Archive

Sure, you might prefer the typical Piobaireachd + MSR template that 99% of top-tier solo piping competitions require. After all, you’re almost guaranteed to have an opportunity to hear a whole load of foot-stompin’ piobaireachds. Nothing wrong with that. Or you might prefer something not only different but genuinely unique […]

The seventh running of the American Pipe Band Championships is this Saturday, April 20th, once again at Scope Plaza in Norfolk, Virginia, and a total of eight will compete in the Grade 2 and Grade 3 events: Grade 2 Carnegie Mellon University (Gr3) City of Chicago Great Lakes MacMillan Ulster […]

We continue our series of articles on psychological matters that might impact our performance and the enjoyment of our competitive hobby

Under perfect weather at Princess Park, 29 bands competed in the 2024 Australian Pipe Band Championships in the regional town of Maryborough, site of the first Australian Championships in 1961.

The first Dollar Pipe Band & Drum-Majors Competition held in 2023 was UK piping and drumming scene’s success stories, and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s Dundee, Perth & Angus Branch has announced that the event will return in 2024 on May 26th. In a relatively unusual move, the branch […]

All too often, thanks in large part to our competition-art tradition, pipe bands from the same city have crosstown rivalries that make getting together on anything unthinkable to band members. But for the second straight year, the Grade 1 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) and Grade 3/5 Dartmouth & District from […]

Alistair Hanning, the accomplished and popular piper from Wellington, New Zealand, died from cancer on April 9, 2024, in his sixty-second year. From one of the country’s great family of pipers, he received instruction from his famous father, John, and later Ian McKay, Donald Bain and Lewis Turrell, when Hanning […]

As part of pipes|drums’ ongoing Association Leadership series, we caught up with Derek Midgley for a quick conversation.

Princes Park in Maryborough, Victoria, will be the site of the 2024 bi-annual Australian National Pipe Band Championships, where a total of 36 bands will compete across all grades. Grade 4A Lion City of Singapore will be in the mix, making their first journey to the event. The band has […]

The annual Winnipeg Scottish Festival kicked off the prairie competition season with a good attendance of bands from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Macalester College pipe bands from St. Paul, Minnesota, which won both of the Grade 3 events in the top grade contests. The day included a special tribute to the recently passed P-M Robert Stankey, a long-time contributor to piping in Manitoba as a player, pipe-major and highly dedicated youth instructor with the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band in Winnipeg.

Ben Duncan of Edinburgh took home the big award of the day, the Donald MacLean Trophy for top overall at the annual Scottish Pipers Association Solo Piping Competition. Willie McCallum won the MSR for previous SPA Open light music event winners. Contestants had to be members of the SPA to compete.

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.