Archive
The accomplished pipe band snare drummer Neil Sloan passed away on February 15, 2024. He was in his mid-fifties. Remembered foremost in the competing pipe band community as a popular member of Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia organization through the 1970s and ’80s, Sloan was part of the great Grade 1 […]
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s Alex Gandy won the 2024 Metro Cup Solo Piping Championship held at the Holiday Inn Newark Airport Hotel, gaining the prize by winning the Piobaireachd event and finishing third in the freestyle Medley competition. Gandy received a total of US$2,400 for his success, with the champion receiving an additional $1,000. It was his first time winning the event after finishing second no fewer than four times.
Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Leading Drummer Kerr McQuillan won the Intercontinental Solo Snare Drumming Championship at the Holiday Inn Newark Airport Hotel as an event adjacent to the Metro Cup Solo Piping Championships. McQuillan was first on “adjudicator preference” over runner-up Steven McWhirter of Inveraray & District.
The Grade 1 Western Australia Police Pipe Band is on the hunt for a permanent pipe-major with the term of Chris MacDonald coming to an end. The new pipe-major, which comes with a salary of between AUD$87,712 and $92,057, would join Inverness, Scotland-born and raised leading drummer Ryan Green, who […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Northern Ireland branch is one of the association’s most active, representing one of the world’s most vibrant piping and drumming communities. RSPBANI has unveiled its 2024 schedule of events, comprising at least 10 pipe band contests and three solo competitions from mid-April to late […]
The second annual Jimmy McIntosh MBE Piobaireachd Workshop at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh ballooned to 48 attendees from 14 states and two Canadian provinces taking in a packed February 9-11 weekend organized by the Pittsburgh Piping Society. Three longtime pupils of the late Jimmy McIntosh, Mike Cusack, Andrew Carlisle, […]
The 2024 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, March 15-16, will enjoy a 13% increase in entries, with a total of 52 bands across all grades entered for the country’s annual marquee competition. Five bands have entered the Grade 1 contest, including Hawthorne of Melbourne, Australia, who […]
In Part 2, Jori Chisholm, Andrew Douglas and Margaret Dunn continue with their observations, including that competition is not always the ultimate goal, and provide valuable advice for adult pipers.
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s ability to secure all five major championships is nothing less than remarkable. The organization deserves full credit for voluntary hard work, determination, and savvy business acumen.
After pulling out all stops to rebuild what had only a few months ago threatened to be a two-championship 2024 competition season, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association will stage major championships in Bangor, Northern Ireland, on May 18th, and Forres, Scotland, on June 8th. Bangor takes the place of […]
The last set of R.G. Hardie pipes that famed turner Duncan Campbell made in 2011 to conclude his 49-year career with the Glasgow bagpipe maker are up for sale by the original Alberta, Canada-based owner. The pipes were purchased by Michael McLetchie, who, until recently, has played the full-silver-mounted pipes […]
The second annual Skye K. Richendrfer Memorial Challenge was held again at Macalester College, the competition’s namesake’s alma mater. The winner was Justice Peterson of St. Paul, Minnesota, who played “The MacLeods’ Salute” for judges Andrew Douglas, Andrew Lewis, and Tad Myers.
Esteemed piping instructors Jori Chisholm, Margaret Dunn and Andrew Douglas lead a fascinating discussion on the benefits, concerns and opportunities of teaching older learners and more established players.
This year, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Intercontinental Adult Snare Drumming Championship is moving to New Jersey on February 17th at the Holiday Newark Airport hotel as the first event in the organization’s Adult Snare Drumming Champion of Champions circuit. The contest will be hosted by the Eastern United […]
The Grade 1 perennial World Championship-contending ScottishPower Pipe Band is looking for drummers after departures from the band’s drum corps. The band did not discuss the change in detail, saying only, “A handful of members have left for various reasons, and our recruitment drive is to strengthen our position as […]
The final installment of our exclusive conversation with one of the great contributors to the art of pipe band drumming.