Ten 2024 Glenfiddich pipers confirmed for Oct. 26th

As pipes|drums first calculated after the last prizes of the Northern Meeting were announced, the 10 pipers who by winning designated qualifying competitions are confirmed to compete at the 2024 Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships on October 26th at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Scotland:

• Chris Armstrong, Glasgow – Argyllshire Gathering Formers Winners MSR
• Callum Beaumont, St. Andrews, Scotland – 2023 Glenfiddich Champion
• Alan Bevan, Abbotsford, British Columbia – Masters Champion
• Cameron Drummond, Edinburgh – Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal
• Alasdair Henderson, Dunoon, Scotland – Argyllshire Gathering Senior Piobaireachd
• Nick Hudson, Houston – Northern Meeting Clasp
• Finlay Johnston, Glasgow – Overall champion at the Scottish Piping Society of London competitions
• Stuart Liddell, Inveraray, Scotland – Northern Meeting Silver Star MSR
• Roddy MacLeod, Glasgow – 2023 Bratach Gorm winner
• Craig Sutherland, Glasgow – Northern Meeting Gold Medal

There were no multiple first-prize winners of qualifying events for the first time in several years. Organizers have often had to go to runners-up in designated contests to determine the 10 invitees.

The judges are Piobaireachd: Ian Duncan, Murray Henderson and John Wilson; MSR: Angus MacDonald, Iain MacFadyen and Richard Parkes.

It will be the fifty-first running of the event, generally accepted as the world’s greatest invitational solo piping competition.

This year will be the first time the National Piping Centre will run the competition. The Glenfiddich was passed to the NPC last year after William Grant & Sons and, more recently, the William Grant Foundation organized it. The event was the brainchild of Seumas MacNeill, who secured its sponsorship and title and organized the contest in its early years.

Tickets to the in-person (£20/£15) or paywalled live stream (£15) are now available from the NPC’s Glenfiddich page. Tickets for the rollicking ceilidh / after party are priced at £85/£80).

Bob Worrall will be the emcee for the contest, sharing his insights on piobaireachd and light music throughout the day.