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IBC 2018: Call for Papers / Plazo de Entrega de Trabajos / Termini de Presentació de Treballs

8/8/2017

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Maltese zaqq presented by Karl Partridge at IBC 2016 in Glasgow
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: internationalbagpipeorg@gmail.com
Website: www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com
The International Bagpipe Organisation warmly invites you to participate in the Fourth International Bagpipe Conference to mark International Bagpipe Day 2018 (10 March), a celebration of the world’s diverse bagpipes and bagpiping traditions. The conference will be held in Palma, Mallorca, where there is a rich and unbroken piping tradition.

The conferences are 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 three days are open to the general public and bagpipe enthusiasts are more than welcome to attend. Ticket information will be posted on the website in the following weeks.

Official Languages
As the conference will be held in Catalan speaking territory, papers are welcome in English, Spanish and Catalan. Translation options will be provided.
La Organización Internacional de Cornamusas (International Bagpipe Organisation), primera plataforma internacional para el estudio de las cornamusas, le invita a participar en la Cuarta Conferencia Internacional de Cornamusas para celebrar el día internacional de la cornamusa 2018, una muestra de la diversidad de las cornamusas del mundo y de sus tradiciones.

Las conferencias de la IBO dan oportunidad a las personas interesadas en el estudio de las cornamusas a reunirse, incluyendo etnomusicólogos, musicólogos, músicos, lutieres, compositores, bailarines, y aficionados. Las conferencias ofrecen momentos y espacios en los cuales es posible hablar de diversas cuestiones relacionadas con las cornamusas de ayer, hoy y mañana.

Los tres días estarán abiertos al público y a personas interesadas.
Información sobre la registración será compartida en la página web.

Idiomas oficiales
Habitualmente en inglés, esta conferencia estará abierta a presentaciones en castellano y en catalán.


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L’Organització Internacional de Cornamuses (International Bagpipe Organisation), primera plataforma internacional per a l’estudi de les cornamuses, us convida a participar en la Quarta Conferència Internacional de Cornamuses per celebrar el Dia Internacional de la Cornamusa 2018, una mostra de la diversitat de les cornamuses del món i de les seves tradicions.

Les conferències de l’IBO donen a les persones interessades en l’estudi de les cornamuses, incloent-hi etnomusicòlegs, musicòlegs, músics, lutiers, compositors, ballarins i aficionats, l’oportunitat de reunir-se. Aquest esdeveniment ofereix moments i espais en els quals és possible parlar de diverses qüestions relacionades amb les cornamuses d’ahir, avui i demà.

Els tres dies estaran oberts al públic i a les persones interessades. La informació sobre la inscripció estarà disponible al web.

Idiomes oficials
Habitualment en anglès, aquesta Conferència està oberta a presentacions en castellà i en català.
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For more information/Para más información/Per més informació
www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com
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In memory of Anton Varela (1955-2017)

7/25/2017

4 Comments

 
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Os Cempes, one of Anton's pioneering bands:
Anton Varela, 61 years old, passed away today, 25 July 2017, on the day of Galicia. Pioneer musician and bagpipe maker, shaper of the Galician bagpipe revival, Anton was a well-loved and well-known figure in the world of the gaiteros. 

Just a few weeks ago, I was translating his own personal account of his life as a musician and maker for the Bagpipe Society's journal, Chanter. 

I prefer to leave the last words to him.

My Gaita Journey by Anton Varela (English Version)

Mi recorrido con la gaita, por Anton Varela (Version en Castellano)
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Success for Kaynak Band

5/7/2016

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Kaynak Pipers Band at IBC 2016, National Piping Centre, Glasgow. Photo by Cassandre Balosso-Bardin
Kaynak Pipers Band performed at IBC 2016 and just got invited to play at the prestigious Richmond Folk Music festival and Chicago Folk Music festival. For those who were absent, Kaynak Pipers Band is a Bulgarian group performing traditional music from the Rhodope Mountains. The soul of their performance is the sonorous and mild sound of the Rhodopian kaba gaida, the big Bulgarian bagpipe (as opposed to the djura gaida, smaller and higher pitched). Their bagpipes are made out of wood, horn and leather and their sound evokes mythological images from the past.
Here is an interview with Cvetelin Andreev, manager, piper and kaba gaida trainer about their past and upcoming projects.
Cvetelin, you are the founder of the band. Tell us more about how it started.
Well, It all began in 2005 in "Dobri Chintulov" Community Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria where I met Yanko Marangozov, then we were just beginners. Kostadin Gerdjikov and Hristo Gerdjikov, who were more advanced, came later. We became friends quickly. Then Petar Yordanov – Bunny from "Oratnitza" and Todora Vasileva joined us. Afterwards we started to develop educational activities. We were then called "Gaydunitsa" (the chanter of the gaida). Then we renamed ourselves to "Kaynak". "Kaynak" comes from Turkish and means a “source”. In the Rhodope Mountains the phrase "this is his kaynak" is sometimes used when a piper plays special, masterly and distinctive tunes. The band aims to promote the Rhodope bagpipe among children and adults in Bulgaria and
​abroad, as well as to support educational activities.

What is so special about the gaida for you?
A few things: first, it has managed to preserve its authentic form for perhaps thousands of years. By form I mean the way it is made, maintained and played.  This we believe is part of its magic – it manages to bring up to present days sounds and tunes from forgotten times, sounds that we all know deep in our soul and that give you goosebumps. Second, the gaida is not any a musical instrument. It gathers people. And we enjoy being with people, sharing thoughts and ideas.
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Kaynak Pipers presenting at IBC 2016. Photo: Cassandre Balosso-Bardin
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Cvetelin Andreev demonstrating reed making at IBC 2016. Photo: Cassandre Balosso-Bardin
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).
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Cvetelin Andreev playing for BBC Scotland at IBC 2016. Photo: Cassandre Balosso-Bardin
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!
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International Bagpipe Day 2016

3/3/2016

2 Comments

 

After an extremely successful International Bagpipe Conference at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, with speakers from France, Ukraine, Poland, England, Ireland, the USA, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria and of course Scotland, it is time to turn our thoughts to International Bagpipe Day 2016. A few communities have already announced their events and many more are to come. Don't forget to share it either by email or on the International Bagpipe Day Facebook page!

Bagpipe Gatherings and music around the world

Britain
An unusual event: music at the Stonehenge with the Southern Jacobites Pipe Band

Filming will be starting for The Bagpipe Maker's Baby.

Bagpipe session organised by the Northumbrian Pipers' Society in Morpeth.

Canada
THE Pipes and Drums of Thunder Bay in Canada are once again celebrating IBD!

Crete
Bagpipe gathering in Heraklion

France
Open mic session in Lorient

Iran
Iranian pipers are supporting International Bagpipe Day this year again with a photo contest.
Iranian bagpiper Mohsen Sharifian is in Europe these days. Check out his Facebook page for videos and to know where he will be next!

Nigeria
Pipe Major Chukwu Oba Kalu coordinator and founder of  bagpipe music society of Nigeria, and Scottishpower pipe band Nigeria has told us that they will be celebrating in style in Abuja. Their goal is to 'revive bagpipe music in Nigeria

Palestine/Lebanon
The bagpipe group Guirab, formed by twenty young Palestine musicians based in a refugee camp in Tyr, Lebanon, has now been active for 20 years and will be celebrating International Bagpipe Day this year.

USA
Talks and music at Texas Tech University

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Jon Swayne and Andy Letcher from the Bagpipe Society playing at the International Bagpipe Conference 2016
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IBD in Heraklion, Crete
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Bagpipe Day design from Iran (Busher)
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Bagpipe Day 2016 at Thunder Bay in Canada
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Bourdon Collectief at the International Bagpipe Conference, featured on BBC1 Reporting Scotland
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IBC 2016 is approaching...

1/9/2016

2 Comments

 
Welcome and Happy New Year on behalf of the International Bagpipe Organisation!

The upcoming conference will present a rich and varied selection of papers portraying many bagpipes around Europe including Ukraine, Poland, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, Portugal, Malta and Italy. You can find the full schedule on the conference page.

Tickets are now available on eventbrite. They include Saturday lunch as well as the Saturday evening Ceilidh and the Bring your Own Bagpipe session.

Ticket prices (purchasable online)
Note: the museum visit is free but should be booked with your ticket as numbers are limited. 

Note: The Saturday evening Ceilidh and the Bring your Own Bagpipe session are both included in the conference ticket.

Conference Only  £45.00 / Students £30.00

Conference + Museum Visit £45.00 / Students £30.00

Conference + Museum + Concert £50.00 / Students £35.00

Conference + Concert £50.00 / Students £35.00

Concert Only £5.00
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International Bagpipe Conference 2016 presenter Karl Partridge featured in the Maltese Times in January 2016
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Call for Paper - IBC 2016, Glasgow

8/12/2015

 
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The International Bagpipe Organisation presents the

Third International Bagpipe Conference
26-28 February 2016
Hosted by the National Piping Centre, Glasgow
Organised in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Glasgow University 
with the support of the Bagpipe Society, the Lowland and Border Piping Society, the Piobriaech Society and the William Grant & Sons foundation.

Tickets available


Call for Papers
Abstract submission deadline: 15 November 2015
Programme Committee: Cassandre Balosso-Bardin, Dr. Joshua Dixon, Dr. Andy Letcher, Dr. Susana Moreno.
Contact: internationalbagpipeorg@gmail.com
Website: www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com
Conference address: National Piping Centre, 30-34 McPhater Street, Glasgow G4 0HW


The International Bagpipe Organisation warmly invites you to participate in the Third International Bagpipe Conference to mark International Bagpipe Day 2016 (10 March), a celebration of the world’s bagpipes and bagpiping traditions. Following the success of the previous conferences, the upcoming event will spread over three days, starting on Friday evening with an opening concert and ending at Sunday noon. The National Piping Centre in Glasgow will host the event, organised with the support of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of Glasgow, the Bagpipe Society, the Lowland and Border Piping Society, the Piobriaech Society and the William Grant & Sons foundation.

The conferences are 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 three days are open to the general public and bagpipe enthusiasts are more than welcome to attend. 

Friday 26 February 2016

The conference will be launched by an opening concert hosted by the National Piping Centre. We are excited to announce the participation of the Belgian Bourdon Collectief with two baroque musettes, the brilliant Scott Wood Trio and a Bulgarian kaba gaida feature.

Saturday 27 – Sunday 28 February 2016

The conference will take place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February 2016. Bagpipe specialists from all over Europe will exchange knowledge about their instruments, music and culture. A social evening with a ceilidh (British folk dance) and an organised open mic will be held on Saturday evening.

We will consider papers that have a direct link to bagpipes, touching on themes including:

  • Taxonomy/Organology
  • Playing techniques/Ornamentation
  • Cultural or social anthropology
  • Historical findings/iconography/recent history
  • Bagpipe making
  • Recordings/Archiving/Collecting
Any other theme directly related to the bagpipes will be considered.

Interested participants are to submit a paper title, an abstract of no more than 300 words complete with an institutional affiliation or profession and contact details by 30 October 2015 to internationalbagpipeorg@gmail.com.

Due to a large amount of applications the previous years, abstracts from people who are applying for the first time or who presented in 2012 will be prioritised. This is to encourage a wider scope of presenters. We do however encourage as many people as possible to attend the conference, regardless of whether they are presenting or not.

Successful applicants will be notified by 30 November 2015.

Limited travel grants are available to help support international travel costs for speakers. Please indicate if you are interested in your accompanying email.

Jean-Cristophe Maillard 20 July 1954 - 12 July 2015

7/14/2015

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Jean-Cristophe Maillard presenting at IBC 2014, Senate House, London
Before I met Jean-Cristophe Maillard, I had heard a lot about him. It seemed that for a while we led parallel lives albeit few decades apart: he went to the same high school as me (Lycée Francois Premier) where his father used to teach music; he studied music and musicology at the Sorbonne, like I did; and his master's dissertation was supervised by Pr. Edith Weber who also happens to be my uncle's godmother. I am lucky enough to have a manuscript of it at home.

I had heard his name many times and was eager to meet one of the world's only experts in the musette baroque. When I finally did meet him in Antwerpen in 2010, he was more than I expected: not only a wonderful musician but a warm and generous person always up for a laugh. He told me how he used to get told off at home for his antics at the Sorbonne after Pr. Weber would phone his parents up to tell them what he'd been up to. 

Over the next 5 years, we met a few times at music and ethnomusicology events. In 2014 I was extremely honoured to have him as a presenter at the second International Bagpipe Conference where he talked to us with incredible enthusiasm about the 'Sublimation and personification of the bagpipe in French baroque opera : aspects of the musette in the lyric repertoire between Lully and Rameau'.


His kindness went further and a year ago he wrote a wonderful piece about the conference in the French music journal Pastel, spreading the word in France. I am very grateful to him for this very positive article and it was very important to me to know that I had his full support in this international bagpipe venture.


Jean-Cristophe Maillard was a wonderful man, a talented musician and a great expert. He died due to complications after surgery in the night of the 12 July. He will be sorely missed by the bagpipe community. Our thoughts go to his friends and family.


The funeral will be held on 17 July at 9:45am at the Eglise sainte Thérèse (12 rue Belle Paule, 31500 Toulouse). 
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Happy International Bagpipe Day!

3/10/2015

2 Comments

 
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Iranian bagpipers gathered in Bushehr for the week-long contest - with Mohsen Sharifan (standing front right)
It's finally here! International Bagpipe Day 2015!

A lot is happening all over the world (have a look at the previous blog entrance for more detail or the International Bagpipe Day page) from Belarus to the USA, Hungary to the UK and Germany to Canada...

But today's special feature goes to Mohsen Sharifan who gathered as many Iranian pipers as possible in Bushehri despite struggling with opposition. Indeed, we were told that Mohsen has been playing the bagpipes for 22 years but has not been able to perform in his home town, Busher, for the last 16 years. 

This year's bagpipe competition, which he organised in celebration of International Bagpipe Day, has defied all previous opposition and showcased the beautiful instrument that Sir William Ouseley had already described in his travels to Persia from 1810 to 1812.
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We wish the Iranian ney-aban players a great International Bagpipe Day from all around the world! Make sure you have a look at the wonderful pictures that were taken this week during the competition.

Make sure you watch their feature video of the gathering.

And greetings from the IBO!
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Bagpipe Day 2015 - 10 March

2/11/2015

6 Comments

 
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Bagpipe competition in Southern Iran, leading up to the finals on 10 March 2015
We are currently working hard with the National Piping Centre for setting up IBC 2016. 

But first, IBD 2015 is round the corner with lots happening in the world!

10 March

Glasgow
- The National Piping Centre will be live streaming a concert online. Watch out for the video on their website.

London - There will be a bagpipe concert/session in London at 14 Bacon Street venue (Shoreditch), one of the best places around. Pipers who want to get involved and play a tune or two alone, email cassandre.balbar@gmail.com

SOAS Radio - Bagpipes Galore podcast on SOAS Radio will be publishing a special edition with recordings from around the world. Get involved and suggest recordings or send a recording of yourself playing the pipes! Email: internationalbagpipeorg@gmail.com

Chester - Chester pipers are organising an IBD session with many different pipes at the Cross Keys.

Berlin - Swedish piper Olle Gällmo is  playing for a Bal Folk at the Haus der Sinne in Berlin, Germany. The band Sunday Jam will also be playing with Matthias Branschke on the pipes. 

Athens - The Greek pipers will gather for a picnic on Philopappou hill opposite the Acropolis. Their slogan is "in days like these, all we need is each other", so feel free to join them!

Santorini - La Ponta, the tsambouna centre in Santorini is celebrating International Bagpipe Day.

Budapest - Hungarian pipers are joining the festivities by celebrating IBD at their regular club event. 

Iran - Iranian bagpiper Mohsen Sharifan has organised concerts and a bagpipe competition which ends on 10 March. Many photos can be found on their instragram page.

Thunder Bay - Canadian pipe band THE Pipes and Drums of Thunder Bay have a whole day planned with fun piping events, including a radio appearance, a photo competition and an evening performance.

Texas - Texas Tech Uni will be carrying out a bagpipe programme during the day and Carlos Nuñez will be performing in the evening.

Chicago - Patrick Cannady will be playing the uilleann pipes at Johnny O'Hagan's. Why not join him for a tune and a drink?

Detroit - The Purcell Irish Pipers of Detroit will be celebrating in style with uillean pipes.

11 March


Minsk - Belarus is celebrating Spring and pipes on 11 March in Minsk with a big folk dance. 

 20-22 March

Leuven
- Belgian pipers have got together and are organising a symposium focused on bagpipe education around Europe. Their event is online here. 

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