Archive
The latest “Live Online” competition run by the Competition League for Adult Solo Pipers (CLASP) was held over two days, contestants’ live performances recorded for the judges to review later. Ultimately, the aggregate awards went to Charles-David Mitchell, Ontario (Grade 1); Anthony Kelly, Houston (Grade 2); Emmanuel Bregent, Brittany (Grade 3); and Chi Kit Yeung, Hong Kong (Grade 4).
Less than three years after his appointment as pipe-major, Donald Stewart has resigned from the Grade 2 Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band, causing the group to cancel all plans to compete in 2026. As a result, Leading-Drummer Les Galbraith has also left the band. Glasgow Skye spokesperson Kurt MacKitnosh said […]
“The Road to the Isles” is one of the most-heard pieces composed for the Highland pipes, which became a certifiable, number-one-with-a-bullet, smash hit after the Scottish raconteur Sir Harry Lauder recorded his arrangement 100 years ago on March 4, 2026. The centenary of pipe music’s first recorded #1 will be […]
The shortage of snare drummers and leading-drummers is pretty much a pipe band tradition. But why? Throughout the hundred-year history of competing pipe bands, pipers and drummers have wondered why the perpetual lack exists, but has anyone ever seriously sought answers?
The first Canadian Legion for those who served and serve with Canada’s military was started in late 1925 as Canada’s arm of the British Empire Services League, and this year, the country’s mover and shaker of piping and drumming projects, Bethany Bisaillion, is spearheading a call to pipers and drummers […]
Through special resolution “notices of motion” put forward by members, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association will formally decide at its March 14th annual general meeting whether to move ahead with discussions regarding, among other matters, establishing maximum numbers for competing bands, making scoresheets publicly available, the reintroduction of Bass-Section […]
With less than six months to go before the contest, how do things look for the top grades at the 2026 Worlds? Assuming that the known operational UK-based and Irish Grade 1 and Grade 2 bands would be attending, we wanted to know about the plans of those located elsewhere. […]
In what could be a record for a purely piobaireachd teaching weekend, 42 pipers from all over North America soaked up ceol mor tuition and performances at the fourth annual Jimmy McIntosh MBE Piobaireachd Workshop at Carnegie Mellon University’s Cohon University Center in Pittsburgh. Described by the organizers as “action-packed,” […]
“Liddell performs with the rare ability to make the impossible sound effortless. ‘Garron’ is the album that puts it all in one place.”
The National Piping Centre was stowed out with young pipers and their proud parents at the organization’s 2026 Junior Solo Piping Competition, where Charlie Mack won the aggregate trophy in the Under 18 category, Shay McInarlin gained the Under 15 aggregate, Larry Presslie won the overall trophy in the Under 13, and Charles Campbell was best aggregate in the Practice Chanter.
Connor Sinclair of Crieff, Scotland, won the Ardmore Cup for the third time, an event that showcases invited competitors in a creative setting that includes a freestyle Medley contest as well as a traditional MSR. Each piper also plays a slow air during their tuning, with a separate award for each.
Vancouver – February 21, 2026 – Steven McWhirter was the winner of the Pacific Rim Solo Snare Drumming Championship, presented by the BC Pipers’ Association and hosted by the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada at the Seaforth Armoury. McWhirter won all three events and earned CAD$2,500 for his success. The MSR […]
Our discussion with four leaders from the National Piping Centre: Emma Hill, NPC Clubs Producer; Laura-Beth MacCrimmon, Youth & Communities Producer; Finlay MacDonald, Director of Piping; and David Shedden, NYPBoS Producer, continues as the organization reaches its 30-year milestone this year.
Judging structures need to evolve with what pipe bands have become over the last hundred years.
We continue this important discussion at a time when pipe bands worldwide are looking for real solutions to an age-old problem that must be solved, first by identifying the causes, then by working on real change for a better future.
The fourth annual Skye K. Richendrfer Memorial Cup Grade 4 Piobaireachd Challenge was won by Matthew Hubbard, of Omaha, Nebraska, playing “Sir James MacDonald of the Isles’ Lament.”