Nicholson Graham, Kathleen Elsie

Born in Vancouver (BC), Canada; When she was 4, she was learning the bagpipes from her father, Malcolm Nicholson, who was a police sergeant and the Pipe Major of the Vancouver Police Pipe Band; By the time she was 5, Kathleen was acclaimed to be the youngest piper in Canada having won the silver cup from the Gaelic Society for her skill on the bagpipes; Through her teen years she had won many aggregates at numerous piping competitions; In 1981 she founded and became Pipe Major of the "Nicholson Pipes and Drums", based in Westminster (CA), USA; Kathleen was also a great dancer and singer; She began highland dancing lessons when 2½ years of age, and had already won 11 medals for highland dancing when only 5 years old; At the age of 17 she received a silver medal from the Toronto Conservatory Music in Ontario, Canada, for the highest marks for her singing exam; She also won numerous prizes at Gaelic festivals for both Gaelic singing and recitation; In 1938 Kathleen then joined the Vancouver Ladies Pipe Band; The claim in the obituary that she joined the Glengarry Girls Pipe Band in 1942 seems, however, virtually impossible, because according to their official website the Glengarry Pipe Band (based in Maxville, Ontario) was "formed in 1961"; During World War ll, Kathleen and her 3 younger sisters toured and performed at Canadian Military camps and USO shows; She also toured with the AB Marcus production company throughout the US and appeared on Broadway and New York television shows; One of her routines was her actually playing the pipes whilst highland dancing; She was also a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Studios in New York; Since the 1980s Kathleen dedicated her life to teaching the bagpipes and forming this award winning band to honour her father and the family name; NB: Oddly, I was unable to discover any explanation why her father’s name is mentioned in quotes ("Nicholson") in the obituary and several other sources. NB¹: ➺ Survey of female pipers; NB²: In "Ethnomusicology Ireland" 2/3 (July 2013), p.1-21, the American author Tes Slominski gives a critical analysis of descriptions, by O’Neill and others, regarding female musicians.