Archive
Newcastle, Northern Ireland – August 6, 2022 – The inaugural Heart o’ Down Pipe Band Championships at Donard Park in Newcastle saw three Grade 1 bands vie for the title and ultimately it was Field Marshal Montgomery that took the trophy with eight first-place rankings from the eight judges across […]
pipes|drums is pleased to bring all pipe band members, friends and enthusiasts in Scotland for Piping Live! and the World Championships our eighteenth Guide to Grade 1 Band Practices and Appearances! We’ve reached out to all 14 top-grade bands entered for the World’s with a request to share their information, […]
Pitch Guard Chris Apps Reeds US$99 plus shipping Available directly from the manufacturer Reviewed by Liam Kernaghan Many products are on the market to help novice learners, and perhaps older pipers promising to make the pipes easier and more stable. I grew up with drone valves in the junior band I played for in New […]
Skye, Scotland – August 3, 2022 – Finlay Johnston of Glasgow won the 2022 Silver Chanter invitational piobaireachd competition playing “Lament for the Children.” He competed with: Callum Beaumont, Dollar, Scotland, “Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck” Glenn Brown, Glasgow, “Rory McLoude’s Lament” Jamie Forrester, East Lothian, Scotland, “The Battle of […]
Led by former Grade 1 leaders David Caldwell and John Scullion, several available pipers and drummers have come together to pay tribute to both the anniversary of the medley being used as a competition format in 1970 and the great World’s-winning Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia vintage of the same year. […]
The numbers don’t lie. The pipe band march, strathspey & reel as we know it is not popular. It’s not popular with non-players. It’s not popular with judges. And most importantly, it’s not popular with pipers and drummers. Look at the video views of pipe band MSRs get compared with […]
Portree, Scotland – August 2, 2022 – James Duncan MacKenzie of the Isle of Lewis was the winner of the Dunvegan Medal for piobaireachd at the annual Skye Gathering in the town of Portree on the isle of Skye. It was the first day of competition in the two-day event, […]
The venerable Eagle Pipers’ Society are counting down the days until the Captain John. A MacLellan Memorial Dinner-Recital-Competition on August 26th at the Waldorf Astoria Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh, one of the world’s great invitational solo piping events. Ticket sales to the black-tie event have been brisk, and those that […]
Following the departure of Kyle Warren, the private St Columba’s School in the village of Kilmacolm, Scotland, is welcoming applications from “enthusiastic and committed teachers of bagpipes” to join top-flight competing solo piper Gordon Bruce in the mixed independent day school’s piping and drumming program. You’ll need at least a […]
pipes|drums is pleased to bring our readers/viewers videos from the Grade 1 Medley and MSR events and the Grade 2 MSR at the North American Championships held at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, Ontario. You can find the competition results in our report from July 30th. Due to the […]
Maxville, Ontario – July 30, 2022 – The 78th Fraser Highlanders were named 2022 North American Pipe Band Champions at the Glengarry Highland Games, winning against the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) in a two-band contest comprising both Medley and MSR events. The Peel Regional Police won Grade 2, with the […]
Dumbarton, Scotland – July 30, 2022 – In the shadow of landmark Dumbarton Rock, Field Marshal Montgomery of Belfast won the 2022 Scottish Pipe Band Championship, the fourth of the five major events of the RSPBA competition season. Inveraray & District was defending the title after being the winner of […]
Maxville, Ontario – July 29, 2022 – Twelve competed in the 2022 Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) competition held at St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in the farming village’s central area, and ultimately Bobby Durning of Carrollton, Texas, gained the prize playing “Lament for the Viscount of Dundee.” […]
Next to the World Pipe Band Championships, Saturday, July 30th, is probably the biggest date of the year, with the Scottish Pipe Band Championships and the North American Championships at Dumbarton, Scotland, and Maxville, Ontario, taking place. The Scottish Championships at Levingrove Park are the fourth of the five majors […]
Arisaig, Scotland – July 27, 2022 – Angus D. MacColl of Benderloch, Scotland, had the overall most successful day in the senior solo piping events at the Arisaig Highland Games held at Traigh Farm in the scenic village on Scotland’s west coast. Nine turned out for the competitions. MacColl took […]
The accomplished and well-loved piper Gordon MacRae died on July 25, 2022, at age 65 after a lengthy battle against cancer. Born in Kincardine, Ontario, on April 22, 1957, “Gord,” as he was always known to friends, was a member of the 78th Fraser Highlanders from the band’s inception, and […]