Archive
“There’s never a concern about what judges think. We play the music that excites us, and if they like it, they like it; if they don’t, then there’s nothing you can do. It’s just a human opinion at the end of the day.” – L-D Steven McWhirter
In only three years, the Caritas Banner has become one of the prominent piobaireachd competitions for young pipers. Entries are now open for the 2025 edition of the event, which will be held on Sunday, November 30th, at George Watson’s College in Collinton, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Solo pipers […]
Kris Coyle of Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, won the 2025 Northern Ireland Piper of the Year Championship, winning two second prizes and securing the award at the Adair Arms Hotel.
Thirty-five years after the last time he won it, Colin MacLellan returned to Ottawa to win his fifth Glengarry Cup, an event organized by the Ottawa Branch of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario. To win the overall trophy, MacLellan won the Piobaireachd and was third in the MSR.
We’re pleased to bring pipes|drums readers/listeners/viewers this exclusive analysis and annotation of Inveraray & District’s “Dream Valley” medley by the leaders who assembled it.
The tenth anniversary annual Kuala Lumpur Highland Games were held at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort with a record number of solo piping and drumming competitors.
As a special bonus for pipes|drums readers who have enjoyed our exclusive conversation with jazz virtuoso Don Thompson, composer of “Journey to Skye,” we’re pleased to bring you Thompson himself playing his piece on piano at his home recording studio. The 85-year-old Thompson hasn’t looked at the manuscript much, or […]
As his band continues to search for a leading-drummer, Pipe-Major Donald Mackay discusses his optimism for the challenges ahead
First held in 1979 at the Tullymore House Hotel in Broughshane, the Northern Ireland Piper of the Year Solo Piping Competition has been a staple of the vibrant Ulster scene. This year’s competition will be held on September 27th at the Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena. The Piobaireachd will begin […]
At just 17 years old, Cameron Bonar of Surrey, British Columbia, is hoovering up prizes not seen by a piper his age since the teenaged days of the legendary John D. Burgess in the late 1940s. A pupil of the renowned Jack Lee and the son of the late, great […]
With a new tagline of “Same Spirit. New Stage,” Pipe Bands Australia is combining the Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships and Australian Solo Piping and Drumming Championships into three days of competitions from Friday, October 3rd, to Sunday, October 5th, at the Scots School, Albury, New South Wales. The first […]
“I still don’t understand why somebody hadn’t written something like that already. Because it just seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do.”
The Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship is the world’s pre-eminent competition. Pipers gain invitations by winning any of these prestigious events (current winner): The previous year’s Glenfiddich Champion (Callum Beaumont, Guardbridge, Scotland) The Clasp at the Northern Meeting (Stuart Liddell, Inveraray, Scotland) Senior Piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering (Stuart Liddell) Silver […]
The famous jazz composer who made one of the most influential pieces of music for pipe bands in history discusses how his suite evolved from humble beginnings.
Described as “a smarter way to practice and organize bagpipe music,” software engineer and piper Bruce Rankine has created “Braw Tunes,” an app with the promise to “help pipers worldwide practice more effectively, organize their music, and stay connected to their repertoire like never before.” Similar to the well-known “Shazam” […]
To commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 16-year-old John. D. Burgess completing “The Double” – winning both Highland Society of London Gold Medals in the same year – the Northern Meeting presented a special kilt pin designed and made by Islay Spalding Kilt Pins. The John D. Burgess Memorial Kilt […]