November 2005
PIPERS’ and PIPE BAND SOCIETY
of ONTARIO, OTTAWA BRANCH
**** www.ppbso-ottawa.org ****
President: Graeme Ogilvie (613) 830-9160
(email: )
Vice-President: Charlie King (613) 830-7418
(email: )
Vice-President: Jenny Putinski (613) 836-7372
(email: )
Treasurer: Jack Yourt (613) 774-3622
(email: )
Secretary: Douglas Heyland (613) 821-2505
(email: )
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November Knock-Out Contest results…..
The November knock-out contest featured the “B” Division pipers, playing four parts of a 2/4 march, and our drummers also playing four parts of a 2/4 march. Our thanks go out to our piping judge, Brian Williamson, and drumming judge, Bob Waugh, for helping out again this year. The competition results were as follows:
Drumming:
1st Brendan Vallee, 79th's Farewell to Gibraltar
2nd Doug Crowe, Mairi's Wedding, Barren Rocks
Piping:
1st Matt Goral, Atholl & Breadalbane Gathering
2nd Andrew Munro, Sprig of Ivy
3rd Alex Spearman, King George the Fifth's Army
4th Dan Cameron, Glen Caladh Castle
5th Scott Cameron, Mairi's Wedding, Barren Rocks
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ALLAN QUINN MEMORIAL CONTEST…. Saturday 03 December 2005
Ottawa Branch December Knock-Out…. “A” Division points will be awarded
Start Time… 7:30 pm. To keep the evening from running too late, all competitors are asked to be registered by 7:15 pm. If you can’t make it by 7:15, please contact any of the Ottawa Branch executive in advance to reserve a spot in the draw. Place… the Walkey Road Armouries, 2100 Walkley Road, between St. Laurent Blvd and Conroy Ave (the Armouries are on the south side of Walkley Ave, right beside the Walkley Bowling Centre parking lot). *** NOTE: do not park in the reserved parking spots, the Armouries are a 24/7 facility ***.
Tune Requirements…. March, Strathspey, Reel (minimum four parts each)
Judge & Recitalist….. Ed Bush
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Future Ottawa Branch Dates
26 November 2005 PPBSO AGM and Ceilidh, Milton ON
AGM: 1:00 pm, Milton Arena
Ceilidh: 6:30 pm, Milton Arena, cost $15.00 (cold buffet at 9:00 pm)
07 January 2006 Maj(Ret’d) Archie Cairns Cup, Drumming Knock-Out, Walkley Mess
Judge/Recitalist…. Bob Worrall
“B” Division piping…. slow air, four parts of a 6/8 March (one or two tunes)
04 February 2006 Ottawa Branch Knock-Out Contest, Walkley Mess
“A” Division piping…. Slow Air, Hornpipe (min 4 pts), Jig (min 4 pts)
04 March 2006 Ottawa Branch Knock-Out Finals, Walkley Mess
Piping finalists…. medley of competitors choice, min 3 minutes
01 April 2006 Ottawa Branch Piping Workshop, Open Solo Piping Contest
Workshop Instructor, Open Contest Judge: Maj (Ret’d) Archie Cairns
13 May 2006 Winchester In-Door Highland Games
*** Looking For ***
A beginning piper is looking for a set of pipes. Would preferably like a set of McCallum AB 1 to 3 but willing to look at everything. Please respond to .
The Saltire of Scotland
The Saltire, or St. Andrew’s Cross, the flag of Scotland, has an honourable history. In the year 685, the Nothumbrians took on the Picts in the battle of Dunnichen north of the Tay estuary: The Picts won. Some fifty years later there was another battle of significance between the two antagonists near the village of Athelstaneford in East Lothian. This battle is, by tradition, believed to have provided Scotland with its patron saint, the apostle St. Andrew, and his banner, the Saltire. According to a Latin History of Scotland written in the 1440s, the Pictish warrior-king Unust was having the worst of the battle when St. Andrew appeared to him in a dream and promised him victory (St. Andrew was the first of the apostles called by Jesus). This, and another supernatural omen did the trick, allowing the tide to be turned and the battle won. The latter was a huge cloud formation against the blue sky in the shape of a Saltire (a diagonal cross on which St. Andrew was said to have been crucified). Hence the adoption of St. Andrew as Scotland’s patron saint, and the blue-and-white Saltire banner as the symbol of Scotland’s nationhood.
*Source: Magnusson, Magnus: Scotland, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, NY, 2000.
Pipe Major Jamie Ritchie
Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band
On Sunday 25 September 2005, at a small ceremony on Parliament Hill following this year’s National Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, Chief Vince Bevan formally introduced Jamie Ritchie as the new Pipe Major of the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band. Jamie is quite well known in the local piping community, and although he has very large shoes to fill with the untimely passing of Pipe Major Pat Hayes, the extremely high standard of both his leadership and playing skills will stand him in good stead for this senior appointment. We all wish him well in this new position.
This is the sixth in an on-going series of profiles of local pipers/drummers who have made a significant contribution to the Pipe Band world. The following is a biography of Amy Garson of Ottawa, Ontario, who surmounted extraordinary challenges on her climb to the highest rungs of the solo piping world, becoming the first female piper in the world to win the Silver Medal, and finishing as high as third in the Gold Medal contests . Now a mother of three and a lawyer with the Department of Justice, Amy continues to be actively involved through her judging and in particular, her regular assistance with our Ottawa Branch events..
AMY GARSON
To say that Amy has had an outstanding piping career is a huge understatement; and it’s now very much our privilege to recognize Amy for her remarkable achievements both here at home, in the United States and especially in the UK.
Born and raised in Ottawa, Amy Garson (neé Goble), started Highland Dancing in the late 60’s with a prominent and innovative dancing teacher, Yvonne MacGregor. She excelled, winning quite a lot in the competitions in and around Ottawa, as I can remember too well! Her brother started taking chanter lessons around this time. Amy sat in the background waiting for the drive back home and was very interested in what he was doing. Ultimately, she learned the basics, became very interested, and eventually turned her attention to the piping scene.
Attendance at the 1000’s Islands School for Scottish Performing Arts in Brockville, held from 1970 – 1976, proved to be very profitable for many of us, with the likes of Seumas MacNeill, Duncan Johnstone, Iain MacFadyen and James McIntosh, to name a few, teaching for two weeks in July. It was there that Amy met James MacIntosh who took a special interest in her, recognizing her talent and capabilities as a flourishing great piper. She then went, for several summers to the newly opened school in Timmins, Ontario directed by Seumas MacNeill, with James MacIntosh as one of the principal teachers, during which time she continued to master light music as well as being introduced to and mastering the intricate Piobaireachd.
Back home, in her early piping days, she was under the tutelage of Dave Benyon, Pipe Major of the Campbell Harrington Pipe Band. She then went on to continue studying with John T. MacKenzie in Rockcliffe, later in Maxville, Ontario, and became a member of the Glengarry Pipe Band during this time period. While studying law at Queen’s University, she was a member of the Queen’s Pipe Band under the direction of Pipe Major Peter Richards.
Amy did extremely well in all the competitions in this area, as well as winning the amateur piobaireachd at Alma, Michigan, the judge being the all time favourite of the day, John Wilson. She also won at some of the local Highland Gatherings in Scotland, like the Glenfinnan Highland Gathering. Competing at Oban was out of the question at the time, though. Female pipers were not invited to play at these games prior to 1976.
In 1980, Colonel D.J. Murray was very impressed with her performance at an Ottawa Piping Club competition at the Cartier Square Drill Hall. He was so impressed that he produced a letter of recommendation for Amy to compete in Inverness the following year. At her debut in Inverness, Amy became the first female to win the Silver Medal for piobaireachd. Between 1982 and 1986, she continued her winning streak, picking up third, fourth and fifth place finishes in the Gold Medal contests at Oban and Inverness. During this time, she was a very welcome addition to the Dunvegan Pipe Band of Ottawa under the direction of Colin MacLellan and Scott MacAulay. The band exceeded expectations, progressing to grade two and regularly being on the prize list in the major highland games in North America.
In the North American solo piping scene, Amy continued to be on the prize lists throughout the 1980’s. At the Colonial Highland Gathering in Fair Hill Maryland, she won the gold medal, and clasp on several occasions, for which she received the ultimate prize, a beautiful piper’s belt buckle.
In 1987, Amy became a member of the panel of judges for the EUSPBA
In 1988, Amy competed at the Colonial Highland Gathering in Fair Hill, Maryland and won the overall Piper of the Day for which she received a special invitation to play in the prestigious Grant’s Championship at Blair Atholl Castle. At this time, she studied light music with Jimmy MacGregor for a few days leading up to this competition. Amy made history that year being the first woman to receive an invitation to play at this prestigious event and made a fine job of the Park Piobaireachd No.2, which brought her the Silver Medal seven years earlier.
Several months later in July 1989, Amy won the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal, at the Cambridge Highland Games. At the Livingstone Memorial, the trophy was Amy’s more than once. In addition, the list of Amy’s achievements for piobaireachd continues, far too many to mention!
In conclusion, Amy and I have been friends for most of our lives and I respect her immensely not only for her major accomplishments in the piping world, but as a female at the top of her game persevering in a mostly male venue. She did tell me that there were times when she wasn’t too sure whether she wanted to continue, mainly because of the attitude of some distinguished leaders and fellow pipers in the mostly male-oriented piping world, both in the UK and North America.
Amy is a busy person, mainly because her husband and family of three children come first to her, followed by her career as a lawyer in the Department of Justice. But she did say that she would like to compete in the future. She misses it. Right now, she is a very sought after judge for competitions both here and the US and is keeping her hand in piping for dancing competitions and recitals.
It was a thrill to see her Inverness Silver Medal and the Gold Medal she won at Cambridge, just a very small part of her vast collection of “hardware” she has accumulated in her lifetime of accomplishments. I wish to congratulate Amy on her piping achievements and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.
Jennifer E. Putinski
PIPE MAJOR TOM HALL
ULSTER SCOTTISH PIPE BAND
(1934-2005)
It is with extreme sadness that we say good-bye to another Pipe Major well known in the Eastern Ontario region. Tom Hall joined the Ulster Scottish Pipe Band of Huntingdon Valley (Philadelphia) when he was just seventeen years of age, and served as Pipe Major from 1960 to 2002. His son David took the reins of the band in 2002 as Tom’s health began to fail. A true family affair, Tom’s two daughters, Traci and Midge, also play with the Ulster Scottish. Although continuing to suffer from a serious heart-related condition, Tom still managed in September to make his way to the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, an event at which the band has been a regular, including a third place prize in 1991 (the same year the band was introduced as the “Ultra-Scottish” Pipe Band, a major faux pas for a band directly descended from the proud families of Ulster). Tom and his entire family have been extremely active members of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA), and Tom was also a prolific piping instructor in the Philadelphia area. In our area, Tom and the band, with their distinctive brown Ulster tartan, were always recognizable on their annual treks up to the Glengarry and Montreal Highland Games. Whether it be rubbing elbows with the likes of Rod Stewart or teaching kids whose hands were still too small to reach the holes, Tommy had a smile and abundant time for everyone. Our deepest sympathies are extended to Tom Hall's family, members of the band, and friends.
2004/2005 PPBSO (Ottawa Branch) Financial Statement
Category Description Oct03 - Sep04 Oct04 - Sep05
INCOME
Donations 1,000.00 1,450.00 note 1
Door Receipts 3,573.00 4,453.37
Highland Ball Door Receipts 0.00 4,442.00
Highland Ball Band Travel 0.00 1,915.00
AGM Reimbursement 0.00 332.00
Memberships 3,110.00 3,210.00
Travel Reimbursement 435.23 351.80
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TOTAL INCOME $8,118.23 $16,154.17
EXPENSES
Bank Charges 48.29 52.65
Gifts/Donations 400.00 200.00
Hall Rental 1003.50 1,203.50
AGM Expenses 0.00 332.00
Highland Ball Expenses 0.00 7,306.63
Internet 147.29 287.62
Judging, Recital 2,557.28 2,020.00
Medals 35.31 471.96
Misc (Winchester) 40.00 60.06
Postage, Copying 1,962.98 2,056.60
Prize Money 1,325.00 1,450.00 note 1
Social, Entertainment 29.35 0.00
Travel 435.23 566.00
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TOTAL EXPENSES $7,984.23 $16,007.02
INCOME vs. EXPENSES $134.00 $147.15
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Note: 1. Donations and Prize Money do not include $300 presented by the MacLeod Society for the Ottawa Branch Open Solo Contest first place prize, which is paid directly to the winner of the event.
NOW IN PLACE D’ORLEANS FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS