Bagpipe Band Blows Away Moberly Audience

The Tullintrain West Pipes and Drums perform to a packed house Friday night at the MACC Auditorium. The men and one woman, dressed in traditional kilts, performed Irish and Scottish tunes on bagpipes and drums while explaining some of the history of the two countries.

 When the Moberly Area Council on the Arts first discussed bringing a group of bagpipes to town, some of the board members were skeptical. But nearly 250 persons turned out last Friday at the MACC Auditorium and were well-rewarded.

The Tullintrain West Pipe Band, founded in 2005, is an all-volunteer musical group devoted to the sole purpose of promoting the music of Ireland and Scotland. Kevin Gilstrap is the Pipe Major and founder of the group with Joe Cameron the Drum Major and emcee.

Friday’s audience heard the bagpipes and drums play a variety of traditional-style pieces from Ireland and Scotland, from a quick march medley to the slow “haunting” piobaireachds, (pronounced sort of like pibroch),  classical piping music traditionally played for weddings, funerals, or as memorials. Piobaireachds are similar to America’s folk songs in that they tell about the land and the present times.         

Toward the end of the performance, a lone piper began the lilt of the familiar hymn “Amazing Grace” at the back of the auditorium and solemnly made his way to the front to join the others in this sacred tune.

“Scotland the Brave” the unofficial national anthem of Scotland and “Wer’e No Awa’ Tae Bide Awa’”ended the musical portion of the program. However, band members stayed after the concert to talk to people about the band, the kilts, the history of bagpipes and how they are played. The old joke of how do you know when a bagpipe is tuned was told and the pipers explained and demonstrated how bagpipes are tuned to get a harmonic sound. “We tune because we care,” Cameron told the audience.

Instruments besides the bagpipes included in the night’s performance were a bass drum, a snare drum, and an Irish flute. Mairi Cameron, 12, Joe Cameron’s daughter, performed two Irish step dances. Mairi has been performing for eight years.

Kevin Gilstrap has performed all over the world for 30 years, including the 2003 World Pipe Band Championships with the Tullintrain Pipe Band of Northern Ireland.

He has been making bagpipes and composing music for a number of years. He is also a member of the Midwest Pipe Band Association and a perennial volunteer at Winter Storm, a Midwest Highland Arts Fund’s weekend festival.

Joe Cameron started his love of music at the age of seven on the flute. He spent summers at his uncle’s home in Ireland. As a UMKC Conservatory graduate, Cameron studied percussion with five-time World Champion drummer, James King, and has performed with Eddie Delahunt as a regular artist. He has earned several prizes as a professional grade snare and bass drummer and competes around the country on the tin whistle and bodhran, a special Irish drum.