EvanL
09-21-2004, 12:32 AM
A family vacation to Scotland five years ago started Chen Sen Leung on a journey that ended with him back in Scotland this summer, playing the bagpipes for Queen Elizabeth at her summer home in Balmoral.
Leung's journey started quite innocently.
"I found myself in a bagpipe store in Scotland back in 1999," remembers Leung. "I was there looking to buy some Scottish folk music to take home as a souvenir from my trip.
"While in the store, I asked the person working there how long would it take for me to learn how to play the bagpipes? The guy said it would take about six months to get a sound out of it and about seven years to be good at it. His tone was a bit condescending and snarkish, so I took that as a challenge."
That day, along with the Scottish folk music, Leung ended up buying a practice chanter (which people use to learn how to play the bagpipes) and a self-teaching CD. "I was going to prove to that guy that learning to play the bagpipes couldn't be that tough."
Back home, Leung tried to teach himself how to play the pipes. He didn't get very far. "I didn't understand the music very well," he says. "I didn't have a rhythm for the culture or a feel for it. And even though my wife is of Scottish descent, she wasn't particularly happy that I was trying to play the bagpipes. So I was pretty much on my own."
That was until a member of his church asked Leung to join his pipe band. Leung thought it would be a great opportunity to learn how to play the pipes, but he found the Scottish immigrant who ran the band wasn't as good a teacher as he was a player. So Leung enrolled in a summer course at Cape Breton Gaelic College.
"I went to their week-long summer program for the next three years," says Leung. "It was a five-hour-a-day course and by the end of it I was pretty confident about my playing."
During most of those three years, while not at summer school, Leung practised at least one hour every day, plus he was a member of the Royal Legion Branch 66 Toronto Pipes and Drums.
He also later joined the Canadian Massed Pipes and Drums. It was through the Canadian Massed Pipes and Drums that Leung ended up getting to play for the Queen.
"When the Queen was here in 2002 the massed band performed for her," recalls Leung. "She recognized our band leader, Maj. Ross Baxter, as someone who performed for her when she was younger. She invited him to bring his band to her summer home in Scotland next time they were there."
Baxter took the Queen up on her invitation and took 80 pipers to Scotland this past summer.
"I took a lot of abuse from my friends and family who thought I was crazy to want to learn how to play the bagpipes," says Leung. "But after only five years of playing and getting an opportunity, to not only play for the Queen, but to meet her as well ... to me that's an amazing accomplishment. Something I'm proud of."
The Royal Legion Branch 66 Toronto Pipes and Drums will perform Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Dragon Festival Parade on Broadview Ave. They will also perform at the Pickering Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 13.
Leung's journey started quite innocently.
"I found myself in a bagpipe store in Scotland back in 1999," remembers Leung. "I was there looking to buy some Scottish folk music to take home as a souvenir from my trip.
"While in the store, I asked the person working there how long would it take for me to learn how to play the bagpipes? The guy said it would take about six months to get a sound out of it and about seven years to be good at it. His tone was a bit condescending and snarkish, so I took that as a challenge."
That day, along with the Scottish folk music, Leung ended up buying a practice chanter (which people use to learn how to play the bagpipes) and a self-teaching CD. "I was going to prove to that guy that learning to play the bagpipes couldn't be that tough."
Back home, Leung tried to teach himself how to play the pipes. He didn't get very far. "I didn't understand the music very well," he says. "I didn't have a rhythm for the culture or a feel for it. And even though my wife is of Scottish descent, she wasn't particularly happy that I was trying to play the bagpipes. So I was pretty much on my own."
That was until a member of his church asked Leung to join his pipe band. Leung thought it would be a great opportunity to learn how to play the pipes, but he found the Scottish immigrant who ran the band wasn't as good a teacher as he was a player. So Leung enrolled in a summer course at Cape Breton Gaelic College.
"I went to their week-long summer program for the next three years," says Leung. "It was a five-hour-a-day course and by the end of it I was pretty confident about my playing."
During most of those three years, while not at summer school, Leung practised at least one hour every day, plus he was a member of the Royal Legion Branch 66 Toronto Pipes and Drums.
He also later joined the Canadian Massed Pipes and Drums. It was through the Canadian Massed Pipes and Drums that Leung ended up getting to play for the Queen.
"When the Queen was here in 2002 the massed band performed for her," recalls Leung. "She recognized our band leader, Maj. Ross Baxter, as someone who performed for her when she was younger. She invited him to bring his band to her summer home in Scotland next time they were there."
Baxter took the Queen up on her invitation and took 80 pipers to Scotland this past summer.
"I took a lot of abuse from my friends and family who thought I was crazy to want to learn how to play the bagpipes," says Leung. "But after only five years of playing and getting an opportunity, to not only play for the Queen, but to meet her as well ... to me that's an amazing accomplishment. Something I'm proud of."
The Royal Legion Branch 66 Toronto Pipes and Drums will perform Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Dragon Festival Parade on Broadview Ave. They will also perform at the Pickering Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 13.