The Monterey Celtic Arts Academy Resumes “Bagpipe Nights” on September 21, 2004

August 25, 2004, Monterey, CA, The Monterey Celtic Arts Academy (MCAA) will hold its popular 3rd Tuesday of the month Bagpipe Nights with a free Introductory Bagpipe Lesson at the Music Building at York School at 9501 York Road in Monterey, on Tuesday, September 21, 2004. from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Take highway 1 south or north to highway 68 east to York Road which is at a stoplight, turn left, go up the hill, go right into theYork School parking lot, music building is on the right side of parking lot.). For more information or to RSVP for Bagpipe Nights, please contact Wendy Brickman at (831) 633-4444. In addition, the Monterey Celtic Arts Academy has recently launched the Monterey Bay School of Piping to be held at Stevenson School from June 12 through June 17, 2005. For more information, see the website: www.montereycelticartsacademy.org.

During this free event, award-winning bagpipe teacher, Michel d’Avenas, who is also the Pipe Major for the Monterey Bay Pipe Band (formerly the First Salinas Valley Highlanders), will give a free Introductory Bagpipe Lesson and do Bagpipe Demonstration for both children and adults, and will show how easy it is to learn to play the bagpipes. To learn the bagpipe, pupils start by mastering a Practice Chanter which has only 9 notes, and is an instrument that is similar to a pennywhistle or recorder. It’s easy to play, inexpensive, portable and quiet. The pupils who practice a half hour to an hour a day soon can play a wide variety of tunes.

Michel d’Avenas is the Pipe Major (or music leader) of the Monterey Bay Pipe Band. Michel is an award-winning bagpiper who has taught bagpiping locally for over 30 years to hundreds of youth and adults of all ages, from age 4 to age 86. Bagpipe Nights are designed to introduce both young and older people to the rich tradition of the bagpipes in an informal setting. The Monterey Celtic Arts Academy is a non-profit organization that was established in 1998 to enrich the lives of residents and young students in the Monterey community by offering them educational opportunities related to Celtic arts through the use of workshops, exhibitions, lectures, classes and performances. They have funds available to help young musicians (under age 18) to offset the costs of the bagpipe and traveling costs to competitions. For more information or to RSVP for Bagpipe Nights, please contact Wendy Brickman at (831) 633-4444.