Uilleann Pipers unveil strategy to Share the Sound of Ireland
Press release on behalf of Na Píobairí Uilleann
Thursday February 27th, 2014, 6:30pm
Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU) is today delighted to announce the launch by Arts Council member John Fanning of Sharing the Sound of Ireland: a comprehensive new strategy to guide one of Ireland’s leading traditional music and arts organisations for the next five years.
Sharing the Sound of Ireland features a new website and a complete rebranding. It is a highly ambitious yet practical blueprint for NPU to realise its visionary aim of bringing the traditions and music of the Irish uilleann pipes to the world.
The plan’s framework is constructed on NPU’s four objective pillars of Access, Education, Performance and Preservation, delivered through the organization’s commitment to excellence in values, governance and processes.
Visionary goals laid out in this strategy include the building of an International Uilleann Piping Centre and Theatre at 16 Henrietta Street, the deployment of full time uilleann pipe teachers over the next four years to help re-embed uilleann piping throughout Ireland and facilitate tuition worldwide.
NPU commence this new strategic period by launching two innovative new mobile apps MovingCloud and Pipecraft, the first of their kind within the Irish traditional arts world.
To increase global access to the Irish pipes and traditional music, MovingCloud will offer significant and growing musical content with over 3000 video clips featuring 300 leading traditional artists. Available to download free of charge on iTunes and Google Play, MovingCloud users can supplement the significant free content through the payment of a modest subscription which will open access to additional material and the NPU online library.
To focus on the heritage craft of uilleann pipemaking, today NPU also launches Pipecraft, the first mobile app for uilleann pipemaking. This practical educational tool provides aspiring pipemakers access to 50 hours of video footage featuring the methods of leading pipemakers.
The new rebranded logo reflects the current status of Na Píobairí Uilleann as a vibrant, modern, global organisation firmly rooted in the vision of its founders. A treatment of the initials of Na Píobairí Uilleann evokes the physical detail of a set of Irish uilleann pipes, and also suggests sound waves, sharing, music staves, and a strong connection to online audiences.
Speaking about today’s announcement, NPU Chief Executive and uilleann piper Gay McKeon commented: ‘Na Píobairí Uilleann’s founders, who were pipers themselves, had a very clear vision for the organisation back in 1968 when the very future of the instrument was far from certain. That vision, based on the promotion of piping, pipes and traditional music through tuition and conservation, underpins this new strategy which tailors these fundamental aims for the 21st century and the global reach of NPU.
We are very grateful for the ongoing financial support of both the Arts Council and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht which has contributed to an exponential growth in the playing and making of uilleann pipes, a unique and iconic element of our rich musical heritage.’
To download the Sharing the Sound of Ireland Strategy – click here
Na Píobairí Uilleann
Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU), the Society of Uilleann Pipers, was founded in 1968 by pipers with the aim of protecting a threatened art form. Now, forty-six years later, NPU is a thriving arts organisation with thousands of members, dedicated to servicing the aims and needs of uilleann pipers worldwide. It is the vision of NPU to enrich the lives of people worldwide through the music and culture of the Irish pipes and establish the music of the uilleann pipes as a major art form around the world in the 21st century. Since unveiling its restored Georgian premises at 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin, in January 2007, NPU has been busy catering for the expanding demand for regular tuition as well as releasing a number of significant publications and recordings. With demand for pipes considerably exceeding supply, a dedicated Training Centre – Pipecraft – has been established to deliver training in the very highly skilled craft of uilleann pipemaking. NPU’s commitment to tuition, both on a weekly basis at its premises, and internationally, continues to grow, along with its public performance programme.
NPU also maintains a significant online presence. Source, our web-based piping and traditional music resource, makes available our accumulated training, tutorial and archive materials to lovers of Irish music around the world.
Na Píobairí Uilleann’s primary funding agencies include the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Dublin City Council.
Na Píobairí Uilleann, 15 Henrietta St., Dublin 1, Ireland
Tel: +353-1-8730093
Email: info@pipers.ie
Web: www.pipers.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/napiobairiuilleann
Twitter: www.twitter.com/napiobairi
