NEWS – July 30, 2010
James Morris of East Rockaway, NY Selected as 2010
Recipient of Clan Currie Piping Scholarship
The Clan Currie Society is pleased to announce that 13-year old James Morris of East Rockaway, NY has been chosen as the 2010 recipient of the Alex Currie Memorial Scholarship for Bagpipe. Morris will study bagpipe performance this summer at the celebrated Gaelic College in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
“Like Alex Currie before him, young James is part of an up and coming generation of musicians and performers that will ensure the perpetuation of our Highland heritage”, said Robert Currie, president of the Society.
Morris’ decision to take up the pipes occurred after attending a 9-11 memorial service in his town’s village hall in 2009. A month later, James’ father signed him up for his first lesson with the Inis Fada Gaelic Pipe Band and he began playing on a practice chanter. In his scholarship application James wrote, “I realized that if I could spend a week at the college I would learn skills in that week to help me play the pipes even better than I am now on the chanter.”
In his letter of reference to the College, William Bochanowicz – James’ pipe instructor with the Inis Fada Band wrote, “James Morris is a fine young man and comes every week well prepared for our lessons.
He is a very good student. He is progressing very well and will soon be ready for his own set of pipes.”
Thomas Schloen, Morris’ music instructor with the East Rockaway Junior High School noted, “James displays an interest in music that is rare for a child his age. It is this kind of enthusiasm that I find to be a refreshing and wonderful quality.”
About the Scholarship
The Clan Currie Society established the scholarship in memory of one of Canada’s renowned pipers in 2006. The Society made the announcement at the New York premiere of their highly popular “Pipes of Christmas” concert on Saturday, December 16, 2006.
“We are delighted to be announcing this evening the first in what we plan will be a series of educational scholarships in partnership with some of the leading Scottish arts organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland,” said Society president Robert Currie. The $500 scholarship, named for the famed Cape Breton piper, will be administered annually by the staff at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, Nova Scotia.
There are no eligibility restrictions to applying for the Alex Currie scholarship. “We’d never want to prevent a deserving student from being awarded this scholarship simply because of his or her name or clan affiliation,” said Currie.
James Morris’ thank you letter to the Clan Currie Society
“We are extremely honored that Clan Currie chose the Gaelic College as their partner for this wonderful scholarship or bursary,” said Sam MacPhee, Executive Director for the College located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. “Through their generosity, and that of many other dedicated Scottish heritage organizations, we can offer assistance to deserving students. We think the late Alex Currie would be quite pleased with this recognition.”
About Alex Currie
For some today who love the Scottish pipes, Alex Currie is an anachronism from a bygone era, but to those who know his story, he was the last of the true Scottish pipers. “As far as I’m concerned, the most important piper I ever met was Alex Currie from Cape Breton,” said the celebrated pipe maker Hamish Moore of Dunkeld, Scotland. “He was part of that MacMhuirich (Currie) tradition of the bards and the pipers. They were a very important clan in that respect. And very important culturally with respect to the arts. I think it’s just part of the clan’s heritage that’s been passed along, that very high cultural awareness that exists in certain families. That is, it’s been passed down from generation to generation.”
The late Alex Currie – the Clan Currie Society has established an annual piping scholarship in his memory
“Not only did his style of playing reflect an undiluted Gaelic oral tradition dating back to 19 century South Uist, but his knowledge of tunes – some locally composed and others forgotten in Scotland – was unmatched by many of his contemporaries.”
He was a living representation of one of the many different styles that existed in Cape Breton among the highland immigrants and their descendants – styles that have disappeared from the piping landscape of Cape Breton.
Not long before his death, Currie was honored for his contributions to traditional piping during the Celtic Colours celebration at the Gaelic College in St. Anns, Nova Scotia.
The Clan Currie Society is honored to have dedicated their first Scottish heritage scholarship in memory of this exceptional musician and clansman.
About the Gaelic College
The Gaelic College, founded in 1938 by Rev. A.W.R. MacKenzie, is situated in the heart of the earliest Scottish settlement in Cape Breton. The College began as a school of Gaelic language in a small log cabin overlooking St. Ann’s Bay and to this day it’s mission remains:: To Promote, Preserve and Perpetuate through studies in all related areas: The Culture, Music, Language, Arts, Crafts, Customs and Traditions of immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland.
From its humble beginnings, this unique institution has expanded and gained an international reputation for its contribution to the maintenance and preservation of the language and culture. The only institution of its kind in North America, students of all ages and ability travel here from around the world to study. The college employs some of the most respected instructors, offering programs in Scottish traditional disciplines including Gaelic language and song, music, dance and crafts.