Callum Beaumont wins Premier trophy at 2024 Capt. John MacLellan Memorial Army School Solo Piping in Edinburgh; Leask, J.Simpson and Cangelosi capture ABC aggregates

Steven Leask of East Kilbride, Scotland, Bo’ness, Scotland’s Jonathon Simpson, and Tom Cangelosi of Arlington, Virginia, were the aggregate winners of the A Grade, B Grade and C Grade categories, respectively.

There was a total prize pool of more than £4,000 (about $7,000).

The Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumming and the Competing Pipers Association organize the event. It is not related to the Captain John A. MacLellan Memorial Recital-Competition, apart from both events paying homage to the legacy and memory of MacLellan, one of history’s great competitors, performers and contributors to the art.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, McCallum Bagpipes, and the William Grant Foundation sponsored the competition.

Next year’s competition will be on October 4, 2025, at the Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumming, Inchdrewer House.

Premier Grade
Piobaireachd (Capt. John MacLellan MBE Medal)
1st Iain Speirs, Edinburgh
2nd Callum Beaumont
3rd Craig Sutherland, Glasgow
Judges: Ian Duncan, Alan Forbes

MSR (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Silver Piper)
1st Finlay Johnston, Glasgow
2nd Callum Beaumont
3rd Craig Sutherland
4th Sarah Muir, East Kilbride, Scotland
5th Iain Speirs
Judges: Andrew Frater, Robert Wallace

A Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Darach Urquhart, Glasgow
2nd Calum Brown, Petercoulter, Scotland
3rd Steven Leask, East Kilbride, Scotland
4th Sarah Muir
5th Angus MacPhee, Inverness, Scotland
Judges: Ian Duncan, Alan Forbes

MSR
1st John Dew, Glasgow
2nd Steven Leask
3rd Bill Geddes, Glasgow
4th Ashley McMichael, Antrim, Scotland
5th Peter MacGregor, Ullapool, Scotland
Judges: Barry Donaldson, Roddy Livingstone

B Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Fraser Allison, Glasgow
2nd Andrew Ferguson, Dollar, Scotland
3rd Alistair Brown, Glasgow
4th Jonathon Simpson
5th James McPetrie, Aboyne, Scotland
Judges: Euan Anderson, John Wilson

MSR
1st Ruaridh Brown, Dunblane, Scotland
2nd Jonathon Simpson
3rd Ross Miller, Linlithgow, Scotland
4th Angus MacPhee
5th Ross Conner, Campbeltown, Scotland
Judges: Tom Johnstone, Logan Tannock

C Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Kyle Shead, Selby, England
2nd Karen McCrindle Warren, Kilmarnock, Scotland
3rd Tom Cangelosi
4th Hector Munro, London
5th Eala McElhinney, Glasgow
Judges: Lewis Barclay, Ronnie McShannon

MSR
1st James Brownlie, Lanark, Scotland
2nd Iain Simpson, Bathgate, Scotland
3rd Scott McCaskill, Kelty, Scotland
4th James Frazer, Rathfriland, Northern Ireland
5th Tom Cangelosi
Judges: Derek Fraser, Peter Hunter

Open Hornpipe & Jig
1st Angus MacPhee
2nd Ross Miller
3rd Calum Watson, Glasgow
4th John Dew
5th Jamie Elder, Auchtermuchty, Scotland
Judges: Barry Donaldson, Andrew Frater, Robert Wallace