Archive
The little known annual British Army Solo Piping & Drumming Championships were held at Inchdrewer House in Colinton on the southwest side of Scotland’s capital city and, for the first time since the start of the event in 2005, a contingent of pipers from the Canadian Armed Forces participated and featured throughout the prizes. The Champion Piper was Officer Cadet Norman, Glasgow & Strathclyde University Officers’ Training Corps, and the Champion Drummer was Dmr Faulds, 4 Scots.
Tickets for the 2023 World Pipe Band Championships on August 18-19 at Glasgow Green, Glasgow, go on sale at 10 am GMT, June 27th, with tickets to get into the park starting at £8.65 for children and £10.65 for adults, or a family pass for £21.30. A Grade 1 reserved seat arena ticket for the Saturday is priced at £35.90 if booked in advance and £40.40 if purchased on the day. The advance purchase price in 2022 was £30 but, for the first time, those sitting in the arena on either or both of the days can have a roof over their heads in the event of rain or blazing sunshine. Competing bands will still be subjected to whatever elements meet them when they perform.
Pipers planning to travel from Canada to the World Pipe Band Championships or other out-of-country events with their antique instruments should pay attention to this. The Canadian federal government is considering amending trade regulations on the export and import of wild animals and plants and their parts that, if passed, could make leaving and coming in to the country a lot more difficult for pipers with ivory-mounted instruments.
If you’re a talented and promising piper or drummer from Scotland aged 10 to 25 and dream about walking in the footsteps of the likes of Calum Brown, Ben Duncan, Connor Sinclair and dozens of other players who gone on to even bigger things in the art, you have an […]
About 100 bands over all grades competed at the European Championships at Duthie Park, and ultimately it was Inveraray & District that came out on top, winning the Grade 1 MSR competition. It was the first time a new MSR format required submitting only one set of tunes, each piece no more than four parts. The rationale for the format change was apparently to help prop up the many classic shorter tunes that had often fallen out of favour in the top grade for six- and eight-part compositions.
According to public statements by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, long-established New Zealand Grade 1 bands Auckland & District and Manawatu Scottish have had their grading status “approved,” allowing them to compete in the top grade at the 2023 World Pipe Band Championships. Each band was reportedly surprised and […]
For the first time since 2019, when the pandemic shut down just about everything in piping and drumming, the popular Drumming for Drinks almost-anything-goes performance competition will return during World’s Week in Glasgow on August 16th. For the first time in its history, the event will move from the Lord […]
Exclusively for subscribers, in this installment we get into issues of conflict of interest and bias, real or perceived, in solo piping and pipe bands, including teachers judging pupils and even the Masonic tradition in the UK having a possible influence on the competitive art.
Seattle’s Cascadia Pipe Band won both Grade 2 events, Alastair Lee and Blair Brown took the aggregate Open piping and snare drumming awards, respectively, and Cameron Bonar won all three Grade 1 amateur piping events at the annual BC Highland Games – “ScotFest” – at Centre Park. A total of 16 bands and 127 solo pipers and drummers competed.
Two weeks ago, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia, with new Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan, won the UK Championship at Lurgan, Northern Ireland, and Field Marshal Montgomery took the drumming prize under their new Leading-Drummer Gareth McLees. On June 24th, Inveraray & District will defend its 2022 title at the second […]
Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia and Inveraray & District each won one of the two Grade 1 events at the Edinburgh Highland Games, and it was Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia that once again won the drumming twice under new Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan.
Lochore, Scotland – June 17, 2023 – With straight firsts, Police Scotland Fife gained the win at the Lochore Highland Games in Fife against Johnstone, the only other Grade 1 band in the event. City of Discovery also enjoyed straight firsts from the judges as the only officially graded Grade […]
St. Thomas Alumni of Houston were the winners of both the Grade 1 Medley and MSR events at the Chicago Scottish Festival & Highland Games, which attracted a large crowd on a sunny 80°F day. It was the first year that the games, which had the largest band entry in North America in 2022, held a Grade 1 competition. Similarly, Ulster Scottish of Philadelphia won both Grade 2 events, and New Jersey’s St. Columcille United Gaelic took each of the Grade 3 contests.
On Father’s Day 2023, the renowned piper Willie McCallum shares a few thoughts on his beloved late dad, Willie McCallum Sr., the most influential person and friend in his life.
Cobourg, Ontario – June 17, 2023 – The Grade 2 Peel Regional Police Pipe Band were the winners of the top pipe band grade at the annual Cobourg Highland Games, held on the sunny shores of Lake Ontario and white cloud sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s. Due to […]
We’re pleased to launch “From Aboyne to Zorra,” a new series of features by Jeannie Campbell, MBE that takes a look back at historical Highland games and gatherings from around the world. These are fascinating pieces that revisit piping and drumming competitions of the past in the United States, Canada and, of course, Scotland, bringing back into to light the competitors and organizers that helped shape what we do today.