The 23rd annual pipes|drums New Year’s Honours

Solo Competition Piper of the Year

Callum Beaumont

Panellists’ comments:

• Consistency.
• What a year for Callum, and a really nice bloke, as well.
• Callum is consistent with his presentation when competing. Bagpipe, execution, music always at a very high level!
• Hard decision because all great piper and prizes, but leaning into Callum Beaumont because winning a Clasp, the Glenfiddich Piob and Overall is hard to top.
• Callum won the Glenfiddich, the Silver Star and the Clasp at Inverness, 2nd in the Senior Piob at Oban, and first in the S/R and 2nd in the A March at Oban. I’m sure there were other wins, but that dominance is easily enough to win the best Solo Competition Piper New Year’s Honour.
• It could hardly have been a better year for Callum. He’s setting a very high bar for others to try and reach, never mind beat.
• Winner of the Glenfiddich for the first time, after a good year and a super career so far.
• Perhaps his best year of many, many outstanding years (so far). The Clasp and the Silver Star at the Northern Meetings only beaten by his first Glenfiddich win. The GOAT of solo piping in the world at the moment.

Also nominated (in alphabetical order)

Cameron Bonar – our youngest-ever nominee, the Surrey, British Columbia, protégé turned a lot of heads, following in his late father’s dynamic footsteps. Cameron Bonar won piles of awards in his last year as an amateur piper, including the George Sherriff Memorial and the Pipe Idol championship. A generational talent.

Alex Gandy – Winning the Glenfiddich MSR and the Former Winners MSR at the Argyllshire Gathering helped to put Alex Gandy in the pantheon of history’s greatest pipers. He’s also keen to play in just about every competition available, including on his much smaller local Nova Scotia circuit, where he also wins almost everything.

Bruce Gandy – Another excellent competing year for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s Bruce Gandy, including the Sun Belt Invitational, the Masters, and the USPF.

Roddy MacLeod – In his sixties, Glasgow’s Roddy MacLeod keeps producing world-class performances with the smoothness of a 25-year-old Balvenie, speaking of which, he was awarded the Balvenie Medal at this year’s Glenfiddich Championships. He ended the year with his ninth win of the Bratch Gorm, gaining a return to the aforementioned Glenfiddich in 2024.