65th Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo sells out for 16th successive year!










An inspiring sight as the 266 strong Massed Pipes and Drums prepare for their final performances on Saturday 23rd August

 

Brigadier David Allfrey, Tattoo Chief Executive and Producer, has every right to be proud of his achievements in creating a wonderful spectacle for Tattoo audiences this year. Highlights included 266 Pipes and Drums from 15 bands, 3 Royal Marines Bands and an amazing fusion between Highland and Maori Dancing.

As usual, every show begins with the heart stopping Massed Pipes and Drums, spilling across the castle drawbridge. The set this year features time honoured favourites "Loch Lomond", Within a Mile o Edinburgh Toon" and "The Gallowa Hills".

This year, the bands comprised:
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, The Royal Dragoon Guards, The Queen's Royal Hussars, Royal Scots Borderers, Royal Highland Fusilliers, The Black Watch, The Highlanders, The Royal Irish Regiment, The Royal Army of Oman, The Australian Federal Police, The Paris Port Dover Pipe Band from Canada, The Tasmania Police Pipe Band from Western Australia  the Manchester Branch of the Scots Guards Association and first time performers, The Pipers Trail, a new group formed by the Tattoo to enable the wider community in Scotland to play a part in major events.

The whole show was designed to take the audience on a journey across the Commonwealth, visiting Malta, South Africa, Nagaland, Singapore, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago. All of this was achieved through music, song and dance. I particularly enjoyed the New Zealand act as a fusion between Highland and Maori Dancing can be difficult to achieve. However, if anybody can achieve it, then the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo can!

A glorious party to celebrate the return home featured well known favourites such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "Hey Baby"! and "Happy" by the well known artist Pharrell Williams. Huge thanks must go to Micheal McDermott, Tattoo Musical Advisor and Lt Col Nick Grace, Principal Director of Music, Royal Marines, for the first class arrangements. To be able to play 10 different musical numbers in such a short space of time is truly remarkable.

I have followed the Tattoo and Producer David Allfrey on social media for over a year now. It is a privilege to see the show gradually coming together as a new act is confirmed. Next year, I am sure, will see some more amazing acts. Our links with the Tattoo continue to grow and I should be attending for a fourth time next year!

I am sure that there is a very bright future for the show and I look forward to following the development of the 2015 show in Edinburgh!

Congratulations on a very successful show, and of course, your 16th successive sell out season!

All best wishes,
Chris Nelson

Pipers Trail to be represented at Edinburgh Castle during Tattoo

 

 

We have just heard the exciting news that the annual Pipers Trail is to be represented in the Massed Pipes and Drums  at this year's Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo by a group of 25 pipers and drummers, playing alongside icons such as the Classical BRIT Award winning Royal Scots Dragoon Guards as the Tattoo Chief Executive and Producer, Brigadier David Allfrey MBE explains in a report published by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association:

 

For many years, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has drawn the Massed Pipes and Drums from the Armed Services' Pipes and Drums along with invited international Pipe Bands (military and civilian) and some selected schools and colleges.

The prerequisites for attendance have been a smart and soldierly manner (in foot drill and turnout), musical excellence and a commitment to practice and perform across the run (essentially 4 weeks in late-July and August including rehearsals). This year for the first time, we have invited a Regimental Association Pipe Band and we are looking to form a 'house' Pipes and Drums as a pilot for a larger scheme designed to embrace the wider national and international Pipes and Drums community. This scheme will be known as 'The Pipers Trail'.

The Pipers Trail was originally conceived in 2007 as an 'Army in Scotland' campaign to engage with the civil community. Over 4 years the scheme covered the length and breadth of Scotland visiting schools and communities encouraging an interest in the Great Highland Bagpipe, Highland Drumming and Dancing. Now, the project has been taken on by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo with the same broad intentions but also to enable a wider community to participate in one of the world's greatest celebrations of pipe, drums and military music.

This year - with the support of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, The National Piping Centre, The College of Piping and the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming - we are looking for volunteers to form a Pipers’ Trail file on the Tattoo; one of 15 files on parade. We are looking for up to 25 pipers and drummers who can play to at least Grade 3 standard, with the ability to assimilate the 2014 Pipe and Drum score and take in instruction, before rehearsals. We would also like to open the scheme to select and talented younger players.

The successful candidates will be provided with Full Dress uniform (for the duration of the Tattoo: 28 Jul - 24 Aug 14), instruction in foot drill and the opportunity to join 250 other pipers and drummers as part of the Massed Pipes and Drums - one of the largest cohorts ever to play on the Tattoo. The Band will perform each evening in front of a live audience of 8,800 each evening (220,000 across the run) and on a variety of major 'outreach' events.

This year, we are looking for established players, preferably (but not essentially) from within commuting distance of Edinburgh, to kick start the programme. If this pilot is successful we hope to expand the scheme in coming years to grow a significant 'bank' of suitable pipers and drummers in Scotland and from across the world for future Tattoos and other prestige events.

Email applications (to: piperstrail@edintattoo.co.uk) should be accompanied with a CV and accompanied by any evidence of playing standard. If formal qualifications are unavailable, applicants may provide a reference from a Pipe Major of an established Band. Applications close on 1 Jun 14.

David Allfrey
The Pipers' Trail

 

 

As stated above, anybody who is interested in applying for this unique opportunity should contact the email address above. I am hugely delighted that the Brigadier is providing the members of the Pipers Trail with such an amazing opportunity and I hope that the publication of this post will assist him greatly in seeing that this plan comes to fruition.

 

This would be a fantastic opportunity for our younger generation of pipers and drummers to spend time with the staff at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming and I would urge the aspiring  piper or drummer to give this some serious consideration. You are being presented with an opportunity to prove your talent in the best way possible.

 

For our regular readers, there is due to be another event taking place in Edinburgh around this time and more details will be published as soon as I have received them.

 

On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I wish Brigadier David Allfrey every success with this plan and I hope very much that it proves successful.

 

I look forward to seeing the finished results in August.

 

Best wishes to you all,

Christopher Nelson

 

 

 

 

2014 will be a varied year for all our musical stars

The year ahead looks very exciting for all of the organisation's we are involved with. The City of Rochester Pipe Band are continuing their campaign to find new pipers to boost their ranks for the 2014 season. Congratulations to Stuart, a beginner who under the guidance of Mick Hicks, founder and former Director of Music for the band, has been playing simple tunes for the last few months and is gradually becoming a very competent piper.

Meanwhile, my colleagues at London and South East Region Air Cadet Pipes and Drums also look set for another busy and varied year. Under the joint direction of Flight Lt Dave Law, CI Dorothy Rochester, Major Jim Stout and Captain Brian Elrick, the band are becoming better every time.

In February, the band will be travelling to Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, where they will be performing in an event commemorating Armistice 100. They will also be travelling to Inverness in April to take part in the annual Cadet Beating Retreat.

Huge congratulations are in order for Jodie Melville, who is gradually moving from chanter to pipes, and is able to play basic tunes using a chanter.

We hope that in the future, the band will be taking part in the annual Berlin Tattoo. This will hopefully become a reality for them through a partnership that I am currently forming with Captain Stuart Samson of the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland. Please be aware that this link up is in the planning stages and nothing has been set in stone yet.

Many of you will now know that I am actively involved with former Britain's Got Talent finalist Hollie Steel, now dubbed as one of the finest classical singers in the country. There are many small organisations all over the world who work tirelessly to support Hollie in her career. Ours is the Hollie Steel Project. Run jointly with Grange Park @ Mid Kent College, we maintain contact with the family and assist with event organisation every now and then.

2014 looks set to be another varied year for Hollie with three brand new charity events already in the diary. We will release more information when it becomes available.


We hope you will stay tuned to our blogs for further updates and we look forward to working with these organisation's throughout the coming year.

Kind Regards
Christopher Nelson
Event Organiser and Founder, Hollie Steel Project

Hollie Steel dazzles fans during Hong Kong visit

A delighted Hollie after singing at the 180th Anniversary Event of the acclaimed watchmakers, Jaeger le Coultre

 

Hollie Steel has just returned from a week-long trip to Hong Kong, where she performed two successful concerts on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th December. Members of Hollie's management team  followed Hollie on her journey through the use if Social Media.

A few days before Hollie left for Hong Kong, Elise Walsh, who backed the idea for Hollie to perform in July's Pipes and Drums Extravaganza sent an email to us saying:

"I wish Hollie all the best in Hong Kong. With such talent, she deserves to explore the world", she finished.

Steve Hitchings, Head of Key Stage 5 at Grange Park School, also sent his best wishes to Hollie before the start of the trip.

We are unable to confirm details of the concert staged on Tuesday, but we do have details for the Wednesday.

Hollie was the surprise item at the 180th Anniversary Event of a prestigious watchmakers, as seen in the picture above. After due consideration, the songs selected were Wishing you were Somehow Here Again from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, the famous Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a tune associated with the Wizard of Oz, I Could have Danced All Night from the film My Fair Lady and the traditional Christmas carol O Holy Night.

Hollie received a tremendous reception at the end of her performance, and flew back to England yesterday to prepare for the Christmas Holidays.

Hollie has had a busy and varied year performing with the City of Rochester Pipe Band, Sapphire the English Rose and singing at the Voice in a Million Showcase in London.

The year ahead is looking very exciting with a series of very special events on the horizon. More information on these will be available in due course.

We look forward to continuing to work with Hollie throughout the coming year.

With best wishes to you all,
Chris Nelson and Hollie Steel 
 

City of Rochester Pipe Band to play at Rochester Cathedral

For many years the City of Rochester Pipe Band have played in concerts at Rochester Cathedral, a well known landmark in the heart of the historic city. This year they return to participate in a Childrens Concert in aid of the charity "Voices for Hospices".

We encourage you to come and see the band performing in this historic setting. The event is tomorrow, Saturday 26th October and begins at 7:00pm. Don't miss your chance to see a 19 minute performance with the band in the wonderful setting of Rochester Cathedral. A further post with performance feedback will be released to the public on Sunday.

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Chris Nelson
Honorary Member
City of Rochester Pipe Band

Hollie Steel saves the day at Grange Park Extravaganza

It was always going to be a matter of luck if the entire cast made it to Wrotham for our Pipes and Drums Extravaganza on Saturday 6th July. Just a week before we were due to go live to the public we were faced with a removal to a new venue and the withdrawal of two bands.

This, in theory, left the City of Rochester Pipe Band, members of the Fiona Ray School of Highland Dancing and the highly acclaimed Hollie Steel: a former finalist if Britain's Got Talent who has now been dubbed  one of the finest classical singers in the country. After sending emails to the three remaining acts informing them of a change of venue, they rose to the challenge that faced them magnificently.

As I worked frantically during the week to change the programme, Hollie put the finishing touches to her performance. I had been worried that these sudden changes would cause controversy with our guest, yet I need not have worried at all as you are about to hear. So came the big day on Saturday 6th July. Mr Steve Hitchings, the events Assistant Producer was working with my brother parking cars and marshalling the acts.

I heard an excited voice telling me that Hollie had arrived and I was there to greet her straight away. Hollie smiled as I approached her and I felt a great sense of relief. I knew then that the change of venue did not matter to her as long as she was able to sing. She has a shining personality and an amazing capacity to recognise tunes as well as considerable experience in the organisation of musical events. Her help was to prove invaluable.

We discussed the plan for her rehearsal and she agreed that we should play the Skye Boat Song once through and repeat Amazing Grace three times to allow Hollie to sing the verses. The time came for her to sing in front of the school. As the pipers broke into Skye Boat Song, an amazingly beautiful lilt filled the air. I turned in amazement to see Hollie, smiling slightly, singing this classic Scottish slow air with perfect pitch and excellent timing.

When Hollie began to sing Amazing Grace, I could feel a lump starting to form in my throat and I was trying incredibly hard not to burst into tears as she hit the high notes. Her voice seemed to blend with the pipes beautifully, so it was only natural that there would be an encore during the Finale.

Before Hollie, there had been displays from the Drum Corps and the combined City of Rochester Pipe Band and Hollie gave feedback to me at regular intervals which helped to make the event run smoothly.

During the second Highland Dancing display, I suggested that our penultimate Finale Piece should be another rendition of Amazing Grace, for which Hollie would be accompanied by the combined City of Rochester Pipe Band, who would in turn be joined by our Highland Dancers. Hollie thought it was a good idea and agreed to the plan. The Pipes and Drums played a wartime medley before breaking into Amazing Grace once more. During the encore, The Pipes and Drums were joined by three of the Highland Dancers completing our Finale. It was a very emotional day for me and I am extremely grateful to Hollie for not only singing so well, but stepping in to cover for Steve Hitchings as Assistant Producer for the day.

Since the show, Hollie appears to have developed a keen interest for the bagpipes. There are a whole series of new events planned for the coming year and details will be released in due course. I am delighted to have started working with such a wonderful person and look forward to hopefully helping out more in the months ahead.

Kindest Wishes
Chris Nelson
Event Organiser

Hollie Steel joins Massed Pipes and Drums Extravaganza

I am delighted to be able to announce that former "Britain's Got Talent" finalist Hollie Steel has agreed to take part in the Grange Park Massed Pipes and Drums Extravaganza, taking place at Grange Park's Key Stage 5 headquarters at Holmesdale Technology College in Snodland on Saturday 6th July 2013.

She is part of a programme which includes Massed Pipes and Drums and a group of 6 Highland Dancers. News was broken to a delighted Stephen Hitchings, the event's Assistant Producer/Director and Head of Key Stage 5 on Monday last week. When asked how he felt about Hollie attending, he said: "I didn't think we'd manage it, but we did. Well done Chris, you are a star"!"

Hollie is said to be delighted about participating. In her segement for the show she will be singing "The Skye Boat Song" and "Amazing Grace" with musical accompaniment from three City of Rochester Pipe Band Pipers. She will also be joining the cast for thhe finale.

This is an informal occasion, so we are encouraging all students and staff to take the opportunity to have a chat with Hollie. Grange Park staff will be there to assist if needed.

I would like to thank Hollie's Mother Nina Steel for helping to make this event such a special occasion.

All the very best,
Chris Nelson
Producer/Director