Countdown to Scotland 2019

Vienna Pipes

The band has been quiet lately as we have been preparing for our August competition trip to Scotland. Twelve pipers and seven drummers will be flying to sunny Edinburgh next week to try our luck competing against pipe bands from all across the world. This year the Vienna band will be joined by 3 very experienced musicians, our good friends Irmi Foglar and Maggie Jeschofnig from Austria and Mai Ki from Germany.

The main event will be the Grade 4B competition at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on the 17th August 2019. We will also play in North Berwick and Perth on the 10th and 11th August, where we will play in Grades 4B and 4A.

This will be our 5th season competing in Scotland and our 3rd trip to the Worlds. In our last competition season in 2017 we had our best results yet: 6th place at North Berwick, 4th place at Bridge of Allan, and qualification for the Grade 4B finals at the Worlds, where we were up against 60 other bands. We came 2nd out of of 19 bands in our qualifying heat, and then managed a respectable 11th place out of 18 finalists. This year we hope to improve on this result.

It takes a lot of hard work and harder cash to get the whole band to Scotland, and we would like to thank our many loyal supporters who come along to our Burns Nights, Whisky Tastings and other events and help us raise the funds that make it possible.

We’ll try and do Vienna proud, in the competition circle and the beer tent!

2019 Pipe Band World Championships: experienced Pipers and Drummers wanted!

Craig Parker

Vienna Pipes and Drums plan to compete again in Scotland in 2019. Any experienced Pipers and Drummers in Austria or elsewhere who are interested in joining us are invited to contact the band. We are looking for pipers, snare and tenor drummers.

The main event will be the Grade 4B competition at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on the 17th August 2019. We will also play in North Berwick and Bridge of Allan on the 10th and 11th August, where we will play in Grades 4B and 4A.

This will be our 5th season competing in Scotland and our 3rd trip to the Worlds. In our last competition season in 2017 we had our best results yet: 6th place at North Berwick, 4th place at Bridge of Allan, and qualification for the Grade 4B finals at the Worlds, where we were up against 60 other bands. We came 2nd out of of 19 bands in our qualifying heat, and then managed a respectable 11th place out of 18 finalists. Next year we hope to improve on this result!

Musicians interested in joining us need to be strong, experienced players who can commit to learning the tunes, traveling to Scotland, and playing all 3 competitions. We will be playing four MAP 2/4 marches in Grade 4B and an MSR in Grade 4A.

Frequent attendance at band practices and workshops in Vienna is expected. Skype sessions can be arranged for those further afield.

European Art 47 Concert, Steiermark

Craig Parker

On 13th July the band traveled to sunny Steiermark to perform in the European Art 47 Festival 2018 concert in Hatzendorf. The goal of the festival is to bring together artists from all European countries in a series of concerts and performances. We were proud to represent both Scotland and Vienna at this year’s Begenungskonzert , performing alongside the very talented musicians and dancers of the Dudaryk choir (Ukraine), the Halicz dance group (Poland) and the Steirischen Jägerchors. The following day we played a short concert at the famous Zotter Chocolate Factory in Riegersburg.

 

 

Vienna Pipes support Andre Rieu in Concert

Craig Parker

On 3rd June, Vienna Pipes and Drums together with our friends the Caledonian Pipes and Drums Burgenland performed in the Stadthalle Wien in support of the world-famous Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. It was an incredible experience for the band, playing to a crowd of almost 10,000 in a sold-out Stadthalle. We accompanied the Orchestra and their own highly accomplished piper Manoe Konings in performances of the well-known tunes Amazing Grace and Highland Cathedral. We had a great time and hopefully we made a few new fans in the audience. Dank u wel Maestro!

Burns Supper 2018 next Saturday 27th January

Graeme Hood

We are looking forward to entertaining you at our 7th annual Vienna Pipes Burns Supper on Saturday 27th January! Thanks to all the enthusiasts who snapped up the tickets so quickly.

As always we’ll have plenty of entertainment on offer. The pipe band will open the evening with a short performance at 20:00. Then we’ll have the traditional recitations of Burns’ poem “Address to a Haggis” before the haggis supper is served courtesy of the band’s own chef, Christian Holl. The Immortal Memory will be followed by a capella singing by the group Morning Dew, a performance of Irish Dance by the Shamrock Dance Company, and Ceilidh music from our old friends the Alastair band, led by violinist Alastair Edwards from the Shetland Islands.

All money raised from this event helps the band cover the costs of tuition, instruments, and equipment, including our teaching program for young learners. Many thanks to our sponsors who have generously donated raffle prizes: Bobby’s Foodstore, Potstill Whisky Store, House of Scotland, Dobibrennda distillery, and Karl Müllner. The first prize is a rare bottle of 19 year old Glenmorangie whisky,  offered by Mr Colin Campbell of Vienna International School fame and Graeme Hood, founding member of the Vienna Pipes and Drums. Rainer Dobiasch, another founding member of the band distills his own Apfelschnapps under the name of “Dobibrennda” which you can also win if you purchase enough raffle tickets.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

20th Anniversary Concert

Craig Parker

On 9th September 2017 we celebrated 20 years of the Vienna Pipes and Drums with a grand concert and ceilidh. Thanks to all our guests and performers for making it a truly memorable night, including dance band The Ceilidh Mafia, singer Monika Froehler, acapella group Morning Dew, members of Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band, and our wonderful MC Dominique Reitinger.

It was a bittersweet night for the band as this was also the farewell concert for our Pipe Major Gavin Law, who after leading the band for many years is returning to Scotland.  We have Gavin to thank for the band’s competition success, our many popular fundraising events, and our ongoing children’s teaching programme. We look forward to building on his legacy over the next 20 years! Here are a few memories of the night.

World Pipe Band Championships 2017 Results

Craig Parker 1 Comment

On 12th August 2017 Vienna Pipes and Drums qualified for the World Pipe Band Championships Grade 4B Final in Glasgow, where we were up against almost 60 other pipe bands from around the world. We came 2nd out of of 19 bands in our qualifying heat, and then managed a respectable 11th place out of 18 finalists. This was our second trip to the Worlds and we were very happy to qualify for the final for the first time. We plan to return in 2019 when we hope to pick up a prize. There is also a video of our final performance.