The North West England Online Piping Society
presents the
Gordon Forrest Memorial
Recital
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The Gordon Forrest Memorial Recital 2023
Guidance and How to Enter
The date for this year's recital is Saturday 28th October 2023.
The closing date for entries is Saturday 21st October 2023.
Guidance for entrants:

This is NOT a competition. Your main aim is not to impress a judge. It is to entertain your audience.

The musical content is entirely up to the piper. There is no set format. You play whatever you want to play within the set time limit.

Your performance can range from 3 minutes to 20 minutes.

It can be a mixture of solo, duet, trio or even more. One or more of the instruments in each performance must be the Great Highland Bagpipe, Scottish Smallpipe, practice chanter or electronic chanter. It may include other instruments, ie. guitar, drum, etc. played by other people or by yourself if you have the ability to multi-track. The opportunity for creativity is wide open.

On the entry form you are asked to name the tunes you are going to play for inclusion in the programme. Feel free, during your performance, to name the tunes and add any interesting background information about them or about yourself. You don't have to play all your tunes in one video. You can submit several separate videos provided that the total time falls within the 3-20 minute time limit.

There are only two rules:

1. The total time of your performance must be between 3 and 20 minutes, including any verbal introductions. (Even this is elastic to a certain degree. We won't be using a stop-watch).

2. You can submit your entry as one continuous video or as several separate videos provided the total amount of time involved falls within the time limits of 3-20 minutes. It must also be obvious that each video has been made specifically for this recital. In your first video you might introduce yourself, "This is Joe Bloggs, playing in the 2023 Gordon Forrest Memorial Recital." Any additional videos would only require this if the setting is obviously different. Alternatively you could have a notice with these words visible on screen.

There is a single entry fee of £5.

Entrants need to do three things any time before the closing date:
  • Complete and submit the entry form (link below)
  • Submit your entry fee via PayPal or electronic transfer. (Email me for bank details).
    (An important note about paying via PayPal. If you select "Sending to a friend or family" it is a completely free service and I will receive the full amount you send. If you select "Paying for an item or service" 20% will be deducted from what you send me).
  • submit the video recording(s) of your performance.
For more details of how to do this, go to the "How to Submit Your Entry" section below.

 		You will not be assessed on your performance as this is a recital, not a competition. But everyone taking part will still have that challenge and incentive to produce the best performance they can manage on a well-tuned instrument because they know their performance will be open to public view.

Unlike the competition, all entrants must agree to their performances being open to public view so all entrants under the age of 18 will need the consent of their parent or guardian in order to take part.

Highland Dress is not compulsory but there will be an award for the Best Dressed Piper.

Guidance on producing the best quality recordings
  • Record your performance on your mobile phone or webcam, ideally in landscape position rather than portrait. This will help in producing the public showing of the event.
    NB: If you are hoping to qualify for the Best Dressed Piper it is important that we get a full-length view of you.
  • If recording indoors choose an environment with good acoustics, ie. a room with soft furnishings, curtains, etc, that would dampen echo and reverb.
  • If recording outdoors try to minimise any background noise that might detract or distract from your performance.
  • If using a smart phone or similar device make sure it is switched to "Flight Mode" to prevent any incoming notifications or interruptions.
  • Feel free to record your performance as many times as you wish until you have one that you are happy to submit. Once submitted, it cannot be changed.
How to submit your entry
  1. Download and complete your entry form here: NWEOPS 2023 Recital Entry Form

  2. Upload your performance to our Recital DropBox folder by clicking on this link:
    Recital DropBox folder. You will be asked for your name and email address so that DropBox can notify you that the files have arrived successfully.
  3. Make sure you also upload your completed entry form.
  4. Submit your entry fee(s) via PayPal to riperpiper@hotmail.com or pay by BACS. (email me for bank details)
No entries will be accepted after Sat 21st October 2023

If you have any queries you'd like answered before submitting an entry feel free to email me, Chris Eyre, the Event Organiser, on riperpiper@hotmail.com
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