Vale of Atholl Grade 2 band collapses; members hope to form new Grade 2 group

The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band of Pitlochry, Scotland, was founded in 1906, making it one of the world’s longest-running piping and drumming organizations, but its Grade 2 band is now the UK’s latest casualty with the announcement that the group has disbanded “with immediate effect.”

While a blow for the UK scene, all is not lost. The departing members reportedly hope to form an altogether new band to compete in Grade 2 in 2026, with former Vale of Atholl Grade 2 Pipe Major Jamie Falconer in charge.

The Vale of Atholl organization announced the dissolution of the Grade 2 band on social media, saying, “This decision has not been made lightly, but follows a period of reflection and consideration of both internal and external factors that have made it no longer possible to continue as a competitive Grade 2 unit.”

The remaining Vale of Atholl competition band, which was promoted to Grade 3B by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association after the 2025 season, “will continue to represent the Vale with pride and passion, and we have also been working to rebuild and strengthen our learner and youth development program to support the next generation of pipers and drummers.”

Since at least the 1970s, Vale of Atholl has been a model of teaching excellence in the Perthshire area. Under the guidance of famed Pipe-Major Ian Duncan, the group rose to become a contending Grade 1 band. Vale of Atholl’s glory days were in the late 1980s and ’90s, when Duncan and Pipe-Sergeant Gordon Duncan led the group to consistent top-six finishes at RSPBA championships.

The band recorded several ground-breaking albums and staged many popular concerts, and its new medleys were eagerly anticipated every year.

“The Grade 2 band is a strong unit and will carry on largely unchanged, playing under a yet-to-be-decided name. Jamie [Falconer] is a fantastic pipe-major and deserves to build on last year’s success.”

In the 2000s, Vale of Atholl struggled to maintain consistency until Adrian Cramb took over as pipe-major in 2008. The band regained some of its previous quality, but a series leading-drummer changes hindered the group’s ability to make more of a competitive mark.

Falconer joined Vale of Atholl in 2020 after a year as pipe-major of the then Grade 2 MacKenzie Caledonian of Dundee, Scotland, following the departure of David Wuilton, who went on to be the pipe-major of the Grade 1 Police Scotland Fife, a role Wilton continues to hold.

Regarding leaving Vale of Atholl, Falconer said, “It is with a heavy heart that I resign my position as pipe-major. It has been one of my greatest honours to take on and achieve success with such a great group. I wish the band and organization nothing but success in the future.”

According to one insider who spoke on condition that their name not be used, “The Grade 2 band is a strong unit and will carry on largely unchanged, playing under a yet-to-be-decided name. Jamie is a fantastic pipe-major and deserves to build on last year’s success.”

Vale of Atholl won sixth place in Grade 2 at the UK Championships and finished seventh at the European Championships. At the World Championships, the band placed fourteenth overall in Grade 2.

Grade 2 Vale of Atholl’s demise is the third upper-grade UK band to dissolve in the last few weeks, after the collapse of Grade 1 bands Closkelt of Northern Ireland and Scotland’s Johnstone.