Founder(s) | Sir Brian Ivory, Lady Oona Ivory and Sandy Grant Gordon CBE |
---|---|
Established | 1996 |
Focus | To promote the study of the music and history of the Highland Bagpipe. |
Director | Finlay MacDonald |
Key people | Patron: King Charles III |
Location | Glasgow |
Website | https://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/ |
The National Piping Centre is an institution in Glasgow, Scotland, dedicated to the playing of the bagpipes, to include not only the Great Highland Bagpipes, but also the Scottish smallpipes and Irish uileann pipes, as well as other traditional musical instruments.
The institution includes practice spaces, an auditorium, and the Museum of Piping.
It is located in the Cowcaddens district of the city, in the former Cowcaddens Free Church. The building is Category B listed. [1]
The Museum of Piping displays a rich collection of bagpipes and related artifacts, tracing 300 years of piping heritage. It features Scottish bagpipes from the 18th century, European bagpipes, and items related to famous pipers like John MacColl and Robert Reid. The museum also highlights the competitive tradition of Highland bagpipes. [2]
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia, around the Persian Gulf and northern parts of South Asia.
The uilleann pipes, also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms píobaí uilleann, from their method of inflation. There is no historical record of the name or use of the term uilleann pipes before the 20th century. It was an invention of Grattan Flood and the name stuck. People mistook the term 'union' to refer to the 1800 Act of Union; however, this is incorrect as Breandán Breathnach points out that a poem published in 1796 uses the term 'union'.
The great Highland bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the great Irish warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world.
Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, often known as Scottish folk music, which remained vibrant throughout the 20th century and into the 21st when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. Traditional Scottish music comprises a variety of different styles such as ballads, reels, jigs and airs. Traditional Scottish music is closely associated with the bagpipes which is credited as having a prominent role in traditional music originating from the country. The bagpipes are considered to an "iconic Scottish instrument" with a history dating back to the 15th century. Other notable Scottish instruments include the tin whistle, the accordion and the fiddle.
Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It sits directly north of the city centre and is bordered by the newer area of Garnethill to the south-west and Townhead to the east.
Pibroch, piobaireachd or ceòl mòr is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning 'piping' in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been music of the great Highland bagpipe.
The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers.
The West End Festival is an annual festival in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland.
The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow and the longest running in Scotland. Located at 282 Hope Street, its front door was originally round the corner in Cowcaddens Street. It currently accommodates 1,541 people and is owned by Scottish Opera. The theatre opened in 1867, adopting the name Theatre Royal two years later. It is also the birthplace of Howard & Wyndham Ltd, owners and managers of theatres in Scotland and England until the 1970s, created by its chairman Baillie Michael Simons in 1895. It was Simons who as a cultural entrepreneur of his day also promoted the building of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and Glasgow's International Exhibitions of 1888 and 1901.
Welsh bagpipes are a related instrument to one type of bagpipe, a chanter, which when played without the bag and drone is called a pibgorn. The generic term pibau which covers all woodwind instruments is also used in Welsh. They have been played, documented, represented and described in Wales since the fourteenth century. A piper in Welsh is called a pibydd or a pibgodwr.
Cowcaddens subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway and serves the Cowcaddens, Garnethill and Dundasvale areas of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located on the north side of the city centre. Glasgow School of Art, Tenement House, the National Piping Centre, and to some extent Glasgow Caledonian University are local institutions and attractions served by the station.
This article defines a number of terms that are exclusive, or whose meaning is exclusive, to piping and pipers.
The Scots School Albury is an independent, K–12, co-educational day and boarding School, located in Albury, New South Wales, Australia. It draws students from the local area and other parts of Australia. It is associated with the Uniting Church in Australia but is not managed or governed by the Church.
pipes|drums is an independent, not-for-profit publication for Highland pipers and pipe band drummers. A combination of free and subscription-based content, the site is the world's most frequented news and features outlet serving piping and drumming.
The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada, established in 1990 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, is an international school teaching Highland bagpiping, Scottish-style snare drumming, Highland Dancing and Island step dancing. General (Ret'd) John de Chastelain was a director at the college. The College of Piping is the most prestigious piping organisation on Prince Edward Island. The college has won 5th place in Grade 3B at the 2012 World Pipe Band Championships and 4th place in Grade 3b at the 2007 World Pipe Band Championships. In addition to these accomplishments are numerous awards from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the Eastern United States. Many of the members of The College of Piping Pipe Bands are also award-winning soloists, bringing home local, regional, national and international prizes for their respective grade.
The Tenement House is a historic house museum in Glasgow, owned and operated by the National Trust for Scotland.
The McLean Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery situated in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the main museum in the Inverclyde area, it is free to visit and was opened in 1876. Most notably it features an exhibition of items related to James Watt, the Greenock-born inventor, a Mummy Cartonnage from Herakleopolis Magna and a collection of British and Scottish art. The principal entrance to the museum is on Kelly Street, in the Greenock West area. The former curator is Val Boa. The Watt Institution includes the Art Gallery, Watt Hall, Watt Library and Inverclyde Archives.
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and gallery on Castle Wynd in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. There is no entry charge to the museum and art gallery but donations are welcome. The collection and facilities are managed by High Life Highland on behalf of Highland Council.
Willie McCallum is Scottish Highland bagpipe player.