Archive
pipes|drums looks into the wonderful world of what Grade 1 and Grade 2 bands worldwide are using in their pipe sections: the chanters, chanter reeds, drone reeds, bags, and moisture systems they choose to keep their musical machine running at maximum tonality. The pipes|drums Bagpipe Equipment Survey of Top-Grade Bands Part 1 It’s been a […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has informed the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing that the “RSPBA Highland Dancing Championship” held in conjunction with the World Pipe Band Championships has been cancelled. In a memo to Elizabeth Gollan, Director of Administration at Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing, […]
The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland’s April 2nd concert at Edinburgh’s famous Usher Hall will mark the twentieth anniversary since the initiative began, and the organizers are now offering a 20% discount on tickets exclusively for pipes|drums readers. Full-price tickets to the “20 Years Young” show are £16.50 and […]
The first year of Grade 1 competition at the expanding Chicago Highland Games should be a success with confirmation that both City of Dunedin of Florida and Houston’s St. Thomas Alumni planning to make the trip to the Windy City June 16-17. And with Dunedin and Nova Scotia’s 78th Highlanders […]
It was the summer of 2009 when we first sat down for an exclusive pipes|drums Interview with Colin MacLellan, one of the world’s great pipers and contributors to to piping. More than a dozen years on, we thought it was time for another chat. It helped that MacLellan, a native of Scotland and a citizen […]
We continue our conversation with Pipe-Major Richard Parkes and Leading-Drummer Gareth McLees of reigning World Champions Filed Marshal Montgomery. In Part 1, the leaders of the 13-time World’s and RSPBA Champion of Champions winners discussed McLees’s move into the L-D spot after the band’s two decades with L-D Keith Orr […]
The British Columbia Pipers Association is partnering with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association to bring an event that will enable as many as four snare drummers to qualify to compete in the semi-final round of the World Solo Drumming Championship. The Pacific Rim Solo Drumming Championship will be held […]
Glasgow – March 11, 2023 – Callum Wynd of Stirling, Scotland, was the top winner at the annual Duncan Johnstone Memorial B- and C-Grade Solo Competition, taking the award with two second-prizes. The B-Grade events were held at the National Piping Centre’s Otago Street premises, while the C-Grade took place […]
The members and administrators of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association met both in-person and online for the organization’s annual general meeting where several significant matters were decided. A proposal to remunerate RSPBA directors for their “services” performed at major championships was again rejected, as it was when a similar […]
Christchurch, New Zealand – March 11, 2023 – Canterbury Caledonian Society successfully defended their New Zealand & South Pacific Pipe Band Champions title against four other Grade 1 bands in a full day of competition at North Hagley Park in the heart of the country’s picturesque city. The band won […]
Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in Edinburgh is perhaps Scotland’s most prestigious concert venue, rarely if ever the venue for pipe band shows, but on April 2nd the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland will mark its 20-year anniversary with a special performance with special guests Celtic folk musicians Ross Ainslie and […]
Redding, California – March 4-5, 2023 – The annual Redding Solo Piping Competition returned as the largest indoor event on the Western United States Pipe Band Association’s contest calendar, with 37 contestant, mostly from the Pacific Northwest vying for prizes. The competition gives pipers four events to compete in over […]
On this International Women’s Day, frequent contributor Jeannie Campbell MBE takes a look at four remarkable female pipers of the past, including Elspeth Campbell, associated today with the great 2/4 march, but was in fact one of the first great competitive woman pipers in history. Four sensational women pipers of […]
It’s rare when two of the world’s perennial top-six Grade 1 bands make a leadership change in the same year, and it’s rarer still when one of them is the reigning World Champion, but that’s exactly what the pipe band world saw in 2022 when both Peoples Ford Boghall & […]
The Internet – February-March 6, 2023 – Charles-David Mitchell of Montreal was the overall Grade 1 winner of the first CLASP (Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers) “Live Online” event of 2023, and, with it, receives travel and accommodation to compete at the first Sun Belt Amateur Invitational in Maitland, […]
The Grade 1 Simon Fraser University Pipe Band will take stage on August 16th for the annual Pre-World’s Concert, the biggest non-competition performance event on the piping and drumming calendar, this year at the 3,000-seat SEC Armadillo in Glasgow due to extensive renovations occurring at the normal Glasgow Royal Concert […]