Year End Standings

The competitive piping season has just ended for me. It was a good season all in all...looks like I'll end up in 6th place in the year end standings for grade 2 piping in the EUSPBA. I'm not going to pursue regrading for next year. I did pretty well, but I'd like to give grade 2 one more try, and put my all into it. I finished the year by competing at Capitol District, Ligonier, Alexandria, and Celtic Classic. The pipe band didn't place at the Classic, but we were happy with the way we played. It's always a tough competition. It was a lot of fun to finally get to play in those games, it being my first year playing with an invited band. As I reflect on the year, playing with Lehigh Valley Pipe Band has been of huge benefit to me. I'm a better piper now then I was at the biginning of the year. I had a really positive solo competitive season that has me all ready to go for next year. For every win, I was encouraged to keep piping, and for every loss, I was challenged to keep piping. I love the bagpipes.

A Good Season So Far

The band and I have been competing pretty well this year. Lehigh Valley Pipe Band has taken 1st at two competitions and has been officially invited to compete at the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, PA, September 23-24. We're anticipating some really good piping at the Classic this year. It'll be tough competition, which will make victory all the more sweet.

My solo playing at the games has been getting better as the season moves on. I didn't play very well for the judges early in the spring; however, with some pointers and correction from my Pipe Major, I have taken "Piper of the Day" in grade 2 solos at the last two games I played. I have three more Scottish games this year, Capitol District on Sept. 2nd, Ligonier on Sept. 9th and Virginia Scottish games on Sept. 16th.

I have been able to play at several weddings this summer. I am always thankful for the opportunity to play at weddings. It's nice to be able to simply play fun, but also serious, music and not worry about all the nervousness of playing for a piping judge. This September is full of competition, four weekends straight, but I get to wrap up the month with a wedding near to my home on the 30th.

The Piping is Drawing Near

The first performance of the year with the new band is coming up soon. On Saturday March 11th, we, Lehigh Valley Pipe Band, will be playing in the Pottsville St. Patrick's Day parade. I'm looking forward to getting out on the street with these guys for the first time. However, the real excitement begins on April 29th at the Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland. It'll be the first competition of the year. I'll be playing in the solo and band comps. I and the band are looking to come out strong this year. The competition after that will be the must see event of the year as far as I'm concerned. Along with the usual solo and band competitions at this year's Colonial Highland Gathering, May 20th at Fair Hill, MD, there will be a Grade 3 Band Championship qualifier's competition. That means that we, the band, will get to play both the MSR and Medley in competition on one day. And aside from that, the Fair Hill games are the closest to Southeast PA. So if you're only going to get to one Celtic Festival this year, you'll want to put this one on your calendar.

-You can find information for all the competitions at euspba.org under the "Events" tab-

It's been a while

Hi there, much has happened since I last updated the updates. To make a long story short, I am out of Philadelphia and back in my home town, Shillington, Pa. This past October I started playing with the Lehigh Valley Pipe Band, a grade 3 pipe band up in Bethlehem, Pa. As a result of playing with this group I can feel my fingers getting stronger which should mean good solo piping competition in the '06 season.

A good friend of mine from Drexel did some recording for me that should be ready for the website before too long. I plan on putting sound bites on the site to give you a chance to hear a variety of pipe tunes, which should help you decide what you would like me to play at your funtion. The sound bites will also give you a idea as to the quality of my piping so that you will know what you should expect from me. My budy, Terrence, did a great job of capturing the sound of the bagpipes during our recording. I'm looking forward to getting that sound on the web.

Also, my brother, Rich, has been hard at work to make this website more efficiant and effective. He added a link to Scottish news headlines and an easy-to-use contact page. He has realy been the force behind the website since it's beginning and I thank him for the good work he has done.

End of the Summer

This has not been as active a year as normal for me in the world of piping. I think my problem has been that I was too busy this summer with other things to really get into competitive piping to the extent I normally do. I wasn't playing with a competitive band this year (same band I played with last year but now does not have enough people to compete). However, I am hopefully going to be playing with a band this coming year that will jump start me for my solo competing next year.

- It looks like the last Scottish Games I'll be at are the Anne Arundel games in early October.
- I have no gigs on my list right now...so I welcome any that come.
- I'm back in the Reading, PA area again and will perhaps start playing with a band in the Lehigh Valley area.

Competitions in 2005

The list of competitions I'll be at this year is in. Over time this list will grow, or dimminish. These festivals are much more than bagpipe competitions. There's highland dancing, highland athletics, sheep dog trials, solo piping/drumming and band competition, the massed bands, mini celtic music concerts, celtic food and merchandice vendors, highland laddies, bonny lassies, and kilts as far as the eye can see. I gotta warn you though, once you leave the games the sound and music of the highland bagpipes will follow where ever you go. So, I encourage you to pick at least one of these dates and, if you're not already, be Scottish for a day.

The list so far for 2005:

1. April 9 -- Tartan Day Amateur Solo Piping Competiton -- MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA -- http://tpandd.exis.net/TartanDay.html
2. April 30 -- Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland -- Jefferson Patterson Park, St. Leonard, MD -- http://www.cssm.org/festival2.htm
3. May 21 -- Colonial Highland Gathering -- Fair Hill, MD -- http://www.fairhillscotishgames.org
4. June 11 -- Harrisburg Pipes & Drums festival -- Fort Hunter in Harrisburg, PA -- www.pennscots.org
5. July 23 -- Virginia Scottish Games -- Alexandria, VA -- http://www.vascottishgames.org
6. August 13 -- Central New York Scottish Games -- Syracuse, NY -- http://www.cnyscots.com
7. September 3 -- Capitol District Scottish Games -- Schenectady, NY -- http://www.scotsgames.com
8. September 10 -- Ligonier Highland Games -- Idelwild Park in Ligonier, PA -- http://www.ligoniergames.org
9. October 8 -- Anna Arundel Scottish Games -- Anne Arundel Fairgrounds in Anne Arundel County, MD -- http://www.annearun.com/aasfi

---I will also be putting up a list of band and solo events as they are schedualed---