The National Piping Centre is planning its first online seasonal school.
The Glasgow-based organisation has held its popular Adult Gatherings for many years and the move online – due to current Covid-19 guidelines – follows on from the success of its online group piping lessons that were launched last month.
Snare drumming tuition will feature for the first time under the tutorship of Gareth McLees of Belfast, pictured above, second from the left on the bottom row. Gareth is an ex-member of the World Championship-winning Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia and a current member of Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.
The online Adult Gathering course will follow the same structure as the physical course: one-to-one lessons, Masterclass Workshops, group lessons and practice time etc. The videoconference software to be adopted will be zoom.
The piping instructors on this course include Willie McCallum, Finlay MacDonald, Finlay Johnston, Andrew Bova, Dan Nevans and Ross Ainslie.
The online Adult Gatherings runs from Monday, June 29 to Thursday, July 2. Full details HERE.
The RSPBA’s Annual General Meeting will take place on June 27 using an online portal.
It is believed an IT company based in Armadale, West Lothian has assisted with the technical aspects of holding the AGM in this way.
The AGM was due to be held on March 14 in Glasgow but was postponed, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the day before.
Chairman, John Hughes, said: “Today, an email has gone to all band Secretaries of UK RSPBA-registered bands who have paid their 2019/2020 registration fees, regarding the rescheduled 2019 AGM with the following information.
“… Whilst we remain legally required to hold our AGM, the ‘Stay at Home Measures’ significantly restrict our ability to hold the AGM in the traditional way … The health and safety of our members, officials, and staff is always our utmost priority, and as a consequence, members will not be able to attend in person, however the Board will ensure that the meeting is quorate.
“The format of the AGM this year will be purely functional to comply with the relevant legal requirements. Therefore, the proposed changes to the Standing Orders and Rules, and Articles of Association will not be considered at this time.
“In order to ensure that members’ votes are counted, the Board strongly encourages members to exercise their right to vote by appointing the chairman of the AGM as their proxy to vote in accordance with their instructions. Therefore, all members are encouraged to exercise their votes by submitting their proxy forms through the voting portal that has been set up for this purpose.
“The portal will also allow members to submit appropriate questions that they would have raised at the AGM via the portal. Relevant questions and answers will be published as soon as practicable following the AGM.
“… Voting will close at 10:00am on June 25, 2020. You will be able to review the overall votes cast after the AGM.”
