Our popular Bagpipe workshop weekend returns in 2024, running alongside the Hurdy Gurdy Weekend, in a frenzy of reeds, drones and buzzing things! Our thanks to the Bagpipe Society for their support of our bagpipe events.
Isabelle Blô (France) will be joining us to lead a course for Intermediate/Advanced level bagpipe players, while Anne-Marie Summers will lead a course to introduce complete beginners to the bagpipes.
You’ll need to select your level and will be working with the same tutor over the whole weekend. Outside the workshops, there will be plenty of opportunity to socialise with the other tutors and participants not in your group.
For an extra £60, participants can stay until Monday morning, including supper and B&B. Please enquire when booking.
Who is it for?
Beginners’ Course with Anne-Marie
This is a course for complete beginners. You will be finding out how the instrument works, posture, tuning, basic techniques, and simple repertoire to enjoy when learning to play. Most of the learning will be by ear with music scores provided to support our learning. We will aim to have a bit of fun too!
Instruments will be available for course participants to borrow. You will need to let us know when booking if you’ll require a loan instrument.
Intermediate/Advanced Course with Isabelle
This workshop is for intermediate and advanced level players of G/C and G/D bagpipes who already own their own instruments.
The Team
Isabelle Blô originally trained as a percussionist, and is a multi-instrumentalist, working with the French bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, diatonic accordion and chromatic accordion. Isabelle has led many music and dance masterclasses in France, Great Britain, Belgium and Switzerland. She has established a reputation as a great teacher all across Europe! More details about her workshops to follow.
https://isablocontact7.wixsite.com/isabelleblo
Anne Marie Summers is a player of the English bagpipes and general multi instrumentalist best known for her work with long time musical collaborator and gurdy player Steve Tyler with whom she formed the early music ensemble Misericordia and the French/Bretton inspired group The Wendigo which also featured melodeon player Julian Sutton. In the late 90s The Wendigo produced two albums ‘This Fiery Height’ and ‘Dancing on the Sea’, original dance tunes written by the group, many of which have found there way into the ‘traditional’ repertoire of sessions and dances around Europe. Anne Marie has played in many other early music and folk ensembles over the years most notably Jon Swayne’s English bagpipe ensemble Zephyrus which raised the bar for English piping with their performances and recordings of Jon’s masterful compositions The Half Hannikin Variations and English Folksong Suite. These days she works with her voice more often than her bagpipes leading various choirs, teaching music to children with special needs and working for the charity Music in Hospitals and Care. She has recently formed a Jazz trio to perform flapper songs from the 1920s.
The Bagpipe Society was formed in 1986 to bring together players, makers, researchers and people who love the bagpipes. They’ve been a great support to Halsway in running this bagpipe workshop weekend over the years – thank you! It’s a great resource for pipers everywhere – check out their website here: www.bagpipesociety.org.uk