The Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming will present a free concert in Pittsburgh, PA, at 8:00pm on July 11, 2019. Featured performers will be Balmoral summer guest instructors, pipers Bruce Gandy and Andrew Carlisle, our drumming instructor Gordon Bell, Celtic ensemble Road to the Isles, Scottish and Irish dancers, and Balmoral Pipes & Drums. Also performing will be the school’s director, George Balderose, piping instructor, Richmond Johnston, and students from Balmoral’s summer program. Our emcee for the evening will be Arthur McAra.
About our Guest Instructors…
Originally from Northern Ireland, now a resident of Pittsburgh, Andrew Carlisle has won numerous top awards: A Grade Strathspey and Reel at Oban, the A Grade Piobaireachd & Overall at The Cowal Highland Gathering, US Gold Medals for both Light Music & Piobaireachd, and three All-Ireland titles at Senior level. He’s 3-time winner of the Macallan Trophy at Lorient, Brittany, France. Andrew holds the prestigious positions of Professor of Music and Director of Piping at Carnegie Mellon University.
Bruce Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia was a member of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band when they were the first non-Scottish pipe band to win the World Pipe Band Championships in 1987. His solo awards include the Canadian Gold Medal, Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting, Gold Medal at Oban, and Bratach Gorm. He is a 3-time winner of the MacCrimmon Memorial Cairn for Piobaireachd and is a Vancouver Indoor 6-Time Metro Cup Winner. Bruce teaches piping full time in Halifax, NS, as well as via Skype.
Drumming instructor Gordon Bell, led Parlin & District’s drum corp from 1975 through the 1980s, as the band dominated the EUSPBA pipeband scene, winning the Grade 2 North American Championship, placing them in Grade 1. In the solo field, Gordon won EUSPBA Overall Champion each year from 1979 to 1987.
Admission if FREE to the public!