..
G'day!
Born 78 in Hallein (Austria), as educated carpenter I started my
career at the
Landestheater Salzburg as stage-technician right after
fulfilling my
military service in 2000.
My musical career started with what I thought booming
classical music
that my parents listened to on and on. At the age of 6 I
started my
piano education with nun Mary and will never forget being
convinced to
do my exercising by my mother standing right behind me or
the quite
glorious four-handed played concert with my brother.....all
these
experiences and some more led directly to a quite abrupt
end soon after.
During my teenage times I was a heavy metal fan throughout
and through
my obvious role as Braveheart at the Scouts I had to land
at the
bagpipe.
At ebay I bought my first bagpipe in 2002. It was a
Pakistani derived
and though it looked like a real bagpipe its musical
qualities were
rather minor. I invested again during our trip to Scotland
in 2003 but
this time into a proper original from Scotland.
Already in 2002 I attended my first bagpiping course in Bad
Goisern
where I found out (quite surprisingly) to I had to learn to
read sheet
music (!!). If only I would have listened to nun Mary!
Months and months
of practicing on the practice chanter resulted in tunes
which were
hardly recognizable.
During the following years I did courses at least twice a
year in Bad
Goisern, joined courses organized by friend and colleagues
and joined
the bagpipe summer school in Breuber/Germany.
After my first public gig at the Zauberberg where the whole
audience
were children the wish to perform in public rose.
The numerous gigs that following where among others at the
castle of
Salzburg, in the convention center Salzburg, the Hotel
Intercontinental
Resort in Berchtesgaden, the schnaps distillery Guglhof, the
Longhornsaloon, the kindergarden Villa Kunterbunt and at
the medieval
festival in Golling.
I want to thank my teachers as Konz Saskia( for her
patience with
beginnners), grad. Pipe Major David Johnston, Mark Faloon,
instructor at
the College of Piping Robert McFie and John Mulhearn, John
Angus Smith,
Benedikt Groh and Robert Watt.
But especially I want to thank my wife Barbara who
fearlessly surprised
my the first course fee as a present.
