Who needs St. Patrick’s Day. There’s an International Bagpipe Day.

Celebrating International Bagpipe Day in Morpeth

Now here’s something I didn’t  know. International Bagpipe Day. It seems this auspicious occasion is celebrated in England at the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum in Morpeth, just south of the Scottish border. I’m sorry to say I missed the international celebration but it appears from the following news story published in the Morpeth Herald that a handful of bagpipers solemnly marked the occasion. I’ll mark it on my calendar for next year and make sure its importance is marked in 2013.

“PIPERS were calling the tune at Morpeth Chantry as players came together to celebrate International Bagpipe Day.

The celebration was marked in style at the Chantry Bagpipe Museum on Saturday, March 10, with 20 members of the Northumbrian Pipers’ Society and representatives of Tyneside Uilleann Pipers taking part.

Visitors were treated to performances from four nations, from the Northumbrian smallpipes to bagpipes hailing from the Borders, Ireland and even Sweden.

And the theme was carried on the following Monday as the museum played host to Belgian piper Jean Pierre Van Hees, who gave a talk and recital on the French musette.

Participants are already looking forward to next year’s event.”

Here’s a little bit of information about the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum:

Morpeth Chantry, courtesy MorpethNet.

“Morpeth’s Chantry bagpipe museum, whilst not quite unique, must be one of the UK’s most unusual museums. Its purpose is to be not only an interesting tourist attraction, and a magnet for the true bagpipe enthusiast, but to preserve and maintain interest and development in piping, along with its associated cultures. Special emphasis is given, not unnaturally, to the Northumbrian Small Pipes, the unique local instrument of Northumberland. To that end, the Museum’s accommodation is a regular venue for performance, discussion, workshops, lectures and lessons, all with a Northumbrian flavour.”

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *