Nine-event virtual series kicks off Saturday June 12th
The Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario is upping its game with new educational opportunities! Running alongside Ontario’s virtual competition season from June to August, a series of nine Zoom sessions will offer insight, inspiration, and entertainment for pipers and drummers of all abilities.
The series launches on Saturday June 12th with Open Band Hall. This ninety-minute session, led by PPBSO Music Committee member Trish Kirkwood, takes attendees behind the scenes of three member bands. Trish will be joined by P/M Tyler Bridge, Guelph Pipe Band; P/M John Cairns, Peel Regional Police Pipe Band; and P/M Doug MacRae, 78th Fraser Highlanders. Each band offers a short, behind-the-scenes tour of the methods they have each used to conduct effective virtual practices throughout the pandemic. A question and answer period with the audience and pipe majors follows the presentation.
Attendance is free for all PPBSO members in good standing; non-members pay $10 CAD. To receive the session Zoom link, registration for each session is required here.
The series will also include two sessions on managing performance anxiety and stress, delivered by UK-based sport and performance psychology and master life coach Dr. Fiona McConnochie. Fiona’s expertise is in high demand in the piping and drumming community, and she has previously delivered workshops on this topic at Glasgow’s Piping Live! Festival.
In August, PPBSO president Michael Grey will lead a session on the evolution of the 2/4 march. Along with piobaireachd, the 2/4 competition march stands as a branch of piping that was invented by pipers, for pipers. Discover the historical beginnings of this idiom, and how it has evolved into the music form we recognize today.
A range of masterclasses on solo piping, drumming, and tenor drumming will round out the series, offering a glimpse into the methods of musical instruction and performance motivation at various grade levels, delivered by some of the world’s leading teachers.
This series has been created with the creativity, expertise, and volunteer hours of PPBSO members, offering an opportunity for members to convene on games day throughout the summer.
For full event details, and to register for all of the sessions, click here.
To keep up to date with the series, and all news and announcements from the PPBSO, follow the PPBSO Facebook page.
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