Archive
There are benefits that artificial intelligence might bring, but replacing human musical creativity is not one of them. If we want to safeguard pipe band creativity from machine intervention, pipers and drummers should petition associations to enact rules prohibiting it.
Dr. Donaldson says about the tune: “Given the numerous alternative titles, and the fact that the tune in its pipe versions seems manifestly a different one from the Gaelic folk song of the same title, it might be wise to proceed cautiously here.”
The 30th-anniversary Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival featured a total prize pool of close to US$35,000 for pipe bands, solo pipers, and drummers, and Alastair Lee was the overall Open solo piping winner, Cameron Bonar won both the Gordon Duncan Memorial Kitchen Piping and the Skye Richendrfer Memorial Jig event, named for the late Celtic music mover-and-shaker and co-founder of the games. Malcolm Fuller was the overall winner of the Open solo snare drumming.
Dartmouth & District won both Grade 2 band events, James MacHattie won the Piobaireachd, and Alex Gandy won the other three Open solo piping contests at the 161st Antigonish Highland Games, held in excellent weather. The event is one of the world’s longest-running piping and drumming competitions.
Today’s pipers and drummers might not fully appreciate his positive impact on what they do today. So, it’s important that all can learn from the late Jamie Troy in his own words.
Grade 2 Mackenzie Caledonian of Dundee, Scotland, will continue their popular series of recitals by the world’s top solo pipers on Friday, October 16th, when Ben Duncan takes the stage at St. Mary’s Church in Broughty Ferry. In addition to being pipe-sergeant of the Grade 1 Field Marshal Montgomery, Duncan […]
“Leadership is often chaos. It’s often outside their comfort zone. And there’s generally a lot of collateral damage. It’s no different in pipe bands.” – James Laughlin
With just more than a week’s notice, the organizers of the Cambridge Scottish Festival in Cambridge, Ontario, abruptly cancelled the event, leaving more than one hundred solo and band competitors without one of the larger contests in the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario’s competition season. A source said […]
Grade 2 at the 2026 World Championships this August in Glasgow will feature a total of 25 bands, triggering the RSPBA’s rule that competitions with 23 or more entries must be run in heats. Sources close to the matter have confirmed that Grade 2 bands will compete on Friday, split […]
The Penticton Scottish Festival in British Columbia’s scenic Okanagan Valley saw Cameron Bonar of Surrey, British Columbia, win the aggregate in the Open Solo Piping, while Malcolm Fuller gained the equivalent award in the Open Solo Snare Drumming. Band entries were sparse, with Robert Malcolm Memorial 4 winning both Grade 4 events against Kamloops.
It’s official: an assembly of 145 pipers and drummers from Australia and New Zealand performed in Melbourne City Square on July 5, 2026, to gain an official place in the Australian Book of Records for the largest all-female pipe band ever to perform. The record-setting performance was part of the […]
Dublin’s St. Laurence O’Toole won the 2026 All-Ireland Championship at St. Catherine’s Park, west of Dublin, outlasting Field Marshal Montgomery and Ravara in the three-band Grade 1 two-event competition.
SFU has performed their new medley several times at various games on the British Columbia Pipers’ Association circuit. It’s yet another fascinating and effective selection, with much of the band’s popular, trademark compositional and ensemble style intact, but with an injection of orchestration flair from the many creative minds in the band.
We mark the milestone with a list determined by experts . . .
The Alberta Society of Pipers & Drummers managed two of its bigger events in June: the Edmonton Scottish Society Highland Gathering on the 20th and the Red Deer Highland Games on the 27th. Daniel Lidgren of Calgary had excellent days at both competitions in the Professional solo piping, winning five […]