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Gordon McCready of Renfrew, Scotland, took both light music events at a sun-drenched, warm Bathgate Highland Games, while Darach Urquhart won the piobaireachd contest . . .

It is with great sadness that the Fife Constabulary Pipe Band announces the passing of one of their young snare drummers, Steven (Stevie) Sims, at the far too early age of 23, late on May 26, 2012, after a short, but ultimately fatal illness. Steven Sims was an intelligent, funny, […]

Just in time for the end of the school year and the beginning of many pipers’ first years at university and college, professional-class solo piper Elizabeth Sheridan of Oakville, Ontario, provides insights and tips on how to get the most from your post-secondary school experience while keeping your keen interest in the pipes. Practicing, money, time management, scholarships, housing ¨C it’s all here, along with insights (in Part 2) from student-pipers in the UK. A member of the Grade 1 Peel Regional Police Pipe Band and a student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Liz Sheridan is living proof that it is possible to let both academic and piping lives coexist . . . and even thrive.

Gordon McCready continued his winning ways by taking the aggregate award at the Blair Atholl Highland Games, where more than 60 pipers competed in the light music events. The B-Grade Piobaireachd was split into two heats, and . . .

It was Benoni MacTalla’s turn to take back honours in Grade 2, nipping the Transvaal Scottish with ensemble preference in both the MSR and the Medley events, at the De La Salle Gathering held at De La Salle Holy Cross College, Victory Park, Johannesburg . . .

The Jakarta Highland Games were held at Karawci, West Jakarta, on a typically humid day in the Indonesian capital. The 2012 . . .

City of Chicago and the 78th Fraser Highlanders were the only two Grade 1 bands competing at the annual Alma Scottish Festival, and each band came home with a first-prize, but it was City of Chicago that gained the Sunday United States Championship prize, winning the drumming on both days . . .

The 21st annual Dr. Dan Reid Memorial Invitational Solo Piping Recital-Challenge has been cancelled due to qualified performers either withdrawing or being unavailable . . .

While one “recital-challenge” solo piping event in San Francisco is cancelled due to lack of available competitors, another some 13,000 kilometres . . .

pipes|drums executes the largest survey ever conducted of the world’s Grade 1 pipe bands to find out what they are playing — chanters, reeds, bags and moisture control systems. Exclusively for subscribers to the magazine, we echo our in-depth survey of the world’s top competition solo pipers to determine trends across the world’s best pipe sections. Cane or synthetic? Sheepskin or man-made? Canister system, tube or free-and-easy? We have the answers and the result are sure to better inform your own band and open your eyes to what’s going on right here, right now.

The BC Pipers Association’s Annual Gathering was the site of the first event sponsored by the Competing Pipers Association outside of Scotland, a competition that was also the first time that the Darleen Milloy Memorial Trophy was awarded to the winner of the contest, reserved . . .

Some 118 competitors in 20 events competed in the annual junior piping and drumming competitions held at Inveraray Primary School.

The Western Australia Police Pipe Band won the Australian Championship with a near-clean-sweep of first place rankings from seven of eight judges in the two events. In Grade 2, Moorabin City won the overall prize. The competition, which is held every two years, was promoted . . .

The group of world famous pipers and drummers who hit the road last week on the “Pipes & Sticks On Route 66” tour have embarked on a one-of-a-kind journey, and members of the team have offered to provide pipes|drums Magazine readers with an exclusive travel log on the adventure. Drummers Mike Cole and Jim Kilpatrick and pipers Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl and Willie McCallum are taking three weeks to traverse the old US Highway #66, playing recitals and conducting workshops along the way. In this first instalment, Willie McCallum brings us up-to-speed on the final preparations for the trip, as well as observations on getting on the road and hitting their first destinations. pipes|drums readers can look forward to several more updates to the travel log as the Pipes & Sticks group winds its way from Chicago to LA ¨C a historic first for piping and drumming along a highway paved in American history.

The ninth annual Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival officially kicked off in Glasgow on April 10th with photo opportunities for media and a sneak preview of what’s in store for the expected 40,000 visitors drawn . . .

The tradition of the Toronto Indoor Games will continue on Saturday, April 14th, at Mosspark Armoury in the city’s downtown with an entry that is thought to be a record for . . .