Archive
Kylie MacHattie reviews “Voicing Scotland,” a new book by BBC Radio Scotland Pipeline presenter Gary West, on how “the traditions of lyrics, music, stories and literature identify and support Scotland’s national identity in these pre-referendum times.” (Subscribers only.)
The Winnipeg Scottish Festival celebrated its 20th Anniversary with some special events at the Winnipeg Convention Center. Friday evening Bob Worrall gave a short recital, and then introduced the players who followed him, including . . .
The fourth part of our 2012 Pipes+Drums Recital of Grade 1 band pipe-majors and leading-drummers features Los Angeles Scots Colin Armstrong and Glenn Kvidahl with four selections from the August 8th event The band saw its way back in to the Grade 1 Final round at the World Pipe Band Championships three days later, ultimately finishing as the thirteenth best band in the world.
Angus MacColl of Benderloch, Scotland, captured the overall prize at the annual Metro Cup Solo Piping Competition, put on by the Metro Branch of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association. MacColl won the Medley section and was second in the Piobaireachd event, which . . .
Even though the Northern Ireland Piping & Drumming School just celebrated 33 years, its teaching program was resurrected . . .
Three weeks after the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band revealed that it would go by a new name, the Grade 1 Fife Constabulary Pipe Band . . .
The City of Chicago Pipe Band’s rapid rise to successful Grade 1 status was one of the better good-news stories of the last 10 years, but all that has come crashing down after a reported . . .
February 23, 2013 That was a fairly brutal January and February, and Harry’s not just talking about the sound of the local band at the Burns Dinner. Fair fa yer honest sonsie face, and all that, and Harry’s gasping’ for the outdoor season and pipes on grass. Seems as though […]
With several off-season up- and down-gradings, the biggest beneficiary in Ontario outside of the bands themselves might be Grade 3 itself. In a late-off-season move, the Penetangore . . .
The Ontario piping scene has been saddened and diminished by the passing of one of its administrative stalwarts of the 1970s and ’80s. Little did Duncan McGillivray – “Dunc” to all who knew him – realize when his son Jim followed the whim of an 11-year-old in 1967 and started […]
The Grade 2 Aughintober Pipe Band is taking a major leap of faith by putting on an ambitious concert by the Grade 1 ScottishPower . . .
pipes|drums kicks off a new feature for subscribers: “One Great Day,” a series of articles by famous pipers and drummers who recall a particularly memorable day in their life. We will ask them to choose one day that stands out in their mind, perhaps because of its historical importance, or a personal achievement, or for anything else that they might choose. This year is the 25th anniversary of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band’s World Pipe Band Championship win. At the quarter-century mark, it made sense to see what Bill Livingstone remembered from that historical day in August, when he led his 78th Fraser Highlanders to becoming the first non-Scottish band to win a World Pipe Band Championship. In fact, before then, no Grade 1 band outside of Scotland had won an RSPBA major championship of any kind.
The annual Winter Storm Competition in Kansas City, Missouri, January 11-13 will break its own entry records for snare competitions outside of the World Solo Drumming in Scotland . . .
New Year’s Day offers an opportunity for New Zealand’s pipers and drummers to compete at one of the country’s oldest Highland games. The sun was out with blue skies in the picturesque town of Waipu (a small town originally . . .
The first week of every year brings pipes|drums’ annual predictions for the 12 months ahead, and this year, rather than a long and rambling list of prognostications from numerous people around the piping and drumming world, we’re keeping things simple. Just 10. Ten straightforward predictions. All serious. All substantial. Each reflecting trends that we’ve identified that make a realistic case for them actually occurring. We’re sticking our neck out with these, and this time next year we’ll go back and see how we did. We also invite pipes|drums readers . . .
Andrew Carlisle and Ben McClamrock won the major solo piping awards, while Michael McKenna, Mike Cole and Andrew Elliott took home the top solo drumming honours at the annual Winter Storm competitions held at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom of the County Club Plaza hotel. For their efforts, Carlisle and Derek Midgley gained invitations to the 2013 Metro Cup Competition in New Jersey, which made entered into a reciprocal agreement with Winter Storm this year.