Archive
A wide-ranging, exclusive conversation with one of the piping world’s most well-regarded composers and performers. In this four-part interview for subscribers to pipes|drums, Mark Saul discusses his experiences with the legendary Victoria Police Pipe Band, his disappointments and disenchantment with the musical limitations of pipe bands, and his search for enlightenment and wider horizons in music overall. Having just released his third collection of music, Mark Saul’s piping life has taken him around the world and, with a typically Australian attitude, is never content with the status quo. In this first instalment, we discuss Mark Saul’s origins as a piper, his development and inspirations as a composer, and his instinctive desire to strive for more.
Five well known pipers and drummers will get their kicks from Chicago to Los Angeles along the legendary Route 66 this spring taking their teaching and playing talents across the . . .
Harold Hook, one of Northern Ireland’s most respected pipers died at the age of 73 on November 28, 2011, after a short illness. Hook was a winner six times of the Ulster Senior Solo Piping Championship in the 1950s and ’60s and a seven-time winner of the All-Ireland Solo Championship. […]
The third generation of Cowan family pipe-majors in Annan, Scotland, will continue with the appointment of Euan Cowan as leader of the Grade 3B Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe . . .
As the world’s pipers and drummers take a collective break, pipes|drums Magazine wishes all of our readers a merry Christmas. It’s been another great year for us, and we thank you for keenly following us throughout 2011.
David Hilder, P-M of the Grade 1 Dowco-Triumph Street Pipe Band, assesses the Bagpipe Tuner 1.0 for Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch from Murray Blair
Ronald “Ronnie” Grieve Rollo passed away early on December 28, 2011, after a brief illness. Piper, judge, teacher and lover of all things Scottish and bagpipe, Ronnie was one of the great men of Canadian piping. Born in the small village of New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, he took full advantage of […]
Darby McCarrol passed away suddenly on the evening of December 28, 2011. McCarrol was an accomplished piper known across Canada and the United States particularly for his dedication to piping for dancing. He was a long-time and proud member of the 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes & Drums, from which […]
From joyous achievements in competition, to celebrated performances, to technological advancements, to sad losses of beloved personalities, the year 2011 draws to a . . .
The 1902-founded Torphichen & Bathgate Pipe Band of Scotland will be sporting a new look for 2012, not only with a change of tartan and drum hardware, but with an influx of . . .
Call it the Blair Pitch Project. The first custom Highland bagpipe tuner application for the Apple iPhone and iPad platforms will be available, pending final approval by Apple, in mid-November on iTunes, courtesy of Australian . . .
The Grade 3 Atlanta Pipe Band, one of the United States’ more established groups, has appointed Bobby Minnear Pipe-Major after long-time leader John Recknagel announced . . .
After less than a year in the role, Robert Wiseman Dairies-Vale of Atholl Pipe Band Leading-Drummer Crawford Allan has resigned . . .
Willie McCallum of Bersden, Scotland, marked Guy Fawkes Day in London with a band, by winning his fourth Bratach Gorm for Piobaireachd, thus becoming the second qualifier for the 2012 Glenfiddich Championship. McCallum . . .
The band that has delivered performances at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House will take the stage of another prestigious venue, this time Lincoln Center in Manhattan on May 4, 2012. The show will be the biggest . . .
Driving attendance at annual general meetings is a traditional challenge for piping and drumming associations, but the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association . . .