Piper named 2011 Northern Ireland Young Musician of Year
Bradley Parker, 14-year-old Highland piper from Portavogie, Northern Ireland, has been named Northern Ireland’s Young Musician of the Year for 2011. Parker gained the award in a competition against 14 other finalists, including accomplished players of trombone, baritone and marimba.
Parker, who started piping at age five, travels regularly to Paisley, Scotland, to receive instruction from the renowned piper John Wilson. He played a selection of jigs to gain the prize, which he adds to his success in Northern Ireland, Scotland and London, where he has won the overall award in the Under-18 category for the past three years in a row.
The Northern Ireland Young Musician of the Year contest is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Comber.
Bravo, Bradley! Also, great recognition for the bagpipes in this prestigious competition. Bob Worrall
Nice to see the bagpipe take its place among those other instruments and be seen/heard as the serious musical instrument that it is. Have seen your name in prize lists for a while, so it’s nice to see those prizes grow in stature. Well done and good luck for continued successes!
Well done Bradley, that’s a great award for you and for piping as well !! Bruce Gandy
Well done Bradley! As others have said, it is great to see piping right up there with all other instruments in one country.