John D. Burgess
John Davie Burgess | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 March 1934 Aberdeen,Scotland |
| Died | 29 June 2005(aged 71) Inverness,Scotland |
| Instrument | Bagpipes |
John Davie BurgessMBE(11 March 1934 – 29 June 2005) was a Scottishbagpipeplayer.
Life
[edit]He was born in Aberdeen on 11 March 1934, and first learned to play thepractice chanterat the age of four from his father John, who was also a piper.[1]
The family moved toEdinburghwhen the elder John took up a lecturing position at theVeterinary School.[2]John D. was educatedEdinburgh Academy,and tutored byPipe majorWillie Rossof theArmy School of Bagpipe Music and Highland DrummingatEdinburgh Castle.[2]He did not play in the school band, for fear that it would damage his technique.[2]
In 1950 he became the youngest ever winner of the gold medals forpiobaireachdat both theArgyllshire Gatheringin Oban and theNorthern Meetingin Inverness, at the age of 16.[3][2]He initially intended to pursue piping as a hobby, and pursue a career training horses, but he went on a tour of Canada and the United States with Willie Ross in 1952.[4]Burgess was persuaded by Brigadier Alistair MacLean at the Castle to join theQueen's Own Cameron Highlandersas a piper, and spent three years there, reaching the rank ofcorporal.[4][2]His choice of regiment did not please Ross, who wanted him to join theScots Guards.[1]
Burgess then joined theEdinburgh City Police,and became pipe major of that band in 1957.[5]
Between 1962 and 1965, he was pipe major of the 4th/5th Battalion Cameron Highlanders TA Pipe Band.[2]He then moved toInvergordonin 1966, and played with theInvergordon Distillery Pipe Bandfor two years, until it was disbanded in 1967.[1][6]
Burgess became a teacher and judge after retiring from competitive playing in around 1979, teaching in schools aroundEaster Ross.[7][3][1]He was awarded anMBEin 1988 for services to piping.[2]
He died on 29 June 2005, and was survived by his wife Sheila and their son, John, and daughter, Margaret.[2][8]
Recordings
[edit]John D. Burgess made several recordings.[9][10]
- King of Highland Pipers
- Art of the Bagpipe
- Ceol Mor agus Ceol Beag
- Art of the Highland Bagpipe Vol. 1
- Art of the Highland Bagpipe Vol. 2
- Art of the Highland Bagpipe Vol. 3
- King of the Highland Pipers
- Piping Centre 1996 Vol. 2
- Piping at the Edinburgh Academy
- John D. - A One Off
His trackThe Wandering Piperas was included byTopic Recordsin their 70th anniversary albumThree Score and Ten.
References
[edit]- ^abcd"John D Burgess".The Telegraph.London. 1 July 2005.Retrieved13 March2015.
- ^abcdefgh"John D Burgess: One of Scotland's greatest exponents of bagpipe music".The Herald.6 July 2005.Retrieved14 March2015.
- ^ab"PM John D. Burgess MBE".scottishcultureonline.com.Retrieved14 March2015.
- ^ab"Eulogy (Part 1)".pmjohndburgess.net.Retrieved14 March2015.
- ^"Donald Shaw Ramsay (1919-1998)".pipetunes.ca. Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2015.Retrieved6 March2015.
- ^"Tribute to piping legend could be a collectors item".ross-shirejournal.co.uk. 1 December 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved13 March2015.
- ^"Updated: John D. Burgess memories".pipesdrums.com. 31 July 2005.Retrieved13 March2015.
- ^"Updated: John D. Burgess, 1934-2005".pipesdrums.com. 30 June 2005.Retrieved14 March2015.
- ^"Discography".pmjohndburgess.net. Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2015.Retrieved14 March2015.
- ^Burgess, John D (1983),Pipe Major John D. Burgess plays the great highland bagpipe,Lismor,retrieved15 April2019
External links
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