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Clan Currie Society Announces New Piping Scholarship National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland to Administer the PM Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Bagpipe Scholarship The Clan Currie Society has announced their second in a series of arts scholarships to help preserve and promote Highland culture and heritage – the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Bagpipe Scholarship. The scholarship, named for the late Kevin Blandford, co-creator of Clan Currie’s Pipes of Christmas concerts, will be administered annually by the staff at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. The Society made the announcement at the New York performance of their highly popular “Pipes of Christmas” concert on Sunday, December 21, 2008. “We are delighted to be announcing this evening the second in what is becoming a series of performing arts scholarships in partnership with some of the leading Scottish arts organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland,” said Society president Robert Currie.
This is the second annual piping scholarship to be offered by Clan Currie. In 2006, the Clan Currie Society established the Alex Currie Memorial Scholarship for Bagpipe which is administered by the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, Nova Scotia. There are no eligibility restrictions to applying for the scholarship. “We’d never want to prevent a deserving student from being awarded this scholarship simply because of his or her name or clan affiliation,” said Currie. “The National Piping Centre is delighted that the Clan Currie Society is supporting the piping community with a bursary in honour of Kevin Blandford,” said Margaret Houlihan, a Director for the Centre. The annual scholarship has been designated for the Centre’s US-based piping workshop program in New York. Each year the Centre offers three one week workshops with leading instructors. The workshops take place in New York, California, and Georgia. About Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford (1963 – 2003) Kevin Blandford was already in love with music when he became infatuated with the bagpipes at 14. That infatuation grew much deeper, to the point where he became one of the most influential pipers in the United States, teaching dozens of students in California, composing original pieces, and performing the now classic Pipes of Christmas concert produced by the Clan Currie Society since 1999 in New York and New Jersey and the Society’s annual Kirking of the Tartans service from 1995 - 1998. Blandford's performances of the Pipes of Christmas quickly became an annual family event for those on the east coast, while Blandford’s recording of the same name originally made in the early 1990s have sold out several printings. "I don't perform other Christmas concerts," he said in a 2002 interview. "This is it." He had served as Pipe Major of the award-winning R.P. Blandford & Son Pipe Band since 1988. He and his father, Paul, had created the R.P. Blandford and Son Ltd. British Isles Import Shop in 1983. Kevin was also the president of the Western United States Pipe Band Association (WUSPBA) for several years. Blandford lost his battle to cancer on November 26, 2003. He was only 40 years old. Though he had kept the December 2003 Pipes of Christmas concert as a personal goal, he passed away just weeks short of the performances, which were dedicated to him. To learn more about PM Kevin Blandford, see his article in Clansfolk Profiles. About the Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band The R.P. Blandford & Son Pipe Band was formed in 1986 after its original sponsor, the R.P. Blandford & Son, Ltd. British Imports shop. The band began as a small group of twelve pipers and drummers who practiced and performed regularly. The band did not enter its first competition until 1994 at the Costa Mesa (California) Highland Games. By its third competition, the band began a winning streak taking aggregate trophies in Monterey and Pleasanton, CA.
In 1996, the R.P. Blandford & Son Pipe Band was upgraded to Grade 3. The band also continued its Grade 4 band which was awarded the Western United States Pipe Band Association (WUSPBA) Champion of Champions title. In 1998, the band began working with Ian Whitelaw who helped the band create a new competitive style. By 1999, the Grade 3 band was winning most of its competitions culminating in winning the WUSPBA Champion of Champions award. In 2000, the band competed for the first time in the World Pipe Band Championship in Glasgow, Scotland placing second in their category. In 2002, the Band returned to Scotland and the World Championship placing first in the category of Dress and Deportment. That same year, the band made their debut in the Clan Currie Society’s Pipes of Christmas concert which had earlier featured Pipe Major Blandford since its premiere in 1999. The band continues to play a featured role in the critically-acclaimed concert. In 2004, the band changed its name to the Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band in memory of the band’s founder and first pipe major. The band now has over forty pipers and drummers in its Grade 3 and Grade 4 bands and continues to grow. Although the Band is based in Redlands, California, it draws members from throughout the United States including all of California, Tennessee, Massachusetts and British Columbia. Consistent with its policy to travel outside of its local area, in 2005 the Grade 3 band traveled to the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, GA, taking home the first place trophy for the Grade 3 competition and the trophy for band of the day. The Band also returned to Scotland for the 2007 World Championships at which it placed 5th. The band is now under the direction of award winning Pipe Major Matt Nonnemacher and world champion drummer, Drum Sergeant Eli Fugate, formerly of the world champion House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band. About The National Piping Centre
The National Piping Centre (Patron HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, KG, KT, GCB) was founded in 1996 and is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The Centre is dedicated to preserving the history and music of the Highland bagpipe and to safeguarding its future. The school serves as a national and international centre of excellence for the instrument and its music and promotes a program of education and piping tuition at all levels. The National Piping Centre provides facilities of the very highest quality for both the piping and non-piping fraternity. The Centre also houses the Museum of Piping, which contains the National Museum of Scotland’s Piping Collection. In addition, the Centre has a library and audio resource, which together with the museum, offers students a wealth of archival information. The Centre also is dedicated to the performance of Scottish Smallpipes, Uilleann Pipes, Fiddle, Accordion and Drumming. To learn more about the Centre, visit their website at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk.
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