Welcome to the EUSPBA Southwest Region

Solo Competition in Tulsa, 9/17/11. Deadline 9/2/11

The Oklahoma Scottish Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma is hosting an EUSPBA sanctioned solo Pipe competition on Saturday, September 17, 2011.  Judges are Chris Apps and Bob Worrall.  The competition is open to Grade 1 through 4.  The grade 4 category has five competition events. Information and an entry form can be found at the Oklahoma Scottish Festival website:
http://osf.oklahomascottishfestival.com/2011/events/pipes-drums/ 
Email bndmitchell@sbcglobal.net with any questions.

Come up for the competition and enjoy all the other festival activities!

San Antonio Presidents' Day Piping and Drumming Workshop

Don't forget the 12th Annual President's Day Piping Workshop in San Antonio, TX, sponsored by the Black Bexar Pipe Band!  It will be held Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20, 2011 at the Texas Military Institute. Pipe instructors include Ed Neigh, Ian MacDonald and Sandy Jones; Stephen Cameron will be the drum instructor.  There will also be a special piobaireachd session held on Monday, February 21 at Covenant Presbyterian Church.  This workshop has received great reviews in the past, and we're sure that this year will be another exceptional event. For more information, visit their website at www.blackbexar.com, or contact Rose Adams at rosepipes@aol.com.  

Tulsa Competition Slated for May

The City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums will again host a solo piping competition on Saturday, May 22, 2010. The tentative start time will be 8:00 am but may be adjusted depending on the number of soloists that register. The event will be at the Veteran's of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall in downtown Tulsa, (1109 E. 6th St., Tulsa, OK 74120). If the weather permits the event will be held outside at Centennial Park, which is across the street from the VFW hall. This is an EUSPBA sanctioned event and Jimmy Bell will be the judge.

 

The registration form is attached. Registration forms should be sent to the address on the form. Questions can be emailed to me (Bruce Mitchell) at bndmitchell@sbcglobal.net.

Download Tulsa Solo Piping Competition 5-22-2010

2009 Houston Highland Games

In spite of thunderstorms and having to find a last minute replacement for a sick judge, the Houston Highland Games once again were excellent.  Aletha Evert, the Competition Director, kindly provided this write-up:

 

The 2009 Houston Highland Games offered challenging competition for bands and soloists alike.  The highlight of the solo competitions, with 50 plus pipers and drummers, was a professional piping event on Saturday, sponsored by the Heather and Thistle Society. Lyric Todkill of Houston was the aggregate winner, followed by Jimmy Bell, Batesville, Arkansas and Doug MacRae, Houston.

 

Eight full bands and eight mini bands participated in this year’s games.  The MSR band event featured a rematch between the top finishing 2008 Grade III bands from the North American championships. The Thomas’ Episcopal A band defeated the Westminster Pipe Band, with the Silver Thistle A band placing third.

 

Summing up the games, piping judge Bob Worrall said, “first rate organization (as always), terrific hospitality, and great music.”

Austin Piping Competition

On Saturday, June 6, the Silver Thistle band sponsors the 3rd annual Austin Piping Competition.  The contest, sanctioned by EUSPBA, will be held at the Manchaca United Methodist Church - inside and air-conditioned! - with PM E.D. Neigh and Mike Cusack serving as judges.

For information, registration form and a map to the church, visit this site:

http://www.silverthistle.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=1

Hope to see you there!

Celtic Nations Heritage Festival, March 28 - Competition Only Cancelled

The Celtic Nations Heritage Festival, scheduled for the weekend of March 28 in Lake Charles, Louisiana has cancelled the Piping/Drumming Solo and Mini-band competitions due to budget restraints.  This festival has had a tough year already thanks to hurricane damage to their venue, the Lake Charles Civic Center.  However, they will still be celebrating Celtic heritage in fine style on the grounds of the Civic Center.  It is a beautiful, park-like facility right beside the lake.  The entertainment is excellent and there are lots of great activities for children and adults, so you can take the whole family and enjoy a fun and relaxing day, free of competition responsibilities.  If you can't resist playing an instrument, bring along any session instruments you play because both arranged and impromptu groups are a big part of this festival.

Pipe & Drum Workshop Scheduled for San Antonio

The 10th annual President's Day pipe and drum workshop will be held in San Antonio the weekend of Feb. 14th and 15th.  Sponsored by the Black Bexar Pipe and Drum band, the workshop features some top instructors:  Ed Neigh and Reay MacKay for piping, and Stephen Cameron for drums.

A special piobaireachd session, also lead by Neigh and MacKay, will be held on Monday, Feb. 16th.

An Instructor's Recital and Ceilidh takes place on Saturday evening.

For more information, and for registration forms, visit www.blackbexar.com/workshop.htm or contact Rose Adams at rosepipes@aol.com. 

Registration Open for First '09 Competition

Following on last year's success, the year's first sanctioned solo piping competition is set for Feb. 28 in The Woodlands, TX, just north of Houston.  Jimmy Bell will adjudicate the competitions.

The event will take place at the Christ Church-United Methodist, at 6363 Research Drive., site of last year's competition.  A registration form is attached to this post.  Order of play will be determined by postmark.

All sanctioned events will be available for grades 1-4.  New this year is the EUSPBA-sanctioned strathspey/reel (2 parts each) competition for grade 4, senior and junior divisions.

For questions or more information, contact Eddie Selden at eselden@pti-sys.com

Hope to see you there!Download Houston entry form 2009

Schedule of Events: Update

Attached to this post, for easy downloading, is an updated schedule of piping and drumming events for 2009.  The one notable addition is the new dates for the Celtic Nations Heritage Festival.  Two hurricanes - Gustav and Ike - forced a cancellation of its October dates.  It has been rescheduled for the weekend of March 27-29 in Lake Charles, LA.

We welcome news and information for SW region events.  Send the details of your event, and we will include it in the schedule.

Download 2009_event_calendar

2009 Calendar of events

A first draft of events within the Southwest region is attached here.  We've included information known at this time; more details will be released as they are known, and the calendar will be updated accordingly.  For now, though, most 2009 events are scheduled so you can start making plans.

Please send event information to us and we'll include it on the calendar.

Cheers!Download 2009_event_calendar.doc