Piper earns four 1st place finishes
Posted: July 24, 2012
Alex Seto ҆13 has had an extraordinary summer successfully competing in solo bagpipe competitions throughout the province.
The 16-year-old student who enters grade 12 in September is well-known for his exceptional piping as a member of St. Andrew’s Pipes and Drums. This summer he took his pipes on the road to compete in Highland summer games in Georgetown, Kincardine and Cambridge.
Alex attained 1st place finishes in Junior Amateur Piobaireachd (classical music of the bagpipe) at each event. He performed these extended and complex compositions of the Piobaireachd to perfection, clearly making an impression with the judges. At Cambridge he also finished 1st in grade 3 amateur bagpipe March, also complex tunes, but more upbeat and written specifically to play in competition.
“We are very proud of Alex’s accomplishments,” says SAC Piping Director, Jim McGillivray. “His piping skills are being recognized by all those who hear him play and it’s thrilling to hear of his success out on his own this summer. Alex being able to manage his own tuning and playing without his instructor being present is quite exemplary.”
At Kincardine Alex came in 2nd in the Strathspey/Reel competition, in which pipers must play two traditional Scottish dance tunes back to back: the Strathspey (played quickly in 4/4 time) and the Reel (a slower tune in 2/2 time). Alex also earned a 5th place showing at Georgetown in both the grade 3 March and the Strathspey/Reel.
Now in his fifth year of playing the bagpipes, Alex returns to class in the fall and his new role as Pipe Major with the Pipes and Drums.
Story by Lorne Chase
