Bill contacted me several months back inquiring about performing for a school in Hillsboro OR he teaches at. The students were learning about Macbeth, making Scottish cuisine and celebrating the history of Scotland. As a surprise, Bill thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring a bagpiper to Hillsboro OR and give a short performance. I eagerly accepted his invitation.

The bagpiping performance lasted roughly 45 minutes and was comprised of piping and educating. I played traditional tunes, including Scotland the Brave, Green Hills of Tyrol (traditional bagpipes tunes). I also played our new pipe band medley competition set. I avoided playing any Piobrach, which I reserve for certain audiences.

When I was not piping, I shared with the Hillsboro OR students how I got into bagpiping, the history of the bagpipes and how they made their way to present day Scotland, how the bagpipe works, how to tune it, as well as what the individual pieces of my uniform represent.

Midway through the Hillsboro OR bagpiper performance, I asked the question, “what are the first things that come to mind when I say ‘Scotland’”? Surprisingly, it wasn’t until buzz word number 6 when I finally heard ‘bagpipes’. Jokingly, I said ‘bagpipes’ should be the first thing you think of because it’s the coolest thing about Scotland.

Thanks to Bill and all the Hillsboro OR students for having me perform. Hopefully,for the next Scottish tour the students embark on, they will invite me back to bagpipe in Hillsboro OR.

Andrew Finely, a fellow band mate and snare drummer extraordinaire was invited to accompany me to the party. Andrew and I play together in the Portland Metro Pipe Band and use played growing up together in the Sir James MacDonald Pipe Band (more information on Oregon Piper beginnings). Adding a drummer to the mix creates an added dynamic and provides additional energy. And plus, sometimes I miss jamming out with other musicians. Bagpiping is an isolated instrument, most likely due to the fact you normally cannot hear the other musicians on stage without them being plugged into an amp.

The party was held in SE Portland, just off SE 42nd and Division. As with every event, I arrived 20 minutes before I was scheduled to perform. When we reached the entry way door, the party was in full swing, with neighboring kids and parents eating cake, drinking and celebrating. I was amazed at how many friends the cute little 1 year old had accumulated over her short time.

The hosts requested some old classics, including Amazing Grace, Scotland the Brave and Garry Owen. In between the classics, Andrew and I piped our Medley competition set of tunes (including jigs, reels, strathspeys, hornpipes, slow aires), some 6/8 marches, a 3/4 march set and some other miscellaneous tunes. We piped and drummed for approximately 30 minutes but within the 30 minutes we played a lot of Scottish and Irish music.

We wished everyone goodbye and saluted the birthday girl one last time as we marched outside into the dreary Portland rainy night. It was a fine evening and were delighted to hear we would be invited back in a short while for another event.

PortlandBagpiper-and-Snare-Drummer

When I was asked by Barbara to play my bagpipes for “Hogmanay”, also known as Scottish New Years, I was instantly intrigued. “Hogmanay”? What is that? As she described it, it is the proper way to ring in the New Years, Scottish style. In order to abide by the rules of “Hogmanay”, you must thoroughly clean your house, place pieces of rowan tree above your fireplace, pay off your debts among other things. On the Eve, you are suppose to open up your back door to let the old and evil spirits leave, while opening up your front door to bring in the new and good luck.

The best way to celebrate the “Hogmanay” is with family and friends. The verbiage for the cheers is “Lang may yer lum reek!”, which means long may your chimney smoke. Another celebratory cheers is “A guid New Year to ane an’ a’ and mony may ye see”, which translates to A good New Year to one and all, and many may you see.

If you wish to read more, a great article is Scottish Hogmanay Customs.

Now, on to the bagpiping and the reason I was invited to play. Barbara, who also happens to be a beautiful singer copied several popular Scottish songs and requested the guests sing a long as I play. I played Scotland the Brave, Amazing Grace and Loch Lommond. It was the first time in my Portland piping experience I have ever played while others sang along. It was a truly moving experience. And the Scotch wasn’t bad either.

I had much fun and hopefully will play many more Scottish New Years Events. Heck, I might even host my own next year.

KGW News Channel 8 Morning show got a hold of the news and Drew Carney and company wanted to air a special 2 hour segment honoring the company and the porridge. I was invited by the Bob’s Red Mill Graiin to add an extra hint of Scottish flare to the broadcast. Dressed in full uniform, adorning the Ancient Frasier tartan, I was involved in three segments. I played traditional tunes, tunes I hoped the viewers might recognize – Scotland the Brave, Green Hills of Tyrol and another 3/4 march. You can hear the full bagpipe tunes recorded live by me on my Portland bagpipe music page.

We all had a lot of fun and got to sample some great Scottish food. Here is a link to the KGW news video feed. I come in minute 7:30ish. Portland Piper on KGW News Channel 8.

My role including playing piping Amazing Grace in the first half of the ceremony. With the accompaniment of two ROTC students, I led a memorial plaque, dedicated to the lost lives of several Oregon City High School students. It was a slow and methodical march up to the center from the back. As I approached the center, I did a half turn and continued bagpiping Amazing Grace a second time through.

I don’t know if it was because of the large crowd or importance of the event, but I was extremely nervous. I rarely even get nervous when I perform in solo and band competitions but on this particular day, I really had to suppress my nerves and carry forth. What a great event, I really hope I am invited back next year.

I arrived around 5:30PM and without tuning my pipes, I was instructed to march straight into the house and head directly for the side door. The only problem was the ceiling on the porch was too low and angled to blow up my bag pipe and begin marching so I slightly cheated by striking my pipes just after opening the door. It still had the same enchanting and charming effect. As I began my 6/8 march, I immediately noticed the women in front of me full of shock and disbelief. This I thought must be the birthday girl. After the shock had subsided, tears filled her eyes (tears of joy I hope). I quickly marched toward the glass doors and outside onto the deck overlooking the beach and the south side of Lincoln City Oregon.

While playing, the neighbors had arrived and pictures were being snapped from all angles, I might have been the biggest celebrity in Lincoln City Oregon (besides who was performing at Chinook Winds Casino). After a set of 6/8 marches (Miss Ishabel & Duncan McGillvary – found in the Portland Pipe Music section), I quit my pipes and introduced myself as the birthday bagpiper and gave the the birthday girl a huge hug.

Following the formalities, we filled up a bucket of beers (good beers, including PBR) and headed to the beach. I marched, piping a set of 3/4 marches. I launched from one into another without a clue that I knew so many (I should add those to the music section). The walk was easy with no steps or boulders to climb however once I hit the beach I went from a march pace to a down trotted crawl. Marching with bagpipes in sand should be avoided at all cost and additionally, I probably looked hilarious doing it.

That particular Saturday at the Lincoln City with bagpipes was absolutely gorgeous. This was the second time I came from Portland to bagpipe at the Oregon Coast. The first I could barely maneuver my fingers fast enough to keep up with the tunes. Thanks to the warmth of the sun, my fingers felt lucid and alive. I did stay away from the Jigs and Hornpipes in case the weather took a turn for the worse. You never know on the Oregon Coast. I played mostly slow marches and slow airs which I felt was appropriate for the beach. We drank, laughed and told stories of Scotland and Ireland. It was a very knowledgeable bunch of people.

After arriving back in the Lincoln City beach cabin and before dinner, I choose to perform our new band medley for the group. A medley is a compilation of jigs, hornpipes, reels, strathspeys and slow airs. It is the medley the Portland Metro Pipe Band will be competing with this summer. I finished with bagpiping a traditional March, Strasthspey, Reel commonly referred too as an MSR.

With dinner came more drinking, roast beef, cabbage, potatoes and short bread – a traditional Irish meal. What a day, I was pooped.

I was scheduled to pipe at 5:30 on the 2nd dock overlooking Lake Oswego. The goal was to have me piping as the boat ferrying the guests came to dock in port. It was a beautiful Wednesday evening, so beautiful I had a hard time seeing anything with the glare of the sun. As boats came and went, waving their hands in appreciation of the music, I couldn’t tell who the group of 7 I was suppose to be honoring. Finally, they arrived. The shirts indicated so.

I bagpiped a few minutes as they tied the boat and grabbed what they needed. Once assembled we chatted, took a few pictures and discussed what to do next. It was decided I would pipe them into Millennium Park along State street from where we were. Dodging and weaving the incoming cyclists and strollers with cars zooming by at 40mph, I arrived safely at my destination. From here I played a variety of slow aires, marches and other applicable Portland Pipe tunes in front of the fountain in downtown Lake Oswego. After three sets, I piped the group across the tracks, up the stairs and left them in front of Manzana restaurant where their table awaited them. The orchestrator of the event thanked me and even added I was “a stand up guy”. I turned and fled the scene from the same way I arrived, piping all the way.

Centered between the David Wu team and a giant Elephant (like 30 feet in height), I was a one man wrecking crew and it was nice to garner the attention of the local Oregonians. They cheered and clapped as I strode by. For the few moments I wasn’t playing my bagpipes, they would start yelling, “hey Scottish guy, play them pipes” or “do you know Scotland the Brave (bagpipe music sample)”. I always appreciate encouragement. It is much better then hearing, “um, could you please quit killing that cat under your arm”.

All in all, the North Plains Garlic Festival lasted about 40 minutes from start to finish. One of the kids band members from the Sir James McDonald pipe band (the band I currently instruct) from Portland even saw me. I guess he tried to get my attention but I didn’t notice because I was so focused on marching. Like I said earlier, what a great event. The organizer was a very nice lady who showered me with compliments. Hopefully I get invited back to next years Oregon event.

I arrived in full dress: McDonald tartan, white shirt, black tie, black vest, white socks, etc. My task was to lead all the small children from the top most gather point and parade them into the bottom center field much to their parents delight. It was a quick trip. All in all, I think I played Scotland the Brave 4 times through and 2 each for Green Hills of Tyrol and When the Battle’s O’er. They also had a willow tree at the bottom where the kids eventually participated in Scottish dancing but they had previously planned on a music CD to accompany the dances. I volunteered my bagpipe playing but it had already been planned.

Very professional and well put together by the staff and volunteers of Catlin Gabel. They were very knowledgeable and friendly which made my job easier. I didn’t have to second guess on the direction I was leading the kids. I just focused on playing. If they have another bagpiper in Portland performance, I hope they call me. I had much fun.

I played many traditional marches, including Scotland the Brave, Green Hills, When the Battles O’er, Bonnie Dundee and others. As is customary at all Birthdays, I also offered the “Happy Birthday” rendition on the bapipges. It was fun because all the guests were so inquisitive, asking everything from “what do you wear under the kilt” to “how did you start playing”, finishing with an explanation of how this enigmatic instrument works.

They promised me we would all reconvene at the Portland Highland Games in July at Mt. Hood Community College. Hope to see you guys there and Happy Birthday again Phil.