Ten invitees confirmed for 50th anniversary Glenfiddich

Sources close to the competition have confirmed the 10 pipers who will receive a welcome to the 2023 Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Championships at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Scotland, on Saturday, October 28th.

The event will be the 50th anniversary of the world’s most prestigious invitational piping event, generally considered the equivalent of a World Solo Piping Championship.

In alphabetical order:

• Callum Beaumont, St. Andrews, Scotland – Northern Meeting Clasp winner, Northern Meeting Silver Star MSR winner
• Alex Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – Argyllshire Gathering Formers Winners MSR winner
• Bruce Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – Bratach Gorm, Masters Champion
• Alasdair Henderson, Edinburgh – Argyllshire Gathering Highland Society of London Gold Medal
• Finlay Johnston, Glasgow — Northern Meeting Silver Star MSR second prize
• Jack Lee, Surrey, British Columbia — Argyllshire Gathering Formers Winners MSR second prize
• Angus D. MacColl, Benderloch, Scotland – Argyllshire Gathering Senior Piobaireachd winner
• Willie McCallum, Bearsden, Scotland – 2022 Glenfiddich Champion
• Fred Morrison, Bishopton, Scotland – Scottish Piping Society of London Champion
• Innes Smith, Glasgow – Northern Meeting Highland Society of London Gold Medal

There were many overlapping and repeat qualifiers this year, including the second prizes in the Northern Meeting Clasp (Bruce Gandy) and the Argyllshire Gathering Senior Piobaireachd (Callum Beaumont) that the second prize-winners at both former winners MSRs at Oban (Jack Lee) and Inverness (Finlay Johnston) got the nod.

All have made previous appearances at the competition, apart from Inverness Gold Medallist Innes Smith, who will enjoy his first time performing in the Great Hall of Blair Castle. Willie McCallum will be trying to break his own record of nine Glenfiddich Championships.

The brainchild of the legendary Seumas MacNeill, what began in 1974 as the Grant’s Championship immediately became and has remained the world’s most prestigious invitational piping contest.

The event, which comprises Piobaireachd and MSR contests, will be paid-live-streamed, and you can get tickets for both the in-person and online versions at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/glenfiddich.

Judges have not yet been confirmed.

The competition is underwritten by the William Grant Foundation, a longtime and much-appreciated sponsor of many piping competitions and events in the UK.