Tim Cummings has studied Scottish-style piping with Al MacRae, Sandy Keith, Scott MacAulay, and, during a semester in Glasgow, with the faculty at the RSAMD and National Piping Centre. He earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education (The College of Wooster, Ohio); and both a B.A. Honours degree in Ethnomusicology and an M.A. in Musicology (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand). During the 2002-03 school year, he was the Artist in Residence at The College of Piping in Summerside, PEI. While living in New Zealand, Tim was a member of the highly competitive Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band—competing, arranging repertoire, and recording with them. He has also published several pieces and collections of piping music via Birchen Music & Publishing. Now based in Vermont, USA, Tim keeps busy as a private teacher, performer, arranger/composer, recording artist, and publisher of piping and Celtic-related music.
Michael Mac Harg is a professional pipemaker and Celtic music seller who has been in the business for nearly 30 years. His specialties include the Scottish Highland pipes, Scottish Lowland pipes, Central French pipes and he also make bombards from Brittany. Michael restores and rebuilds all sorts of bagpipes. Michael specializes in pipebags for virtually all bagpipes. He also carries a large selection of French traditional music, to include hurdy gurdy and French bagpipe music.
Michael Dow has been a professional woodworker for well over 30 years and makes his living as a hand, architectural woodcarver. His interest in bagpipes started in 1974 and he made his first set of Scottish smallpipes and bellows around 1989. At the request of Jerry O'Sullivan a few years later, his uilleann bellows were developed.
"I needed a large-capacity bellows that would be a comfortable, dependable, efficient workhorse that would stand up to excessive wear and tear. The bellows Mike made for me is an outstanding piece of craftsmanship which is all of these things plus some. You simply cannot do better than a Mike Dow bellows."
- Jerry O'Sullivan - 2000
Please visit his web site at www.archcarving.com for more information.
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| BC Childress is a pipemaker (specializing in the manufacture of the Irish Uilleann Pipes) who has been making the Uilleann Pipes since 1987. BC has been featured as a guest piper on several recordings, as well as having his pipemaking work show up in a major motion picture. Supplying Uilleann pipes to both amateur and professional pipers has become a full-time pleasure for BC. African Blackwood, Rosewood, Cocobolo, brass and all manner of custom work are available. Repairs and restorations are also carried out in the BC Childress workshop. | ||||||
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| Jerry Freeman Pennywhistles | |||
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Jerry Freeman is the world's only full time, professional penny whistle Jerry takes mass produced whistles (Generations, Feadogs, etc.) and adjusts the soundblade position, windway exit geometry, voicing chamber and tonebody to create affordable instruments that many consider not simply outstanding whistles for the modest cost, but outstanding whistles at any cost. Jerry offers tweaked Generations in high G, high F, Eb, D, C and Bb, tweaked Feadogs in D, and his own creations, the widely acclaimed Blackbirds and Mellow Dogs. Mellow Dogs are wide body whistles available in D and as a D/C set (one whistlehead with two tubes). Blackbirds are standard body whistles available in Eb, D and C. Both are noted for their pure drop authentic traditional voicings that favor a birdlike, sweet timbre in a very responsive, clean playing instrument. |
| Chris Pinchbeck | |||
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| Chris Pinchbeck has been playing Great Highland and Scottish Smallpipes for over 15 yrs. He has been fine-tuning making Scottish Smallpipes for equally as long. Along with the ability to supply drones of traditional tuning style, he has developed a unique, professional quality, extended tuning range drone assembly that expands the capability of the Scottish Smallpipe to play tunes in a wider range of keys. These distinctive drones can be conveniently tuned in performance to chanters keyed in D,C, Bflat or A, with a handsome look and a beautiful sound. Teamed with artisans with an equal love of the craft, Pinchbeck crafts high quality instruments delivered with pride in workmanship and assurance of their ability to please. |
