Dear Friends,

In light of the recent international events and the now global corona virus epidemic, we have been receiving expressions of concern from both US and European participants regarding their travel plans and health.

After much thought and discussion, it is with a heavy heart that we have come to the decision of cancelling this 2020 edition of the International Bagpipe Conference. 

We feel that this is the only responsible decision to take in the current climate, responding to your concerns, but also to eventual problems that may arise such as last minute travel-bans, cancelled flights or even unexpected enforced quarantines for travellers.

We will be convening in two weeks time to think about alternative possibilities to disseminate your research and continue such as publications of the papers in virtual or printed format or the organisation of a substitute event further in the future when the situation has cleared up a little. Please keep an eye out here for any further updates.

We would like to express our most heartfelt apologies towards all of you, as we had planned a wonderful event and we were looking forward to meeting all of you at the conference. 

We would like, however, to encourage everyone to celebrate International Bagpipe Day on 10 March 2020 in your respective communities. Harvard University will be celebrating in a quieter way with a curated bagpipe exhibition in it's music library, accessible until 13 April if you can't make it next week.

Please do get in touch with any feedback or any further comments if you have any. We are here to respond to any of your questions.
 
Cassandre, Roger and Panayotis
The 2020 International Bagpipe Conference Committee

The International Bagpipe Organisation presents the
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL BAGPIPE CONFERENCE
13-15 March 2020
Harvard University, Boston, USA

CALL FOR PAPERS
Bagpipes and Diaspora
Abstract submission deadline: 15 September 2019
Abstract acceptance notification: 15 October 2019
Abstract length: 250 words
Contact: [email protected]
Website: www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com

The International Bagpipe Organisation warmly invites you to participate in the Fifth International Bagpipe Conference (IBC) to mark International Bagpipe Day 2020 (10 March), a celebration of the world’s diverse bagpipes and bagpiping traditions. The conference will spread over three days, starting on Friday evening with an opening concert and ending on Sunday afternoon. The conference will be held over a range of venues in Boston, USA. The Friday evening concert and the Saturday conference will be held at Harvard University. Social events on Saturday evening and Sunday all day will be held in Boston.

The conference is a productive and welcoming platform for all people interested in the study of bagpipes: musicologists, ethnomusicologists, music experts, instrument makers, folk musicians, dancers and music lovers. This event is an exciting interdisciplinary opportunity to debate various questions relating to the study of bagpipes both today and historically. All are welcome, whether you choose to present or simply listen and enjoy the atmosphere. The IBCs are friendly events, open to all, promoting bagpipes from all around the world.

In 2020, we will take the conference to the United States where we will explore bagpipes in diasporic communities. Indeed, in line with the anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower and the founding of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, we will be looking at how pipers from around the world have spread their customs and music all around the world, helping sustain communities or forging new identities far away from home. Presenters from the U.S. and from the rest of the world are welcome to present on themes directly linked to bagpipes.

Papers touching on topics linked to migration, identity, community and diaspora, both within the U.S. and in the rest of the world are specifically welcome. Papers touching on other themes such as organology, playing techniques, ornamentation, history, iconography, instrument making, recordings, archiving, collecting, composing will also be considered.

Interested participants are to submit a paper title, an abstract of no more than 250 words complete with an institutional affiliation or profession and contact details by 15 September 2019 to [email protected]. 

Due to a large amount of applications the previous years, abstracts from people who are applying for the first time or who did not present in 2018 will be prioritised. This is to encourage a wider scope of presenters. We do, however, encourage everyone to attend the conference, regardless of whether you are presenting or not.

Successful applicants will be notified by 15 October 2019.

Programme Committee
Dr Panayotis League (Florida State University)
Roger Landes (Texas Tech University)
Dr Cassandre Balosso-Bardin (University of Lincoln, UK)

Conference schedule:
Friday 13 March 2020 - evening
Paine Hall, Harvard University
Bagpipes of the World Concert
 
Saturday 14 March 2020 - day
Paine Hall, Harvard University
International Bagpipe Conference
 
Saturday 14 March 2020 – evening
The Bebop
Bring your own bagpipe – curated session
 
Sunday 15 March 2020
TBA

IBC Local organising committee
Roger Landes
Panayotis League
 
IBO Committee
Cassandre Balosso-Bardin
Roger Landes
David Faulkner
 
For more information or details about past conferences, including abstracts of past papers, please browse our website.
 

After a wonderful three days in Mallorca, here are a few press clippings and a documentary by Canal 4 to remember the event by.

The International Bagpipe Organisation
presents the / presenta la
Fourth International Bagpipe Conference
Cuarta Conferencia Internacional de Cornamusas
Quarta Conferència Internacional de Cornamuses
9-11 March/Marzo/Març 2018
Arxiu del Regne de Mallorca,
Palma, Mallorca

CALL FOR PAPERS (English)
PLAZO DE ENTREGA DE TRABAJOS (Castellano)
TERMINI DE PRESENTACIÓ DE TREBALLS (Catalán)

Abstract submission deadline: 15 Oct 2017
Abstract acceptance notification: 15 Nov 2017
Contact: [email protected]
Website: www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com

For more information/Para más información/Per més informació
www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com

You took part in the current edition of the International Bagpipe Conference. How do you feel about it?
First, a huge Thank you to the organisers of the conference. They did the impossible to get us on board.  We took part in the opening concert and presented at the conference itself.
For the opening concert we played a gaida suite specially composed for the event. It was twenty five minutes long and represented most of the diversity in the Rhodopean folklore. It started with an unmeasured song, continued with fast tunes for dancing in 2/4 rhythm and irregular rhythms - 9/8 (2+2+2+3), 7/8 (3+2+2), 5/8 (2+3) and ended with a fast rachenitsa dance in 7/8 (2+2+3).
The presentation we made for the conference included topics of interest for makers, musicians and ethnomusicologists. It covered the specific ways of making the kaba gaida and we demonstrated how we make the reeds from elder tree. Kaba gaida music is rich in ornaments and reproducing them is quite interesting for musicians. We managed to notate the basic ornaments and represented our 4 level training system. For the ethnomusicologists, we talked about the diversity of performance styles and regions as well as history of the bagpipe and important events. We covered some trending projects related to our music including ours - KabaGaida.Com for online training, workshops and educational concerts.
At the IBC's open mic evening, we invited a special guest to play with us. A Scottish piper from Edinburgh, who lived in Bulgaria for couple of years and knows many Rhodopean songs and dances, joined us while singing and dancing. We were very glad to know that our culture is notable in Scotland from before the conference.
We were also very happy that were interviewed on BBC Scotland news as part of a feature on the conference and its concert (pictured below).

What happens when you go back to Bulgaria?
​We will continue to work on our continuing project KabaGaida.Com to help people learn the kaba gaida and feel it’s magic, music and traditions. We are now starting to record more training videos and notate new songs that people can use for free.
We are happy to announce that we were invited to two of the largest US festivals for world and folk music this fall - Chicago World Music Festival and Richmond Folk Festival. Our tour passes through New York, Boston, Baltimore and Washington. Between our performances we will organize music workshops for children within the Bulgarian communities and hopefully present our instruments at different university music departments.

We wish them the best of luck!