Inverness Day 2: Beaumont wins Clasp; Liddell takes big HP&J; MacColl overall champion
Inverness, Scotland – August 31, 2018 – The 2018 Northern Meeting solo piping competitions continued at Eden Court Theatre with remaining events, including the Clasp, the world’s biggest honour for piobaireachd, which was won by Callum Beaumont of Linlithgow, Scotland. Angus D. MacColl (the older one) was the winner of the overall champion piper award. It was Beaumont’s third win of the award, taking it previously in 2012 and 2015. One contemporary who heard his performance of Captain John MacLellan’s “Farewell to the Queen’s Ferry” described it as “perfection – one for the ages.”
The last time that someone won both the Clasp and A-Grade MSR at the Northern Meeting, was Greg Wilson of New Zealand, in 2008, and he also played a piobaireachd composed by Captain John MacLellan, “The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairick.”
Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland, won the Premier and A-Grade Hornpipe & Jig for the fourth time in his career.
The Northern Meeting made a special presentation to Jack Lee of Surrey, British Columbia, honouring his fortieth time competing at the competition, as well as a thank you to all of the non-UK competitors, who make up nearly half of the entry.
The first day of competition saw, among other events, the Highland Society of London Gold Medal awarded to Peter McCalister of Dunblane, Scotland, and the Silver Star Former Winners March, Strathspey & Reel gained by Alex Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Clasp
1st Callum Beaumont, “Farewell to the Queen’s Ferry”
2nd Angus D. MacColl, Benderloch, Scotland
3rd Finlay Johnston, Glasgow
4th Stuart Liddell
5th Bruce Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Judges: Colin MacLellan, Iain Morrison, Bill Wotherspoon
Premier and A-Grade Hornpipe & Jig
1st Stuart Liddell
2nd Alex Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
3rd Angus J. MacColl, Benderloch, Scotland
4th Gordon McCready, Paisley, Scotland
5th Alasdair Henderson, Dunoon, Scotland
Judges: Jimmy Banks, Bruce Hitchings, Iain MacFadyen
Andrew Donlon of Washington, DC, was the overall winner of the B-Grade competitions, receiving the Sandy Grant Gordon Challenge Quaich.
B-Grade
March, Strathspey & Reel
1st Calum Brown, Aberdeen, Scotland
2nd Liam Kernaghan, Wellington, New Zealand
3rd Callum Moffat, Lockerbie, Scotland
4th Cameron MacDougall, Nigg, Scotland
5th Stuart Easton, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Judges: Ronnie Clark, John Wilson
Hornpipe & Jig
1st Stuart Easton
2nd Calum Brown
3rd Liam Kernaghan
4th Matt Wilson, Dollar, Scotland
5th Calum Watson, Glasgow
Judges: Dr. Angus MacDonald, Malcolm McRae
In the Under 18 Junior competitions, Angus MacPhee was the overall winner.
Under-18
Piobaireachd
1st Angus MacPhee
2nd Campbell Wilson
3rd Brodie Watson-Massey
4th Anna Smart
Judges: Patricia Henderson, George Lumsden
March, Strathspey & Reel
1st Ross Connor
2nd Brodie Watson-Massey
3rd Hamish Reade
4th Angus MacPhee
Judges: Patrick Grant, Bob Worrall
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