Eight snare drumming masters to compete in new solo championship Jan. 31st

Inspired in part by the Band Room Masters Solo Drumming Championship run by the late great pipe band drummer and judge Joe Noble in 1997, Inveraray & District member Cam Lawson is organizing “The Masters,” an invitational competition for eight of the world’s elite pipe band snare drummers.

Other than the contest scheduled for January 31, 2026, at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, few details have been revealed.

“This year’s invited competitors include some of the most decorated and respected players in the art form, all of whom will be announced over the coming weeks,” Lawson said, adding only that the competitors will include several recent finalists from the World Solo Drumming Championship.

Each contestant will have to play a double MSR (all different minimum four-part tunes) and a Medley, with a total drumming prize pool of £1700 up for grabs, judged by “a distinguished panel of respected adjudicators to be announced at a later date.”

In a twist likely to pique the interest of the second half of the performing duets, the piper accompanying the winning drummer will receive £200.

“The inspiration for this event came from the 1990s competition as well as the Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships.” Lawson continued. “It offers snare drummers a slightly different format from the usual MSR or Hornpipe & Jig contests.”

The Masters drumming has no relation to the Masters Slo Piping Championships run by the National Piping Centre and staged during the Piping Live! festival in August.

Lawson said that tickets to the Masters drumming event will go on sale soon, and confirmed that, despite being a 2024 World Solo Drumming Championship finalist, he will manage the event and not compete in it.

The Band Room Masters Solo Drumming Championship was held only once, and the performances were recorded and released on a commercially available compact disc. The list of 12 invited reads like a who’s who of many of the greatest pipe band snare drummers in history, with no fewer than seven winners of the World Solo Drumming Championship.

The Band Room Masters Solo Drumming Championship prize list:
1st Jim Kilpatrick
2nd Eric Ward
3rd John Scullion
4th Gordon Brown
5th Paul Turner
6th James King

Also competing in the 1997 event were Jim Collins, Arthur Cook, Allan Craig, Neil Cranston, Jackie Houlden and Barry Wilson.

Stay tuned for more information about the inaugural Masters solo drumming championship.