The Piobaireachd Society of Antigonish has announced that it will continue its series of piobaireachd workshops to provide pipers from across Atlantic Canada with world-class instruction in the performance of the Silver and Gold Medal Tunes for 2005.

The first workshop is scheduled for the weekend of October 16th and 17th with internationally renowned champion piper Jim McGillivray (www.piping.on.ca ) of Aurora, Ontario. McGillivray is one of the top pipers in North America, with more than twenty years of international prizes in all branches of bagpipe music to his credit. No wonder the Piper and Drummer Magazine proclaimed him "one of the best all-round pipers - ever!"

Details about time and location are yet to be confirmed. It is known that Jim McGillivray, holder of both Oban and Inverness Gold Medals and the Clasp, will be on hand to lead pipers through the Silver and Gold Medal tunes for 2005. Mr. McGillivray will also perform in recital on the evening of October 16th.

Registration fee for the October weekend workshop remains at $70.00 with a reduction of $10.00 if registration is received by Friday, October 8th. Tickets for the recital can be purchased at the door.

McGillivray began his study of piping in Kitchener, Ontario in 1966. By 1972, he had risen to the top of the amateur ranks and had begun competing as a professional. Over the next two decades, he won most of the major piping prizes on both sides of the ocean, including the coveted Gold Medals at both Oban and Inverness. Scotland. He went on to win the Clasp at Inverness in a competition restricted to former Gold Medal winners.

The pipe band world has also felt his influence. For ten years, he played a prominent role in the Guelph Pipe Band’s rise to the top, leading it in 1981 to it’s second place finish at the Grade 1 North American Championship. From 1988-92, he was a member of the groundbreaking 78th Fraser Highlanders, winning three North American titles with this illustrious band.

In recent years, Jim’s attention has turned to teaching, judging, publishing and performing. His 1992 solo CD, made as part of Lismor Recording’s World’s Greatest Pipers collection, is seen by many as one of the best in the series. His tutor book, Rhythmic Fingerwork, published in 1998, became an immediate best seller and set a new standard for bagpipe tutors.

Jim is currently the Piping and Drumming Program Director at St. Andrew’s College, an independent boys’ school in Aurora, Ontario. A veteran workshop, summer school, and private instructor, his pupils number among the best professional and amateur pipers in North America. Jim also has presented the Ontario School of Piping each summer since 1998 with some of the world’s leading instructors.

While in Antigonish, McGillivray will perform in concert at 7:30 PM, location to be announced. The Society is currently negotiating with John Wilson, Scotland for a follow-up workshop in late March or early April 2005 and has received assurances that Mr. Wilson will make the time available. Details will follow at a later date.

To register, send you name, address, phone number and e-mail address along with your registration fee to:

The Piobaireachd Society of Antigonish
c/o Scott Williams
43 Hillcrest Street
Antigonish, NS B2G 1Z2

For further information, please contact Scott Williams at scott.williams@ns.sympatico.ca.