Archive

The 28th annual Pipe-Major Donald Macleod MBE Memorial Invitational Solo Piping Competition was won by Alasdair Henderson of Glasgow. Henderson’s win in the Piobaireachd event broke an aggregate tie with Glasgow’s Finlay Johnston. The Hornpipe & Jig result did not count towards the aggregate prize.

Iain MacDonald of Regina, Saskatchewan, is the winner of the piobaireachd composing competition organized by Comunn na Piobaireachd (New Zealand) to honour the society’s founders, the brothers Ian and Neville McKay. MacDonald’s tune, “Salute to Sir Ian and Neville McKay,” was awarded the NZ$1,000 prize out of the 16 entries […]

Renowned Scottish piper Fred Morrison has announced a Canadian spring tour for May, covering several provinces and a range of events, linking with pipe bands, competitions, and festivals. On offer is a show that features his extraordinary abilities on the Highland and uilleann pipes, as well as the low whistle. […]

The first PPBSO Drumming Summit was held on March 30th at the Toronto Indoor Games. In attendance were 25 drummers from varying backgrounds representing a good cross-section of teachers and leaders from graded competition and noncompetition bands. Panellists Jamie Alfred, Drew Duthart, and Dave Fenton guided the discussion with prompts, […]

Zephan Knichel of Surrey, British Columbia, took to biggest solo piping prize of the British Columbia Pipers Association’s Annual Gathering with his first win of the MacCrimmon Cairn Open Piobaireachd Competition. Joe Biggs was the overall winner of the Open piping. For Knichel, the achievement completed his win of every award available at the event.

The Piobaireachd Society has announced the recommended requirements for the Gold and Silver medals at the major gatherings in 2025, continuing with the 2024 lists of mostly familiar pieces. The major exception is the inclusion of Donald MacKLeod’s “A Son’s Salute to his Parents” in the Highland Society of London’s […]

St. Andrews of Queensland was the big winner at the 119th MacLean Highland Gathering at the MacLean showgrounds in the small Scottish-heritage town of Maclean in Northern New South Wales, one of the largest gatherings in Australia. It was a full weekend of pipe band and solo piping competitions, Highland dancing, heavy events and a famous street ceilidh.

Greg Wilson of Tai Tapu, New Zealand, and Palmerston North, New Zealand’s Stuart Easton were the big winners at the 72nd Hastings Highland Games, where more than 100 solo pipers from across New Zealand and Australia competed.

In Part 1 of the Pipes|drums Interview with Mike Cusack, the greatest competitive piper in American history talked about his earliest years learning the instrument. In Part 2, Cusack discusses his relationship with John MacFadyen in greater detail and his experience as a 15-year-old living in Glasgow with the master piper, attending Eastwood High School, […]

Less than five months’ time is left before pipe bands converge on Glasgow in August for the week of the World Pipe Band Championships. This year, there’s a new wrinkle with the European Championships on Sunday, August 11th. It’s a rare opportunity to attend two RSPBA major contests in the […]

“The goal is to create a successful platform to build on for the future,” said Ross Davison, co-leader with fellow Ontario-based piper Tyler Bridge about the new Ontario Youth Pipe Band (OYPB), formally announced by the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario. Inspired by the 20-year success of the National […]

Kenny MacLeod is one of few pipers in history to have competed playing a bagpipe they made. At the annual indoor competitions put on by the Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, MacLeod joined the likes of John Ban MacKenzie, Robert Reid, Peter Henderson, Brian Donaldson and Jack Lee as he emerged the winner of of the Adult category after a 30-year hiatus from competition.

Not only will the annual Pipe-Major Donald MacLeod Memoria Invitational Solo Piping  Competition feature eight top-flight contestants, but the pipes once owned by the John Morrison of Assynt House will be on hand and played during a break by Stuart Liddell. Liddell will join Callum Beaumont, Alasdair Henderson, Finlay Johnston, […]

We continue with the second installment of 10 “Castle Recordings” piobaireachd in our exclusive series of performances captured on reel-to-reel tape at Edinburgh Castle in the early 1960s by the late Captain John A. MacLellan MBE. “War or Peace” “The MacRaes’ March” “Corrienessan’s Salute” “In Praise of Morag” “Lament for […]

Luke Kenndey won the Jimmy McIntosh MBE Quaich for most aggregate points in the B-Grade events at the annual Duncan Johnstone Memorial Solo Piping Competition held at both National Piping Centre locations and organized by the Competing Pipers Association as an event especially for solo pipers graded B or C.

The Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Memorial Dinner & Recital Competition will see Callum Beaumont, Stuart Liddell, Ian K. MacDonald and Iain Speirs perform on Saturday, August 24th at the Waldorf-Atsoria – Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh for the black tie event run by the Eagle Pipers Society. According to the […]