Ballycoan top the bill at Leapoughs concert
Pipe Bands by Mervyn McConnell
THE annual Leapoughs concert will take place this Saturday, 2 March, in Dromore High School commencing at 8 o'clock.
Topping the bill will be Grade 2 Ballycoan Pipe band under the leadership of Pipe Major Alfie Rea. There will also be performances from the drum corps of Syerla Pipe Band, singer Sinead Martin and accordionists the Rea Brothers.
Master of Ceremony for the evening will be Fred Hull and the whole show will be opened by the host band Leapoughs.
The Ulster Piping quartets will be held in the High School, Ballynahinch on Saturday 16 March commencing at 12 noon.
There will be competitions for all grades - Four A and B, Three A and B, Two and One, with the requirements for all being medley selections. All bands and drum majors who won trophies last season should note they all must be returned on or before Saturday 16 March. They can be left in with the Trophy Officers at the Ulster Quartets.
There will be over 47 pipe band representatives as well as others travelling to the Annual General Meeting in Glasgow on Saturday 9 March.
This is a very important meeting, as elections for the position of Chairman and five Directors who will form the Board of Management to the RSPBA will take place.
George Ussher has been nominated for Chairman, Sam Bailie for the position of Director of Education and Training and John Moles for Director of Strategic Development.
If you wish to travel to the AGM please contact Lorraine McVeigh on 97-521657. Representatives will leave Belfast on Friday 8 March and return on Sunday 10 March.
The Simon Fraser University Pipe band from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada will be performing at Belfast's Waterfront flail on Saturday 23 March.
They are the current world titleholders in Grade 1.
Under the direction of Pipe Major Terry Lee and brother Pipe Sergeant Jack Lee, the band won world championships in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2001 and are one of only two bands in history to win both the medley and MSR events at the world championships more than once.
They are also the first band outside the United Kingdom to win the world Grade 1 championships more than once.
They have proved they are a very professional outfit both in competitions and in concerts, and when they toured Australia and America with their band, dance team and Celtic musicians, every event was a sell out.
Since its inception, the band has produced seven albums, two concert/ documentary videos, and has appeared on four BBC Scotland broadcasts.
They have also inaugurated a significant youth development programme through the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe band - its junior band system.
In September 1999 both Terry and Jack Lee received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada, for their contributions to piping, culture and youth development.
The four times world champions performed twice for the Queen during her visit to Vancouver in 1983, and opened for rock star Rod Stewart at his 1989 and 1991 concerts.
The Waterfront Hall box office number is 90 334455 and tickets sales are indicating that they are heading for a sell out performance.
Ulster Star
01/03/2002
