Archive
It’s uncanny to us that, even 150 years after his birth, unknown compositions by the great John “Jock” McLellan of Dunoon are still being discovered. This Christmas, we’re pleased to bring pipes|drums readers an exclusive gift: “Tarbert Castle,” a four-part 2/4 march by one of the greatest and most popular […]
It’s not Boxing Day yet, but we thought it was a good time to make a case to Finlay Johnston of Glasgow to share what he carries around with him as he continues to make his name as one of the world’s elite solo pipers. At age 40, Finlay Johnston […]
If you can play at least one complete piece of ceol mor, you’re eligible to attend the fourth annual Jimmy McIntosh MBE Piobaireachd Workshop, February 20-22, 2026, in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Piping Society and Carnegie Mellon University are partnering again to host the event at Carnegie Mellon’s Cohen University Center. […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has informed member band secretaries that the 2026 UK Pipe Band Championships will be held on Saturday, June 13th, at Grove Playing Fields, Belfast, bringing the RSPBA back to a full complement of five major championships. This year, the event was moved to Ingliston, […]
The 2026 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships, March 20-21, 2026, in Kōhanga Moa Inglewood, a town of fewer than 4,000 in the Taranaki Region of the country’s North Island, has an entry of 56 across all six grades of competitions, possibly making it the world’s largest non-UK pipe band contest. […]
A critique of Chris and Pat Terry’s exhaustive re-interpretation and correction of the historically crucial original work by Dr. Roderick Ross
The Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations was formed in 1998 to improve commonality among the continent’s then 10 piping and drumming competition-running organizations, but in recent years has seen activity dwindle. Prompted by the recent resignation of ANAPBA’s first and only chair after 27 years, Jeff Mann of […]
The Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers (CLASP) has determined the overall winners in each grade from “Live Online” events held in February, May and November 2025, and the results demonstrate just how global and ethnicity-agnostic the Highland pipes have become: Grade 1: Charles-David Mitchell (Canada) Grade 2: Mariko Arimoto […]
About 25 of the Solo Piping Judges Association‘s 45 members attended the organization‘s 2025 annual general meeting and seminar on November 16, held at the Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumming in Edinburgh, with online access for those unable to attend in person. Bruce Hitchings, who was re-elected […]
The third and final part of our discussion concludes with ideas on how associations could help to make the transition successful or even possible. They all agree on one crucial issue.
Manawatu Scottish easily won their fifth consecutive Square Day Grade 1 title, taking the Medley, MSR, and best drumming. Canterbury Caledonian Society made a solid debut under new Pipe-Major Piers Dover, second overall and winning the Best Bass Section trophy.
With 137 piobaireachds painstakingly edited, notated, and reformatted in standard staff notation, Beyond Binneas by brothers Chris and Pat Terry of South Africa is available in spiral-bound (£30/$57) and hardcover (£35/$67) editions, and for those who purchase either, a free digital version. The three-year project is a massive 214-page collection […]
Six professors and institutional leaders from the Highland piping community are seeking to have Scottish piping added to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the Inventories of Living Heritage in the UK. They are encouraging pipers and drummers […]
James “Jamie” W. Troy died on December 9, 2025, in Victoria, British Columbia, at the age of 83. As pipe-major of the Grade 1 City of Victoria in the 1970s, he played a crucial role in establishing Canada as a serious home to world-class competitive pipe bands. Jamie Troy was […]
We continue with the second in our three-part panel discussion, featuring John Cairns of Ontario, Scott MacDonald from California, and Scotland’s Kenny MacLeod, on the challenges of making a permanent leap from Grade 2 to Grade 1. In Part 2, the panel delves into ways to ensure the band remains viable both when it does not win in Grade 1 and when it returns to Grade 2, by choice or by force, as well as the idea of splitting Grade 1 and Grade 2 to make transitions easier.
There are so many in the piping world who Ian McLellan deeply influenced. We asked several of the greatest for their thoughts at this sad time.