MacLeod Wins Bratach Gorm at London

London, England – November 3, 2001 – Roddy MacLeod of Glasgow won the Scottish Piping Society of London’s (SPLC) Bratach Gorm for piobaireachd at the 62nd annual competitions held at the Carlton Mitre Hotel near Hampton Court. Greg Wilson of Falkirk, Scotland, last year’s Bratach Gorm winner, took home the first prize from the Open Piobaireachd event, his last contest before moving back to his native New Zealand.

By winning the Bratach Gorm, Roddy MacLeod becomes the second person to qualify for the 2002 Glenfiddich Invitational Piping Championships in October. Willie McCallum of Bearsden, Scotland, is first to earn an invitation because of his aggregate win at the 2001 Glenfiddich.

The contest also featured the return of Murray Henderson of Kirriemuir, Scotland, who has not competed since 1995, and who has won the Bratach Gorm five times.

Bratach Gorm (for winners of the Open Piobaireachd at London or a Highland Society of London Gold Medal)
1st Roddy MacLeod, “Battle of Aldearn, #2”
2nd Willie McCallum
3rd Stuart Shedden, Glasgow
4th Robert Wallace, Glasgow
5th John Angus Smith, London
Judges: G. Stoddart, I. MacFadyen, D. MacPherson

Open Piobaireachd
1st Greg Wilson, “Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck”
2nd Colin MacLellan, Edinburgh
3rd Roddy MacLeod
4th Angus MacColl, Benderloch, Scotland
5th Willie McCallum
Judge: A. Wright

Former Winners March, Strathspey & Reel
1st Gordon Walker, Glasgow
2nd Angus MacColl
3rd Willie McCallum
4th Murray Henderson
5th Roddy MacLeod
Judges: G. Stoddart, I. MacFadyen, D. MacPherson

J.B. Robertson March
1st Gordon Walker
2nd Donald MacPhee, Alexandria, Scotland
3rd Angus MacColl
4th Willie McCallum
5th Murray Henderson
Judges: G. Stoddart, I. MacFadyen, D. MacPherson

Jig
1st Greg Wilson
2nd Gordon Walker
3rd Willie McCallum
Judges: G. Stoddart, I. MacFadyen, D. MacPherson

Strachan Cup MSR
1st Peter Hunt, Glasgow
2nd G. Watterson
3rd I. D. Smith
4th Brendon Eade

The 2001 SPLC competitions are seen as something of a milestone for solo piping in the United Kingdom, in that they are the first major event to use score sheets for competitors, a custom used in North America since at least the 1960s. The competitions also set a precedent by notifying all competitors of the tunes selected blindly by an impartial member of the organizing team two weeks before the event.

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