Ten top amateurs hope to raise the chalice and more at the 2025 Nicol-Brown Invitational

The Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Piping Competition is set to take place on Saturday, October 11th at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville, Maryland, with a full day of hammer-and-tongs, take-no-prisoners action.

Actually, 10 of the most successful amateur competitors in North America will have a terrific time playing the music they love, many of whom will make the leap to the Professional/Open ranks:

• Jean-Sébastien Gamache, Ottawa (Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario)
• Aiden Fowler, Langley, British Columbia (British Columbia Pipers Association)
• Liam Horne, Wise, Virginia (Eastern United States Pipe Band Association)
• Abby Long, Houston (Eastern United States Pipe Band Association)
• Jim Malcolm, River John, Nova Scotia (Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association)
• Alex Pavlovic, Houston (Eastern United States Pipe Band Association)
• Colin Richdale, Coquitlam, British Columbia (British Columbia Pipers Association)
• Alex Rocheleau, Windsor, Ontario (Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario)
• Flora Stone, Natick, Massachusetts (Eastern United States Pipe Band Association)
• Alexander Walker, Pacific Palisades, California (Western United States Pipe Band Association)

The event features three contests: Piobaireachd, MSR, and 6/8 Marches. Based on the results of each event, the champion is the piper with the most aggregate points, with the Piobaireachd result the tie-breaker.

The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with the 6/8 Marches and ends with the awards at 6:30 p.m.

Grade 1 amateur competition results from the various North American Associations help determine who receives an invitation, and the size and standard of the circuit also determine the representatives from each jurisdiction.

Gillian Blaney of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, was the overall 2024 Nicol-Brown Champion.

A team of volunteers organizes the contest, and many organizations and individuals provide sponsorships and product prizes.

Alaistair Lee and Willie McCallum will judge all of the events.

The event was first held in 1982 as the Nicol-Brown Chalice Piobaireachd competition. The William Ross Challenge Targe MSR was added in 1987, and the Donald MacLeod Memorial 6/8 Marches in 1990.

The events are named for three of history’s most significant contributors to Highland piping.

pipes|drums is once again a monetary sponsor of the competition.

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for results from the 2025 Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Piping Competition as they are made available.