Balmoral School Expands its Reach with Celtic Ensemble Music at ESU!
For Balmoral’s summer school session, July 15-20, 2018, at East Stroudsburg University, the Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming will not only run its intensive summer school program for pipers and drummers, but will add an exciting new ensemble music program! The program will be directed by music educator, percussionist and composer, Colin Bell, and is especially aimed at students who play Celtic music on other instruments.
Teaching at East Stroudsburg is composer of pipe music, as well as award-winning Pipe Major, instructor Robert Mathieson. Mathieson served as pipe major of the Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band of North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1986-2010. The band won 30 major championships under Mathieson’s leadership and was a 5-time winner of the World Pipe Band Championships.
Also instructing is Jimmy Bell, Professional grade piper, EUSPBA, SUSPBA judges panels. Jimmy Bell is director and principal instructor of the Scottish Heritage Program, a past Pipe Major of Parlin and District Grade 1 Pipe Band and current Pipe Major of the Lyon College Pipe Band.
Running the drumming program will be Gordon Bell, who led the corp of Parlin & District as it dominated the pipeband scene in the 1980s in the EUSPBA, winning the North American Championship in Grade 2, placing them in Grade 1. As a solo drummer, Gordon won the EUSPBA Overall Champion each year from 1979 to 1987.
“Robert Mathieson, Jimmy Bell and Gordon Bell are world class musicians who put heart and soul into teaching pipes and drums,” says George Balderose, Executive Director of the Balmoral School, also an instructor at the ESU sessions. “And Colin Bell’s new ensemble music program will allow musicians who play mandolin, guitar and fiddle, for example, to play with some of the best pipers and drummers in the world.”
For our new ensemble music program at ESU, director Colin Bell will compose custom arrangements of Celtic traditional music, tailor-made to fit the instrumentation and ability level of each musician. Participating students in various ensembles will unveil their work in performances throughout the week. Colin has written and arranged music for Janina Gavankar (The League, True Blood, Mysteries of Laura, Blindspotting) and Questlove (drummer for The Roots and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon).
“It’s very exciting to have this new Celtic music ensemble as part of the Balmoral Summer School,” says ensemble director Colin Bell. “Many Balmoral students play other instruments, as well as pipes and drums. Offering them an opportunity to perform with these instruments gives us more musical possibilities. I am excited to put the notes on paper and bring this music to life. Join us!”
To register for our ESU summer session, with piping, drumming and ensemble program, CLICK here!