Archive

Joseph Stewart of Seattle was the overall winner of the 2011 Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Piping Competition, an event that brings in the previous year’s top prize-winners in amateur competitions from various regions in the United . . .

Drummer Julie Firth will be in the pink at the World Solo Drumming Championships in Glasgow on October 22nd regardless whether she is in the prize list, as she will be competing in support of Maggie’s Cancer Caring . . .

It is with sadness that we report the death of Dr. Martin Lowe, OBE, on October 9, 2011, after a brief illness with pancreatic cancer. While not a top-flight piper, Lowe was very involved with the Scottish piping community and was Honourary Secretary and Honourary Pipe-Major of the Royal Scottish […]

After taking a competitive sabbatical for the 2011 season, the Grade 1 Ballycoan Pipe Band of Northern Ireland plans to return to the scene in 2012 and has appointed Simon Quee . . .

Peel Regional Police Live In Concert Featuring Scantily Plaid and Presenting the Scottish Dance Company of Canada Cawthra Park Secondary School Mississauga, Ontario, 8 pm, October 15, 2011

Murray Henderson of Kirriemuir, Scotland, was the winner of the first Captain John MacLellan Medal Piobaireachd Competition Recital held at the Royal Scots Club on Abercromby Street. Henderson was given MacLellan’s “Edinburgh Piobaireachd” to play, and adjudicator Gavin Stoddart awarded him the custom designed and cast medal, ahead of the three other invited pipers: Roddy MacLeod, Glasgow, “The Salute to the Great Pipe”; Iain Speirs, Edinburgh, “A Lullaby for . . .

The calendar will conspire against non-UK pipers once again in 2012 as the two major gatherings of the year for solo competitors will be a . . .

The two-year commitment as Pipe-Major of the Grade 1 Lothian & orders Police Pipe Band has come to an official end for Ian Duncan, who formally handed over the reins to . . .

Steven McWhirter, Leading-Drummer of the Grade 1 Inveraray & District Pipe Band, captured his second World Solo Drumming Championship title at the annual RSPBA-run contest at Glasgow Caledonian University. McWhirter was placed first in both the MSR and Hornpipe & Jig sections for a commanding victory. ScottishPower Leading-Drummer Barry Wilson, who had won the award for the past four years in succession, settled for third, while Blair Brown of Simon Fraser University had his best finish ever with a second-prize overall . . .

Neil Henderson of Falkirk, Scotland, has been appointed Pipe-Major of the Grade 4A Wallacestone & District Pipe Band . . .

The piping and drumming world is saddened by the death of Jimmie McGregor in the early hours of October 26, 2011, at the age of 64. He had braved a battle with cancer for the last two years. While not a competitive piper, he was an immensely popular and well-liked […]

The two-time winner of solo pipe band drumming’s highest award lets pipes|drums subscribers in on his preparation, strategy and the importance of having a musically compatible piping accompaniment. McWhirter also lets viewers in on one of his secrets to gaining sympathetic integration with tempo and the beat.

Glasgow’s Roddy MacLeod won the 2011 Glenfiddich Championship at Blair Castle, the fourth time he has captured piping’s biggest prize. By winning, he becomes the first qualifier for the 2012 Glenfiddich. MacLeod gained the overall title with a win in the MSR and a third in the Piobaireachd. After several appearances at the Glenfiddich, Iain Speirs of Edinburgh won his first first prize by taking the Piobaireachd. The competition saw two newcomers to the contest, with Callum Beaumont of Bo’ness, Scotland, and Ian K. MacDonald of Whitby, Ontario, participating for the first time . . .

In this penultimate installment of our February 2000interview with the late Jim Hutton, we get into contentious topics of the time ¨C namely, conflict of interest in the pipe band judging ranks, the emerging game of numbers in the upper-grade bands and the varying standards around the world of pipe band snare drumming. Interestingly, Hutton touches upon the trend that had then only recently re-started with flourishing tenors, and his thoughts at the time foreshadowed the controversy of opinions that would follow over the next decade.

The first day of events at the Northern Meeting On the first day of events at Inverness, Niall Stewart added the Northern Meeting Gold Medal to his growing collection of big . . .

Angus MacColl of Benderloch, Scotland, gained his fourth Clasp, the most prestigious award on the second day of events from the Northern Meeting at Eden Court Theatre. Earlier . . .