Archive
After watching Part 1 of our chat with pipes|drums 2023 Piper of the Year Brìghde Chaimbeul, those few who were unfamiliar with her music should now be converted to her extraordinary creativity. We continue with Part 2 with the 25-year-old from Sleat, Isle of Skye, whose first language is Gaelic […]
Since 1985, the Balvenie Medal for Services to Piping has been awarded at the Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Competition, and starting this year a formal process for nominations and selection will be introduced by the William Grant Foundation and the National Piping Centre, organizers of the contest. Until now, few […]
The Glengarry Highland Games was first held in 1948, and this year will see the 75th running of what has grown into the largest piping and drumming competition in North America. To mark the occasion, the organizers of the event in Maxville, Ontario, are putting on two composing competitions, one […]
Last November, Pipe Bands Australia welcomed Scott Nicolson as the collective association of the county’s state associations to the role of Principal of Piping after Nicholson was elected to the post at the PBA’s annual general meeting. Nicholson succeeds Brett Tidswell, who held the job for two decades, making a […]
An outdoor competition season of nine sanctioned events is anticipated by the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, including the likely return of the Kincardine Scottish Festival. Georgetown Highland Games, Georgetown, Ontario – June 8 Northumberland Scottish Festival & Highland Games, Port Hope, Ontario – June 15 Kingsville-Essex Highland […]
Chris Gibb, one of the late piper’s best pupils, contributes his thoughts
The National Piping Centre’s Otago Street premises were the venue for the first event of the 2024 Competition League for Adult Solo Pipers (CLASP), and the overall winners on the day were John Frater in Grade 1; Grade 2, Donald Morrison; and Adam Aitchison in Grade 3. In-person and online competitions will be held throughout the year as part of CLASP’s ongoing effort to provide contests for solo pipers older than 18 in the UK who want to compete but not against professional-class players. CLASP is run by the National Piping Centre.
The weather outside was frightful, but the solo piping and drumming inside at the annual Winter Storm competitions was delightful. Held at the Kansas City Marriott-Country Club Plaza Grand Ballroom, Andrew Carlisle of Pittsburgh, with fourth and sixth prizes, was the aggregate winner across the two Gold Medal events, the only piper to have a prize in each list.
The renowned solo piper, pipe bandsman, and adjudicator George Lumsden died on January 9, 2024, in his ninety-eighth year. Known as “Geordie” to his many friends, Lumsden was a popular and jovial personality across the piping and drumming world. His memory will be forever associated with the Edinburgh City Police […]
On the heels of securing a significant sponsorship from Sullivan’s Brewing, the Ardmore Cup Invitational Solo Piping Competition in Ireland on February 24th has confirmed this year’s competitors: Alister Donaghy, Beragh, Northern Ireland Chris Earls, Arklow, Republic of Ireland James Frazer, Rathfriland, Northern Ireland Bruce Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Angus […]
If you haven’t listened to the playing of Brìghde Chaimbeul, you really need to get on board. The 25-year-old native of Sleat on the Isle of Skye has been turning heads and attracting ears with her virtuoso playing and creative, even experimental, playing on both the Highland pipes and Scottish […]
The twenty-first running of Winter Storm will go from Thursday, January 11th, until Sunday, January 14th, at the Kansas City Marriott – Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, and if weather forecasts are accurate, the event could wrap perfectly around . . . winter storms. With five inches of […]
What is this incredibly successful Scottish musical arts program in Houston all about? How does the operation keep turning out highly skilled pipers and drummers in seemingly unlikely Texas in America’s deep south?
Some years ago, before the age of the internet and maybe even the era of gizmos and geegaws, we came up with a popular feature named “StarBox,” where we’d ask famous players worldwide to list the contents of their carrying case. Not just the basics – everything. From drones to […]
The Ardmore Cup Invitational Solo Piping Competition has welcomed in the New Year by signing a sponsorship deal with Sullivan’s Brewing Company as a gold-level sponsor for the second annual contest on February 24th in Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland. According to competition organizer Eric Stein, the company will provide financial […]
When Ainsley Hart was elected president of Pipe Bands Australia in late 2020, he was presented with an organization fraught with several controversies and a global pandemic that felt like it would never end. A few years later, he has helped to guide the Australian piping and drumming scene into […]