A historic first: Beaumont and Sinclair tie for 2026 Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge title

Glasgow – August 13, 2026 – In a first since the event started more than 30 years ago, the 2026 P-M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge ended in a deadlock, with Callum Beaumont of Guardbridge, Scotland, and Connor Sinclair, Crieff, Scotland, sharing the prize after rankings submitted by the five unidentified judges in the audience were tabulated.

The brainchild of the great piper Willie McCallum, the competition started in the early 1990s at the Lord Todd Bar at the University of Strathclyde as a relatively impromptu event that gave bored pipers and drummers welcome entertainment as they waited out the week before the World Pipe Band Championships. “The Lord Todd Challenge” was considered the inspiration for the Piping Live! festival.

It was Callum Beaumont’s fourth win (2019, 2020, 2021) of the event and Connor Sinclair’s first. Angus D. MacColl holds the record with eight Gillies Memorial / Lord Todd Challenge titles.

The result at the packed Strathclyde Suite of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall was an event that ranged from incredible poignancy and pathos to jaw-dropping displays of musical and technical accuracy at breakneck speeds, with zero loss of musical expression.

Despite being one of the greatest solo pipers in history, McCallum has never competed in the event, choosing instead to organize the unique contest that has inspired similar non-strictly traditional solo piping competitions worldwide.

The P-M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital-Challenge was once again sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes.

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for video highlights from the 2026 P-M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital-Challenge, coming soon.