RE-DISCOVERING THE LOST HISTORY OF NORTHUMBRIAN PIPING IN NORTH SHIELDS

We are very pleased to welcome Richard Heard as a speaker for the second time this year, this time explaining how the Northumbrian Small Pipes are now recognised as a significant and integral part of the town’s rich musical heritage.

An experienced piper himself and a member of the Northumbrian Pipers’ Society, he will outline the musical and social contexts in which these local bagpipes developed and were played, describing some recent research into previously little-acknowledged relationships between people of North Shields and this unique instrument and its music.

The importance of some of these people in other aspects of music, and in other fields, and the development of our present perception of local musical traditions will be explored.

To illustrate the talk, examples of Northumbrian pipes music will be played by expert local pipers.

Richard coordinates a piping group that meets at the Old Low Light Heritage Centre on the third Tuesday of the month from 7-9pm. In March they played at a special open day at the centre to mark the 10th anniversary of its official opening and in June, Richard along with members of the local piping group, took part in the North Shields 800 Community Day at the Linskill Centre, held to celebrate the town’s history, heritage and culture.