The Trust are delighted to have helped fund a trip for some students from the Islay High School Pipe Group. A small group travelled to Livingston in March ’19 to the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championship to compete in the Quartet Competition. Piping instructor Struan Thorpe says:

“A large field of 10 groups had entered in the competition and we were drawn number 8 to play. Each quartet were to play a 2/4 March, and we had rehearsed the tune ‘Donald MacLean’s Farewell to Oban’. The group performed very well gaining 5th place overall – an excellent result as it was their first time playing in a competitive format. They handled the pressure that goes with performance very well and conducted themselves exceptionally. On the judges feedback form we had comments saying; “excellent tone”, “very good playing” and “keep up the good work”. These comments are a credit to the pupils who practised exceptionally hard at home as well as in school rehearsals. I’ve been very impressed, since taking on the role of piping instructor in August 2018, at the growth in confidence and ability of the pipers on Islay and performing at this competition was a very good reflection of this.”

“Next year, we hope to take a larger group of pupils to perform in the freestyle section of the competition. This will not just involve pipers but the school choir and folk group and I would like to perform some music local to Islay in this. I hope this will integrate pipers with other music groups in the school with the aim of growing this into a larger collaborative project.”

We are simply delighted to hear this, and Fraser certainly would have been proud of these young Ileach’s! The grant was used to provide travel and accommodation for the trip – including vehicle hire, fuel costs, ferry tickets and a B&B for two nights. Speaking about the trip, one of the students, Amy Want says:

“On the 9th of March, Zack Glover, Lily Ann Doyle and I set sail to represent Islay in our first piping competition. We were accompanied by our very excited piping tutor, Struan Thorpe, and a laid-back Linsay MacArthur who kept us entertained with all her war stories of her many years with the Islay Pipe Band. That night we had a great time in Xscape at Braehead, Glasgow, and the next morning drove to Inveralmond Community High School in Livingston, where the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships were being held. After a while of waiting, and building up our nerves, we tuned up. We were ushered into competition Room B with a few final good lucks and played our best (‘Donald McLean’s Farewell to Oban’). We didn’t really expect a very good place, but to our surprise and delight we came 5th out of a group of 10. We were also pleased to have found our way out of the enormous school that was packed to the gunnels with young musicians! We are hugely grateful to The Fraser Shaw Trust who part-funded the trip and to Linsay and Struan for all their organising and making it all so enjoyable. Next year, we hope to enter quartets again as well as the freestyle competition, but in the meantime, we need all the practice we can get so if anyone needs some pipers for events, please give us a shout!”

If you are interested in applying for a Fraser Shaw Trust Grant, do get in touch on info@frasershawtrust.com