Young pipers and drummers can take part in first Aberdeenshire Outreach weekend
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Deeside arts charity the St Margaret’s Trust has teamed up with the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland (NYPBS) to bring one of their popular Outreach weekends to Braemar this October.
The October 28-29 event offers young pipers and drummers a one-of-a-kind experience with some of the world’s top tutors – promoting collaboration with other musicians and developing a range of musical skills.
Places on the course are free of charge, but limited in number. The workshops are geared at young people aged 10-18, with instruction and performances taking place in three venues across the village: St Margaret’s, Braemar Village Hall and the Highland Games Centre.
The last of these venues sits within the arena that is home to the world’s most famous highland games, attended by the Royal Family for more than 100 years and attracting some of the world’s top pipers to compete for the coveted Braemar Gold Medal.
Piping and drumming traditions have long flourished on Deeside, with the famous Bobs of Balmoral – Robert Nicol and Robert Brown – who were ghillies on the royal estate in the mid-1900s considered ultimate authorities on piobaireachd, the classical music of the bagpipes.
NYPBS, which sits under the auspices of the National Piping Centre based in Glasgow, has long delivered outreach workshops beyond the central belt. October’s event will be the first of its kind to take place in Aberdeenshire.
The initiative is supported by the William Grant Foundation, Youth Music Initiative, Creative Scotland and local partners the St Margaret’s Trust and the Braemar Royal Highland Charity.
Outreach coordinator for the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland David Shedden said: "We are so excited to bring the NYPBS experience to Braemar.
“We will be working on a range of fun concert music with a fantastic team of enthusiastic and inspiring tutors. We can’t wait to get started.
“Our outreach program is usually young pipers and drummers' first interaction with the NYPBS.
“It’s about getting young people excited about playing music together in a fun and engaging way.”
St Margaret’s trustee Fergus Mutch, who has helped in organising the weekend said: “Braemar is a location synonymous with piping and drumming traditions, dating back hundreds of years.
“Central to the work of the National Youth Pipe Band is inspiring, engaging and creating opportunities for young learners the length and breadth of Scotland so that those art forms continue to flourish.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with them to bring this event – the first of its kind in Aberdeenshire – to Braemar in October.
“It’s set to be a superb weekend of piping and drumming music, bringing young people of all abilities and backgrounds together for a weekend of world-class tuition and a shared love of music.”
Visit www.nypbs.co.uk/outreach-braemar for full details, including how to book a place for the NYPBS Braemar Outreach weekend.
