manx celtic music and dance

Ellan Vannin Pipes & Drums – Weekend Workshop

06 Apr 2012

Ellan Vannin Pipes & Drums – Weekend Workshop by Pipe Major Paul Davenport

The Island’s bagpipe band recently held a weekend workshop, with tuition from visiting instructors. The tuition was given by Leading Drummer Billy Kinnaird and Pipe Major Bruce Campbell from the internationally recognised Piping School - www.pipingschool.co.uk

Separate sessions for Pipers and Drummers were held on the Friday evening, where instrument tuning and playing technique were evaluated, and this was further developed during an all day session on the Saturday. Members of the Drum Corps went through technique and set beatings for tunes, and this included work with the snare section, tenors and bass drummers. Pipers were put through their paces on technique for learning and memorising tunes, fingering technique for embellishments and pipe tuning. The day rounded off with both the Pipe and Drums Corps’ playing together under scrutiny and supervision from P/M Campbell and L/D Kinnaird. A further session on the Sunday covered giving instruction to learners and organising and running a band practice session. P/M Bruce Campbell commented: “In the last five or six years I have travelled a lot of the piping world doing workshops so it was great to be doing work closer to home for a change. I recently spent three months doing workshops in Australia and have also taught in Denmark, Italy, Holland and The Holy Land in recent years as well as Scotland, England and Ireland. The refreshing aspect about the Ellan Vannin Pipe Band is their eclectic mix of Scottish, Irish and Manx tunes which is totally unique in today’s much homogenised music scene. These days Scottish piping almost totally dominates any localised music but not in the Isle of Man where there is a lot of attention paid to local tradition.” Chairman of EVPD, John Struthers went on: “This was a valuable opportunity for members of the band to improve various aspects of their solo and band performances. Emphasis was placed on techniques that encouraged new tunes to be played on the bagpipes rather than hours spent on the practice chanter. The overall sound of the Band was complimented on by the instructors, who offered guidance on the balance of sound between the drum corps and pipers.” Pipe Major of the local band, Paul Davenport agreed. “This was a very intense weekend, but the whole band has learnt a great deal. We hope to carry on a programme of tuition through the Piping School with Bruce and Billy in the coming months. We would like to give our thanks to IOM Arts Council who have helped towards funding this venture, as well as our sponsors, Celton Manx Limited. Without their support, such workshops would not be possible”. Bruce Campbell added: “The band is on an upward swing with a very healthy membership, and if that obvious enthusiasm can be channelled down a productive road it can only bode well for the future of piping on the Island”.

Further Background The band was formed in 1984, and was formally known as the Cair Vie Manx Pipe Band. In 1998, a name change saw it became known as: ‘Ellan Vannin Pipes and Drums’, as it is still known today. At the present time there are about a dozen regular pipers, with a Drum Corps of several snare, tenor and bass drummers, who share the different drumming disciplines. The band plays regularly throughout the year, appearing at such events as Community Fun Days, Parades and Carnivals, and are available for hire to play for all kinds of occasions: weddings, celebrations, funerals, corporate events. Contact the Band Secretary on 316363 or email them

Recent News

Archive by Year