NEWS – February 15, 2011
James Morris Chosen to Receive the 2011 Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Piping Scholarship
The Pipes of Christmas is pleased to announce that James Morris of East Rockaway, NY has been chosen as the 2011 recipient of the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Piping Scholarship. Morris will study bagpipe performance this February with the National Piping Centre of Glasgow, Scotland.
James Morris of East Rockaway, NY is recipient of a piping scholarship presented by the Clan Currie Society
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 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. Morris has also studied bagpipe at the prestigious Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, Nova Scotia.
About Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford
Kevin Blandford (1963 – 2003) 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performances of the Pipes of Christmas quickly became an annual event, while Blandford’s recording of the same name originally made in the early 1990s have sold out several printings.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 atwww.thepipingcentre.co.uk.