No joking: Cameron Drummond spins into the big prize at City of Edinburgh Wheel contest

Midlothian, Scotland – April 29, 2023 – Local piper Cameron Drummond was the popular winner of the Grade 2 City of Edinburgh’s Pipe-Major’s Wheel of Fortune solo piping competition held at Danderhall Miners’ Club in Midlothian.

The event, which is hosted by the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band, requires pipers to play a medley of tunes determined by spinning a Golden Chanter on the Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel features 12 tune categories and competitors are required to play five of them, with the final tune category selected by a member of the audience as pipers take the floor.

Drummond was required to play a Gaelic or Irish slow air, a Gordon Duncan tune, a hornpipe, two Irish jigs and two Irish reels. His medley included “The March of the King of Laois,” “The Kesh Jig,” “Merrily Danced the Quaker’s Wife,” “Queen of the Rushes,” “The Silver Spear,” “Richard Dwyer’s,” “Pressed for Time,” and “Frances Morton’s.”

Craig Sutherland of Perth, Scotland, won the MSR and was overall runner-up in the contest. His MSR was “Dugald MacColl’s Farewell to France,” “The Islay Ball” and “John Morrison, Assynt House.”  Sutherland was also runner up in the Wheel of Fortune competition.

Glasgow’s John Mulhearn was third and won the joke competition for a gag which featured piping pals, the afterlife, and being drawn first in a heavenly pipe band competition.

Also competing were John Dew, Kyle Howie, Brian Lamond, Ross Miller, and Jonathon Simpson.

“We are delighted that eight top pipers agreed to join us at the Wheel of Fortune competition,” said Paul White of the City of Edinburgh. “They treated our audience to an afternoon of great entertainment and their support for our event is very much appreciated. Thanks, too, to Dr Gary West – the voice of piping – who did a great job as our compere.”

Douglas Murray and Jim Penman judged, along with a popular vote from the audience.

It was the first time since 2017 that the annual event was able to take place.