Biography
Eric has performed at countless public and private functions over the last 34 years include such events as weddings, anniversaries, funerals, corporate and professional sporting events.
Career highlights include piping in the American and European teams at the Opening ceremonies of the 1995 Ryder Cup Golf Tournament, US Open at Pinehurst Country Club, played with and for celebrities such as Ewan Mc Gregor and Sean Connery, and well known Celtic bands Enter the Haggis, Flogging Molly, The Dady Brothers, Seven Nations and many more. Eric has organized and led the pipe, drum and highland dance performances together with rounding up athletes for the annual Highland Fling Celtic weekend at the Renaissance Faire in Sterling, New York for over 20 years.
Currently a Grade 1 solo competitive piper, Eric has won many of the major contests in the Eastern United States Highland Games circuit. Prior to his relocation to the west coast, Eric was ranked among the top ten players in the Eastern United States in Grade 2 by the EUSPBA for the '01, '02, '05 and '06 seasons. The EUSPBA boasts both the largest territory and greatest solo player membership of any piping association in the world extending from Maine to Texas. Eric was advanced to Grade 1 solo piping in 2012 by the WUSPBA.
Credentials:
*2018 Winner of Oregon Pipers Society Grade 1 aggregate for 2017-2018 season
*2015 1st Place Piobaireachd at PM Angus MacDonald Contest
*2013 Winner of Oregon Pipers Society Grade 1 aggregate for 2012-2013 season
*1996-present Winner of Solo Competitive events in each of the major contests in the Eastern US and Canadian Highland Games circuit
*2006-present Co-founder/instructor/player of the pipe band, Feadan Or, Penfield, NY
* Solo piper for Byron Nelson Honorary tree dedication at Oak Hill C.C.
*1997-present Organize Piping and Highland Athletics for the Scottish Weekend held annually at the Sterling Renaissance Faire in Sterling, NY
*2006-2007 Led the pipe band Feadan Or Grade 3 competitive unit as Pipe Major
*2001,'02,'05 & '06 Ranked among the top ten players in the Eastern US in Grade 2, by the Eastern US Piper Society
*1992-1998 Member of the Northeast Championship Grade 2 pipe band, Oran Mor, Troy, NY
*1995 Solo Piper for Byron Nelson Induction to the Hill of Fame at Oak Hill CC Rochester, NY
*1995 Solo piper for both the American & European teams at the Opening ceremonies at the Ryder Cup Golf Tournament, Oak Hill C.C., Rochester, NY
*1990-1991 Mohawk Valley Fraser Grade 3 Pipe Band, Rome, NY
*1988-1990 Rochester Scottish Pipe Band, Rochester, NY
The Highlands of Scotland provided an ideal backdrop for the development of traditional Scottish Bagpipe music as heard around the globe today. For ages, the bagpipes have been known in every corner of the world. However, it is the Great Highland Bagpipe that has raised an awareness of the music for many, with a sound as unique as the region where it was developed. -Eric Albert.
In addition to the familiar marches, jigs, strathspeys and reels there is Piobaireachd, pronounced pea-broch, a classical form of music developedspecifically for the highland bagpipes and is considered by many to be the pinacle of the pipers art.
Traditionally taught orally using cantaireachd or "chanted music", piobaireachd was handed down through the generations with teacher singing to student to accurately reflect the unforgiving nuances of the music. Unlike other instruments, where volume control can be used to create dynamics, this is not possible with the sustained tones characteristic of the Bagpipe. Instead, this instrument uses carefully crafted combinations of gracenotes to produce dynamics, where the minute timing of theme notes and gracings alike is critical to maintaining the musical flow.