Noting the Tradition: Capturing the Heritage
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Project Officer James Beaton combines the essential skills of professional librarian and skilled piper - and that makes him uniquely suitable for his new role at The Piping Centre.
The Piping Live festival this week was particularly appropriate for the launch of the Piping Centre's new project on Monday 8th August - which aims to capture the stories of the piping community as an oral history for future generations to savour and cherish.
Not that this is the first time it has been done - various other projects have covered either a wider, more general scope or a smaller sample, such as Tobar an Dualchais, Piper's Persuasion (by Alan Hamilton), or the online magazine Pipes and Drums.
The national Piping Centre Library in Glasgow already has treasures like the recording of piper Angus MacPherson, who can trace his piping ancestry back to the 18th Century. Recordings like this will be the jewels in the crown of the new project, which aims to include local schoolchildren and volunteers in garnering the treasured history.
James Beaton is looking forward to embarking on this exciting new project, and is assured of the support of experts in the field, many of whom attended the official launch.
Primary funding is from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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