NYMetro Pipe Band Club to debut this month a byproduct of our year-end 8 week “Open training Program” was having a pool of motivated talent wanting to continue on after a lot of the players went back to their bands. So we are proud to announce that NY Metro will move forward with a developmental program in 2018.
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Starting Monday Jan 15 the “NY Metro Pipe Band Club” will be holding weekly classes on Monday evenings at Molloy High School from 7:30 PM till 9:30 PM.
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To avoid conflicts with our Grade 2 Rehearsals on the same night we have named Robbie Beaton as the primary Instructor charged with shaping their direction. As we do not have a sponsor or deep pockets the model as it is currently constituted calls for weekly $10 dues to support consistent world class instruction. NYM players will also work within Robb’s curriculum and assist instruction via monthly workshops and Robb will is available for 1x1 sessions with interested players. As there are no rules we will tweak the model according as we learn what works best in this area and benefits the players.
Robb is the current Pipe Sergeant of the Grade 1 78th Fraser Highlanders in Ontario and is currently living in the area while getting his Masters degree. He is a regular instructor at workshops and has worked with Maureen Connors very successful Scotia Glenville program upstate NY over the years so he has a wealth of experience to share with these musicians. Robb is seen on the rightin a picture with Willie McCallum after winning the Silver Medal at The Kansas Winter Storm 2 yrs ago.
“On the heels of the success of our Open training initiative we see the demand for quality training and feel The NY Metro Pipe Band Club will fill that need in our area”.Pipe Major Mike Mahoney continued“This program also allows us to besocially involved with musicians looking to move to another level so they can do so while feeling part of NY Metro.We hope that this format is a Win-Win addition to our program where over time everyone benefits.We all have the utmost confidence that Robb will take them there.”
Our goal is to create an environment that fosters musical growth and gives these players an opportunity to reach their potential without putting labels on them. We have the numbers and early indications suggest that the group will be destined to be a competitive Grade 4 band but there is no rush to hit the field. We hope to find challenging projects and performance opportunities for the group to share in that will help them grow as a Band. When Robb feels the time is right we will enter a few contests for that aspect of their growth potentially as early as sometime in the 2018 season.
Robb suggests “We hope to get as many people as we can out on the Solo circuit as we can. We want to work on developing their technique, execution and sound but we can’t accomplish that at weekly rehearsals alone. We also hope to be able to bring the competition to us as well says Beaton who hopes that the Club will also sponsor some Solo and quartet contests next winter”
We will rotate drumming instruction to the 9 or 10 snare drummers that have interest amongst our talented corp and potential Guest Instructors but inevitably will be looking to appoint a primary instructor to help us move their growth up stream.
Drum Sgt Adrian Mordaunt adds “Both the pipers and the drummers that will be involved in this program all have the potential to contribute to our Grade 2 band at some point and our intention is for this experience to accelerate that journey. It also gives a place for some of our Grade 2 players that have “Normal Life issues” that temporarily limit the time they can devote to the band in a competitive season to stay active while helping contribute to a winning culture. I don’t know of any other Band that has set up a system like this”.
You don’t have to have participated in our Open training program to be involved in this new venture.
if you or any one you know is looking for quality instruction at very reasonable cost please message us via Face book or email Band Manager TC Himmell at NYMetropipeband@gmail.com
