The Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Pipe Band will present Celtic Christmas, their annual Christmas concert, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 12 at Claremont United Church of Christ, 233 Harrison Ave.
The group will present traditional bagpipe and drum music as well as original organ and bagpipe arrangements by Jeffery H. Rickard and Kevin R. Blandford. Matthew Keating, principal of the Claremont Community School of Music, will lead the bagpipe, brass and percussion ensemble to complement the church’s Glatter-Goetz / Rosales organ, played by Carey Robertson.
Richard Cook will perform uilleann pipes and the Claremont United Church of Christ Bell Choir will perform. The concert also features youth from Orange County School of the Arts, Upland High School and Glendora High School.
Tickets are $ 25 for general admission, $ 20 for seniors and students, and $ 15 for children ages 5 to 12, available at blandfordbands.org. For more information, call 909-474-7764.
The first RP Blandford & Son Pipe Band was formed in 1986 by piper founder Kevin R. Blandford, who led the group to multiple West Coast titles and a runner-up at the 2000 World Championships in Scotland , according to a press release.
After Blandford’s death in 2003, the band changed their name to Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Pipe Band. Since 2004, the group has won numerous titles, including world championship rankings in 2004, 2007 and 2017.
The group is under the direction of Bagpipe Major Martha Hall and Drum Sergeant Justin Hall. It has two competitive units, a beginner group and an advanced group, and teaches bagpipes to young people for the Upland Unified School District.
In addition to competing across the United States and Scotland, the group also performs at church services, graduation parties and parades in Southern California.
