Knockout Contest
Join us for the first event of the 2019-20 Knockout series, which gets underway this Saturday!
Categories
A Piping – Two 6/8 Marches
A Drumming – MSR
B Drumming – 6/8 March
40+ Drumming – 2/4 March
Joe Kiah will be our drumming judge, and our piping judge and recitalist will be Ed Bush. Ed was recently inducted into the Brockville and Area Music and Performing Arts Hall of Fame. You can read more about that accomplishment here.
How to sign up
The registration form is below, or you can enter on the day!
Details
When: Saturday, September 28th at 7:30 pm
Where: HMCS Bytown Naval Officers’ Mess, 78 Lisgar St. in downtown Ottawa
Cost: $7.00 per person (competitor or spectator)
PDQB Initiative – November 2019
Over the past several months, the Ottawa Branch has discussed efforts to leverage the Piping and Drumming Qualifications Board (PDQB) certification structure as one way to encourage teaching and learning in our region.
Based on discussions following our info-session last winter, we are going to proceed with this initiative on a trial basis and start by offering an opportunity for interested piping students to complete PDQB examinations in Ottawa for SCQF levels 2-4. Bob Worrall will be in Ottawa the weekend of the November 30th Knockout to administer exams.
How it will work:
Students (and their teachers) interested in this should familiarize themselves with PDQB syllabi and test requirements for respective SCQF levels 2, 3, and 4. More information can be found here.
Interested individuals are asked to complete this brief Expression of Interest form so the Branch can the gauge interest and follow up accordingly. We ask that all that are interested respond by Friday, October 11th.
The Branch will follow up with you directly, confirm next steps, and coordinate registration with the PDQB.
At this time, we will begin our trial with piping students, however we plan to expand this to drumming soon. Certification of proctors and testing for higher grade pipers is an area to build on moving forward as well.
Why is the Branch doing this?
As we strive to increase the uptake of piping and drumming in our region, the PDQB system offers a way for pipers and drummers to have their skills recognized in a non-competition manner, and provides a fully recognized certification framework that could be leveraged for broader educational aims.
As this is a new initiative that is somewhat different from previous Branch activities, we are keen for your thoughts as we test the feasibility of this for the long run. If you have any questions, please write to us!