Mark McClennan wins Sherriff with two light music firsts

The Internet – November 20, 2021 – Mark McClennan of Guelph, Ontario, took the overall award at the 2021 George Sherriff Memorial Amateur Invitational Solo Piping Competition, held online after a one-year hiatus. McLennan took the aggregate after winning both the light music events, but without a prize in the Piobaireachd competition.

Piobaireachd
1st Caleb Thibodeau, Toronto, “The Big Spree”
2nd Andrew Prioli, Cranston, Rhode Island, “The King’s Taxes”
3rd Stuart Marshall, Greensboro, North Carolina, “The MacLeods’ Salute”
4th Zippa Curiskis, St. Paul, “Lament for the Viscount of Dundee”
5th Callum Bevan, Abbotsford, British Columbia, “The Groat”
Judges: Bruce Gandy, John Wilson

MSR
1st Mark McClennan, “David Ross,” “Cabar Feidh,” “Alick Cameron, Champion Piper”
2nd Callum Bevan
3rd Stuart Marshall
4th Andrew Prioli
5th Jessica Bain, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Judges: Chris Armstrong, Richard Parkes

6/8 Marches
1st Mark McClennan, “Kenneth MacLeod,” “Mrs. Melody Piper”
2nd Callum Bevan
3rd Stuart Marshall
4th Trevor DeMass, Murray, Utah
5th Sean Buchta, Tampa
Judges: Chris Armstrong, Richard Parkes

The 25th staging of the event saw pipers submit recorded video of their performances in Piobaireachd, MSR and 6/8 Marches events. Invitations this year were decided by an assessment of 2021 competition results for Grade 1 solo amateur players from North America. The number of contestants from various areas is designed to reflect the size of the region’s piping and drumming scene.

Pipers were notified of their musical assignments based on their entries on October 22nd, and then had a week to submit recordings.

McCallum Bagpipes of Kilmarnock, Scotland, donated an engraved set of MacRae pipes for the overall champion, and Scotland’s Piobaireachd Society contributed a silver kilt pin to the winner of the Piobaireachd. Other sponsors include R.G. Hardie & Co., Reelpipes.com, Scotts Highland Services, and Lee & Sons Bagpipes.

The competition is named for George Sherriff, a native of Scotland but a long time resident of Hamilton, Ontario, who taught dozens of young pipers in the area.

The event is organized by a group of volunteers, and underwritten in part by the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.