Subject: a big shout out.
 
Hello everyone, I just received a message from our own John Courtney, from Gresham, Oregon.  

John is a hard-working piper, and has been coming to me for lessons for a few years now.  He's a retired cop who plays with the Portland Police Highland Guard, and plays at a grade 4 level just now. 

John competes a couple of times a year if he can, comes to the Celtic Arts Foundation winter school every year and tries to get out to compete at the Oregon Pipers' Society monthly events through the fall and winter whenever he can. 

Determined to try to just get a bit better, he reached that first milestone finally last Saturday night when he broke through on the grade 4 march to get a third place and a pretty nice sheet I might add.

To me, this is well worth a big hearty toast and a congrats from all of us, showing us that every achievement, no matter how big or small, is significant to the person putting the effort in and I think I speak for everyone when we say Well done on what I believe is John's first "prize" and hopefully, now he has jumped over that barrier on the way to many more.

 
Cheers,

Bruce

The new Front Row Seat CD from Bruce is available now in the MyMuse store on this site. The CD captures some prize-winning, live performances of Bruce in competitions, and proceeds are going to to the recently created Bruce Gandy Bagpiping Development Society.

The tunes are "The Battle of Waternish" (Bar to Canadian Gold Medal 2009), "The Big Spree" (Bar to Canadian Gold Medal 2010), "Lord Lovat's Lament" (Glenfiddich 2009), "The Rout of Glen Fruin" (Northern Meeting 2002) and "The Unjust Incarceration" (2009 Bratach Gorm).

READ THE REVIEW by Dr. Jack Taylor on pipes|drums.