Archive
As November 11th dawns and we honour the 1918 armistice of the Great War and all those who have served and sacrificed in the line of duty, we are reminded that the Highland bagpipe repertoire abounds with tunes of armed conflict. Not just the Great War, but WWII, the Korean […]
In Part 1 of our check-in with 2022 Glenfiddich Champion Willie McCallum, the great piper took us through his experience on the day of the contest, challenges, practice routines and other competition-specific items. In Part 2, he takes things back to basics. It might be surprising to hear the 61-year-old […]
The Style Guy deserves a good dressing down, as it were, so to speak. So many months have passed since my last column, The Style Guy’s all worn out. Speaking of wearing things out, let’s open the old mail bag to see what’s on the offing and the doffing . […]
Major prize for major prize, Willie McCallum could well be the winningest competitive piper in history. His win of the 2022 Glenfiddich Championship was his ninth, breaking his own record that, remarkably, he last set 17 years ago when he took the title in 2005. During the 1990s, ’00s, and […]
London – November 5, 2022 – Bruce Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, won the Bratach Gorm for piobaireachd and Bishopton, Scotland’s Fred Morrison took home the overall championship at the 82nd Scottish Piping Society of London Solo Piping Competition held in the heart of the city at the Caledonian Club. […]
Grade 2 Rocky Mountain of Calgary, Canada, are on the hunt for a new lead-drummer after the departure of Tim Borton who resigned last week after three years in the role. “We’re looking for someone with the right mix of attitude, skills, leadership and musicality to work with the drum […]
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Pipe Music Collection Volume 2 Numerous composers Compiled and edited by Niall Archibald, Jimmy Banks, Walter Cowan, Jim Henderson, Carol Marshall, Ian McLellan and Gordon Rowan 231 pages, 234 compositions Approx. £43 / $68, available from many bagpipe music dealers Reviewed by Andrew Berthoff The mottos of the Argyll & Sutherland […]
The passing of Andrew Wright on October 25, 2022, was mourned by all who knew and knew of the great master and teacher of piobaireachd. He touched countless piping lives, tirelessly imparting his knowledge to virtually anyone, regardless of playing ability, who wished to learn. The most amazing thing was […]
With 10 elite pipers competing for the Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Championship, and every one of the 10 well capable of winning the whole shebang, predicting the top-five aggregate finishers takes some savvy knowledge and a lot of luck. After the thousand-plus entries were sifted through, Brian Pack of Black […]
In the pre-Internet days, we used to bemoan the scant attendance at solo competitions. You’d see regular comments scolding young pipers and drummers for not bothering to come out to hear top-level players perform in competition or recital. The advent of the internet promised to change all that. Particularly in […]
Blair Atholl, Scotland – October 29, 2022 – After the aggregate points were calculated from the Piobaireachd and MSR events, Willie McCallum of Bearsden, Scotland, emerged the winner of the 2022 Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Championship, the forty-ninth time that the event was held, once again at Blair Castle in […]
Grade 2 Bucksburn & District of Aberdeen, Scotland, is on the hunt once again for new leadership incumbent Pipe-Major Jamie Tough and Lead-Drummer Scott Black stepped down. Tough had been in the role since 2019 and Black since 2021 but, like most bands, 2022 was the first season that Bucksburn […]
The great piper and even greater teacher, Andrew Wright, died at the age of 86 on October 23, 2022. When most people think of Andrew Wright, the word piobaireachd immediately comes to mind. He devoted almost his entire piping life to the study, playing and teaching of ceol mor, and […]
Benderloch, Scotland – October 22, 2022 – Ruairidh Brown of Dunblane, Scotland, was the overall winner and recipient of the 2022 Lochnell Championship Cup, the Royal Scottish Pipers Society’s Bronze Star, and an additional £200 at the Lochnell Intermediate Youth Solo Piping Championship, an event put on by the Argyllshire […]
Christchurch – October 23, 2022 – At the 46th Silver Chanter Solo Piping Championships and Open New Zealand Solo Piping Championship, Greg Wilson took the overall, winning all of the A-Grade events, Liam Kernaghan of Wellington won the MMSSRR for previous winners of the Silver Chanter MSR, which was won […]
Glasgow, October 22, 2022 – After three grueling rounds, Steven McWhirter of Glasgow was named 2022 World Solo Drumming Champion, winning the Adult / 18 and Older category following three rounds of qualifying, culminating in a Final competition comprising MSR and Hornpipe & Jig events held at Glasgow Caledonian University. […]