Scottish Power Pipe Band

I started this blog post awhile ago and am now completing it. My apologies for lack of timeliness.

I attended a concert ... a Scottish concert of the sorts. I went to the Scottish Power Pipe Band concert at the Waterfront Hall. For those of you who don't know I have an immense love for Irish music... and have wanted to attend a uilleann pipe festival (Irish pipes) however, all the times have conflicted with my schedule sooo I went for Scottish bagpipes instead. And yes there is a big difference....

Here are the Uilleann pipes.. ( I saw this guy play when I was in Downpatrick for Saint Patrick's Day.. he's brilliant. He's played for Nelson Mandela, Obama, and Bush.)

And here are the Scottish bagpipes.. and the Scottish Power Pipe Band.

It was a fantastic concert! A fantastically loud concert as well, I think the band consisted of 20 or so bagpipers.. which one bagpipe is loud so imagine 20! The concert also featured the Ulster Orchestra for some absolutely amazing arrangements with the pipe band. The music really took me away and well made me really happy. It made me remember how incredibly right it feels to be here in Belfast. Despite some of the downs I have had, I was meant to be here at this time and with these people. And I need to remember to thank God every day for this wonderful life changing opportunity.

I wish they had recorded the music the band played with the orchestra to sell so I could always have a copy. It was my favorite part of the concert because the orchestra really added a lot to the bagpipes and I thought the pieces were composed very well.

I found it to be moving and beautiful. I know a majority of people may not agree because it was a lot of bagpipes but combining the sounds of an orchestra and bagpipes took the edge off the bagpipes and created a beautiful melody. It also made me miss playing oboe in my high school band, and the drum line in the band made me miss marching band.

Going to the concert made me excited for the YAV retreat in June in Scotland. I know I won't probably be hearing a lot of bagpipe music while I'm there but I'm really grateful to be able to be exposed to several different cultures while I am here. Being in Belfast I have the chance to learn about and be apart of: Irish culture, Scottish culture, Ulster Scot culture, British culture, and English culture. Which are basically the cultures that make up my ancestry so it has been great and is perhaps why I feel so at home here.

Here is a recording someone did of the last piece they played and here it is on Youtube. I'd recommend fast forwarding to around 3 minutes in. 

Here is more of the performance I attended. I found the drummers fascinating as they moved in sync with one another, twirling their mallets.