The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland has announced that they will be performing once again at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow to launch their new concert Legacy. Following on from the success of Illumination in 2011 the band is again looking forward to performing at one of Scotland’s top live venues.

Legacy will see the band include four themed sets revolving around historical periods in Scotland’s history as well as performing many other brand new sets and suites which have been arranged specifically for this event. The concert will once again feature the wonderful vocal talents of Catriona Watt and a special performance by the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers who will be performing together with the NYPBoS Drum Corps.

Please purchase your tickets early to avoid the disappointment of missing out as last year’s Illumination concert was a sell out. Tickets for this fantastic event are £12/£8 concession and go on sale on Tuesday 8th May. Tickets can be purchased by calling 0141 353 8000 or online by following this link.

The weekend of the 28th and 29th of April saw members of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland drum corps have a 2 day collaborative workshop with the Mugenkyo Taiko Drumming Group who are the only professional group of this kind in the UK. The purpose of the weekend was to expose our very talented young drummers to a different style of drumming and to put together a new collaborative piece that would be performed at the bands major concert in November which has been titled “LEGACY”.

It was a fantastic weekend for everyone involved and definitely worthwhile as our drummers learnt new skills and were able to create a new section for our fanfare. The members of the NYPBoS drum corps would like to thank Mugenkyo members Miyuki and Fiona for their professionalism and enthusiasm with this new concept and look forward to performing with them and the rest of the team in November.

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland will be releasing a brand new album on the 23rd March 2012. The album, entitled Illumination, will be the Band’s second album since its formation by The National Piping Centre in 2002. The album was recorded live at The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow where the NYPBoS performed to a full house and received glowing reviews, including a 4 star rating by the Scotsman.

The recording showcases Scotland’s next generation of pipers and drummers and includes 14 tracks from the band’s exciting concert repertoire including The Dragon’s Lair, Lullaby and The Annihilator all of which have become signature pieces for the band over the past 2 years. There is also a special performance from Catriona Watt who was voted BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2007. From the traditional March, Strathspey and Reel to rock guitar themed suites, the album will have plenty of sets for everyone to enjoy.

To pre-order your copy of the album now, please follow this link.

The annual National Piping Centre Junior Solo Contest was held over the weekend with once again a large entry field travelling to Glasgow. Well done to all the NYPBoS members on representing the band once again to the highest of levels.

Special congratulations to Ross Miller for winning the overall Champions prize for the 15 – 17 year olds category. Other excellent performances yesterday were by:

• Christopher Gray 15 – 17 Overall Runners Up
• Ross MacKay 1st 15 – 17 MSR
• Andrew Clark 1st 15 – 17 Jig
• Lucy Ferguson 1st Under 15 March

Also in the prizes were Calum Watson, Iain Crawford, Rebecca Tierney, Harry McLachlan and Harris MacLennan.

Full results available here.

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland has confirmed the dates for their Educational Outreach Programme for 2012. This fantastic programme allows the band to bring its members to communities across Scotland to help teach and collaborate with other young aspiring pipers and drummers.

This year the band will be travelling to Perthshire to conduct a 3 day Summer Camp and then later in the year to the Outer Hebrides to conduct 2 one day workshops. This is a fantastic opportunity for young pipers and drummers in these regions to meet other young musicians from around the country.

Please note that there are only limited places available for the Perthshire Summer Camp so register before you miss out.

• Perthshire Summer Camp 17th – 19th July 2012 (limited places)
• Lewis & Harris Outreach 22nd September 2012
• Uist & Barra 23rd September 2012

For more information regarding both of these events and to register please follow the links.

Registration: /national-youth-pipe-band/outreach-2012/registration/

Steven Shedden retires and Grant Cassidy appointed new Drum Sergeant of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

Grant Cassidy has been appointed as the new Drum Sergeant of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland. He takes over the leading drummers role after Steven Shedden who has been the bands leading drummer since 2009 decided to step down from this position due to increased commitments. On behalf of all the members and staff at the NYPBoS I would like to thank Steven for all of his hard work, dedication and commitment since joining the project and we wish him all the best with his future endeavours and aspirations.

Grant comes into the position with a wealth of experience and knowledge for such a young musician and we’re sure that he’ll continue to further develop the drum corps into the future. The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland’s Senior Drum Corps currently comprises of 13 snare drummers, 7 tenors and a bass.

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, will join the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Perth on 2nd June 2012. The group, a growing force in the pipe world will join 1,000 pipers and drummers from around the World.

Read more on Pipefest.com!

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland has decided to enter the Sainsbury Sports Relief Mile in Glasgow on the 25th March. The event which will also be held in many different cities throughout the UK from the 23rd – 25th March will see around 30 members take part in the 1 mile race through the streets of Glasgow’s city centre beginning in George Square.

The band has set a fund raising target of around £1250 which it hopes to donate to Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries. The money raised will go towards transforming the lives of people in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities, or those living with poor mental or physical health, to protecting street children and providing life-saving healthcare abroad.

On the day of the race the band will be completing the 1 mile by marching in formation playing pipes and drums. Whilst we’re busy preparing for the big day, we really need your help to make sure we smash our fundraising target.

Big or small, every bit of sponsorship we receive will help us achieve our goal. Please follow the link below to our team page and donate.

http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/nypbos