Archive

While many were at the British Pipe Band Championships at Annan, Scotland, some stalwart solo pipers attended the 699th annual Ceres Games in Fife. George Stewart had the most success on the day with two firsts and a third in the adult . . .

After a two-year hiatus the Summerside Highland Gathering returned June 25-26 to the College of Piping & Celtic Performing Arts of Canada with a much anticipated concert by Bagad Cap Caval, the band’s first appearance in North America. The audience was a mix of Canadian Maritimes pipe band people, College families and volunteers and the local Acadian community. The band was pleased with the exuberant welcome and appreciation from the audience, which called Cap Caval back to the stage for an encore with a standing ovation. Cap Caval’s participation in the gathering gave the Acadian community its first real reason . . .

As part of its sponsorship of the Street Caf¨¦ at Piping Live!, pipes|drums Magazine has announced that it will bring four of the world’s greatest Pipe-Major and Leading-Drummer combinations in a free one-hour “ipes+Drums” concert beginning at 2 pm sharp on Wednesday, August 10th outside of the National Piping Centre . . .i

Another long winter of hard practice has passed, and the pipe band outdoor competition season is poised to begin this weekend, with . . .

In “Sweet Home Alabama” Lynyrd Skynyrd asked, Does your conscience bother you? The Grade 4 Alabama Pipes & Drums are . . .

The Rocky Mountain Pipe Band of Calgary is the latest Grade 2 band to struggle with numbers, and has decided not to . . .

The second annual Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario Western Branch Kiwanis Competition attracted more than 40 solo competitors and 10 bands in the mini-band contest. The competition again . . .

The ScottishPower Pipe Band started its season with a win at Gourock, the first outdoor event of the year in Scotland.

The 19th annual Dr. Dan Reid Memorial invitational solo piping recital/competition was held at the Marines Memorial Club and Hotel. Andrew Hayes of Ottawa and Sean McKeown of Toronto were the overall winners . . .

Some 96 pipers participated in the 10 events at the annual R.U. Brown Gold Medal Competitions, and Ross Campbell won the big prize. The event is put on by the R.U. Brown Piobaireachd . . .

Darleen Milloy (nee Miharija) of Vancouver died on May 11, 2011, after living with multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years, and leading a fight against the condition that was an inspiration to all who knew her. An accomplished solo piper in the 1980s before she was no longer able […]

The second and final part of an in-depth analysis of the world’s biggest pipe band event and the almost undetectable negative impacts that the competition has on the world piping and drumming scene. In Part 2, discussion of the overall influence on pipe band music, the demise of geographical piping and drumming scenes and a serious clash of cultures points to the potential ill-effects of the World’s. Potential solutions to the problems are offered, with the intention of making the World’s and piping and drumming worldwide even better.

The first outdoor pipe band contest on Scotland’s east coast was won by the Lothian & Borders Police. The event marked the full-band return of Dysart & Dundonald . . .

Field Marshal Montgomery got its season off to a solid start with a win over 2011 World Champions St. Laurence O’Toole at the County Tyrone Championships at Dungannon in a three . . .

Alex Gandy won his first William Livingstone Sr. Memorial Invitational Solo Piping Competition, playing in a new format for the decades-old event. Gandy won in a 20-minute . . .

Chants of USA! USA! followed Donald MacPhee’s 20-minute freestyle performance at the first-ever International Piping in the Park solo competition that brought together six players from different countries to show their piping stuff while sporting their native colours, and while MacPhee wowed the crowd, it was Gordon McCready of Scotland who gained the overall prize. McCready donned a Scottish rugby jersey, and won the MSR trophy with “Knightswood Ceilidh,” “Caber Feidh” . . .