Contact P/M Rob Clower
(641) 990-6820
contact@turlachur.org

 
 

Turlach Ur Pipe Band will perform at 7:00pm on July 1 in Grinnell’s Central Park, taking its turn in the 2021 Thursday Music in the Park series, sponsored by the Grinnell Area Arts Counsel.  This year, Turlach Ur welcomes numerous guest players from other states, including members of the Baton Rouge Caledonia Pipe Band and the Cameron Highlanders of San Diego.  Rob Clower, Turlach Ur’s founder and leader, explains that the collaboration emerged in part due to the COVID19 pandemic.  “These are two great bands with which we already had a strong relationship, but last year’s cancelled competition and performance season left us connecting primarily online, which actually enhanced the trans-continental connection.  It’s all coming together right here in Central Park.”  Turlach Ur will keep working through the holiday weekend with a series of practice sessions in preparation for competition at the Wisconsin Highland Games on September 4, one of very few contests still going forward this year.  With at least 10 out-state players filling out the ranks, Turlach Ur will field bands in both the Grade 5 (novice) and Grade 3 (advanced) events.

                                              

 

Sounded promising! Great to play together again.

Three of TU's finest brought their skills to The Worlds 2020 Beer Tent Fanfare.

Check it out at https://fb.watch/20Y9RPCtoz/

Look for snare drummers Nate VanderLeest (1:42, 2:20) and Chris Pierce (0:49, 2:20), and tenor drummer Leah Sharp (1:42, 2:20, 2:27).  Watch for more posts about how Turlach Ur has been keeping busy during this very challenging year.

Turlach Ur is sad ... very sad ... to announce that it will not perform this weekend at either the Newton or Pella location of the Cellar Peanut Pub. The band was scheduled to play on March 14. Safety guidance concerning the coronavirus becomes more serious every day. As a formal organization with a prominent public presence, we feel obligated to do what we can to keep our players, our fans, and our community healthy. We love this gig and hope to be back playing up a storm at the Cellar Peanut Pub next St. Paddy's Day ... maybe even sooner!

 
Once a year, the best beer and the best pipe band in Iowa cross paths on a chilly March night. On Saturday March 14th, Turlach Ur will pipe in St. Patrick's Day at the Newton and Pella locations of the one and only ... wait, that's two and only ... Cellar Peanut Pub. This incredible craft-beer tap room just won Best Craft Beer Bar in Iowa from CraftBeer.com and the National Brewers Association. This will be our fifth annual SPD performance for owners Marty and Betsy Duffy and all their loyal patrons.
 
Festivities start early in the day. Turlach Ur plays in Newton at 5:00 and 6:00, and then in Pella at 7:30, 8:30, and 9:30. Iowa's Best Piping Iowa in Iowa's Best Pub. Enough said. 
 
 

Turlach Ur performed last night with the mighty Chieftains ... essentially the Rolling Stones of traditional Irish music.  Great to share the stage with this band during their year 58th year of world touring.  The backstage chillin' was fun too!

The Turlach Ur Pipe Band will perform with The Chieftains on March 4 at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City. The Chieftains, a traditional Irish folk group, tour world-wide and have won six Grammys. They last invited Turlach Ur to perform with them in 2012. Since its inception in 2007, Turlach Ur has won numerous prizes and titles, and now fields two competition bands. Its Grade 5 band comprises student players (shown here practicing late into a summer evening), and its Grade 3 band is one of the top competition bands in the Midwest. The Chieftains concert is nearly sold-out, but Turlach Ur fans can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the band at the Newton and Pella locations of the Cellar Peanut Pub on Saturday March 14. For more information, contact the Grinnell Area Arts Council at 641-236-3203 or Rob Clower at 641-990-6820.

Andy Christie, Matt Turley, Maryna Krizman, Nate Vander Leest, and Kaia Chang-Roper all collected solo medals in Waukesha.  In the season “Champion Supreme” races, Matt, Maryna, and Ezra Praitis-Hill finished 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in novice Grade 4 piping, and Nate Vander Leest took 3rd in Grade 3 snare.

The August 31 games in Waukesha, Wisconsin completed Turlach Ur’s 2019 season.  The Grade 3 band took its first contested victory, a nice finish for the first year in the new grade.  Our Grade 5 pipe corps took two 5th places in a field of seven, along with 6th places in drumming and ensemble, finishing 6th overall. 

 

  1. Corn Days celebration
  2. Chicago Games 2019
  3. Turlach Ur’s inaugural Grade 3 contest
  4. Turlach Ur is ready for summer!