The Head of the Renowned Seivane Bagpipe Making Family Dies at 90

Piper and bagpipe maker Xosé Manuel Seivane Rivas, patriarch of the renowned Seivane family died today in A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). He was 90 years old.

Xosé Manuel Seivane was born in Fonmiñá, A Pastoriza, in Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia, in 1921. He built his first gaita (bagpipe) with the Seivane brand 70 years ago, thus fulfilling his childhood dream of building his own musical instrument. Xosé Manuel Seivane dedicated all his life to Galician traditional music and became a reference in the construction, transmission and dissemination of Galician culture.

Seivane has become one of the best known names in bagpipe crafting. Three years ago, Xosé Manuel Seivane transferred his legendary workshop in Cambre to his sons, Álvaro and Xosé Manuel.

Xosé Manuel Seivane’s granddaughter, Susana Seivane, is one Spain’s best pipers and one of the leading female pipers in the world.

Visit the Seivane site at: http://www.seivane.es