Steve Harris

Wednesday October 11th, 2017

Submitted by John Bridge

Steve Harris was a part of the Ontario pipe band scene for 55 years. He started as a pre-teen, drumming with the Guelph Pipe Band in the early 60’s under Pipe Major Bob Whittle. He went in to competition with them in 1968 and travelled to Scotland at the grade 2 level. Steve continued on with the band in the 70’s when they were promoted to grade one under Pipe Major Ed Neigh where he served for a short time as lead drummer. He was also no stranger to the Open Solo Drumming competitions during that time, as he has a trophy or two that will attest to that.
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Solo Piping Grades 4 and 5 Suggested Tunes

Monday September 4th, 2017

As the competition season ends and new school year begins, people start thinking about learning new tunes for the next season. This make this the perfect time to let teachers and competitors know about our list of suggested tunes for solo piping in grades 4 and 5.
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Solo Requirements

Wednesday August 2nd, 2017

With Maxville right around the corner, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind our members (and our guests) of some of the requirements regarding solo events.

• Please report to the stewards before the beginning of the event. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
• A competitor shall play at his or her assigned or adjusted time or position, or
  when required to play by the Steward for the event.

• For pipers, if there is a conflict between your playing times for your light music and your piobaireachd events, let the stewards know right away. The piobaireachd event will take priority over the light music (since light music events are shorter).
• Again for pipers, tuning time is limited to three (3) minutes for light music and five (5) minutes for piobaireachd. Exceeding your tuning time may result in disqualification.
• Please check in with the stewards regularly to ensure that you know when your turn to play will be.

If all competitors can keep these rules in mind, the events will go much more smoothly and will be to the benefit of all involved.

Maxville Notes

Monday July 24th, 2017

A few notes about Maxville:

1. Although some roster changes can still be made in accordance with sections D-1 and D-2 of the rule book, the final roster counts have been submitted to the Glengarry Games Committee. As a result, any additional players added to a roster will not receive a games pass to the grounds.
2. All band passes to the grounds will be sent to the listed band contact directly by the Glengarry Games Committee this week (the 24^th through the 28^th.
3. All amateur piping, piobaireachd, and snare drumming events are to be held on Friday the 4^th. All professional events, and all bass and tenor events are to be held on Saturday morning.
4. The grade 5 band meeting will be on Friday at 11:00 at the PPBSO tent.

Kincardine Band Meeting

Tuesday July 4th, 2017

The band meeting at Kincardine this Saturday, July 8th will be held at 10:00 instead of the usual 11:00. As always, bands are required to send one representative to the meeting.

Cobourg Band Changes

Wednesday June 14th, 2017

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’ve had to make some changes to the band circles at Cobourg this weekend. The new band contest start times and judging assignments can be found at http://ppbso.org/cobourg-highland-games-5.

We thank you for your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Announcing the Teacher Database

Thursday June 1st, 2017

If you’re a piping, snare, tenor, or bass drumming teacher, we want to know! In conjunction with our Let’s Try the Bagpipes! pilot project, we are reviving our database of teachers.

The database will be published on the PPBSO website and any PPBSO member is welcome to be included. Simply complete and return the Teacher Information Form to us by email, fax, or regular mail. The form can be found in the “Forms” section of the PPBSO website.

While the database will include teachers of all levels, to start we’re particularly seeking teachers with experience and/or special interest in teaching beginners. We will be directing interested learners to the database at Let’s Try the Bagpipes!

Want more information? Contact Ellen Mole at teaching@ppbso.org.

Let’s Try the Bagpipes!

Thursday June 1st, 2017

Let’s Try the Bagpipes! is a pilot project of the PPBSO at the Georgetown Highland Games and the Fergus Scottish Festival in 2017.

The idea is to stimulate curiosity and spark a desire to learn by allowing members of the public to handle instruments, try them out and get all their questions answered. We will have a booth in the vendors area displaying practice chanters, various types of bagpipes, reeds, music and assorted gear.
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