point where he became one of the most influential pipers in the United States, teaching dozens of students in California, composing original pieces, and performing the now classic Pipes of Christmas concert produced by the Clan Currie Society since 1999 in New York and New Jersey and the Society’s annual Kirking of the Tartans service from 1995 – 1998.
Blandford’s performances of the Pipes of Christmas quickly became an annual event, while Blandford’s recording of the same name originally made in the early 1990s have sold out several printings.
He had served as Pipe Major of the R.P. Blandford & Son Pipe Band since 1988. Kevin was also the president of the Western United States Pipe Band Association (WUSPBA) for several years. He lost his battle to cancer on November 26, 2003. He was only 40 years old.About The National Piping Centre
The National Piping Centre (Patron HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, KG, KT, GCB) was founded in 1996 and is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The Centre is dedicated to preserving the history and music of the Highland bagpipe and to safeguarding its future. The school serves as a national and international centre of excellence for the instrument and its music and promotes a program of education and piping tuition at all levels.
The National Piping Centre provides facilities of the very highest quality for both the piping and non-piping fraternity. The Centre also houses the Museum of Piping, which contains the National Museum of Scotland’s Piping Collection. In addition, the Centre has a library and audio resource, which together with the museum, offers students a wealth of archival information.
The Centre also is dedicated to the performance of Scottish Smallpipes, Uilleann Pipes, Fiddle, Accordion and Drumming. To learn more about the Centre, visit their website at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk.