I started working at the NYPBS in 2020, and it's been an exhilarating few years of development as we worked to optimise a model that was in place for over 20 years. In that time, we learned a lot, ran into challenges in a changing world, and piloted new ideas and initiatives. 

Now we're launching 'NYPBS 2.0', the next iteration of the National Piping Centre's flagship youth engagement programme. We're incredibly excited about the impact we believe this will have, and importantly, how this development will enable us to fulfil our commitment to continuous improvement and our intentions of keeping NYPBS fair, transformational, and resilient as the world changes around us. 

So here's what's new: 

We will be working with professional industry artists, not so much as 'tutors' but in collaboration with our young musicians to create music together based on our artistic theme for the year. Our guest artists will work directly with each of our ensembles to create something unique. This is something special and an incredibly rare opportunity in pipe band. 

Over the last couple of years, we managed to bring all of our ensembles together for shorter rehearsals of 'finale' music. These experiments were incredibly exciting and we realised we were onto something special here. So this year we're making 'BIG Sessions' part of the NYPBS. We plan to run two 'BIG Sessions' across full days, where all of our ensembles come together to make music and connect. Due to the scale of these events, they'll be delivered in bigger venues than our normal sessions at NPC and they'll include working on specially created music with layers for each ensemble as well as activities for our ensembles to socialise and share their knowledge with each other across the day. 

Over the last few years we've optimised NYPBS rehearsals to make them as engaging as possible but now we're moving into a model that really prioritises engagement and individual participant development. This year we'll be running monthly sessions for each ensemble, featuring time to workshop music and create it together, but also featuring masterclasses in everything from technique to ways of staying healthy as a musician. Each Session is ran as its own event and the music for each session will be different. If you're expecting 'band practice' then you're in for a big (hopefully exhilarating) surprise! 

Over the course of 6 months, the music we create in these sessions will culminate in one big programme of music we'll showcase at our end of year concert. 

We've worked a lot over the past few years to not only expand the reach of NYPBS (adding in a third ensemble, offering auditions across the country, not just Glasgow) but also to welcome more types of young musicians to NYPBS, from different backgrounds. We've realised if we want to take this to the next level we need to find a way to expand our capacity to create equitable access to the programme. 

So this year we're implementing a means-tested tiered bursary system, alongside participant fees. Before our answer to access was to give everyone the same thing, a free place, and beyond that we didn't have many options. But we've learned some people need more than just a free place; a free place is useless if you can't afford to travel to the session. 

We want to give everyone what they need to participate, where those who need more receive more, and those who can contribute a bit do. For some, that will mean full bursaries. For others, it will mean modest fees that help us cover the real costs of delivery and extend support further.

The funding landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade, and we've now reached a point where the funding model that allowed NYPBS to operate with free places simply isn't available anymore. We want NYPBS to be here for young pipers & drummers across Scotland for years to come and participant fees are an essential step to make this possible. 

This year we're going to provide more time with accompanists as part of the NYPBS experience at all of our Sessions. And we're going to have a superstar cast of mentors to create music with our young musicians and provide masterclasses, including some of pipe band's biggest names from across multiple 'top 6' bands, and incredible musicians from outside the pipe band world. 

We'll be keeping some things the same, including our epic end-of-year concerts, which feature incredibly high production values and are delivered in Scotland's most prestigious venues. I'm sure we'll run into some challenges as we realise this first year of our new model, but in the long run, we believe this will provide a better experience and value for the young people in our programme as well as ensuring the NYPBS is still here twenty years from now.