Archive
Andrea Boyd enjoyed two firsts in the light music, while Finlay Johnston won the piobaireachd at the scenic Lochearnhead Highland Games, where 21 contestants went at it on a dry day with occasional sun. Judging was by full-fledged and honourary members of the Royal Scottish Pipers Society . . .
It was such a popular idea in 2011 that the inadequate host server at the local high school crashed, but the RSPBA¡¯s ever-industrious Northern Ireland Branch will once again attempt to broadcast the Grade 1 competition from the European Pipe Band Championships, this time with a more robust system . . .
Jonathan Graham enjoyed a fine day in the West Highlands at the Arisaig Highland Games, with the Skurr of Eigg as a backdrop . . .
A new mobile application that lets pipe band enthusiasts to rate and vote on their favourite performances as they occur has been . . .
Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia stopped Field Marshal Montgomery’s streak of seven consecutive major titles by winning the 2012 European Pipe Band Championship in weather mainly dry with showers and sunny spells. Shotts & Dykehead did not compete despite attending the event . . .
Following the results announcement at the 2012 European Championships, the following Grade 1 bands pre-qualified for the Final at the World Pipe Band Championships on August 11th . . .
Euan MacCrimmon of Inverness won the Lochaber Gold Axe (An Tuagh Oir) at the Lochaber Gathering, a long-running contest emerging again as one of the more important on the Scottish solo circuit . . .
Dowco-Triumph Street came as close as the band has ever come to beating Simon Fraser University, taking both firsts in piping, but ultimately losing on ensemble preference in the Saturday Grade 1 medley competition at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games . . .
Benoni MacTalla won the South African Pipe Band Championship, part of the Benoni Gathering, at Benoni High School, and also secured the Grade 2 Champion of Champions prize for the Pipe Band Association of South Africa . . .
Bill Livingstone gives the new AyrFire chanter from Ayrshire Bagpipes a thorough critique, and clues in pipes|drums subscribers to his take on the latest instrument for pipers, with an aggressive price-point.
For the price of ?29,800 ($47,366) Peter Anderson of Australia is now the proud owner of the pipes played by the great Donald MacPherson. Conveniently, the price includes the cost of shipping to Australia. The price is thought to be a record paid for a set of Highland pipes. The MacPherson pipes ¨C a set of R.G. Lawrie drones with ivory projecting mounts . . .
With Purpose is the new CD from the Grade 1 Dowco-Triumph Street Pipe Band of Vancouver, and pipes|drums readers can enjoy an exclusive preview-listen to four tracks from the album, courtesy . . .
Michael Elder and Alasdair Henderson took the first prizes at the Markinch Highland Games in Fife, Scotland, a contest that has had a reputation for hiring judges not normally associated with senior solo piping events. This year it was pipe band adjudicator Robert Shepherd who had the opportunity. About 20 contestants participated in very cold but dry conditions.
Simon Fraser University continued its decade-long winning streak on the Pacific Northwest circuit with a win of both events at the Bellingham Highland Games. Dowco-Triumph Street gained a first-place from one judge. Portland Metro surged in Grade 2 with a convincing win . . .
A strong finish at Glasgow Green is what every Grade 1 band hopes for, and that’s exactly what members and supporters of the Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia . . .
In what is likely a first for a recording by a top-shelf solo piper, Simon McKerrell has unveiled a collection of eight tracks available only as a download from iTunes either as individual . . .